Jade
I had just regained my freedom, or perhaps found it for the very first time, but the world greeted me with a storm, and my twin brother with a scowl.
"I-I just said that anime was totally your style..." A lump tightened in my throat, and tears welled up in my eyes against my will. I knew I sounded embarrassingly pathetic when I shouted, "There was no need for all this, Peridot!"
He didn't answer immediately; he just kept slowly driving his car behind a truck hauling a MECHA something like medieval armor for a giant, yet designed in the 22nd century and bristling with modern cannons and thrusters. It was also the last thing I wanted to be forced to look at right then.
"An anime... my style? Don't be ridiculous," he finally replied, gripping the steering wheel a bit too tightly.
Peridot had a serious face with a lively, tan complexion, green eyes that lived up to his gemstone name, and neatly styled black hair that matched his dark suit. He wasn't exactly handsome, but he wasn't ugly either; just average, like most people... and yet, despite him being my twin, I was acutely aware that he looked far more presentable than I did.
I know I've let myself go a bit these past few years, but... I thought, studying my reflection in the passenger-side mirror. I had wavy black hair like his, but it was so long, matted, and full of split ends that I doubted any hairdresser could save it; dark green eyes, though no darker than the puffy bags beneath them; and a thin, pale, malnourished, and out-of-shape body, repulsive even beneath the baggy casual clothes I was wearing. Ugh, fine, maybe I did slack off a bit more than just a little, but still, this is so unfair!
"At least one of us grew up." As if reading my mind at the worst possible moment, Peridot made that comment, rubbing salt in the wound. "One of us had to grow up. I'm too busy earning our daily bread, remember? From now on, I'm the one paying for every second of energy you waste on those perverted, idiotic cartoons."
"Y-You're the idiot!" I turned my face away, unable to stand looking at that jerk anymore, and too ashamed to let him see me crying.
If I were prettier, would people treat me better? Would he treat me better? I wondered, looking over my body. He works out even though he's just an office drone now, so that's just to look better, right? There must be some truth to that "pretty privilege" thing... Unfortunately, my curves weren't exactly traffic-stopping; if I showed off my thighs by the side of the road, drivers would probably speed up. Though, who knows, maybe a Good Samaritan would even offer me some food.
If my boobs are small, does that mean his dick is small too? I mean, we're twins, so...
"You're thinking nonsense again," my brother huffed.
"N-No, I'm not!"
"You've literally been grabbing your own boobs for the last ten minutes!" I stopped immediately. "Honestly. It's hard to tell if you were a prisoner or just a shut-in."
"Hmph! Whatever. You're not invited to watch that anime with me anymore," I replied, sniffing back tears.
"Tch! As if I'd ever want to join in."
▲○X■
When we finally arrived at my brother's apartment, we spent the next two hours hauling my stuff from the car to my new room.
We were down to the last few boxes when I asked:
"Hey, bro, where's the bathroom? I drank way too much energy drink and my bladder is about to burst; I must be holding in a liter of pee!"
"The bathroom is right there in the hallway, between your room and mine. And you don't need to give me the gross details next time."
"Noted: Peridot has no pee fetish."
"And don't call me that again! Use 'Peri' from now on, like everyone else."
"Everyone only calls you that because you get pissed off if they don't. Besides, 'Peridot' is so pretty! Our names match perfectly, kyaah, moe!"
"Tch! Didn't you need to use the bathroom?"
"Oh, right, right!" I locked myself in the room. And when I heard my brother leave the apartment to grab the last boxes, I snuck into his room. "Guhuhu, rejoice! Even though you're a jerk, your sister is so kind!" I pulled a small plastic box labeled "Vanguard VRMMORPG" from my pocket and set it on his bed. "I had to write fake reviews for three months just to buy this. He can't criticize my diligence now!"
I smiled and went back to my room before Peridot returned.
He didn't take long; he came back with the last box from the car, set it on the floor of my new room, and said:
"All done."
"Thanks! Hey, bro-"
"Before you ask: no, I'm not helping you. You can unpack everything yourself." My brother took his phone out of his pocket and, checking his messages, walked out of my new room, leaving me alone. "Hello? Marilyn? Oh, right. Yeah, we can talk about this tomorrow..."
I clenched my hands into fists and felt that familiar lump tightening in my throat again. But this time, it wasn't out of anger at his caustic words or dissatisfaction with my own appearance; it was because I'd been stupid enough to believe that the brother I loved so much still existed somewhere inside that guy.
"You idiot," I muttered, squeezing the second copy of "Vanguard" that was sitting in one of the boxes.
I should have known. It had been like this for two years, ever since that day. I'd convinced myself that some kind of restriction had been placed on him, just like with me, and that was why he hadn't logged into any of our usual games. But seeing him in person again, I couldn't keep denying the truth: my twin brother had changed and left me behind.
"Sniff! Sniff! F-Fuck him." I opened another box, grabbed a fully immersive VR headset, and threw myself onto the bed. "Fuck 'em all! Who needs friends?! Or family?! Or a boyfriend?! I'm doing just fine right here!" I plugged a flash drive-like device containing Vanguard into the VR headset and put it on. "In my own world."
I pressed the power button.
And a few seconds later...