Arabella slammed her bedroom door so hard the picture frame on her desk rattled. Her laptop was open in seconds, and within moments, Leah's face appeared on screen, cheerful as ever.
"Babe, you look like you're about to set something on fire," Leah said, sipping from a neon pink cup.
"I *am*," Arabella snapped, pacing behind the camera. "My life has been completely sabotaged. Sabotaged by *room assignments,* by cafeteria grease, and by a six-foot-two human brick wall with blue eyes and the emotional range of a chair!"
Leah burst into laughter. "Oh my God, it's only the first week."
Arabella whipped around, pointing dramatically at the screen. "Exactly! Which means the universe has already declared war on me."
From the other side of the dorm wall, Adrian shifted slightly at his desk, headphones half-on. He could hear muffled bits of her yelling.
Leah grinned. "Okay, so what's the plan? Because clearly, you're not just going to sit there and deal with it."
Arabella stopped pacing, narrowing her eyes like a villain in a drama. "I'm going to make his life *miserable.* Until he begs to switch roommates. Until he's crying at the housing office on his knees."
Leah clapped like this was the best entertainment she'd ever seen. "Yesss, queen! Do it. Blast music at three in the morning, hog the bathroom, use his shelf space—make him regret *ever existing*."
Arabella nodded firmly, fists on her hips. "Oh, I will. He has no idea who he's messing with. This is war."
But then, mid-rant, she slipped.
"And another thing," she added, waving her hands wildly. "He just—he just *sits there!* Calm. Unbothered. Like nothing phases him. And it's—" she froze, realizing her words, "—infuriating."
Leah raised both brows. "...Infuriating?"
Arabella's face heated. "Yes! Infuriating. Like, who gave him the right to look like that while ignoring me? Those stupid blue eyes just sitting there in his stupid tall face—"
Leah gasped, clutching her cup. "Oh my God. You *like him.*"
Arabella nearly fell off her chair. "WHAT?! No! Are you insane?! I hate him! This is hatred! Hatred mixed with—rage couture! You're misunderstanding the tone!"
Leah smirked knowingly. "Mm-hmm. Keep lying to yourself, babe. I can already see the enemies-to-lovers Wattpad story forming."
Arabella's jaw dropped. "Delete your brain. Right now."
Leah just laughed harder.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall, Adrian leaned back in his chair, pulling one headphone off. He hadn't caught everything, but he'd definitely heard enough to recognize her voice.
And the way his lips curved slightly into a smirk said one thing: Arabella Montgomery had no idea she was already losing the war.