Anyone who uses social media fairly regularly has undoubtedly been a witness to pranking culture and trending prank videos, and most would agree that a lot of the pranking trends are going too far.
Not only can these pranks lead to people being hurt, emotionally or physically, but they can ruin relationships, pointed out the members of the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITAH) subReddit.
Redditor Icy-Piece6968’s future sister-in-law had been trying to prank him for years, specifically trying to scare him, but she had not yet succeeded in scaring him.
When she tried to prank him by hiding under his bed, the Original Poster (OP) was shocked when his brother accused him of flirting with his future wife, because they were alone in the room together.
He asked the sub:
“AITAH for how I handled a prank my brother’s fiancée pulled on me?”
The OP’s future sister-in-law frequently tried to scare him.
“My brother’s (29 Male) fiancée (24 Female) has been trying to prank me (23 Male) forever.”
“I don’t get startled easily so she has decided on her own to take up the challenge of being the person who successfully scares me.”
“I never prank her back, but sometimes I’ll play along with her attempts. She doesn’t do this often. Previous pranks are hiding behind a door/car/in a closet and jumping out at me, so it’s never anything elaborate.”
“They’ve been together three years. Never had any problems with them, but she tried to prank me last night, and now my brother is upset about it.”
While staying at the OP’s house, she took the prank too far.
“Both my brother and his fiancée are currently crashing at my apartment because they are in the process of moving into their first home in my city.”
“The prank: she hid under my bed while I was out for a run in the evening. When I got back, before I went into the shower, I was at my bedside table, taking my watch off and dropping it on the charger. The room was dark except for my lamp, so I didn’t notice anyone under my bed.”
“She touched my foot. It was a really light graze, so it didn’t register with me. I stepped back and squatted down so I could see under there a little. It was dark, but I could see long hair. A part of me just knew it was her because no one else would do this. I said, ‘[her name], I can see you under there… but who’s the other one?'”
“This scared her. In her panic, she struggled to get out from under the bed, all while asking me, ‘What do you mean?!'”
The OP was shocked when he was blamed for the prank.
“She scrambled out and slammed into me. She also screamed, which made my brother come into the room. She was in my arms. I take it, this is why he’s mad.”
“I tried to explain I was just f**king with her because she was clearly trying to prank me.”
“He thinks I’m flirting with his fiancée, that apparently this has been going on ‘for a while’ since these pranks began.”
“I told him the pranks are his fiancée’s idea and he should be having this conversation with her, not me. It’s been really awkward between us now.”
“I have two more weeks with them. I feel like they’re both blaming me, and it’s unfair.”
“Should I apologize? But for what? I feel like I’m owed the apology.”
“AITAH?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NTA: Not the A**hole
- YTA: You’re the A**hole
- ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
- NAH: No A**holes Here
Some pointed out that the brother should have a problem with the pranks, not the “flirting.”
“Your brother needs to chill and apologize. His fiancée started this. And if he can’t, they need to find somewhere else to stay.”
“NTA and freaking her out cracked me up!” – SpecialProfile2697
“I’d ask my brother why the h**l she was in my room when I was about to get naked and get a shower! She’s overstepping now, and in HIS home.” – Redd1tmadesignup
“I think OP’s response was hilarious and she got GOT. I wonder if the brother is feeling some kind of way because they’re closer in age than he is with his fiancée?”
“Or maybe that the OP is the hotter brother (imagining a guy who runs is athletic, was maybe shirtless and sweaty when this happened, etc., but I also read too many webtoons).” – Rich_Ad_1642
“NTA, so it’s OK for his girlfriend to constantly prank you, but the one time you turn it around on her, and all of a sudden you’re the bad guy?”
“Your brother should have put a stop to this a long time ago and stopped enabling his girlfriend’s shitty behavior. Tell him that she is no longer allowed in your home, and frankly, he should not be either until both of them learn how to be actual adults.” – ACM915
“I bet he’s blaming and avoiding you because the blow of realizing his gf is into you is bumming him out. It’s completely obvious; she thinks about you and puts effort into these pranks, even hiding in your room when you’re about to get naked.”
“That’s more than a passing interest and your brother is probably quite hurt at the reality. I’d give him space. Trying to talk to him about it, especially trying to put the blame where it belongs, will just be salt in the wounds.” – Useful_Experience423
“NTA.”
“Don’t apologise; you did nothing wrong. If anything, she owes you and your brother an apology for causing issues in your relationship.”
“I’d tell him to ask his finance why she’s so interested in pranking you, you haven’t asked her to do any of these things and have tried to be good-natured about it, but now SHE is causing issues with her pranks and you are getting the flak.”
“Also, she should not be going into your room when you aren’t there, she’s now invading your personal space with her stupidity.” – GellyG42
Others agreed and urged the OP to show the troublemaking couple the exit.
“NTA. Show them both the door out of your house, immediately.” – shammy_dammy
“NTA! Just remember, when life gives you unwanted guests, give them the door, and maybe a parting gift of your favorite ‘please don’t come back’ playlist!” – sinfulvibeszz
“‘I’m sorry your fiancée hid under my bed’ is the closest thing to an apology he would get out of me.”
“You are right that you have nothing to apologize for. If you really want to make the point, install a lock on your bedroom door.”
“Otherwise, kick them out. And tell him it’s her fault.” – davekayaus
“Write an eviction notice and hand it to him in an envelope labeled ‘apology.'”
“Tell him exactly how the f**k you feel, as in, ‘pack the f**k up and leave if you’re gonna be like that.’ Tell him to keep his fiance out of your godd**n bedroom and that if he can’t, he can take her and get the fuck out if he wants to believe her bulls**t that badly.”
“I hate to be that guy but it genuinely sounds like she’s a homophobe that wants to alienate you from your family. Internally/subliminally, she sees your sexuality as a second-hand embarrassment and feels suit to ‘punish’ you for it.”
“It’s narcissistic and unfortunately very common, I would highly recommend giving them the boot in very short order, making up can wait, that’s not your pitch to swing at.” – Legendary_Railgun21
“NTA. I would tell him the facts.”
“She came into YOUR room. Hid under YOUR bed In an attempt to scare and prank you.”
“She had no respect for the fact she invaded YOUR bedroom, hid under your bed, where you may have personal items that are none of her business, and she chose to hide in your bedroom at bed time when you were about to get naked and have a shower, which is a massive invasion of privacy as she could have caught you naked.”
“When she tried to scare you by touching your foot, you knew it was likely her trying to prank you, so you looked under the bed, and joked about seeing two people under there which scared her, she scrambled out the bed and either tripped into you/ came to be behind you coz she was scared, or something along those lines, and that was when he walked in.”
“YOU did NOTHING wrong, SHE invaded your personal space of your bedroom., invaded your privacy and put YOU in a vulnerable situation as you were about to get naked for a shower and bed, and you would not have appreciated her violating your privacy had she been in your room when you undressed. So HE needs to be mad at HER for what she did in YOUR house, and she needs to stop with the pranks.”
“And tell your brother if he still thinks it’s your fault, and he’s not comfortable being at your place, he can go stay somewhere else if he still thinks it’s your fault. But his girlfriend needs to respect your privacy and your bedroom is off limits, and she needs to quit the pranks, coz you won’t be held responsible for what happens due to her actions.” – Poppypie77
As fun as some pranks can be, it was clear to the subReddit that the future sister-in-law had taken trying to scare the OP too far.
The brother might have more of a problem with the amount of attention his future wife was putting into trying to prank his brother rather than the prank or the misunderstanding itself.
No matter what was going on here, it would probably be best if it didn’t continue to go on under the OP’s roof.