"Pizza's on the way, face masks are ready, and I've queued up the horror movies. Are you ready for this?" Lila beamed, throwing her arms wide as Michelle walked into her room.
"I was born ready," Michelle laughed, tossing her overnight bag onto the bed.
It was Friday night. Steve was at practice, Jordan had gone home for the weekend, and Michelle needed one thing: quality time with her best friend. Lila knew exactly how to make it perfect.
An hour later, they were wearing green face masks, sipping raspberry soda from fancy glasses, and laughing so hard at the movie that someone banged on the wall to shush them.
Lila picked up her phone and started recording an Instagram Story:"Girls' night with my queen," she said, as the camera caught Michelle dancing in her bear-print pajamas, twirling her toothbrush like a microphone.Both of them collapsed into giggles.
But someone else wasn't laughing.
In another dorm room across campus, three girls were scrolling through Lila's Story. Among them was Stella—the same girl who had once locked Michelle in the bathroom.
"Look at them," she said through clenched teeth. "Acting like they're untouchable. Like they get away with everything."
"And Steve still wants her," another girl muttered. The third chewed her lip, her eyes narrowing.
"We need to do something," Stella hissed.
"Not some dumb prank," the second girl added. "It has to be smart."
"We'll get inside her head," Stella said quietly. "Psychological. Subtle."
Back at Lila's room:"You know what I love most about sleepovers?" Michelle asked as they lay side by side in their sleeping bags, the lights off, fairy lights casting a soft glow across the room.
"What?" Lila murmured sleepily.
"That I feel safe. Like nothing's missing. You're like my sister."
Lila reached over and took her hand. "And you're mine. No one can take that from us."
But outside those warm, quiet walls, something was brewing—a plan to take back control.To chip away at that safety Michelle had just found.