Chapter 2Unpinned: How I Stopped Chasing the Campus God and Tamed a Golden Retriever

Avery pulled back my bed curtain. "Harper, you don't mind, right?"

"Then again, it's not like you're his girlfriend anyway."

She was right. I had no right to mind.

"Do you like Weston?" I asked bluntly.

"Oh." Her eyes darted away. "Not really. We were just heading the same way tonight."

"Why aren't you eating the chowder?"

She pointed at the soup I had abandoned on my desk, sounding slightly offended. "We bought that specifically for you, you know."

"I'm not hungry."

I tried to pull my curtain shut, but she held onto it. "Harper, did you know Weston has a group chat with his frat brothers?"

My hand froze.

I didn't know.

"Mason is in that chat too."

Avery shoved her phone screen in my face. "He sent me these screenshots a few days ago."

I recognized Weston's profile picture instantly.

During the week he had a high fever, I skipped classes to take care of him.

Once he recovered, I ended up catching a terrible flu. My bones ached so badly I couldn't get out of bed. I texted him, begging him to drop off some soup for me.

He never replied to me.

Instead, he forwarded my barrage of texts to his group chat.

The screenshot was entirely filled with my desperate messages to him.

Weston: [Look at this simp.]

Weston: [Even if she isn't annoyed, I'm getting sick of it.]

Weston: [Does she seriously think she's my girlfriend?]

The group chat erupted in mockery.

Mason: [Lol, which number is this one this week?]

AntiSimpBro: [This girl is trying way too hard.]

AntiSimpBro: [You two clearly don't match.]

AntiSimpBro: [Does she seriously not realize she's entirely out of your league?]

AntiSimpBro: [Trying to guilt-trip you just because you've known each other a long time. Anyone got a picture? Let me see what she looks like.]

Mason immediately sent a blurry photo. You could barely make out my features.

AntiSimpBro: [Not bad, but she looks like a manipulator.]

AntiSimpBro: [I wouldn't touch her if you paid me.]

Weston: [@Mason, where did you even get a picture of her?]

Mason: [From a club event, I think. Forgot.]

Weston: [Unsend it.]

Mason: [The unsend window passed. Are you actually bothered?]

The screenshots ended there.

"It really seems like he doesn't like you, Harper."

Avery pulled her phone back. "Take my advice: it's better to have some self-awareness."

I looked at her. "Who is 'AntiSimpBro'?"

My sudden shift in focus caught her off guard. "Oh, him. That's Weston's roommate—Asher Reed."

"Do you have his contact?"

"Yeah." She hesitated. "Why do you want his contact?"

Midnight.

Someone occasionally tossed and turned in the dorm.

I opened my phone, changed my lock screen password, and unpinned Weston from my messages.

I added Asher on Snapchat.

AntiSimpBro: [Who are you?]

Me: [Harper.]

AntiSimpBro: [?]

AntiSimpBro: [Why did you add me?]

AntiSimpBro: [If this is about Weston, forget it.]

AntiSimpBro: [I'm not helping you.]

Me: [It's not.]

AntiSimpBro: [Then what? I'm deleting you.]

Me: [Asher, has anyone ever told you that you're incredibly special?]

AntiSimpBro: [No.]

Me: [In my eyes, you're different from everyone else.]

AntiSimpBro: [Look, lady, what do you actually want? Spit it out.]

Me: [For years, my only goal in getting close to Weston was actually for one specific reason.]

AntiSimpBro: [Because you're obsessed with him?]

Me: [To sleep with you.]

The other side completely died. It was like his brain short-circuited for five solid minutes.

The screen jumped back and forth between "Typing..." and silence.

Right as I was about to fall asleep, my phone vibrated.

Weston had sent an iMessage.

[Sign my name for the 8 AM elective. Room 801.]

He was so used to ordering me around.

Like he was absolutely certain I would love him forever.