2. The Beloved Dukes 2.

After being admitted to the royal academy, it meant seeing each other every day. Which didn't settle well for Valrie, because Gafrio made his mission to make school hell for him. It started him telling stories about how cold Valrie was to him during their first meeting. Valrie's social anxiety didn't help the case, because he couldn't get close to anybody. He was awkward and shy at the same time. He wouldn't dare show it though, so he continued being anti-social and distant with everyone.

Gafrio had one image of Valrie in his head, and it was one he didn't want to remember. So, he did everything to let his frustration out on the other boy. Everything became a competition between them. Whether it was academics, sports, or anything they both were involved in, one of them had to come on top. The competitive spirit started to affect not only their school lives but their families and the city as a whole.

"Which of the future dukes, is going to win this year?" This was the headline of the newspaper in their junior year. It was a hunting competition. The first time the people started to care about the academy's competition was the boys' second, when Gafrio ended up catching a rare magical beast. Nobody even heard of a student doing it, it was the first time in history. The school also took advantage of the situation and advertised the story in every newspaper.

To celebrate, Gafrio asked out the girl Valrie had a crush on, and that was the breaking point for Valrie. He ended up winning their third year. In which he also made sure he slept with Gafrio's new girlfriend at his celebration party, and Gafrio found out by walking in on them.

This continued through their school years, and the capital city got divided into Team Valrie and Team Gafrio. The blues and the reds. Men and women would fight over who was better. They became so popular to the point, their families hurried up their succession, and taking over their family businesses happened sooner than they thought.

Yet, what people never knew or had no idea about was the late-night visits. The fact that this might have started as payback, but turned into something that made them question themselves. They won't admit it though. Valrie and Gafrio knew it every time they look at each other. They have known since their first meeting. Again, this news is never coming to the light. or better yet, they would rather take it to their graves.

Or so they thought.