Chapter 39: Cracks In The Dorm [II]

"Will you shut it, Chloe?" Ariel snapped, startling Chloe, who jumped at the sharpness in her voice. She clearly hadn’t been expecting Ariel to raise her voice at her.

"I’m seriously sick and tired of your endless attitude," Ariel continued, her eyes locked on Chloe. "What exactly is your problem? You think Starlight is the only one getting that weird feeling from you? I felt it too, and I’m pretty sure Elle did as well. We just didn’t want to bring it up because it would’ve looked like we were ganging up on you. But ever since we met, I’ve always felt like you’re just going through the motions. Like you’re constantly saying and doing what you think you’re supposed to say and do. Your concern never feels genuine. It feels like you’re only pretending to be part of this group because it’s expected of you, not because you actually want to be. And the fact that I’ve gotten all of that from you after barely a day together is honestly exhausting. Seriously, it’s draining."

Chloe let out a short, disbelieving laugh. "Wow. Just wow. I can’t believe I’m actually sitting here getting psychoanalyzed because I wanted a little more sleep."

"You are unbelievable," Ariel breathed, her voice dropping into a cold whisper. "You know what? Suffocate in your own bitterness for all I care. Just take it far away from us."

With that, she sat back down on her bed, clearly furious. The sheer irritation radiating off her made her look downright terrifying, a stark contrast to her usual relaxed demeanor.

Starlight shook her head in disappointment.

She really dislike people like Chloe. People who openly disliked you were easy to deal with. At least you knew where you stood with them. But people like Chloe? They were very exhausting to deal with. They smiled at you, acted concerned, and went through all the expected social motions because everyone else was doing it, all while quietly judging you behind the scenes. Sometimes they even disguised that judgment as concern for your well-being. They always seemed to have one foot in and one foot out. Worse still, they convinced themselves they were being fair and reasonable while looking down on you from some invisible pedestal.

Maybe Starlight was wrong, but every instinct she had was screaming otherwise.

Ever since she had met the girl, something about her attitude had felt off. Her attempts at concern and kindness had always felt more like forced obligations than genuine emotion. And Starlight had learned a long time ago to trust her instincts when it came to people. The ones who hurt you the most were rarely the ones who openly announced their intentions. They were usually the ones who stood beside you pretending to be on your side.

She wasn’t about to ignore that lesson now.

Before the silence in the room could curdle any further, Elle suddenly lunged forward and snatched her phone back from Starlight’s hands, earning a confused blink from her.

"Elle?" Starlight frowned.

Ignoring her, Elle rapidly tapped and swiped through several screens before stopping on the trending feed. "Okay, enough of this! Here is the main event, the real highlight of today’s drama," she declared loudly. "Look at what the Wolfhart twins posted this morning!"

She immediately shoved the device right back into Starlight’s hands. Starlight couldn’t help smiling faintly as she took the phone back. It was painfully obvious that Elle was desperately trying to derail the suffocating tension hanging over the room. Looking down at the screen, she saw what Elle was talking about. It was a formal joint statement straight from the Wolfhart Alphas’ verified account. The post specifically addressed the wild rumors that had exploded after the video soliciting votes for Starlight had suddenly disappeared from their wall.

xxx

@WolfhartTwins:

• 1h ago

The video soliciting votes for Starlight Dawson was simply taken down because it had already served its intended purpose, not because the Wolfhart twins withdrew their support for Miss Dawson. The call to action reached everyone it needed to reach, and the massive surge in votes prior to the recent scandal proved that our message was heard loud and clear and for that overwhelming response, we appreciate every single one of you who stepped up and participated.

The timing of the video’s removal was purely coincidental, unfortunately aligning with the recent wave of campus drama. We did not archive the post to side with anyone, nor are we backing down from our support.

To those who rallied behind the cause: your support remains 100% solid, and so does ours. Any attempt to spin the narrative into something else is either dishonest or completely detached from reality. The Wolfhart twins’ stance has not changed and will not change. Clean up the false narratives, or we will clean them up for you.

We are especially disappointed by those claiming to be our supporters while so readily believing and spreading unfounded rumors. Did you truly think we were petty enough to publicly endorse someone one day and then secretly abandon them the next over campus gossip? We expected better from our supporters. The ease with which some of you accepted and spread these false narratives is honestly disappointing.

As for Miss Dawson, we would like to extend a sincere apology. If the timing of our decision to remove the video unintentionally contributed to the misunderstanding surrounding her situation, then we regret that deeply. It was never our intention to create additional difficulties for her or give anyone ammunition to weaponize against her. We still stand by our original endorsement. We stand by every word we said when we asked for your votes. And regardless of what narratives people choose to invent, that fact remains unchanged.

We hope this statement puts an end to the unnecessary speculation and allows everyone to focus on facts rather than assumptions.

Thank you.

— The Wolfhart Twins: Mikhail and Nikolai Wolfhart

The post had already amassed well over a million likes, with hundreds of thousands of reposts and saves, and over forty thousand comments, with the number still climbing. The second Starlight opened the comment section, her eyes widened. It was complete positive carnage. Messages of support, apologies, excitement, and celebration were flooding in at such a ridiculous pace that newer comments were burying older ones almost as soon as they appeared.