The door clicked shut behind Brooklyn as she stepped into the dorm room. The hum of the hallway quieted, replaced by Amanda's music playing softly from her laptop.
Amanda spun around in her chair the moment she saw her. "Well? How was dinner with Mr. Romantic?"
Brooklyn let out a long sigh and dropped onto her bed, tugging off her cardigan. "Exhausting."
Amanda's eyes widened. "That bad?"
Brooklyn buried her face in her hands. "Amanda, he booked this fancy restaurant, candles, flowers—everything felt… staged. Like he was trying to script a romance movie, but I wasn't the right lead."
Amanda crossed her arms, smug. "Didn't I say this? Mani doesn't like you, Brooklyn. He likes the idea of winning you."
Brooklyn's chest tightened at the truth in her friend's words. She sat up slowly. "The thing is… he wasn't just trying to impress me. He kept bringing up Bryant."
Amanda frowned. "Figures."
"He said Bryant's no good for me. That he'll never take me seriously." Her voice cracked with frustration. "But the way he said it, Amanda—it was like he was trying to convince me, not protect me."
Amanda leaned forward. "And did it work?"
Brooklyn shook her head firmly. "No. It just made me angry. Because Bryant—" She stopped herself, realizing how easily the words had almost slipped out.
Amanda smirked knowingly. "Because Bryant what?"
Brooklyn twisted her hands in her lap, whispering, "Because Bryant listens. He doesn't push. He doesn't… suffocate me. When I'm around him, I feel like I can breathe."
Amanda's expression softened. "Brooklyn, you already know where your heart leans. You're just scared to admit it."
Brooklyn looked down, her chest aching with unspoken truth. She thought about the way Bryant's eyes searched hers by the fountain, about how his voice trembled when he told her she was the reason he was fighting.
But then she remembered Mani's hand reaching across the dinner table, his smile hiding the sharpness in his tone, and the way campus eyes always seemed to follow them.
Her voice was small. "What if choosing Bryant means making an enemy out of Mani?"
Amanda didn't hesitate. "Then it means choosing peace for yourself. Mani's already turned it into a battle—you didn't."
Brooklyn lay back against her pillows, staring at the ceiling. For the first time, she admitted it silently to herself: she didn't want Mani.
But the thought of telling him, of breaking the fragile hope in his eyes, made her stomach twist.
Amanda tossed a pillow at her. "Don't overthink it tonight. Sleep. Tomorrow you'll feel clearer."
Brooklyn hugged the pillow to her chest, whispering softly as Amanda turned off the light. "Clearer about Bryant, maybe. But Mani… he won't let go that easily."
And deep down, she knew she was right.