What's in a Name?

Bryce Wersterfer

Bryce Wersterfer- Finnish (mother); Dutch/Swiss-German (father); Bryce Wersterfer is a popular and well-liked student at the high school whom attracts many of the female students with his good looks. Despite being captain of the football team, he is a friendly and outgoing young man who genuinely has the greater good in mind. He admits that if it came down to it, he would "throw his kindness out to the world", especially if it could make someone happier than they already were and feel a little better. He tends to put the well-being of those who surround him before his own, particularly that of his girlfriend Violet, who lives out of state. Bryce is considered to be very handsome with his floppy medium brown hair, green eyes, and light complexion, standing at 6 ft 2 in tall with an athletic build. He spends much of his time practicing football with his father, whom is the coach of the team, as well as hanging around his best friend Mark Pataki. He secretly feels pressured by his father's perfectionism and feels a need to repress his true desires, hiding a passion for musical theatre and trying out for the school play in secret. He also seeks to follow his heart to attend Vanderbilt University to major in pre-law, rather than attend his parents alma matter of Georgia State. Bryce's desire comes from his deep-rooted belief in doing the right thing, as he has a strong sense of duty and he fights for justice and peace. He is also a natural leader, causing him to take charge of a situation without meaning to and encourage people to follow his lead without question. Because of this, he feels a great deal of responsibility for his allies and will try to bear the brunt of the responsibility and burden of their actions. He can be tormented with feelings of guilt that can affect his confidence if he ever fails them, although he tries to take ownership of his actions and learn from his mistakes. 

Bryce has known Mark since he was 12 years old and shares a secret handshake with him, and the two have participated in the school's football team together and spent the summer at this family's country club. He is not one to talk behind someone's back or insult them, as he is completely honest and trustworthy, and he never breaks his promises. Despite his optimistic goodness, he has always been sensitive emotionally, as he tends to wear his heart on his sleeve and is easily influenced by those around him. He is still a teenage boy at heart who can be quite headstrong and competitive, as well as a bit temperamental under some circumstances. Bryce first encounters Rani Bukhari at a condo on the slopes, where the two are chosen to perform a karaoke song together despite their initial reluctance to do so. He had broken up with Violet by then and decided to try searching for love elsewhere, resulting in his and Rani's talking through the evening before sharing a drunken encounter in his room that culminates in the two sleeping together. He recalls little of what took place then, which causes him to react awkwardly toward her when they go back to school two days later and subtly steer clear of her in the hallways. Their situation becomes more complicated once she gets chlamydia, although matters resolve on their own when she finally gets antibiotics a week later. Words have the ability to slice into Bryce like knives, and he will ruminate over and internalize any accusation or insult hefted at him by a person whose opinion he holds in high regard. It seems that disappointing others is something he fears greatly, as upsetting someone he cares about could plunge him into a melancholic state. 

He is described by Isaiah Sweeney as a guy who tends to take life pretty seriously, and many of his depressive states are triggered by his family or the women he is romantically involved with. He is relatively laid-back and easygoing however, and as long as there is no immediate stress, his emotional state remains fairly stable. Upon realizing they go to the same school, Bryce falls for a cheerleader named Zoey Meyer-Favela and decides to take a chance by auditioning for a musical with her, despite his already-established athletic talent. The two appear to have much in common, and he is immediately captivated by Zoey's beautiful red hair, only for their performance to be hindered by their classmates, who claim that "a jock shouldn't be into musicals". He lands a callback, and his life and school are turned upside down when tragedy strikes and his own team tricks him into saying that Zoey and the callbacks don't matter to him at all while videotaping him with a camera. He has no idea that she saw the whole thing, or that he was being videotaped, which makes him confused as to why she said she didn't want to do the callbacks either and stopped talking to him. After that, Bryce became completely unfocused on winning the championship game, as well as seriously brokenhearted, given that his friends had broken him and Zoey up. He goes to her house later that night and calls her on her cell phone and explains that he only said the things that she heard to get his friends to finally shut up about him singing with her. She accepts his apology, leading Bryce to stand up to his father for the first time and confess to him that he wanted to do what made him happiest in the end. He attends college a year later on a football scholarship, but still pursues his passions on the side and continues to see Zoey, despite her ambitions to study at the prestigious Oberlin College. 

Bryce's family is originally from the south, as his parents met and fell in love as high school sweethearts in Atlanta, Georgia before moving his family to the big city. He grew up with many southern values and still visits his grandparents throughout the year, delighting in the pralines that the family shared, as well as a medium rare steak. He grew up being a fan of Patsy Cline and Waylon Jennings, although he also listens to other musicians such as Khalid and The Haim Sisters. He also loves to watch the X-Files with his friends, although he also claims to have a high tolerance for horror films, particularly The Conjuring. Although he doesn't like to be the center of attention, Bryce's shyness seems to dissipate when he loses himself in a song and lets himself live in the moment. His presence is a continuous reminder that maturity and tranquility can coexist with a love for adventure and self-expression. His father challenges him to care for a pet, with his keeping a beige colored fish who at the time of purchase was quite old and had a cough, leading to his affectionately being called "Cougho". His love for animals results in his kindly avoiding anything that could hurt them, as shown during a game of pin the tail on the donkey at a gathering. Bryce has had instances where he can be reckless and even dishonest however, as shown by his shallow behavior in leading a freshman girl named Kate Stojanovic on and standing her up for a date at the movie theater. He also has periods where he can be shallow and act in a potentially cruel way, making a sexist comment about "having standards" for his women that he instantly regrets. He develops a clearer insight of what he wants for himself over time and has the ability to read other people and their motives accurately. 

He is also shown to be quick to come to his friends' defense and is not afraid of a physical fight under some circumstances, even if it costs him his reputation. Bryce also likes to play video games in his spare time and has proven to be very interested in his academics and furthering his education. He participated in the scholastic decathlon and is shown to be very good at math, a side to himself that he takes pride in. He admits that he had dreams of growing up one day and going into nanotechnology when he was a young kid, although his goals have since changed with sports taking up much of his time. He is also paired off with Connor Tran as his lab partner in science class, causing him to complain about his procrastination and having to do much of the work on his own. Bryce decided to go on a trip to the Caribbean with his cousin when he graduates high school, spending time exploring the wonders of Curaçao. He has watched the anime show Your Lie in April about 10 times on repeat and can still quote a few lines from the series if he is prodded to do so. Despite his occasional bouts of jealousy and tendency to act irrational when things do not go his way, he begins to let go of his control issues and go with the flow. He can also rely on his loved ones to reel him in when he goes to far and give him a confidence boost during the times in which he suffers from anxiety. Bryce and Zoey grow apart when she comes out as bisexual and expresses a desire to experiment with other women, leading her to enter a romantic relationship with their classmate Bianca Rutelli. He is last seen the prosecutor for the Queen's county courthouse and furthers his career in later years by becoming a corporate lawyer. ENFJ 2w3