4. Rivalry
'Rivalry is competition for the same objective or for superiority in the same field.'
Rivalry is a very important thing, especially in the tender age of fifteen. It is what makes one strive for more, set their bounds just a bit higher then usual, and all in all give their best no matter what they are doing. Of course, that only applies to a healthy dose of competition, a friendly rivalry, so to speak. Now, boys and girls, if there is one thing you should know about Danielle Brillo, it is that she does nothing in a healthy dose. She is the type to take everything to the next level, and thus often drive people away. It is truly a miracle that her best friend can even stand her, but then again, he was never quite normal either, now was he? So, when Halloween came that year, and both teens decided to make a scary costume of sorts, Deni announced that they will make it into a competition. It was no surprise, really, so her friend, Byakuran just shrugged it off as usual and proceeded to do what ever he was doing at that moment.
So, as is usually the case with perfectionists, Deni put her all into making the perfect scary costume. As cliché as it is, she decided to be dress up as a zombie. So she spent hours on the internet, watching make up tutorials, zombie movies, playing video games, and so on, only so she could best her friend at this. To tell you the truth, as dedicated as Deni is to what ever she does, she rarely ever beats Byakuran at anything, and that unnerves her to no end. Especially when she sees how little he actually tries. So this time she just had to win.
And so she finished her costume, and she was quite satisfied with how it turned out, and sat on the stairs of her house and waited for Byakuran to pick her up. And waited, and waited, and waited…
'That has got to be one hell of a costume he's making to be this late.' She thought.
And just as her train of thought drifted into another direction, her doorbell rang. Excited to see just what he actually made, she ran towards the door, nearly crashing into anything that got into her way, which includes several walls and a strange painting of a one eyed cat. She closed her eyes, for dramatic effect, swung the door open, and slowly opened them, only to say:
"Please tell me this is a joke. " she said through gritted teeth.
"What do you mean?" Asked her clueless friend.
To understand why Deni was getting angrier by the moment, you need only know that in front of her, was standing her best friend, Byakuran, wearing a shirt she left at his house at one point or another, jeans that were baggy around his hips, also Deni's, and a pair of boots that were too large for her, and went mysteriously missing a day after she bought them.
"You said scary, right? Well, you're the scariest person I know." He then explained, like it would help him in any way shape or form.
Deni, at lack of a better response, simply pushed him aside and stormed off to the party they were going to without sparing him another glance. The poor boy followed her, and whilst many had in fact complimented his attire, he had no luck in getting Deni to forgive him that night. It was only when he said that because his costume is not really frightening, but only to him, and so she won by default, that she decided to forgive him. But it took a while for the teasing at school to stop, only when Byakuran had interfered, did the students actually back off. And why did Byakuran help Deni? Was it because he was being a good friend, or because he felt guilty, did he develop romantic feelings for her overnight? Not a chance, the only reason he did that was 'cause for every comment thrown her way, Deni would punch Byakuran's left kidney, and as weak as her punches are, he got tired of it.
But, something good did come out of that. After the incident, Deni never challenged Byakuran for anything that isn't either a card game or a board game ever again. She just chose a different rival. Who, you might ask? All in do time, my pretties, all in do time.