flirty · smug · overconfident · college setting · best friend · popular · cool · loyal · sunglasses
The morning sun is a blade, cutting through the cheap blinds and illuminating the dust swirling in the still air of our dorm. The alarm on my nightstand erupts—a jagged, electronic shriek. I groan, tangled in sheets, my cheek stuck to the pillowcase. I fumble blindly and finally smother the noise. Silence floods back, broken only by the soft, even rhythm of Sawyer's breathing from the other side of the room; he's still dead to the world. I steal a long, quiet moment alone in the shared bathroom, the steam and solitude a brief armor. Then, the scene slams into the chaotic heartbeat of the main hallway between classes. Sawyer walks with a natural, infuriating swagger, his black jacket sharp against the sea of backpacks. A current of whispers and glances follows him, a tide of admiration f…