‘I didn’t know until much later that the night I met Jules, she had essentially asked my twin brother if he wanted to fuck five minutes before I saw her outside.
I didn’t really blame her for it either.
Apparently, it had been love at first sight for her, with Adrian first checking on Jules after she fell off her bike and then coming to her rescue at the party.
That part threw me for a loop when Jules first told me.
Adrian stepping up for anybody was unheard of.
Him slapping the shit out of Nate Jacobs was almost more believable when I first heard of it.
Of course I didn’t know it was my brother when the rumors first started to spread; the last time I had seen Adrian, he had been my height with roughly the same build.
But the guy people were describing was some Adonis-like figure, there was no logical reason for me to think that it was my brother.
However, and unfortunately, that wasn’t even the most popular rumor about Adrian spread that night.
No, instead, for the next couple of years, every now and again, I would hear about how my twin brother was apparently hung like a horse and could go all night long.
The rumor was started by the people who had seen him climb out of McKay’s pool in his underwear after blowing off Maddy.
BB then fanned the flames once she realized she could attach her name to the newest piece of drama taking the school by storm.
She told anyone who would listen, describing everything that had gone down in graphic detail.
It honestly got under my skin to see such blatant prejudice at work.
If Adrian had been a girl, those rumors would have ruined his life, but since he was a guy, he was quickly elevated to a god-like status.
Though it wasn’t like Adrian gave two shits either way, it didn’t change him, at least not any more than he had already changed.
I think that’s what made him so attractive to the people who would end up following him through life.
No matter what happened, Adrian never changed who he was; it was a kind of confidence that came from knowing you had the resolve to face whatever life could throw at you and come out the other side unfazed.
I think that’s the main difference between Adrian and me, wherever life came knocking, I would always try to hide and escape, while Adrian would always answer the door without a moment of hesitation.
I knew that waking up the next day after the party would be a strange experience.
Though that still didn’t prepare me for the mind fuck of going through my memories of the night before and feeling almost completely disconnected from them.
It was like watching a recap of the previous episode of a TV show rather than reliving something I had personally experienced.
I imagined that the feeling of disconnection stemmed from how skewed my personality had been during the party, and by “skewed” I meant the composition of my fractured identities.
While many pieces of media showed characters with split personality disorder violently jumping between various identities with completely different habits and behavior, my particular case was more fluid.
While completely neutral, my personality was composed of three parts: the original Adrian Bennet, my previous life as a dealer, and my hybrid personality, which was just as distinct as the two originals.
Like a pie chart, each third was responsible for 33% of the whole, with the remaining 1% in constant flux with each thought and action.
However, depending on the situation, that composition could change, with either original personality becoming more pronounced and taking up more of the pie.
Last night, my former self had taken up a majority, thriving in the chaotic drug-, alcohol-, and sex-fueled environment.
So now that I was back to a steady equilibrium, it was understandable that I felt like a different person
I had gotten used to the desynchronization somewhat, but the party was definitely the most imbalance I had been in since coming into existence.
Fortunately, upon waking up, I had a slew of distractions waiting for me, the first being a notification that slid across my vision.
[Congratulations!
You have received several Powerstone Donations!]
[StormKing1 has donated 3 Powerstone(s)]
[OriginallyMelton has donated 1 Powerstone(s)]
[Victorrrr has donated 9 Powerstone(s)]
[Frankie_Vega_2620 has donated 4 Powerstone(s)]
[B_Imdrowning has donated 3 Powerstone(s)]
[AOK3441 has donated 3 Powerstone(s)]
[Mimic2609 has donated 3 Powerstone(s)
[You now have: 26 Powerstones]
After seeing the amount, I didn’t waste any time and opened my system and queued up two common perk draws.
══════════════════════════════════════
COMMON PERK DRAW
══════════════════════════════════════
Choose ONE
① READ THE ROOM
Type: Active
Cooldown: 1 Hour
|For 60 seconds, your awareness of the people around you becomes heightened|
Notice who’s uncomfortable
Identify who’s paying attention to you
Sense tension between people
Better recognize when someone wants to leave or escalate a situation
Provides clues; not answers.
② REGULARS
Type: Passive
Cooldown: None
|Repeated business naturally builds familiarity and trust|
Small favors become easier to request
Regular contacts are more likely to share useful gossip
Minor social mistakes are more easily forgiven
Maintaining the relationship strengthens the effect over time
People take care of the people who keep coming back.
──────────────────────────────────────
③ SECOND WIND
Type: Active
Cooldown: 4 Hours
|For 10 minutes, your body temporarily pushes through exhaustion|
Suppress most fatigue penalties
Maintain normal movement while exhausted
Become harder to stun or wind
Continue strenuous activity despite physical fatigue
The exhaustion isn’t gone; you’re borrowing against it.
══════════════════════════════════════
REFRESH
1st Refresh: $100
2nd Refresh: $250
3rd Refresh: $500
══════════════════════════════════════
Looking through the perks, I was once again faced with a tough situation, as all of them were more than usable; however, one of the three stood out for just how game-like it was.
[You have selected the Perk: Second Wind]
Gaining 10 minutes of unending stamina could be the difference between life and death in a fight, even if afterward I would experience a kind of backlash, as the flavor text implied.
Already, I was feeling good about my growth, but I had even more to look forward to with the second perk pull.
══════════════════════════════════════
COMMON PERK DRAW
══════════════════════════════════════
① FAMILIAR FACE
Type: Passive
Cooldown: None
|People who have seen you around are more likely to assume you belong|
Reduced suspicion in familiar neighborhoods
Easier to enter employee or semi-private areas without being questioned
Local residents are more likely to casually acknowledge you
Minor unusual behavior attracts less immediate attention
Sometimes confidence is all the identification you need.
______________________________________________________________________________
② BAD FEELING
Type: Active
Cooldown: 2 Hours
|Before entering a location, receive an instinctive warning if immediate trouble is waiting inside|
Detect unusually hostile situations
Sense when an expected meeting feels wrong
Receive warning of obvious ambushes or confrontations
Does not reveal the source or nature of the danger
You don’t know what’s waiting.
You just know you shouldn’t open that door.
______________________________________________________________________________
③ CASH MEMORY
Type: Passive
Cooldown: None
|Your mind automatically keeps track of money connected to your business|
Instantly remember what someone owes you
Remember the price of previous transactions This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Notice discrepancies in payments
Keep a mental running estimate of daily profit and expenses
Recognize when someone’s numbers don’t match your memory
You might forget a name.
You never forget a dollar.
______________________________________________________________________________
Refresh Available: 1st — $100 | 2nd — $250 | 3rd — $500
[You have selected the Perk: Cash Memory]
My second decision wasn’t even close, while Bad Feeling, the second runner-up, could come in clutch in future situations, Cash Memory cleared in terms of overall usefulness and utility.
Being able to intrinsically know what to expect from profit and costs, and if someone was ripping me off, was too good a power to pass up.
I would essentially become my own automatic bookkeeper.
Closing out the screens, I then reached over and grabbed my phone, turning it on to see a set of text messages from the newest contact in my phone.
[BB: Hey, I saw the fight between you and Nate]
[BB: Do you box or something?
Because that was brutal!]
[BB: You almost knocked him out with a slap lol ]
[Adrian: Yeah, I box and do some MMA, but Nate was handicapped with how much he was drinking last night]
[BB: Maybe, but I’ve got a feeling that even if he was sober, the fight would have ended the same way]
[Adrian: I can’t say either way]
[BB: Wow ur a lot more humble than I expected you to be after how cocky you were acting last night]
[Adrian: I was confident, not cocky there’s a difference]
[BB: If you say so]
[BB: btw, you know everyone is talking about you now ]
[Adrian: I would be more surprised if they didn’t there were a lot of ppl around that kitchen]
[BB: Not just for the kitchen]
[BB: You fucked Maddy in the pool in front of everyone]
[Adrian: Fucked is a stretch]
[BB: Not from what I’ve heard lmao]
[Adrian: Just how many people are you talking to?]
[BB: Only a few, but u know everyone has heard from at least three other people]
[Adrian: And what did u end up telling them?]
[BB: What do u mean?]
[Adrian: Information goes both ways, so what are u telling people about me]
[BB: What you think I’m a snitch?]
[Adrian: I don’t really give a damn, BB just don’t lie to me]
[BB: Ugh fine]
[BB: I told people that we fucked and that u were Rue’s brother]
[Adrian: See, that wasn’t so hard]
[BB: Whatever…]
[BB: So when am I going to see u again?]
[Adrian: Probably at school]
[BB: Boy u know that’s not what I’m talking about]
[Adrian: Already want more?]
[BB: I was just asking]
[Adrian: Don’t know I’ll call you when I’m free next week]
[BB: So what, I’m just a booty call]
[Adrian: Ur the one who said we’re not friends]
[Adrian: No strings attached remember]
[BB: I know but u don’t gotta be a dick about it]
[Adrian: I’m just keeping it real with ]
[BB: Alr, I get it]
[BB: See u next week then]
[Adrian: See u]
Putting my phone back down, I got out of bed, ready to start my workout routine, only for a knock at my door to make me pause, followed by a voice that made me freeze.
“Hey Adrian, it’s me…can we talk?’