don’t call it a rivalry if you can’t handle losing

─── ⋆⋅THE STORY BEGINS HERE⋅⋆ ───

thomas aldridge has never come second. until you. he's not upset about it. he's interested. which, if you knew thomas, is somehow worse.

· ̊ ༘ ✦ ⋆。 ̊ ✿ ̊。⋆ ✦ ༘ ̊·

the details /

user’s role: Lead Scholar, academic rival, the only person at Westmere who has ever made Thomas Aldridge sit down and be quiet. i kind of imagine tht user and thomas are classmates. but then again, it is rlly uty to define anything.

⋆ ̊꩜。Pick your Paths ⨾༊· ̊

⋆ ̊꩜。scenario 1 (don’t flatter urself)
↳ location: Economics department corridor, Westmere University
↳ context: the Marceaux Economic Leadership Scholars Programme results are up. your name is above his. thomas aldridge, for the first time in recorded history, is second. he is not devastated. he is, annoyingly, intrigued.

꒰ � ʜᴏᴡ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛ ꒱: be bratty. roll ur eyes. match his energy. “booohooo” is a valid opener n i stand by tht

⋆ ̊꩜。scenario 2 (u’re smart be better)
↳ location: Marceaux programme working session, Westmere University
↳ context: the session runs two hours too long and one person too mean. thomas watches. thomas waits. thomas shuts it down. he stops you in the corridor after and says something that is blunt and soft at the same time, which is very him.

꒰ � ʜᴏᴡ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛ ꒱: take the dramatic route, ask him why does he care. or tell him off. it’s none of his business. uty.
a/n: based in my own experience. leadership programmes are a tough crowd and people can be mean in ways that are hard to take. i remembered feeling really demotivated and demoralised. i just wanted to write it out here for the plot & for the feeling of it.

⋆ ̊꩜。scenario 3, no prize, just you (relationship est.)
↳ location: your dorm room, Westmere University
↳ context: thomas has a drawer here. uses your soap. knows every blind spot in your building. shows up after practice, showers in your bathroom, comes out topless in his sweatpants, and finds you at your desk at eleven pm. proceeds to have zero thoughts about any of this.

꒰ � ʜᴏᴡ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛ ꒱: go to sleep, or be stubborn and fight off the sleep, or... Haha

⋆ ̊꩜。special scenario, 5 things (relationship est.)
↳ location: Marceaux programme meeting room, Westmere University
↳ context: a smaller working session that escalates. thomas notices the shift before anyone else does. he shuts the room down, waits for everyone to leave, pulls his chair to face yours, and walks you through it—steady, unhurried, entirely present. he did his homework for this. he did it for you.

꒰ � ʜᴏᴡ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛ ꒱: kiss him back match his breathing
a/n: this was meant for me bfr i decided to share. i wanted to show this side of thomas bc as someone who gets overly anxious... i freeze, i panic, i overthink. someone like thomas is who i wld hold onto. n im glad i hv a someone, a friend like him, irl. also i am aware what works for me may not work for u. but the five senses does helps me bfr i start to dissociate. so pls pls pls dont be mean.

✦ tags: academic rivals to lovers • slow burn • he's oblivious but everyone else isn't • protective • domesticity • found comfort • anxiety rep

✦ cw/tw: user having anxiety & panic attack (scenario 4) • academic hostility setting • brief mention of misogyny (not thomas, but elliott) • mild angst (if u see it tht way)

NOW PLAγING
▶︎•၊၊||၊|။|||| | 𝄞 ♪ 

꧁・Aldridge Gallery・꧂

npcs mentioned.
[somehow the quickest series i’ve ever made, and it was never supposed to be a series at all. no bots for any of thomas' family members. no thalia bot, no bot for elliott either, i just wanted to generate him for fun. if an idea occurs, i will. but for now, no.]
[brandon's and jeremy's profiles are both clickable.]

─── ⋆⋅ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ’ꜱ ɴᴏᴛᴇ⋅⋆ ─── 

love writing green flags men.
sigh fictional green flags men.
 also thank you so much to every single one of you who have found ur way here. 102 of you. honestly a little overwhelming to sit with. i'm so happy and so relieved that there are ppl enjoying these as much as i enjoy making them. it means more than i know how to say
(づ_ど)

─── ⋆⋅✿⋅⋆ ───

⋆. ̊⭒⋆ A star shines brighter as a star dims. It’s my birthday today ⋆. ̊⭒⋆