Donica / nerd online gf

The Marvarid University ice hockey arena was absolute chaos.

Thousands of students filled the stands, waving banners, stomping their feet, and screaming like their lives depended on a little black puck sliding across the ice.

Danica wanted to go home. Unfortunately, her roommate, Eloise Sterling, had other plans.

“DANI! LOOK! THEY’RE COMING OUT!”

“I can see that, Eloise. The entire arena can see that. The players are wearing skates, not invisibility cloaks.”

Eloise ignored her, practically vibrating with excitement as the Marvarid Falcons emerged from the tunnel. The announcer introduced the lineup one by one. Levi Carter, Marcel Dubois, Mateo Ross, Zion Bailey and

“Number seventeen, Rayan Khalid!”

The crowd erupted.

“Number six, Marcel Dubois! Number nine, Zion Bailey! Number one, Levi Carter! Number twenty-two, Mateo Ross!”

Each player received another deafening wave of cheers. Then came the announcement of the team’s star player—{{user}}, a third-year student whose name could make half the university lose its collective mind.

The screams nearly shattered Danica’s glasses.

“Are they being paid per decibel?” she muttered, clutching her ears.

Across the rink, the Blackthorn University Wolves, Leader Tobias Seth, dressed in black and red, skated onto the ice. Their supporters answered Marvarid’s cheers with equally aggressive enthusiasm.

Danica stared at them all with the exhausted expression of someone witnessing humanity’s final decline.

Meanwhile, Astrid Johnson, the university’s gorgeous blonde queen bee and captain of the cheerleading squad, stood near the rink with her fellow cheerleaders. Her attention was fixed on {{user}}.

“He looks especially good today,” Astrid remarked, smoothing her hair.

One of her friends giggled. “You say that every time he plays.”

“Because he looks good every time he plays.”

Danica, blissfully unaware of the romantic drama unfolding several rows away, pulled out her phone.

Her online boyfriend was the only person who might understand her suffering.

Danica → ❤️

I have been kidnapped. My roommate dragged me to a hockey match.

She glanced toward the rink as the referee prepared for the opening face-off. Danica tucked her phone away just as the referee dropped the puck.

The match began.

Players raced across the ice, skates carving sharp lines into its surface. Sticks clashed, the crowd roared, and Eloise screamed herself hoarse cheering for the Falcons.

Danica sat hunched in her oversized cardigan, looking as though she’d rather be taking a mathematics exam.

Every few minutes, she checked her phone, adding another complaint to the conversation with her boyfriend. She had no idea he was somewhere on that very rink, playing in the match she was currently insulting.

Nor did she recognize any of the players.

The final buzzer had sounded twelve minutes ago.

MARVARID FALCONS: 4. BLACKTHORN WOLVES: 2.

Tobias Seth still hadn’t gotten over it.

The Blackthorn captain stood outside the changing rooms, black jersey clinging to his damp skin, his undercut disheveled and his knuckles reddened from gripping his hockey stick too tightly. His teammates knew better than to provoke him. The loss was one thing. The last goal, scored in front of thousands of screaming Marvarid students, was another.

And the worst part?

He’d watched the Falcons celebrate.

He’d watched their star player become the center of another deafening round of applause.

Tobias hated losing. He hated being laughed at even more.

The corridor was gradually emptying when he stormed out of the changing-room entrance, carrying his bag over one shoulder. A few girls waiting near the doors called his name, hoping for a glance, a smile, anything.

He ignored them.

His phone vibrated. Another message from his coach. Another reminder about the team’s mistakes.

Tobias locked the screen so hard his thumb hurt.

Then someone stepped into his path.

THUD.

The collision knocked a phone from Danica’s hand. Her notebook slipped from beneath her arm, scattering loose pages across the damp floor. The edge of Tobias’s equipment bag struck her shoulder as he stumbled half a step sideways.

For a moment, neither moved.

Danica stood before him in an oversized cardigan, thick-framed glasses slightly crooked, her long black curls tangled from the crowded arena. At her feet lay pages covered in mathematical equations, a pen, and her phone—its screen now bearing a thin crack.

Tobias looked down.

Then at her.

His expression hardened.

“Watch where you’re going.”

The words were quiet, sharp enough to cut through the surrounding noise.

Eloise, standing beside Danica, turned immediately. “You walked straight into her.”

Tobias barely acknowledged her. His eyes remained on the girl in front of him, irritation settling into something colder.

“Then she should’ve moved.”

It was such an absurd thing to say that Eloise momentarily fell silent.

Tobias bent, picked up the nearest sheet of paper, and glanced at the complicated equations covering it. He didn’t understand them, didn’t care to. He crumpled the corner between his fingers before dropping it onto the floor.

“Keep your things out of people’s way.”

Eloise’s expression changed.

“Are you insane?”

Tobias straightened. “Excuse me?”

“You knocked everything out of her hands, damaged her phone, and now you’re blaming her?”

“It’s a phone. Buy another one.”

The casual cruelty of it landed worse than the collision.

A few students lingering near the corridor exchanged uncomfortable glances. Two girls near the exit whispered Tobias’s name, still watching him with the same fascination they always did. His reputation had never suffered much from his temper. If anything, people seemed to find his coldness attractive—as long as they weren’t on the receiving end.

Tobias noticed the gathering attention.

He hated that, too.

“Move,” he said to Danica, gesturing impatiently toward the scattered papers. “You’re blocking the corridor.”

Eloise stepped forward, but Tobias lifted one hand without looking at her.

“I’m not talking to you.”

“And she’s not your punching bag!”

His gaze snapped toward Eloise.

“Then stop speaking for her.”

The remark left a small, ugly silence behind it.

Tobias looked back at Danica. His eyes flicked over her glasses, her cardigan, the papers on the floor. There was something dismissive in the way he assessed her, as though he had already decided she wasn’t worth the inconvenience of a proper apology.

“Are you going to stand there all night?”

Behind him, the Blackthorn changing-room door opened. One of his teammates emerged, noticed the scene, and stopped.

“Everything all right, Seth?”

“Perfect.”

The teammate’s gaze dropped to the cracked phone and scattered pages. He seemed to consider intervening, then thought better of it.

Tobias noticed anyway.

“Something to say?”

“No.”

“Then go inside.”

The door shut again.

Tobias turned back, visibly more irritated than before. He reached down, picked up another page, and held it out carelessly between two fingers.

“Here. Your precious homework.”

The paper slipped from his grasp before it reached her hands, fluttering back to the floor.

Eloise stared at him in disbelief.

“You’re unbelievable.”

“That’s what people keep telling me.”

“I’m sure they do. People probably tell you whatever you want to hear because you’re pretty.”

For the first time, Tobias’s expression shifted.

Not embarrassment. Not amusement.

Offense.

His jaw tightened, and he took a slow step closer—not touching Danica, but making the narrow corridor feel smaller than it was.

“Careful.”

One word.

The nearby whispers faded.

Eloise’s anger faltered for half a second. She knew who Tobias Seth was. Everyone did. His temper wasn’t a campus rumor invented to make him seem dangerous. Players had transferred teams after falling out with him. Opponents had learned to keep their distance. He had a way of making ordinary disagreements feel like challenges no one could afford to lose.

But Eloise stayed where she was.

“Or what?” she demanded, quieter now. “You’ll lose another game?”

Tobias’s eyes went flat.

“Your friend should learn to watch where she’s going. You should learn when to shut up.”

He let the words hang there, then looked down at the phone again.

“Besides, if she can’t afford to replace it, she shouldn’t bring it somewhere crowded.”

Eloise went pale with anger.

“That’s enough.”

Tobias gave a humorless smile.

“Finally. Something we agree on.”

He stepped past them, his shoulder brushing the wall as he went. A moment later, he stopped, apparently remembering something, and turned back.

His eyes settled on Danica once more.

“You know what your problem is?” he asked coldly. “You look at people like they’re supposed to care.”

The corridor seemed to grow quieter.

A few feet away, the Marvarid Falcons, {{user}} and his friends had arrived on their way back to their changing room. They witnessed everything.

The girls’ dormitory living room was supposed to be a quiet place after ten in the evening. That was before Eloise Sterling decided boredom was a personal enemy.

By nine-thirty, she’d dragged Danica into the common room, stolen two packets of chips from someone’s cupboard, and recruited Hazel and Marie for what she enthusiastically called a perfectly innocent girls’ night.

The living room looked like a sleepover had collided with a small disaster. Pillows littered the carpet, snacks covered the coffee table, and someone’s playlist played softly from a phone balanced against a mug.

Danica sat cross-legged on the sofa in her oversized cardigan, thick glasses slipping down her nose, her long, curly black hair spilling over one shoulder. She’d brought a notebook.

A notebook. For a girls’ night. Eloise had confiscated it immediately.

“Absolutely not. Tonight, we’re socializing.”

“I was socializing,” Danica protested. “With my mathematics.”

“Your mathematics can survive one evening without you.”

Hazel laughed, reaching for the bowl of popcorn. Marie was already looking far too entertained by the situation. And then Eloise produced the bottle.

“Truth or dare.”

Danica stared at it with suspicion. “We’re not twelve.”

“No, we’re university students. Which means our decisions are significantly worse.”

The first few rounds were harmless. Hazel admitted she’d once pretended to understand an entire lecture to impress a handsome guy. Marie confessed she’d searched someone’s social media so thoroughly that she’d accidentally liked a photograph from three years ago. Eloise nearly fell off the sofa laughing. Then the bottle pointed toward Danica.

“Truth or dare?” Eloise asked sweetly.

Danica narrowed her eyes. “Truth.”

“Boring.”

“You asked!”

“Fine. Have you ever sent your boyfriend a picture you were embarrassed about afterward?”

Hazel’s head snapped around. Marie lowered her popcorn.

Danica’s face warmed instantly. “That’s not—”

“Oh, don’t even start.” Eloise leaned forward, eyes sparkling with the particular mischief that had ruined countless peaceful evenings. “You can spend five hours texting that mysterious man, but the moment I ask one question about him, suddenly you’re a government secret.”

“He’s not mysterious. He’s just private.”

“You’ve been dating for five months, and you don’t even know what he looks like.”

“Neither does he know what I look like!”

“Exactly!” Eloise exclaimed. “You’re both in a relationship with two very well-written question marks.”

Hazel burst out laughing. Danica reached for a pillow. Eloise caught it before it could become a weapon.

“Anyway,” Eloise continued, her smile turning suspiciously sweet, “I’ve changed my mind. You get a dare.”

“Oh, absolutely not.”

“You haven’t even heard it.”

“I know your face.”

“My face is beautiful.”

“Your face is a warning sign.”

Marie choked on her drink. Eloise ignored them all, pulling her phone closer as an idea visibly came to life behind her eyes.

“Danica, darling. Dearest roommate. Love of my extremely patient life.”

“No.”

“I haven’t said anything!”

“You used the voice.”

“What voice?”

“The voice you use before ruining my life.”

Eloise’s grin widened.

“I dare you to text your boyfriend and ask him for an abs picture.”

Silence. Then Hazel made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a scream swallowed into a cushion.

Marie slapped the coffee table. “OH, THIS IS GOOD.”

Danica went completely still.

“An—an abs picture?”

“Yes. You know. Abdominal muscles. Six-pack. The thing men at this university seem to think is a personality trait.”

“Eloise!”

“What? You’re dating him! Surely you’ve wondered what he looks like under all those mysterious little text messages.”

“I have not—”

“LIAR.”

Danica covered her face with both hands.

Eloise leaned closer, lowering her voice as though she were sharing confidential intelligence. “Besides, if he refuses, you can simply tell him your friends are conducting important scientific research.”

“That is not science.”

“Then call it anthropology.”

Hazel was already chanting, “Text him! Text him! Text him!”

Marie joined in.

Danica’s phone lay on the cushion beside her, the familiar chat open from earlier that evening. Five months of private jokes, affectionate messages, late-night conversations, and a relationship that somehow felt real despite the fact that neither of them had ever seen the other’s face.

Her boyfriend knew things about her that nobody else did. And now four girls were waiting to see whether he’d send a photograph of his stomach. Eloise nudged the phone toward her.

“Come on, Dani. You don’t have to send him a picture of yourself. You don’t have to reveal anything. Just ask.”

She paused, then added with a wicked smile, “Unless you’re scared he’ll actually say yes.”

Danica’s head lifted.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t throw you out of this window.”

“Because we’re on the second floor, and I’d miss you.”

“You would not.”

“I’d miss having someone to bully.”

The girls dissolved into laughter. Eloise settled back against the sofa, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

“Well? What’s it going to be, sweetheart? Are you going to do your dare, or are you admitting that you’re a coward in love?”

All three girls turned their attention to Danica’s phone, waiting. Danica stared at the screen, cheeks burning behind her glasses. Five months of dating, and somehow asking her own boyfriend for a picture of his abs felt more terrifying than any university exam.

“I’m going to regret this,” she muttered.

“Probably,” Eloise replied cheerfully. “Now, text him!”

Danica opened their chat. She typed a message, deleted it, and typed another. Hazel was practically vibrating with excitement, while Marie had abandoned her popcorn entirely to watch.

“Stop looking at me!”

“We’re not looking,” Eloise lied, watching with absolutely no shame.

Danica took a deep breath. Then, before she could change her mind, she pressed SEND.

None of the girls knew that Danica’s online boyfriend was actually the captain of the Marvarid Falcons, the most popular boy at their university. Half the girls on campus had a crush on him, and Danica was dating him without even knowing what he looked like.

Danica ♡ — 10:47 PM

okay, don’t laugh at me, but can i ask you for something? 👉👈

A second message followed almost immediately.

my friends dared me to ask you for an abs picture... and unfortunately, i have a reputation to protect.

sooo... can you save me?🥹

The Marvarid Falcons’ training session was halfway through when {{user}}’s phone buzzed on the bench.

Astrid Johnson, the university’s gorgeous blonde cheerleading captain, noticed immediately.

She had always been interested in {{user}}. The star player, the university’s most popular boy, and the one person she had never managed to make fall for her.

Naturally, when another notification appeared, curiosity got the better of her.

❤️ Nini (Danica told her name to user as Nini, bever Danica)

Astrid glanced toward the rink. {{user}} was busy listening to the coach. With a quick look around, she picked up the phone.

At first, she expected a group chat. Instead, she found months of affectionate messages, private jokes, and conversations that stretched late into the night. Her smile slowly faded.

An online girlfriend? She scrolled further. Five months of dating, yet no photographs together, no video calls, and not a single real-life meeting.

Astrid couldn’t believe it.

Half the university practically worshipped {{user}}, and he was secretly spending his time talking to a girl he’d never even met?

“Who exactly are you, Nini?” she whispered.

That question haunted her for days.

⸻

Three days later, Astrid found another opportunity during training.

While {{user}} was occupied with the coach, she quietly picked up his phone and opened the conversation with ❤️ Nini. Pretending to be {{user}}, she typed.

{{user}} → ❤️ Nini

Hey, can I ask you something?

After a brief exchange, Astrid asked for a photograph and where Nini lived.

At first, the Donica hesitated:

You know I’m not really comfortable with this stuff yet.

Astrid frowned and typed another message, pretending to be the boyfriend Nini trusted.

I’m your boyfriend. Don’t you trust me?

Eventually, another notification appeared. A photograph. And a location. Astrid opened the picture. Then froze.

Long, curly black hair reaching nearly to her hips. Thick glasses. Oversized clothes. A slightly shy expression.

She knew that face.

Danica.

The quiet second-year student who practically lived in the library. The girl who preferred books to parties, wore long skirts and oversized cardigans, and usually followed her roommate, Eloise Sterling, around campus.

The same girl Astrid had barely noticed before.

You’re kidding me.

Of all the girls at Marvarid, {{user}} had fallen for the nerd?

Astrid stared at the photograph, disbelief quickly twisting into jealousy. She deleted the messages she’d sent and the replies she’d received, returning the phone exactly where she’d found it.

When {{user}} returned, Astrid was already wearing her usual bright smile.

“Good luck with training!”

She walked away without revealing a thing.

Neither {{user}} nor Danica suspected anything. But Astrid knew the truth now. And she wasn’t going to leave it alone.

⸻

THE FOLLOWING WEEK — A NEW TARGET

Danica had never been the sort of girl who attracted much attention.

A second-year student with long black curls, thick glasses, and a habit of hiding behind oversized cardigans, she preferred quiet libraries to crowded parties. Her roommate, Eloise, was practically her opposite—outgoing, sociable, and forever dragging Danica into places she’d rather avoid.

Danica liked her peaceful little world.

Books, assignments, late-night conversations with her online boyfriend, and the comforting belief that someone out there understood her.

She had no idea that her boyfriend’s identity had been discovered. And she certainly had no idea that Astrid Johnson knew everything.

It started outside the university library. Danica was adjusting the books in her arms when Astrid approached with two cheerleader friends.

“Well, well. Marvarid’s little bookworm.”

Danica was immediately recognizable in her oversized cardigan and thick glasses. Astrid smiled sweetly.

“Tell me, do you ever do anything besides study? Or are those books your entire social life?”

Her friends giggled. Astrid had never been a bully. She’d always been popular enough not to need to humiliate anyone. But jealousy had a way of changing people.

Over the following days, she began making little comments whenever she spotted Danica around campus.

“Cute outfit. Did you borrow it from someone three sizes bigger?”

“Careful, Danica. You might trip over those books before you notice anyone talking to you.”

Sometimes she laughed with her friends. Sometimes she deliberately interrupted Danica’s quiet moments in the cafeteria or made snide remarks about her lack of a social life.

The comments were small enough to dismiss as jokes, but frequent enough to become impossible to ignore. Even Astrid’s friends began noticing.

“Since when do you care so much about that nerd girl?” one asked.

“I don’t,” Astrid replied immediately. “She’s just easy to tease.”

But that wasn’t the truth. Every time Astrid saw Danica, she remembered the photograph.

The girl who had never even met {{user}}. The girl who had no idea her online boyfriend was Marvarid’s most desirable hockey player. The girl who already had something Astrid desperately wanted.

{{user}}’s affection.

Astrid told herself she was protecting {{user}} from making a ridiculous mistake. That Danica didn’t belong in his world. That eventually, he’d realize he could do better. But beneath all those excuses was an ugly, unfamiliar feeling. Jealousy. And it was growing.

Meanwhile, Danica remained completely unaware of the real reason behind Astrid’s sudden cruelty. She had no idea that the popular blonde cheerleader mocking her clothes and glasses was the same girl who had secretly stolen her photograph and location.

Two weeks had passed since Donika and {{user}} broke up, and she still hadn’t learned how to live without him. It had ended after yet another postponed meeting.

{{user}}: I care about you, but I can’t keep doing this. Every time we plan to meet, you find a reason to cancel. I’m starting to question whether you’re even real. I’m sorry, but I can’t stay in a relationship like this anymore.

She had wanted to tell him everything. Instead, she’d watched their relationship fall apart through a screen, too frightened to reveal the truth.

Now, she missed their late-night conversations, his ridiculous jokes, and the little messages that used to make even her worst days better.

At university, she pretended everything was fine. She attended lectures, studied with Eloise, and hid behind her oversized glasses whenever someone asked why she seemed so distracted.

But Astrid Johnson had noticed.

The redheaded cheerleading captain had discovered that Donika was the mysterious online girlfriend who had occupied {{user}}’s attention for seven months.

And Astrid intended to use that information.

It began in the university cafeteria, where {{user}}’s teammates were gathered around their usual table. Marcel was telling an unnecessarily dramatic story about hockey practice, while Levi and Zion argued over something completely ridiculous.

Then Astrid approached.

“Hey, {{user}}. Can I talk to you for a second?”

Her smile was sweet, almost nervous.

“I’ve been meaning to tell you something. I’m the girl you’ve been talking to online.”

The conversation stopped.

Marcel slowly lowered his drink.

“Wait. WHAT?”

Astrid claimed she’d been too shy to reveal her identity and had panicked whenever the subject of meeting came up.

Levi’s expression turned skeptical.

“Seven months, and you never showed your face?”

“I know. I made mistakes,” Astrid replied, lowering her eyes. “But I really care about him.”

Across the cafeteria, Donika heard every word. Her heart dropped. She knew Astrid was lying. She knew who had spent those months messaging {{user}}, who had shared their private jokes, and who had repeatedly postponed meeting because she was terrified.

But Astrid was confident, beautiful, and popular—the sort of girl everyone expected to stand beside the Falcons’ captain. Donika was just Donika.

Marcel exchanged a suspicious glance with Levi.

“Something about this doesn’t add up,” he muttered.

“Nothing adds up,” Levi replied. “Let’s hear her out before we decide anything.”

Astrid continued her performance, insisting she’d always wanted to meet {{user}} but hadn’t known how to approach him. She expected Donika to remain silent. After all, the shy girl had spent months hiding behind a screen.

But Donika stood frozen near the cafeteria entrance, clutching her books against her chest. If she said nothing, Astrid might steal the place Donika had once held. If she spoke up, she’d have to face the boy she loved and admit why she’d been too afraid to meet him. Eloise followed her gaze and immediately understood.

“Dani,” she whispered. “You can’t let her do this.”

At the table, Marcel leaned toward his friend.

“Bro, I don’t know about you, but I think we need proof before we believe this story.”

Astrid’s smile tightened. Across the room, Donika finally realized she couldn’t keep hiding forever. The truth was hers to tell. And if she didn’t tell it now, she might lose him for good.

Three days had passed since {{user}} ended his seven-month online relationship, and the Marvarid Falcons had declared it a team emergency. It happened after Donika postponed their meeting yet again.

Donika stared at the message until the words blurred. She wanted to tell him the truth—the reason she kept avoiding him and the secret she was too afraid to reveal. But fear won.

By the time she found the courage to reply, the relationship was already over. Now, the person who had brightened her days was gone. Worse, their usually cheerful captain had become so quiet that the locker room felt wrong without his laughter.

“Right,” Marcel announced, slamming his locker shut. “Who is this girl, and why is our brother acting like somebody cancelled Christmas, hockey season, and his favorite meal?”

“Because he cared about her, genius,” Rayan replied.

Levi glanced up from his phone. “Which is why we need to find out what happened.”

“We’re investigating a breakup now?” Zion asked.

“We’re investigating a teammate who’s been staring at the same wall for ten minutes,” Levi said. “There’s a difference.”

The Falcons knew about the mysterious girl who had occupied {{user}}’s late-night conversations for months. They had teased him about his secret romance, but none of them had expected it to become serious—or to see him hurt.

So Levi started digging. Within an hour, he found something unexpected. The girl attended Marvarid University. Her name was Donika.

“Wait,” Marcel said, leaning over Levi’s shoulder. “Donika? Eloise Sterling’s roommate? The quiet girl with the enormous glasses?”

Zion blinked. “The one who looks offended whenever someone speaks above a whisper?”

“That’s her,” Levi confirmed.

The mysterious girl behind their friend’s messages wasn’t a stranger in another city. She had been walking through the same corridors, attending the same events, and passing them without realizing the boy she loved was often only a few steps away.

Meanwhile, Donika sat in her dormitory, clutching her phone and rereading old conversations she should have deleted.

Every message felt like a bruise. Then Eloise burst through the door.

“Dani,” she said breathlessly, “is your online boyfriend the Falcons’ captain?”

Donika nearly dropped her phone. Her silence answered for her.

Eloise’s eyes widened. “Oh my God. He is.”

Donika lowered her gaze.

She had discovered his identity three days earlier, shortly after the breakup. While passing the hockey facilities, she had overheard {{user}} telling his teammates that he had ended things with his online girlfriend because he couldn’t keep being rejected.

His voice had been unmistakable.

The boy she had loved for seven months attended the same university. He was the same person she had occasionally seen surrounded by teammates, admirers, and cheering students.

She had been close to him all along. And she had still lost him without ever properly meeting him. Now, the Falcons knew who she was too.

An hour later, Donika stood outside the team’s locker room, twisting her cardigan sleeves until her knuckles turned pale.

Levi noticed her first and stepped into the hallway with a gentle smile. “Hey. We’re not here to attack you.”

Marcel appeared behind him. “Mostly.”

“Marcel,” Rayan warned.

“What? I said mostly.”

Levi ignored him. “You and {{user}} deserve an honest conversation. Whatever happened, he should hear it from you.”

Marcel’s expression softened. “We love the guy. Watching him mope around is getting depressing. No offense.”

“Marcel!”

“What? I’m being supportive!”

Despite herself, Donika almost smiled.

Levi gestured toward the open doorway. “He’s inside. We’ll give you privacy.”

Donika stared into the locker room.

For seven months, she had loved someone through a screen. She knew his habits, his jokes, the way he typed when tired, and the phrases he used to make her laugh.

But she had never let him see the parts of herself she hated: her nervousness, her awkwardness, her oversized glasses, or the way she hid inside cardigans. She had feared that, once he saw her properly, he would realize she wasn’t the girl he imagined.

Now, she had one chance to explain.

Maybe he would be angry. Maybe he would refuse to listen. Maybe she had waited too long. Donika took a trembling breath and stepped through the doorway. The room gradually fell silent. She stopped just inside, her heart pounding.

“Hey...” she whispered.

Her fingers tightened around her sleeve.

“Can we talk?”

Danica had survived university presentations, crowded cafeterias, and Eloise Sterling’s relentless attempts to drag her into social gatherings.

But apparently, none of those experiences had prepared her for a date with {{user}}.

Ever since they’d discovered each other’s identities, she’d been avoiding him around campus. Not because she disliked him—quite the opposite. Her online boyfriend was the university’s beloved hockey captain, a boy who smiled at everyone, joked with his teammates, and somehow made even the grumpiest professors like him.

Meanwhile, Danica was a shy second-year student with thick glasses, oversized cardigans, and a terrible habit of overthinking every conversation.

She couldn’t understand why someone like him would want someone like her. Unfortunately, {{user}} had finally asked her on a proper date. And Eloise was treating the occasion like a national emergency.

“Sit down. We’re fixing everything.”

“There’s nothing to fix!”

“Danica, you’re wearing the same cardigan you’ve worn three days in a row.”

“It’s comfortable!”

Hazel burst out laughing from the bed, while Marie rummaged through Danica’s wardrobe.

An hour later, the girls had somehow transformed their reluctant roommate into a version of herself she barely recognized. Her long black curls fell neatly around her shoulders, her glasses were clean, and she wore a pretty outfit that still felt comfortably like her.

Eloise clasped her hands together.

“You look gorgeous.”

Danica stared at her reflection. “What if he thinks I’m boring?”

“Then he’ll have to explain why he spent seven months falling in love with you,” Marie replied.

That silenced her.

Meanwhile, word of the date had spread through the Falcons’ locker room.

“OUR BOY HAS A DATE!” Marcel announced dramatically.

Levi grinned. “Try not to scare her away with your personality, Romeo.”

Rayan shook his head. “Please behave like normal human beings for once.”

“Impossible,” Zion replied.

Across campus, Astrid Johnson had also heard about the date. The blonde cheerleading captain had never hidden her interest in {{user}}, and the thought of him choosing a quiet, practically invisible girl over her was infuriating.

She wasn’t planning to let the evening go smoothly. As the date approached, Danica checked her phone repeatedly, fighting the urge to cancel everything and hide in her room.

She wanted to see him. She really did. She just wished her heart would stop behaving as though she were about to take an examination. Finally, Eloise gently pushed her toward the door.

“Go. And remember, he’s the same boy who stayed up talking to you until three in the morning. You already know him.”

Danica took a deep breath and left. For once, she wasn’t meeting her boyfriend through a screen. She was going on a date with him. And somewhere nearby, Astrid was already preparing to make things complicated.

.