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Sunday 19 February 2012

Friends of boyfriends: friends or foes?

Sam has a flatmate in Hong Kong called Pete. Sam and Pete go way back together, to university in the US. Naturally, Hannah is excited to meet him. After all she's heard so many great things about him from Sam. 

Unfortunately, reality doesn't live up to expectations when they finally meet at a group dinner that Sam has arranged. From Hannah's point of view ...

Pete clearly suffers from schizophrenia, since he was charm personified to Stacy before being a dick to me. Highlights of his delightfulness so far include his implication that I’ve latched on to Sam like some bloated tick (“Your devotion is commendable but then, who wouldn’t do everything they could to keep hold of Sam?”) and a lecture on the exploitation of fashion (“It’s unconscionable to warp consumers’ minds with the bullshit that they should pay more for a pair of shoes than the child who made them gets in a year.”) 
What would make Pete behave be like this, when it seems out of character? Is he jealous of Hannah? Is he really just a bastard? Or is there another reason - is Hannah misreading him? 
Let me know!  


* * * * *
Poll results: You want a twist? Well all right then my friends, a twist you shall get 
:-)
Sam's best friend Pete is being rude to Hannah, yet everyone thinks he's great.
 What's going on?
He's jealous of Hannah (37%)
He really is just a bastard (0%)
There's another reason - Hannah is misreading his actions (62%)

9 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Denis, now that's a plot twist I would never have thought of.

      Delete
  2. I think petes just wary of Hannah in case she ends up hurting sam

    ReplyDelete
  3. Maybe Pete fancies Hannah himself.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your friend's girlfriend is a complex dynamic. You might "like" her, which inures guilt. You might dislike her, which inures guilt. Your girlfriend might dislike her, which inures guilt, punishment of all men, and a level of predictability correlated to the atomic clock.

    This is why encourage my friends to either "marry her or never speak to her again".

    Therefore the only place I get "asked" for advice is this open blog.

    Best.

    Paul.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I´m with Clodagh - maybe Pete fancies Hannah himself, but knows that it´s "improper" because she´s his bff´s girlfriend.

    Katrin

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh, swell... way to paint your story into a corner, and need your readers to bail you out! =) The "crush on your bbf's gal" is valid, but Pete has to have some ga-ga reaction when they first meet in order to foreshadow that eventual reveal, otherwise he just comes off as spotted dick. Jealousy seems the most likely choice, since Sam is no doubt constantly raving about Hannah, and Pete is not only half a planet away from home, but now feeling really left out.

    Hannah's charms will win him over in due course, no doubt. A nice twist may be that Hannah unexpectedly steps up to help Pete out of some jam, and then--maybe during a serious lover's spat--Pete becomes Hannah's biggest defenders.

    Crap. Sorry. Teacher always told me to stay with the class and not read ahead...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks everyone - so far it looks like misinterpretation is the way to go... but telling you what that misinterpretation is would spoil the fun. Thanks for all suggestions (and keep them coming!), I think the reason for Pete's behaviour will come as a surprise to all :-)))

    ReplyDelete
  8. Looking forward to the twist as I came up with the same as most here, the obvious choices- he's spellbound by her, he thinks she's annoying, he thinks she's after his friend's $$$, she reminds him of his ex (hate, hate), etc.....

    ReplyDelete

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