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John Carter hated you. He hated everything about you.
From the moment he entered medical school, there you were. Every achievement he completed, it seemed that you were there first. Every grade, you were that one percentage point higher. He simply gritted his teeth and pushed himself to do better, to excel, to finally surpass your efforts. When he continued to fail, he changed his thinking. He only had to deal with you until you both graduated med school, then you’d be off to bigger and better things far away from him.
The most infuriating thing about you was the fact that you didn’t seem to understand what you were doing to him. You’d smile at him in the classes you shared. Give him a cheerful, “Hey, Carter,” when you saw him on campus. Once you’d even offered to study with him and hadn’t seemed bothered at all by his dismissal. He couldn’t even bitch about you to any of your common acquaintances. Everyone loved you. And didn’t that just piss him off more.
Fortunately, you were on different med school rotations and he saw less of you than ever. Until finally, both of you graduated and he could emerge from your shadow. He matched into County as a surgical resident while you went off to Washington DC to work in emergency medicine. The year was good even if he ended up changing his whole career path, at least he was no longer competing with you.
The first day of his second R1 year had him greeting Mark with a smile which Mark returned. “Well, you already know everyone. Oh, except our new second year resident.” He called your name and Carter froze. It couldn’t be. Yet, there you were turning at the call, a smile covering your face when you spotted your classmate.
“I thought you were in DC,” he said dumbly when you approached.
Your smile merely widened. “Kept track of me, Carter? That’s sweet.”
“No.”
Mark looked between the two of you. “Good, you’ve met. Carter, take an hour and show her around.” He shifted his attention to you. “Carter knows his way around even if he is technically a first year.” With that he walked off.
John could feel his cheeks burning as your brow furrowed. “First year?” You glanced around and leaned closer as you lowered your voice. “Did you flunk your first year of residency?”
He reared back as if you’d struck him. “Of course not. I switched from surgery and have to start over.”
Your eyes went wide and you nodded. “That makes sense. Well, show me around.”
It took no time at all for the two of you to fall right back into your previous dynamic. He gave his all and you managed to overshadow him without even trying. And if he thought he hated you for it before, his newfound rage was so much worse than anything he felt while you were in school. This was his job, his future. He needed to excel here. This wasn’t about grades. This was about his career.
He lasted three weeks before he snapped. Mark and Kerry consistently praised your work and your instincts. Hell, even Morgenstern had complimented your quick thinking on a case. John couldn’t handle this everyday for the rest of his residency. He needed you to stop.
So, he waited for you one night after shift. You’d been finishing up some charting and he hurried out to wait for you a short distance away in the direction he knew you walked home. He stood in the shadows, eyes locked on you as you moved ever closer to him. When you were near enough, he reached out and grabbed your neck, spinning to shove you against the nearest wall.
Your eyes were wide, but the fear drained from them as you realized who was holding you. You said nothing, simply watching. Waiting.
He leaned into your space, faces inches apart. “You need to stop. You can’t keep doing this to me.”
“What?” Your throat bobbed in his hold as you swallowed.
“Always showing me up,” he hissed. “You walk into a room and everyone forgets that John Carter exists.”
You blinked at him, bottom lip trembling. “I don’t try to. I swear.”
His hold loosened at the sight of your pending tears. What was he doing? God, he was an asshole. His hand dropped away and took a step back. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
The corner of your lips curled up and any trace of tears vanished. “Don’t back down now, John. You were just getting interesting.”
With that you turned and walked down the street leaving a stunned John Carter to stare at your retreating form.