Rule Number 8: In a game of truth or dare, a bro shalt choose “dare.”

Rule Number 9: A bro shalt not let other bros be alone on holidays.

Rule Number 10: A bro shalt not skip ab workouts.

Rule Number 11: A bro shalt text a love interest whenever a bro wants.

Rule Number 12: A bro shalt only gossip face-to-face. Never over text, social media, or otherwise.

Rule Number 13: A bro shalt not let bros do stupid things . . . without taking a video.

Rule Number 14: A bro shalt not mock a bro’s love interest.

Rule Number 15: A bro shalt not ghost.

Rule Number 16: A bro shalt always be willing to pick up the tab. Or split it.

Rule Number 17: A bro shalt not be ashamed of what makes them happy. Unless it’s Californian sports teams.

Rule Number 18: A bro shalt not assume the gender or sexual orientation of other bros. The consequence of such an assumption results in that bro buying the other bros the dinner of their choice.

Rule Number 19: A bro shalt only make bros and love interests cry happy tears.

Rule Number 20: A bro shalt always finish telling a joke. They will never, under any circumstances, let it go without a punchline.

Rule Number 21: A bro shalt shower at least once a week, whether they need to or not.

Rule Number 22: A bro shalt not cheat.

Rule Number 23: A bro shalt never make their bros choose between other bros.

Rule Number 24: A bro shalt not lose on purpose . . . to anyone over the age of ten.

Rule Number 25: A bro shalt decide for themselves which rules are worth following.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First, I thank you, cool reader, for spending hours of your life you’ll never get back on reading this. And thank you for reading the acknowledgments, since almost no one does. I hope you laughed at least once. What I wrote on these pages means one thing to me, but when you come to it with your own experiences and perspectives, it becomes something new entirely. Thank you for making The Bro Code come to life.

To my Wattpad readers and friends, thank you for supporting my writing and helping me grow. Special thanks to Wattpad readers who read this story when I originally wrote it in 2012 and have come back for this tale eight years later. We would not be here without you.

Thank you to my superhero editor, Jane Warren, for your incredible help taking a book I wrote in high school and pushing me to turn it into this. Your belief in this story and characters helped me see myself as a “real” writer.

Thank you, Deanna, Caitlin, Jen, and the wizards on the Wattpad Books team who selected this book for publication and worked so hard to get it into the world. Your dedication and time spent on producing this into an actual book blows my mind, and I’m so excited and humbled to have had this experience with you.