Back in her dorm room, the roses sat awkwardly on Brooklyn's desk in a vase Amanda had dug up from under the sink.
Brooklyn stared at them as if they might explode. "This is insane."
Amanda crunched on a cookie from her stash. "Correction: this is campus history. You're officially trending. I heard people in the hallway calling you 'the girl with two kings.'"
Brooklyn groaned, burying her face in her pillow. "Don't say that. I didn't ask for any of this."
Amanda flopped beside her. "I know. But let's be real—Mani's stunt today? That wasn't about you. Not really."
Brooklyn peeked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"
Amanda shrugged. "He wanted the whole campus to see. The roses, the speech—it was more performance than romance. It's about claiming you in front of Bryant."
Brooklyn's stomach twisted. Deep down, she'd felt it too. The way Bryant had walked out without a word told her more than any argument could.
"I just… I don't want to hurt either of them," she whispered.
Amanda softened, her teasing gone. "Brooklyn, listen to me. You can't live your life trying to protect their egos. This is about you. What you feel. What you want."
Brooklyn hugged her knees, staring at the roses across the room. On the surface, they were beautiful—bright, perfect, impossible to ignore. But they also felt heavy, like a weight pressing her into a choice she wasn't ready to make.
For the first time since it all began, Brooklyn admitted it out loud: "I'm scared. What if I choose wrong?"
Amanda squeezed her hand. "Then maybe it's not about choosing yet. Maybe it's about letting them show you who they really are."
Brooklyn exhaled slowly, the weight in her chest still heavy. But Amanda's words planted a seed of clarity.
She didn't have to decide right now.
But soon… she'd have no choice.
Back in her dorm room, the roses sat awkwardly on Brooklyn's desk in a vase Amanda had dug up from under the sink.
Brooklyn stared at them as if they might explode. "This is insane."
Amanda crunched on a cookie from her stash. "Correction: this is campus history. You're officially trending. I heard people in the hallway calling you 'the girl with two kings.'"
Brooklyn groaned, burying her face in her pillow. "Don't say that. I didn't ask for any of this."
Amanda flopped beside her. "I know. But let's be real—Mani's stunt today? That wasn't about you. Not really."
Brooklyn peeked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"
Amanda shrugged. "He wanted the whole campus to see. The roses, the speech—it was more performance than romance. It's about claiming you in front of Bryant."
Brooklyn's stomach twisted. Deep down, she'd felt it too. The way Bryant had walked out without a word told her more than any argument could.
"I just… I don't want to hurt either of them," she whispered.
Amanda softened, her teasing gone. "Brooklyn, listen to me. You can't live your life trying to protect their egos. This is about you. What you feel. What you want."
Brooklyn hugged her knees, staring at the roses across the room. On the surface, they were beautiful—bright, perfect, impossible to ignore. But they also felt heavy, like a weight pressing her into a choice she wasn't ready to make.
For the first time since it all began, Brooklyn admitted it out loud: "I'm scared. What if I choose wrong?"
Amanda squeezed her hand. "Then maybe it's not about choosing yet. Maybe it's about letting them show you who they really are."
Brooklyn exhaled slowly, the weight in her chest still heavy. But Amanda's words planted a seed of clarity.
She didn't have to decide right now.
But soon… she'd have no choice.