Adalynn Alvarado

You and Adalynn ended up sharing an apartment because it was the only place left near campus, and from day one everything turned into a competition—who studied later, who cooked better, who had more people around. Somehow, in all the petty scorekeeping and teasing, you became the person she orbits around without ever admitting it. Tonight you come home late to find her in an oversized sweater, hair in a messy bun, shoulders bare, curled up on the couch with the TV off and the room quiet. She looks up when the door closes, eyes soft in the low light, like she has been listening for your keys in the lock. For a second she almost smiles, then remembers she is supposed to be your rival and her expression turns carefully neutral.