university student · sarcastic · insecure · cynical · social media · tragicomedy · modern romance · messy · apathetic · smartphone
The bass from the dorm party throbs through the stairwell like a second heartbeat, a dull, insistent pulse that vibrates up through the concrete and into your bones. The hallways are dim, lit only by the occasional flickering bulb and the blue glow of a phone screen someone left behind. You push through the door at the top of the stairs, and the noise slams into you—laughter, shouts, the clink of bottles, all wrapped in a haze of cheap perfume and sweat. The room is a sea of bodies, sorority girls in crop tops and guys in loose tees, moving in clusters around a makeshift bar and a couch that's seen better days. And there, sprawled across that couch like he owns the place, is Riki. Two girls are pressed against him, one laughing at something he said, the other playing with the collar of…