A/N: Standard disclaimer applies. Title from Billy Talent - Cut the Curtains
!PLEASE READ! This fic consists of mock reddit posts and what you can see below is a "simple layout" version. However. There is also a full-on mock-up version (skinned in css) available on AO3, if you'd rather read it that way — ao3/works/31236050
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r/AmItheAsshole ∙ Posted by u/FaceOfTrueSanity 5 hours ago
AITA for impersonating my brother?
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The situation is as follows: my brother (J, 26M) is in a relationship with my very best friend (B, 25M). That is, however, of little consequence. Couple days ago said brother was in need to leave the city in a hurry. He asked me to forward the message to B that he won't be making their reservations. Now, that is highly uncharacteristic behavior for J. Not the reckless, irresponsible part, no. He and B, however, tend to be… annoyingly inseparable. It's not surprising, then, that being given the information first raised my suspicion. It is worth mentioning that J is not someone who's presence I tolerate readily, and the opposite is also true. This meaning that we only contact each other when the situation at hand is dire and requires a radical solution only one of us can provide. J wanting me to forward a message of little importance to someone who'd normally be his first choice is not something that just… happens. Hence why I reacted accordingly.
J and I (also J, 28M) are twins. Identical, in fact. Separated in outward appearance only by cosmetic choices and J's, unfortunately brief, stints with death. Taking adequate measures to temporarily transform myself into his infinitely less graceful form was a matter of minutes and careful prior preparation. It is not the first time one of us (I) had to pose as the other (J) to ensure a successful business transaction, and so keeping at hand the props necessary to imitate J's facial scarring is something I'm wont to do. As you can imagine, I went to see B in J's stead, foregoing the message completely. I assumed the need for my involvement indicated some kind of danger that B had found himself in, that only one of us could neutralize and/or prevent. Admittedly, this was not the case.
As it quickly turned out, the outing was meant to be an ordinary dinner date that J had thoughtlessly run out on, as per usual. I did not see a point in admitting to the switch once the evening was in full swing, keen to spare B the unnecessary drama that would follow the reveal. I acted as I very well knew J would: tasteless sense of humor and lousy kissing included. I didn't think B suspected anything. The problem is, however, that it's been over a week since, and B seems to be… avoiding me. He doesn't engage in any of my attempts at conversation, and even cancelled our bi-weekly lunch meeting via my assistant. She is the person who helped me transform into J that night, and is also the one who told me that not disclosing the details to B was "douchey" and that I should explain and apologize, because J must have already exposed my actions. I don't think I did anything wrong. Had B really been in danger, I did everything in my power to protect him while not disrupting his evening. Moreover, I see not revealing myself to him till the very end as kindness. As his silence continues I am, however, ready to consider it might not be the case.
AITA?
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Judgement_Bot_AITA Beep Boop 5hours ago · Stickied comment
Welcome to r/AmITheAsshole. Please view our voting guide here, and remember to use only one judgement in your comment.
OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
I don't want to "ruin" my brother's wedding, and right now it seems like not attending is the best way to avoid additional drama. I'm obviously very close to the situation, and so don't know if other people (ones I'm not related to) actually do think it's reasonable to make another person's child cut their hair.
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∙fluffypuffs 5hours ago
YTA. Pretending to be your brother when he explicitly asked you to do the opposite is a butt move.
∙digby 5hours ago
I commend your dedication to keeping your friend safe but um. This got to be the most ridiculously convoluted way to go about it. Even if you thought J's message was a trap of some sort, telling B you're switching places would take literally 2 seconds and prevented the whole mess to begin with. If you two are really as good friends as you say you are, I sincerely doubt he would've minded having dinner with you had he known what was going on. Especially since J and you pulling switcheroos is not that unusual, apparently.
UNLESS butting in on that date WAS your goal all along, in which case damn, you are TA.
∙∙we-live-in-a-society 5hours ago
Clearly this person doesn't care. The only thing he's bothered by in this situation is B not talking to him anymore, not that he essentially committed identity fraud (and not for the first time!) for the sake of stealing extra time with his bbf. The way OP talks about his brother with clear disdain and doesn't seem to notice any problems with taking his place in such intimate situation is clear proof to me he's just seeking validation for his actions. If the reservations were at a sex club instead of a diner, would you have silently gone along with it too? I bet you would. YTA sir.
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∙MoonMoon 5hours ago
Your brother should not have used you without clarifying the situation if your normal relationship is emergency only. Of course you would've thought something wasn't right if that's what you're used to expecting from him, and the mishap isn't your fault. Though maybe next time warn your friend what's up.
NTA.
∙i-love-rats99 5 hours ago
INFO: do you have feelings for B? Cuz I don't see why you'd be so ready to play the boyfriend if y'all were just bros.
∙∙FaceOfTrueSanity 5 hours ago
I don't see how is that relevant.
∙∙∙i-love-rats99 5 hours ago
It is tho! Cuz like, if you don't then at worst this is an over the top stab at help, right, but if you DO, then you obviously had ulterior motives from the get go, which, not cool, bro. Not cool.
∙∙∙∙genkidama 4 hours ago
I agree. Me and my twin switch places constantly to take care of our shared business (we are emulating a single person on the professional front so you can imagine how crazy it gets sometimes) and our friends never take issue with that if they're informed of the changed beforehand.
If she pulled that with my boyfriend without telling me first, though, I'd be pissed as hell.
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∙two-punch-man 4 hours ago
Not TA for getting on with the charade. Weird, yeah, but you were only doing what you thought was best in the situation at hand. BUT. YTA for keeping it up.
Even if you had your friend's best interests in mind, you should've spilled the truth the moment you realized there was no threat. Sticking to the date routine and letting B think you were actually his boyfriend not only made him involuntarily cheat on your brother, but also manipulation like that is nasty.
I'm not surprised at all he's not talking to you if he found out, I wouldn't either. Allowing him to treat you like his significant other, no matter how physically similar you might be, is a major violation of trust, especially if you claim to be friends.
∙IvysMomma 4 hours ago
ESH – If J had time to contact you, I don't see why he couldn't've just called his boyfriend instead to cancel their date. No need to involve a third party in a trivial, private matter like this. Conversely, OP should've just passed the message like he was asked, instead of going full stalker creeper on the poor guy.
∙∙psota 3 hours ago
How is asking someone to pass a message an asshole behavior? OP didn't specify the circumstances in which J asked for his help – maybe they were together at the time and he didn't have a phone on him to contact his bf. We don't know. Also, like, sending a quick text as a favor is literally a non issue, no matter how you try to frame it.
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∙notapunchlinethankyou 3 hours ago
Not a twin here, but I'm dating two gorgeous individuals prone to mischief and I'd be very surprised if that B guy didn't catch on the jig before the dinner ended. What I mean is, you can look exactly the same and be a very good actor, but underneath you're still very different people, only one of each he's really close with. That's kinda difficult to mistake. Or well. Otherwise I feel sorry for J.
NAH but if you want to hop on that train OP, consider, like. Talking to either of them first, maybe.
∙∙N0Way 3 hours ago
Sounds like experience speaking
∙∙∙notapunchlinethankyou 3 hours ago
I mean.. My babes thought it would be real funny to date me pretending there was only one of them at first, while the other was out sowing chaos. It took months of me slowly losing it before their great "surprise! there's actually two of us!" reveal at which point I was ready to throw hands. But I was getting to know two people at the same time, unconsciously as it may be, and still there was enough difference to cause doubt. OP may be close friends with B, but being in a relationship gives you an entirely different level of familiarity with a person.
∙∙∙∙N0Way 2 hours ago
Dunno what was I expecting, but it wasn't that
∙∙∙∙kermitslefttit 2hours ago
That sounds. EXTREMELY unhealthy, actually.
∙∙∙∙∙notapunchlinethankyou 1hour ago
They're a handful ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I love them a lot.
∙∙∙∙∙∙i-love-rats99 48 minutes ago
u/FaceOfTrueSanity hey OP! Watch and learn!
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