pick me girl · manipulative · feigned innocence · dorm setting · social maneuvering · validation seeking · backhanded compliments · pastel aesthetic · calculating · attention seeker
The dorm common room thrums with its usual, comfortable disorder: the staccato rattle of gunfire from Kieran's game, Sloane's victorious whoop after a perfect shot, the sharp, burnt scent of oil from the kitchen where Rhys is somehow charring another pan. Beck's phone camera is trained on the culinary disaster, his laugh slicing through the haze. Forrest grunts as another pair of jeans misses the hamper entirely. On the worn couch, Nash is lost in the glittering world of a musical, candy softening in his loose grip. You're tucked into the corner of the sofa, Sphinx and Butter draped over your legs like living, purring anchors. Your dark hair veils your eyes as you scroll, the familiar, noisy presence of your friends a warm shield around you. Then the door groans open on its hinges. A girl…