Chapter 3: The Secret Between Rivals

He came from a privileged family. Besides good grades, he had all kinds of award-winning extracurriculars. He’d decided early on to study abroad, so he didn’t have to fight through the stress of the SATs like everyone else.

He talked about summers in Europe, fencing tournaments, and music recitals like they were just items on a checklist. I listened, nodding politely, but I never let any of it show.

I didn’t like him.

Or, to put it bluntly—

I was jealous of him.

It was a quiet, gnawing jealousy, the kind that makes you flinch when someone else wins. I hated that I felt it, but I couldn’t help it.

I guess that jealousy was just my own insecurity talking. So even when Julian acted weird sometimes, I tried not to care.

I chalked it up to nerves or arrogance. It was easier to ignore than to wonder what might be wrong.

Until I saw Julian being shaken down by some guys outside school.

It was late, the sky streaked with the last light of day. I was heading home when I spotted him in the alley behind the gym, surrounded by three guys from the neighborhood.

Julian was the type you’d never expect to get pushed around. But he just took out his wallet, handed over the cash, and kept his head down...

He didn’t say a word, didn’t even flinch when one of them shoved him into the brick wall. I watched, frozen, not sure if I should step in.

He never tried to fight back.

It was so unlike him—so unlike the Julian I thought I knew. That’s what made me move.

Even though I didn’t like him, he was still a classmate, so I couldn’t just stand by and watch.

I couldn’t just walk away. Not really.

I pulled out my phone, played a police siren sound, and shouted, “Cops are coming!”

The sound echoed down the alley. The guys bolted, tossing curses over their shoulders as they ran. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

It worked. The guys gave Julian one last shove and ran off.

Julian slumped against the wall, breathing hard. He looked up at me, eyes wide with surprise.

After that, I figured I’d done enough and turned to leave.

I didn’t expect him to say anything. I just wanted to get home, put the whole thing behind me.

“Wait,” he called out. “Thank you. You’re Julian’s classmate, right? I think your name is Mariah?”

His voice was different—softer, warmer. I stopped in my tracks, caught off guard.

I was stunned.

It took me a second to find my voice. I nodded, unsure what to say.

“Hi, I’m Lucas, Julian’s older brother. He’s mentioned you before.”

He smiled, and for a moment, I almost believed him. Something softer. Something Julian just didn’t have.

My first thought was that they were twins.

It made sense, in a way. The resemblance was uncanny—same eyes, same crooked smile, same nervous laugh.

Julian and Lucas looked exactly the same, even down to the three tiny freckles in a line on their left ear.

I remembered noticing those freckles once, during a group project. Only something you’d notice if you were really looking.

But I quickly dismissed that idea.

Twins would be weird, but this was something else. Something stranger.

Even identical twins wouldn’t have the exact same injuries in the same places, with the same band-aid, right?

I thought back to gym class, the way Julian winced when he caught the basketball wrong, the way he’d borrowed a band-aid from me.

Just that Friday during gym, Julian had hurt his hand playing basketball and borrowed a band-aid from me. It was one I’d bought on sale, with a cartoon dog print.

I remembered the way he’d laughed at the silly design, how he’d stuck it on with a flourish.

Now, the person calling himself Lucas had the same band-aid on his palm.

I stared, my mind racing. There was no way it was a coincidence.

In that instant, all the odd feelings I’d had about Julian came rushing back.

Little moments—missed classes, strange slips in conversation, the way he sometimes seemed to forget things we’d talked about. It all clicked, in a way that made my skin crawl.

It sounded nuts, but I couldn’t shake it. Julian had a split personality.

I didn’t know why no one else noticed anything strange about him. To me, it was often obvious.

Maybe I just paid more attention. Or maybe I wanted to believe there was something special about the way I saw him.

In fact, later on, I developed a little hobby. I’d watch him during study breaks, trying to guess who was sitting across from me that day. A secret game. Mine alone.

It was subtle—little things, like the way he held his pencil or tapped his foot. Lucas always hummed under his breath; Julian never did.

They were different.

It was in the way Lucas smiled, the way Julian frowned when he was deep in thought. I learned to spot the signs, even when no one else could.

Lucas’s smile always lifted higher at the corners.

His whole face lit up, like the sun coming out from behind the clouds.

Lucas always stopped to feed stray cats. Julian never did.

I’d see him crouched by the bike racks, coaxing a scrawny tabby out from under a car. He’d offer it bits of his sandwich, talking to it like an old friend.

Lucas was gentle at heart. Julian wasn’t.

Lucas kept up the act at school and never acknowledged me.

He’d walk past me in the hallway, eyes forward, never a hint of recognition. It stung, but I understood. We had to keep our secret safe.

But just one look, and I always knew who he was.

There was a softness in his gaze, a warmth that couldn’t be faked. I learned to look for it, to treasure it.

I knew how I felt. Even though Lucas told me things about Julian, I kept my distance. We were just classmates, and that was it.

Lucas’s appearances followed a clear pattern—slow at first, then rising.

He was a shadow at first, barely there. But as time went on, he became a fixture in my life, someone I looked for in every crowd.

He started showing up more. We’d go to the library, catch a movie, hit the amusement park. Just the two of us.

He said more than once that he wanted to be with me all the time.

His words were soft, almost shy. I believed him, even when I knew it couldn’t last.

Back then, I started to feel uneasy.

There was a restlessness in the air, a sense that something was about to change. I tried to ignore it, to hold on to what we had for as long as I could.

Then one week, Julian was just gone. And Lucas disappeared, too.

The absence was a cold ache, a hole in my routine I couldn’t fill. I told myself it was just a phase, but I knew better.

After that, Lucas started appearing less and less.