Tobias tapped his pencil on the edge of his desk, the small metal part between the shaft and eraser making a metallic clink as it bounced on the wood. Today was unusually slow, even as Wednesdays go. He snuck a glance at the clock hanging on Ms. Simian's classroom wall. Only 8:20? The thought of sitting in this miserable room for even another second filled Tobias with immense boredom. Here he was, wasting his precious youth away in a dreary old ape's god forsaken English class.
At the very least, he got to share the class with Penny. Out of all the girls at Elmore High, she was certainly the best looking. Tobias knew he would have her; he had always been popular with women, after all, why should she be any different? She was his prime target.
That's when he noticed him. Gumball Watterson.
Tobias mentally scoffed at his classmate. He never took a liking to Gumball, and considered him his social inferior by about a million leagues. Tobias continued the rhythmic tap of his pencil, synchronizing it with the ever slow tick of the classroom clock. He just wished Gumball would leave Penny alone.
The minutes continued ticking by as Tobias's irritation grew by the second. Penny was way too close to Gumball for his liking. Why is his arm wrapped around her back?
She wasn't budging, except to lean closer to him. Tobias's brows furrowed as he felt a pit sink in his stomach. This better not be what he thinks it is. She was supposed to be head over heels for himself, not this dweeb.
His vision slowly turned red with an indignant anger. There was a mix of intense envy and desire coursing through his body, slithering through his nerves like a serpent. He could taste the bitterness on his tongue.
Tobias's anger slowly focused on Gumball. Who does he think he is? Going after his girl? Tobias had to force his furious gaze away from the couple, trying to retain some tact amidst his whirlwind of emotions. It was all unfair.
"...how about you, Tobias?" Ms. Simian's voice cut through the static in his ears, interrupting Tobias's intense seething. He looked up from his desk at the teacher.
"Uh, yea?" He said.
The class snickered as Ms. Simian shook her head. "Do you need me to repeat the question?"
Tobias leaned forward in his chair. "Yea," he admitted.
News of the new relationship was beginning to spread around the High School. Most people didn't have strong opinions on it, aside from being both glad for them and surprised at the events. Her huge popularity and prior abstinence from dating anyone were both factors in the rapid spread of the news of her relationship with Gumball. Life changed not only for her, but for him.
"And she's just so perfect-" Gumball sighed with an intense adoration in his eyes.
Darwin chuckled. "You've been rambling for three minutes straight, my man."
"How could you expect me not to? She's just flawless!" Gumball said as he turned the corner of the walkway, with Darwin at his side. They passed around a couple students, with Gumball's gaze scanning his surroundings with only one person in mind; Penny.
Unfortunately for him, she was absolutely lost amongst the sea that was Elmore High's campus. Faces and people weaved in and out of sight as Gumball and Darwin walked through the winding paths.
"So, I was thinking after school was over-"
Darwin started to talk before glancing at Gumball, who was not-subtly ignoring him in favor of enthusiastically texting his girlfriend. He felt a slight prick in his chest at this behavior; then again, he supposed, it was inevitable.
"GUMBALL!" A higher pitched voice, sweet in its tone, rang across the pathway to the brothers. At this, Gumball looked up, a wide grin falling on his face.
Penny dashed into his arms as they embraced, feeling the warmth and glow radiating from her touch. It filled him with a satisfaction that was entirely foreign, and yet familiar.
"Where's Calc again?" She asked, her voice muffled by the thick cloth of Gumball's hoodie.
Gumball took a moment to think about the question, his thought process slowed by the tide of emotions that washed over his mind. "Isn't it at Room E02?"
Penny looked up at him and laughed, squeezing him tighter. "Oh, yea! How could I forget? We've been in school for like four weeks now."
In response, Gumball simply swept her off her feet and ran off to the class with her. "Oh my god, put me down!" She laughed and punched his shoulder as they cleared the corner to the E block.
Darwin stood there, staring into space with a bewildered expression on his face. Not even a goodbye? Now that stung.
The bell for second period rang, puncturing Darwin's thoughts with a spear. The thought of another demerit on his record was enough to rouse him from his state and sprint to Physics class.
"And he just ran off with her! What the fuck does that mean?"
Darwin had been ranting to Carrie for ages at that point before finally catching his breath. The two were seated together behind Elmore High's gym, watching the few students who wandered here pass them by as the lunch period continued. He had barely touched his food, leaving it uneaten by his side as he unloaded the festering insecurities that he developed in regards to his brother's new occupation.
Carrie's face took on an inquisitive tone, her eyebrow piquing up. "So that's why you've decided to join me for lunch for the first time since tenth grade-"
"You agreed not to mention that again!" Darwin grumbled.
Carrie smirked, resting her head on her hand. "I don't think I agreed to anything. And besides, that "lunch" was your idea-"
"-point taken." Darwin conceded, sighing and burying his face in his hands. Carrie patted his back in response. "I've just never had to deal with this feeling before," he said, the dejection poignant in his voice.
"You mean 'insecurity'?" She suggested. Darwin looked up at her from the small sanctuary he'd created in his palms, feeling as though he was leaving his safe corner of reflection. "Yea, I think that's the feeling," he agreed.
Carrie sipped her Monster Energy before tossing the now emptied can into a nearby recycling bin. "Shit sucks man." She exhaled and let herself fall onto the wall behind them, making contact with his shoulders. "But hey, you're brothers, right? I'm sure things will balance out again soon."
"I hope," he said. "But for now, this sucksssss." He let that last word drag out as he rested next to Carrie. "I don't even know why I'm having such a reaction to something so trivial."
"I mean," Carrie started, "you two have been best friends and brothers for how long, thirteen years now?"
He turned to face her. "Yea, about that long."
"Sooo," she continued, nudging his arm. "For the first time, probably ever, someone has come into his life with more priority than you, even if temporary."
Darwin's face turned crestfallen again at that reality check. It hit him like a ton of bricks again; he was losing his brother.
"I guess I've just always made him my top priority," Darwin said, "even when I was dating girls." Carrie's eyes widened a bit at that last statement before quickly contracting again. Darwin continued. "I don't know why I expected him to do the same."
"You'll be fine," Carrie said. "If anything, you've got me."
Darwin smiled at that last comment. "Thanks."
They sat in solidarity as she opened up the second of five Monster Energy cans in her backpack, sipping it as she put on her left airpod. "You wanna listen to some gore metal with me?"
Darwin solemnly took the right airpod in his hand, putting it in as Carrie hit play on spotify.
"Really? Thirty minutes and she's still not here?" Molly rolled her eyes. The cheer table was a well oiled machine; for any one of its members to be this late was simply unheard of. Even the ones with boyfriends would forgo seeing them at lunch to be there. It was an obligation.
"It's him." Masami said, a hint of resentment lacing her words. "I can't BELIEVE she wouldn't even let us know! Not one text, 'Hey Masami, I'm gonna be with Gumball-' is that too much to ask for?!"
Masami took a second to catch her breath, the frustration palpable. The tension spread like a miasma through their group, infecting each of its members with a fear of setting her off again.
"This table's aura is not it," Carmen sighed. "We've lost her to a GUY. And not even the guy we wanted!"
Teri and Sarah remained quiet, in silent agreement of Carmen. They poked at their food, unable to come up with anything more to add. Lunch with Cheer really did feel different without their captain.
It was a surprise when, of all people, Leslie was the one to speak up.
"Do you hear yourselves?" He yelled as he slammed his fists on the table. "Penny finally, FINALLY starts dating someone, who isn't even that bad, and you're all complaining over her taking ONE DAY off from eating here?"
Masami prepared a comeback before her voice fell again. It was pretty bitchy to complain about, and the realization slowly sunk in her that Leslie had a really good point.
With the table having turned against her, Masami thought of an exit strategy to save face. She decided on something assertive and authoritative while in principle agreeing with Leslie's argument.
She looked down, before looking back up to face the girls. "Alright, we can let it slide once." She sat back down, huffing before checking her phone. That performance would have to do.
The end of the day came around as Gumball drove home, Darwin lounging in the passenger seat. After a day of mulling it over, and with the solid advice of Carrie, he felt better about the whole situation.
"...I know, right? Yea, I'll facetime as soon as I get home. Yea, you too." Gumball snickered on the phone before putting it back in the glove compartment.
Darwin sat up in his seat, eager for a chance to finally talk with his brother again. "You seem pleased," he smirked.
Gumball intensely smiled. "I know! I am!" He enthused, pressing a little too hard on the gas pedal. "Jesus! Slow down!" Darwin yelled as Gumball hurriedly tapped the brake, bringing the car back down to a consistent 40 miles per hour.
"Sorry," Gumball laughed at himself. "But seriously, I never knew having a girlfriend was this fun! How do people survive without this? It's just amazing…" he trailed off, his mind basking in the memories of his time with Penny.
"I'm glad you're enjoying it," Darwin said. He turned on the AC in the car, wanting to cool off the hot California afternoon that had been baking their car's interior. In all honesty, Darwin thought, he was impressed with Gumball's relationship skills. He and Penny seemed idyllic; not an argument to be found.
He suddenly felt another slight prick in the chest at that thought, and his smile dropped back into a neutral tone. His relationship with Penny felt competitive to the brotherhood he had with Gumball, and the seeming perfection of the former meant the latter was doomed to fade further.
Darwin shook his head, erasing the thoughts from his mind. It was an overreaction, he rationalized, as he forced a smile back onto his face.
Gumball started again following a brief window of silence. "I just can't believe you've had that before and never told me how great it was." He glanced at Darwin.
"Hey, I've really only hit the talking stage," Darwin said, adjusting the AC as Gumball turned into their neighborhood. "It's not like I've had a full on girlfriend.."
Darwin winced at that. How was it possible that he'd talked to four girls and none of them materialized into anything? For the third time today, he felt a pang of insecurity hit him where it hurt.
"But I thought Carrie-" Gumball suggested.
"That was two years ago," Darwin sighed. "Remember? We never really became anything. Still kinda hurts, actually."
"Aw, I'm sorry man." Gumball said with a tinge of regret. "Didn't mean to bring that back up."
Darwin shrugged. "It's whatever. I've gotten over it… mostly."
Gumball stopped in the street to back into the parking spot right in front of his house, turning into it with a less than expert precision. He was still a novice driver, despite having his license, and it showed with his parking skills. The ding that rang out after he nicked Mr. Robinson's Ferrari only confirmed this.
Darwin and Gumball looked at eachother, a sullen expression on their faces.
"Shiiiitttt…" They groaned in unison. It'd take a bit to cover this one up.
After that was said and done, the rest of the day passed like a breeze. Darwin sat at the dinner table, cranking out his Calculus homework as he had to listen to Gumball upstairs.
His brother was louder than he thought, and his facetimes, especially with Penny, would echo across the house. This irked Darwin to no end, and it became harder and harder to focus on his homework as the muffled voice of Gumball only seemed to grow louder.
Darwin groaned to himself. The day's events lingered in his eyes, weary from the emotional rollercoaster he had taken today, and this was certainly no help.
It was out of brotherly love that he kept his mouth shut and soldiered on. After all, his top priority was Gumball's happiness, who was he to come between that? If it required some adjustments in his life, he reasoned, then so be it.
Darwin looked at the clock. This would be a long evening.