1 On Valentine’s Day afternoon, the dorm room was pure chaos. Everyone was doing their makeup, trying on outfits, and getting ready for their dates. I was the only one sitting on my bed, clutching a half-eaten bag of chips, opening my iPad to catch up on Netflix. Avery changed into her millionth outfit, still unsatisfied, and drifted over to my closet. "Harper, this dress of yours is so gorgeous." It was a plum-red, form-fitting slip dress with lines that subtly teased the imagination. I had specifically picked it out a month ago when Weston and I agreed to get dinner tonight. Avery looked at me. "Did no one ask you out tonight?" When I didn't answer, the corner of her mouth curled up. She dropped a specific name: "Did Weston leave you on read again?" The moment she said his name, everyone else in the dorm looked over in unison. Weston Sterling was always the center of attention. He was drop-dead gorgeous, top of his pre-med class, and treated life like a game he was playing on easy mode. Romance was the same. Growing up constantly worshipped, he never lacked beautiful, proactive girls throwing themselves at him. And me? I was just the neighbor who happened to attend the same schools as him from elementary school all the way to college. I held the script of the "childhood friend next door," but that was exactly where the story stalled. I pulled out my phone. His pinned conversation at the top of my messages had no red notification dot. If I didn't text him, he would never initiate contact. By 9:30 PM, I had finished my show, and I was the only one left in the dorm. Avery had accidentally smeared a little foundation on the cuff of the plum-red dress. I knelt down, trying carefully to wipe it off. It wouldn't come off. What's the point anyway? Right as the thought crossed my mind, my phone buzzed. It was an unsaved number, but I recognized the digits instantly. I never saved him to my contacts because I didn't want to admit how much I cared. But in reality, I had his number memorized by heart. "Hello?" I unconsciously picked at a stray thread on a hanger, trying to distract myself. He chuckled softly. It was like he could hear the suppressed grievance in my voice and was trying to coax me. "Wanna come out and hang?" The upward lilt at the end of his sentence was incredibly magnetic. It was his signature lazy charm. So he did remember. "It's 9:30," I said. "And?" he asked. "Is this how you always ask me out? At the absolute last minute? Weston, that's really rude." I forced a joking tone. "Did someone else cancel on you, so you're calling me?" I tried to sound breezy, but my heart was pounding, desperate for his reaction. But no response came. The line was dead silent. I thought my Wi-Fi had dropped and was about to switch to cellular data when I realized he had simply hung up on me. In our iMessage thread, underneath the massive blocks of green texts I had sent him previously, he had just sent two new lines. Weston: [...] Weston: [Whatever. Don't force yourself.] Muscle memory took over. I instantly started typing, I was just joking, trying to explain myself. But my thumbs hovered over his two short, callous sentences. I had waited for him all night, and he hung up on me without a second thought. I deleted the draft. Instead, I typed: [Are you mad?] Send. He replied instantly: [Can't you tell?] This was him demanding that I lower my head and grovel. Just like always. I replied instantly too: [Stay mad, then.] Then, I blocked his number. I turned around and opened Quizlet. Hah, men? I was going to memorize a hundred vocab flashcards tonight. Two hours later, right as I was finishing my deck, I got a call from Weston. "Are you hungry?" "No," I said coldly. "Come downstairs. I brought you late-night food." I poked my head out the window. Sure enough, his black SUV was parked in front of the dorm building. He was wearing a sharply tailored overcoat that made his complexion look even paler in the cold. He was leaning lazily against the car door, looking up at my exact window with a practiced smirk. He raised a hot bag of seafood chowder in the air. It was the exact same soup I had bought for him when he was running a high fever a while ago. As I walked down the stairs, two girls from my hall passed by me. "Wait, isn't that Weston from the pre-med track?" "Who?" "The incredibly hot guy out front. I've seen TikToks of him around campus." I pushed open the heavy dorm doors and reached out to take the bag of chowder. He pinched the top of the bag. It wouldn't budge. "Give me your phone," he said, holding his other hand out. "No." I let go of the bag and turned to walk back inside. He caught my arm with one hand, and before I could react, he slipped his other hand into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I reached up to snatch it back. "What are you doing? You don't even know my pass—" Before I could finish, the screen unlocked. "Is there anything about you I don't know?" His smile deepened. He steadied me with one arm, tapped the screen a few times, and unblocked himself from my settings. Because he was pinned, he was easy to find. Because my passcode was his birthday, it was easy to guess. He knew absolutely everything. "Here. Eat up and go to sleep." He placed the warm bag in my arms. "I feel like a pig farmer." I looked up, meeting his eyes. "Weston..." "Weston." Two voices spoke at the exact same time. I looked past him and saw someone sitting in the passenger seat of his SUV. Avery opened the car door, her cheeks slightly flushed. "Did I fall asleep? Why didn't you wake me up?" Weston let go of my arm and smiled at her. "You looked like you were sleeping deeply. I figured I'd let you rest." "My sorority went to an escape room today, and surprisingly, Weston was there too." Avery walked over and looped her arm through mine. "He was just dropping me off on his way back." She pointed at the chowder in my hands, her tone playfully coy. "It's all because that seafood chowder was too good. I got a food coma on the ride back." So he took Avery out to eat, and just grabbed this for me as an afterthought? "Avery's stomach was acting up, so I took her to get some food," he explained, noticing my gaze. "Yeah." I forced a smile. "Thanks. I'm going back upstairs." "Harper, wait a sec." Avery gripped my elbow tightly, stopping me from leaving. Instead of looking at me, she turned to Weston. "Can I get your Snapchat or number? I need to Venmo you for tonight." I followed her gaze and looked at Weston. The plastic handles of the takeout bag were digging red indents into my fingers. He gave a nonchalant smile and said, "Sure." But right before he said it, he looked directly at me. Avery finally let go of my arm to add him on her phone. Suddenly, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. "You guys take your time chatting," I said. Then, I walked upstairs without looking back. 2 Avery pulled back my bed curtain. "Harper, you don't mind, right?" "Then again, it's not like you're his girlfriend anyway." She was right. I had no right to mind. "Do you like Weston?" I asked bluntly. "Oh." Her eyes darted away. "Not really. We were just heading the same way tonight." "Why aren't you eating the chowder?" She pointed at the soup I had abandoned on my desk, sounding slightly offended. "We bought that specifically for you, you know." "I'm not hungry." I tried to pull my curtain shut, but she held onto it. "Harper, did you know Weston has a group chat with his frat brothers?" My hand froze. I didn't know. "Mason is in that chat too." Avery shoved her phone screen in my face. "He sent me these screenshots a few days ago." I recognized Weston's profile picture instantly. During the week he had a high fever, I skipped classes to take care of him. Once he recovered, I ended up catching a terrible flu. My bones ached so badly I couldn't get out of bed. I texted him, begging him to drop off some soup for me. He never replied to me. Instead, he forwarded my barrage of texts to his group chat. The screenshot was entirely filled with my desperate messages to him. Weston: [Look at this simp.] Weston: [Even if she isn't annoyed, I'm getting sick of it.] Weston: [Does she seriously think she's my girlfriend?] The group chat erupted in mockery. Mason: [Lol, which number is this one this week?] AntiSimpBro: [This girl is trying way too hard.] AntiSimpBro: [You two clearly don't match.] AntiSimpBro: [Does she seriously not realize she's entirely out of your league?] AntiSimpBro: [Trying to guilt-trip you just because you've known each other a long time. Anyone got a picture? Let me see what she looks like.] Mason immediately sent a blurry photo. You could barely make out my features. AntiSimpBro: [Not bad, but she looks like a manipulator.] AntiSimpBro: [I wouldn't touch her if you paid me.] Weston: [@Mason, where did you even get a picture of her?] Mason: [From a club event, I think. Forgot.] Weston: [Unsend it.] Mason: [The unsend window passed. Are you actually bothered?] The screenshots ended there. "It really seems like he doesn't like you, Harper." Avery pulled her phone back. "Take my advice: it's better to have some self-awareness." I looked at her. "Who is 'AntiSimpBro'?" My sudden shift in focus caught her off guard. "Oh, him. That's Weston's roommate—Asher Reed." "Do you have his contact?" "Yeah." She hesitated. "Why do you want his contact?" Midnight. Someone occasionally tossed and turned in the dorm. I opened my phone, changed my lock screen password, and unpinned Weston from my messages. I added Asher on Snapchat. AntiSimpBro: [Who are you?] Me: [Harper.] AntiSimpBro: [?] AntiSimpBro: [Why did you add me?] AntiSimpBro: [If this is about Weston, forget it.] AntiSimpBro: [I'm not helping you.] Me: [It's not.] AntiSimpBro: [Then what? I'm deleting you.] Me: [Asher, has anyone ever told you that you're incredibly special?] AntiSimpBro: [No.] Me: [In my eyes, you're different from everyone else.] AntiSimpBro: [Look, lady, what do you actually want? Spit it out.] Me: [For years, my only goal in getting close to Weston was actually for one specific reason.] AntiSimpBro: [Because you're obsessed with him?] Me: [To sleep with you.] The other side completely died. It was like his brain short-circuited for five solid minutes. The screen jumped back and forth between "Typing..." and silence. Right as I was about to fall asleep, my phone vibrated. Weston had sent an iMessage. [Sign my name for the 8 AM elective. Room 801.] He was so used to ordering me around. Like he was absolutely certain I would love him forever. 3 For our 8 AM elective, Avery and I were in the same class. To be precise, she only signed up for it because Weston was taking it. When I registered for the course, she hovered over my laptop, watching me closely. "Harper, were you actually texting Asher last night?" She looked me up and down. "It's a shame he never posts selfies. I don't even know what he looks like. But guys who never post pictures are usually pretty ugly. He probably looks like that." She pointed randomly at a nerdy guy in the corner, then turned to me with a smirk. "Actually, you two would be a great match." Right as Avery finished her sentence, a deep male voice spoke next to me. "Excuse me, can you scoot in?" Avery rolled her eyes, annoyed, but when she looked up and saw his face, her eyes lit up. He had an incredibly intimidating, towering presence, with sharp, deep-set eyes that practically radiated a do not approach aura. Even though there were plenty of empty seats, Avery immediately cleared space for him. Leaning across me, she tried to strike up a conversation. "Hey, are you taking this class too?" "Yeah." He answered coldly, completely ignoring her. Instead, his eyes lingered on my face for an extra second. "What's your name?" Avery asked sweetly. "The ugly one you were just talking about," he said flatly. "Asher." Avery's jaw dropped. She quickly gathered her things and practically sprinted a few rows to the front, desperate to escape the blast zone. "Nice to finally meet you, Harper." Asher pulled out his textbook and slammed it onto the narrow desk, right up against my notebook. He raised an eyebrow, looking ready for a fight. "What was it you said you wanted to do to me last night?" I smiled politely, slid my notebook away, and maintained my distance. He mimicked my smile mockingly. "I knew you were just using me to get a reaction out of Weston." "Absolutely not." I denied it three times in a row. A look of contempt crossed his face. "You really think you're worthy?" "Weston is never going to fall for a girl whose entire personality is desperately chasing boys." "Furthermore, I'm a man of principles." His sharp jawline tensed, his tone absolute. "Do you honestly think your cheap manipulation tactics would work on me?" "Is that right?" I asked. The attendance sheet was passed to me. I skipped Weston's name and only signed my own. When I handed the clipboard to Asher, my fingers accidentally brushed against his hand. He flinched like a startled cat, pulling his hand back as if I carried a plague, radiating massive single-guy energy. "You..." He cleared his throat. "Why didn't you sign Weston's name?" He was acting like the righteous moral judge of Weston's love life. Too bad for him, I fully intended to drag him down into the mud with me. "Because you're sitting right next to me now!" I gave him a bright smile. He completely avoided eye contact, staring rigidly at the chalkboard. "Here, borrow my pen," I said. He snatched it frantically and forged Weston's signature, looking visibly panicked. His handwriting was actually really nice. "Your name isn't on the roster," I said, tilting my head to look straight into his eyes. "So, did you come here specifically to see me?" He instantly went on the defensive, drawing a hard line. "I came here to warn you!" "Oh." I held my hand out. "Can I have my pen back?" The pen in his hand seemed to burn him like a hot potato. He shoved it back to me. I held the pen gently in both hands, examining it like a priceless artifact. "What are you doing?" He couldn't resist asking. "This is the very first pen we've ever shared. I'm going to lock it in a safe." I spoke with utter sincerity. The moment the bell rang, Asher bolted from the room without looking back. I dropped the smile, packed my bag slowly, and stopped by the podium on my way out. Handing the attendance sheet to the professor, I noticed him searching for a pen. "Here, Professor, you can keep this one. I have plenty." Walking out of the building, I leaned against the brick wall and pulled out my phone. I switched to a burner Snapchat account, styling the bitmoji to look like a guy, and added Asher. AntiSimpBro: [Who are you?] There was a heavy dose of paranoid defense in his words that wasn't there last night. DogTrainer: [8 AM class. Room 801. I got a picture of you secretly holding hands with Harper.] AntiSimpBro: [?] AntiSimpBro: [Our hands literally just brushed!] AntiSimpBro: [I swear to God, it was an accident! Well, she did it on purpose, but I didn't! Whatever, I didn't do it!] A few minutes passed. AntiSimpBro: [How much money do you want to delete it?] He instantly sent $100 via Apple Pay. I didn't accept it. DogTrainer: [You and Weston have a group chat?] AntiSimpBro: [How do you know that?] DogTrainer: [Add me.] AntiSimpBro: [It's our frat chat. Why do you want in?] DogTrainer: [Because I have a massive crush on Weston.] I pulled the wildest excuse out of thin air. AntiSimpBro: [Aren't you a dude?] DogTrainer: [Got a problem with that?] He added me to the chat. Then he DM'd me again to reiterate. AntiSimpBro: [Make sure you delete that photo.] AntiSimpBro: [I would literally rather die than hold her hand.] I didn't reply. I switched back to my main account. As soon as it loaded, texts from Weston popped up. Weston: [Did you sign my name?] Weston: [Wanna go camping this weekend?] Before I could even type a response, a text from Avery came through. Avery: [Weston just invited me camping! Do you think I should say yes?] Weston was always like this. He invited someone else first, then invited me. I was his eternal, fail-safe backup plan. But this time, I wanted him to taste his own medicine. 4 For the weekend camping trip, everyone was from Weston's circle. Avery shoved past me and claimed the passenger seat of Weston's SUV. "Sorry, Harper. I'm just used to riding in Weston's car. I get carsick in anyone else's." The back seats were already packed. Weston looked at me. "Why don't you ride in Asher's car?" "Yeah, you guys can chat," Avery winked at me from the window. "After all, you were desperate enough to add him in the middle of the night." "You added him?" Weston zeroed in on the keyword. Mason, sitting in the back, laughed and looked at me. "What's wrong, did you change your target, freshman?" Weston's expression subtly shifted. But it only lasted a second. He quickly reverted to his usual untouchable, arrogant demeanor. He smirked and yelled toward the other car, "Asher, I'm leaving her in your hands!" Then he slammed the passenger door shut for Avery, completely cutting off any chance of me riding with him. "As a friend, don't say I never hooked you up," he muttered to me under his breath. With that, he shoved me toward Asher's car. But Asher, standing by his door, completely rejected the idea. "Sorry. My car doesn't take female strangers." He gave me zero face. The entire group burst into laughter. I was the outcast no one wanted to drive, left standing awkwardly in the middle of the parking lot. Avery laughed the loudest. "What are you laughing at?" Asher snapped at her. "You aren't allowed in either." Avery's smile vanished. Flustered and embarrassed, she shot back, "Who said I wanted to ride in your car anyway?" "Oh, just the fact that you practically sprinted to steal shotgun," he exposed her bluntly. Mason stepped in to defuse the situation. He gave up his seat in the back of Weston's car for me and hopped into Asher's passenger seat. On the highway, Avery and Weston were laughing and chatting in the front seats. When the cars pulled over at a rest stop, the bro group chat started blowing up. Mason: [Weston, stop bullying the freshman just because she's obsessed with you.] Mason: [You know exactly what kind of guy she likes, why are you throwing her at Asher?] Weston and Asher were polar opposites. One was a seasoned playboy treating the world like his playground; the other was an arrogant, isolated cynic who shot straight from the hip. No one in their right mind would ever pair me and Asher together. DogTrainer: [Harper and Asher are literal soulmates.] AntiSimpBro: [?] Mason: [Who is this guy? When did he get added?] DogTrainer was removed from the group by AntiSimpBro. Asher immediately DM'd my burner account. AntiSimpBro: [Try talking that garbage one more time.] DogTrainer: [I still have the picture of you guys holding hands.] I looked up toward the driver's seat of the other car. Asher was staring at his phone, his face completely expressionless. His jawline was sharp, and the messy hair falling over his forehead couldn't hide the icy glare in his eyes. Looking at him, you would never guess he was currently spamming my DMs with stickers of a cartoon dog crying on its knees begging for mercy. AntiSimpBro: [Bro. My guy. Everyone makes mistakes.] AntiSimpBro: [Give me some face here.] AntiSimpBro invited DogTrainer to the group. AntiSimpBro: [Lol, he's a nobody. Just some dude.] AntiSimpBro: [He gets a kick out of stirring up drama between me and Weston.] Mason: [Your usernames actually match pretty well.] Mason: [Don't worry, literally no one would believe him.] Mason: [Soulmates, lmaoooo. She'd fall for Avery before she'd fall for you, bro.] AntiSimpBro: [...] Weston walked out of the rest stop convenience store and handed a plastic bag of snacks to Avery. "Omg, thank you Weston!" She looked thrilled, digging through the bag and pulling out a mango juice. "That one's for Harper." Weston effortlessly snatched the mango juice out of her hand and tossed it directly into my lap. "It's the only flavor she drinks." Avery's face froze. She forced a stiff, awkward smile. "Yeah, I was actually just grabbing it to hand to her." She shot me a dirty look, then poked Weston's arm. "Weston, look at the group chat, it's hilarious. Asher added some random comedian." Weston raised an eyebrow, swiped through the messages on his phone, smirked, and dismissed it entirely. As the car started moving again, Avery turned around and whispered to me, "It's such a shame you aren't in the chat. You have no idea what we're all laughing at."
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