The sting of tonight’s words cloud Bryden’s mind as he lies in bed in the dark in thought. It’s late at night, but Rory is nowhere to be found, so Bryden remains in his dorm alone.

Except for that annoying genie, that is.

You’re lazy, rude, and, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but incompetent! You have such a big ego that you can’t tell that everyone around you is annoyed with you! You think you have so many friends? You think everyone on campus wants to be friends with you? It’s actually the opposite. No one wants to be friends with you anymore.

Bryden snorts, letting out a cold laugh. He schools his expression and grins to himself. “Fine, if that’s what you guys think of me. You guys have no taste and are just missing out. I don’t need you guys at all. I’m the amazing Bryden Stalling! All I need is myself, not anyone else.”

“Why are you still acting so arrogantly even at this point?” the genie shakes his head with exasperation. “There is a way to fix this, Mr. Stalling. It’s not a lost cause.”

“Fix? There’s nothing to fix. I’m perfectly happy on my own. I don’t need those idiots and morons around. I’m too good for them, after all.”

The genie sighs. What am I to do with this man? It’s as if his arrogance is ingrained into his bones!

The next morning, Bryden hops on over to Marla’s, but as soon as he enters, people send him death glares and whisper among themselves. Sweat trickles down his back. Why are they all staring at me like that? Don’t tell me that the news of last night already traveled to the enture neighborhood.

He rubs the back of his neck and chuckles nervously, leaving as swiftly as he came. As he stomps away from the café, he mumbles to himself, “What am I supposed to do now? It’s a Saturday, so I can’t avoid flocks of Maystone students easily.”

Plus, somehow they managed to inform the entire town, not just the school, he adds in his head.

Bryden covers his head with a hoodie and heads to another, slightly farther café and quickly buys a sandwich and coffee before rushing out of the place and eating his food in a quiet park with few people out of fear of being recognized. Phew, I knew I was popular, but I didn’t know I was that popular. So popular that people recognize me wherever I go like a celebrity! Must have been because of all those girls I’ve dated outside of Maystone. Sure, maybe it’s more infamy than popularity, but it’s still something.

A tall boy with coily hair gulps down on a sports drink, sweat dripping down his brown face. He slumps over the bench next to Bryden, a basketball resting at his feet.

Bryden narrows his eyes at him. Shorts in this temperature? How brave of him! I don’t recognize this guy—maybe I’ll have a chat with him before the others brainwash him. He looks like a decent guy, better than those morons.

“Are you wearing a jersey and shorts in the middle of winter?” he comments, eying the other’s vintage Chicago Bulls jersey. “Are you not afraid of catching a cold?”

The boy perks his head up, smirking. “I’m used to it. I’ve been practicing every day, after all.” He flexes his muscles out with a grin.

Bryden frowns, his nostrils flaring. Why do I feel like this guy is acting like he’s better than me? It’s annoying the crap out of me. Only I am allowed to act like that. I’ll show this guy who’s boss.

“Haha, very cool. You do realize who you’re talking to right now, right? I can beat your ass before your shock can even register.”

“Really now?” The boy laughs, as if this is a joke to him. “A scrawny kid like you thinks you can beat me? Want to play a game and prove me right?”

“Excuse me?” Bryden gasps. “Wh-What did you just call me? I am no scrawny kid! What gives you the right to call me that? If only it wasn’t the middle of winter, then I would show you who’s boss.”

The boy laughs, shaking his head. “I should’ve known. You’re just all bark and no bite. You’re not good enough to play against me if you’re afraid of a little chilly weather.”

“E-Excuse me?” Bryden stands up, jaw dropping. Never has he heard someone say such words to his face. “You do realize you’re talking to the Bryden Stalling? The most popular guy at Maystone that everyone adores. Who cares about the cold? You’re so going down. I can beat you even if I’m shirtless in this weather.”

Despite acting cocky, Bryden knows deep down that he’s just spouting nonsense to hold his own. He hasn’t played basketball since high school. Judging by this boy’s physique, there’s no way Bryden can beat him, but there’s no way he’s willing to admit that, either.

The boy’s eyes narrow at that. “Bryden Stalling?”

Bryden gulps, heart pounding. He really hopes that this guy hasn’t heard of him from all those… rumors, but from the look on his face, that doesn’t seem like the case.

The boy smiles suddenly at him. “Bryden Stalling… I never would have thought I’d meet you again.”

Bryden blinks, frowning. “Meet me again? What are you talking about? Have we met before?”

“You really don’t remember me?” The boy laughs, shaking his head. “Junior high basketball? Taught you how to play? Moved to Pennsylvania at the end of eighth grade? Does any of this ring a bell?”

Bryden ponders this for a while, his head hurting as the pieces of the puzzle come together. When he has an epiphany, his eyes widen and his jaw drops open. “B-B-Benson?!”

Benson grins at him. “That’s me.”

A flush appears over Bryden’s face as he recalls his last interaction with Benson, memories of their past flooding his mind. “I-It’s really you? Wow, so you moved back to Illinois?”

Benson nods, tilting his head at him. “Listen, Bryden, about what happened back then—”

“D-D-Don’t say anything!” Bryden stutters, waving his hands. “That was a long time ago. I mean, I was a child back then. It didn’t mean anything, okay?”

“I get that. Still, you were the first person to ever—”

Bryden clasps a palm over Benson’s mouth, laughing loudly. “Haha, how funny! It’s all in the past, though. No need to bring it up again, right?”

Benson blinks, his voice muffled. “B-But…”

Bryden coughs. “Anyway, I’ve got something to do. Nice seeing you, Benson.” With that, he rushes away from him, and once Benson’s out of sight, he breaks into a run. As he runs, Bryden fans himself with his hand, his cheeks burning despite the chill of winter in the air. Shit, the one person who is actually willing to talk to me had to turn out to be him. Why? Why do I have such terrible luck? Is this really such a small world? Benson, you had better not spread rumors about me. My reputation doesn’t need to plummet even more.

“Mr. Benson Beckett seemed like a decent person,” the genie remarks, at ease in contrast to the panicking Bryden. “Why did you run away from him like a fool? Oh, right, I’ve forgotten—you are a fool.”

Bryden ignores his comment, fully intent on running as far away as possible. “Don’t ask. You can’t read minds, right?” If the genie can read his mind right now, he’s screwed!

“No, I cannot intrude in people’s minds,” the genie states. “Why do you look so panicked? Whatever happened between you and Mr. Beckett for you to act like this?”

Bryden flushes. “Don’t worry about it. He was just an old… acquaintance.” His run screeches to a halt when someone stops in front of him—Nora. 

The grin on her face fades in an instant, turning into a glare.

Ah, shit! Bryden curses. Is this town really that small?

“What the hell are you doing here?” Nora spits. 

“Uh…” Before he can get anything else out, he sprints past her like his life depends on it. Right when he is about to sigh in relief, he comes across another familiar face.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Bryden Stalling.” Theresa crosses her arms. “Look who decided to show his face.”

Bryden shudders. “Look, Theresa…” The dark look on her face sends a chill down his spine, shutting him up. “W-Well, there’s something I have to do. Bye!” He runs away once again.

Once he’s far away from them, he stops to catch his breath, pressing his hand against a wall for support as he pants. Damn, I’ve got to exercise more. He walks to the subway to get far, far away from this place. Before he can, he catches sight of a group of boys, thankfully unfamiliar, cheering as they wrap an arm around each other’s shoulders, teasing each other. For some reason, their laughter and joy sends a jolt of pain down to his stomach. He can’t help but glare at the group of boys.

Is the whole world trying to gang up on me? Bryden thinks to himself, bitter. He realizes what that bout of pain is—jealousy, something he has rarely ever felt. Why can’t I have that? What did I ever do wrong?

A sudden realization hits Bryden like dousing himself in ice water. He’s always bragged about having numerous friends, but he can’t recall actually hanging out with the guys. Has he been spending more time boasting about it than actually being a friend? Has he been boasting about being a player with a long list of ex-girlfriends more than actually dating a girl? (His record is one month of dating Nora. After how that ended, he vows to never date that long again.)

For the first time, his heart sinks. Is what everyone said about him really true? Does he really… have no friends? No popularity whatsoever? Were his so-called “friendships” just a sham?

Bryden lets out a bitter laugh. The amazing Bryden Stalling is friendless, unpopular, and without a girlfriend.

༻❁༺

“…Mr. Stalling… MR. STALLING! BRYDEN STALLING! You have to wake up now. It’s nearing one in the afternoon.”

“Mmm…” Bryden moans, pulling his blanket over his head. “Just a few more minutes, Mom…”

The genie blinks, then covers his mouth as he laughs. “Sorry, Mr. Stalling, but your mother’s not here right now, nor is your roommate. As I’ve said, it’s almost one in the afternoon. You’ve slept for far too long. You have to get up now.”

Bryden clutches his blanket even tighter. “It’s Sunday. I don’t have classes today.”

“Weren’t you acting so arrogantly yesterday? What caused you to be so moody all of a sudden?”

Bryden groans, pressing his eyes shut even tighter and sprawling over his bed dramatically. “I’m friendless and girlfriend-less. No one likes me for some reason. What am I supposed to do?”

The genie sighs. “There is a way to fix this as long as you are willing to correct your mistakes.”

“What mistakes? What did I even do wrong?” Bryden shoves his face in his pillow.

The genie shakes his head. “And right when I thought you had a heart. How could you not see your faults?”

“I’m such an awesome and cool campus player! And I’m charming and handsome. How could anyone not like me? I can’t wrap my head around it.”

It takes all of the genie’s self-control to not slap this man and put him in his place. Instead, he gives him the benefit of the doubt. “For one, the way you treated Miss Nora Henríquez and the other girls you’ve been with.”

“Yeah? And what did I do wrong?” The genie answers Bryden’s question with a glare, so Bryden has no choice but to click his tongue and carefully think about this. “Well, I suppose it was my fault that Nora got the wrong idea and thought I was cheating. Maybe flirting with other girls while on a date was a bad move. I probably should have put it up front that I’m not looking for a serious relationship than have these girls thinking otherwise. Maybe I should have listened more to what they had to say. And yeah, I probably shouldn’t have flirted with that guy’s girlfriend.”

“At least you are acknowledging your wrongs,” the genie says. “However, from the tone of your voice, it sounds like you’re still trying to defend yourself.”

“What do you mean? I already lowered myself to admit that I made a few errors. What more do I have to say? It’s not my fault that all those girls got the wrong idea of me. So what if I want a casual relationship? Is that not allowed? Just look at all those movies. The popular guy is always a player that gets the girl.”

“You really hurt them, Mr. Stalling,” the genie tells him. “Fiction is not a good representation of reality. There’s nothing wrong with a casual relationship, but what’s wrong is that you genuinely hurt their feelings. Not only that, but you never cared to apologize or admit that you were wrong.”

Bryden’s eyes widen. “Hurt them? Me? What did I do to hurt them?” When the genie offers him a knowing look, Bryden continues. “So what if I made some mistakes? I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt.”

“Many times, it is not one’s intention to hurt someone, but when emotions run high in the moment, hurtful words tend to spill out unintended. Mr. Stalling, I know you are not so cruel as to deliberately desire to hurt others. I know you are capable of acknowledging and owning up to your mistakes—that’s why I gave you a chance to change.”

Bryden sighs, his heart growing heavy. “Was I really that much of an asshole? Did I really hurt them that badly? I just copied off of what I saw in movies, how the popular guy always dates a bunch of girls. I guess it was stupid of me to believe in that shit.” He shrugs, a cold smile on his face. “But hey, there’s nothing I can do about it, can I? Everyone hates me now.”

The genie offers a comforting pat on the shoulder. “There is something you can do. I’m glad that you feel remorse for your actions, but you can’t just feel guilty and do nothing about it. It’s simple. All you have to do is apologize.”

“Yeah, right,” Bryden mutters. “Like it’s so easy.”

“What makes you think it isn’t? By apologizing, you’re owning up to your actions.”

“And what makes you think they’ll forgive me?” Bryden counters. “They’re not obligated to forgive me.”

“At least try,” the genie insists. “By not apologizing, you would only make the situation worse.”

“Ugh, fine.” Bryden struggles to sit upright, still drowsy from sleep. He rubs his eyes and smooths out his unkempt hair. “So who do I apologize to first?”