Chapter Text
Everybody at the academy agreed on one thing: Daniela Avanzini was actually insane.
Not insane in a bad way. More like insane in the way somebody could casually walk into a room wearing pajama pants, lip gloss, and headphones around her neck and still somehow look like she belonged on the cover of a magazine.
She had this laugh too. Loud. Unfiltered. The kind that made everybody else start laughing even when they didn’t know the joke.
Dani collected people without trying. Teachers loved her because she was smart when she bothered to pay attention. Students loved her because she talked to literally everybody like they were already friends. Even the grumpy cafeteria lady gave her extra fries.
It was honestly sickening.
And unfortunately for two particular girls, Dani had become the center of their entire emotional stability.
Which was deeply embarrassing.
Manon Bannerman realized she liked Dani during volleyball practice.
Actually, no. She realized she was doomed during volleyball practice.
“Bannerman!” Coach yelled. “Earth to Manon?”
Manon blinked hard.
The volleyball had smacked directly into her face.
The entire gym burst into laughter.
Usually Manon would laugh too. She was chill like that. Confident. Competitive. Funny. But right now all she could focus on was the fact Dani was jogging over looking concerned.
“Oh my God, are you dead?” Dani asked dramatically.
Manon stared.
Dani had tied her curls back messily and there was sweat shining on her forehead and somehow that made her look even prettier which honestly felt unfair to society.
“I think my soul left my body,” Manon admitted.
Dani snorted. “Yeah, I saw that. You looked possessed.”
Manon smiled stupidly.
That was the beginning of the end.
After that, it got worse.
Dani would sit next to her in class and suddenly Manon forgot basic English. Dani would touch her arm while laughing and Manon’s brain would reboot like an old computer. Dani would text her “you did so good today!” after practice and Manon would stare at the notification for ten whole minutes before answering because she needed to seem casual.
Spoiler alert: she was not casual.
At all.
Meanwhile, across campus, Sophia Laforteza was going through her own personal crisis.
Sophia was different from Manon in basically every way possible.
Where Manon was loud and athletic and impulsive, Sophia was polished. Elegant. Calm. The type of girl who always smelled expensive and somehow never had flyaway hairs.
She also had the biggest crush in human history.
Sophia first noticed Dani in the library.
Which sounded romantic until you realized Dani was arguing with a printer.
“You STUPID machine,” Dani hissed. “Why are you beefing with me specifically?”
Sophia looked up from her notes.
Dani slapped the printer dramatically.
The printer immediately started working.
Dani gasped. “OH so now you wanna act right.”
Sophia laughed before she could stop herself.
Dani turned toward her.
And smiled.
Sophia genuinely forgot what century she was in.
“You saw nothing,” Dani said.
“I saw assault against school property.”
“It deserved worse.”
Sophia laughed again.
That was it. Done. Over. Finished.
After that, Dani somehow started appearing everywhere.
At lunch.
In the hallways.
At football games.
In Sophia’s dreams, which was honestly getting ridiculous.
Sophia hated how easily Dani got under her skin.
One time Dani leaned over her shoulder to look at her chemistry homework and Sophia short-circuited so hard she wrote the wrong answer to two plus two.
Another time Dani called her pretty during a group project and Sophia had to excuse herself to the bathroom because she genuinely thought she might combust.
Neither Manon nor Sophia knew the other liked Dani at first.
That disaster revealed itself during lunch.
Dani had left their table to grab napkins.
Manon sighed dreamily while staring after her.
Sophia did the exact same thing.
Then they slowly turned toward each other.
Silence.
“Oh hell no,” Manon said immediately.
Sophia narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me?”
“You like Dani.”
“You literally sighed.”
“You literally looked like you were watching the love of your life walk away in slow motion.”
Sophia crossed her arms. “Well clearly you have terrible taste.”
Manon barked out a laugh. “Girl, YOU like her too.”
Sophia looked offended. “Unfortunately.”
That should’ve been the moment they bonded.
Instead it became a competition.
Not openly at first.
At first it was little things.
Manon carrying Dani’s bag before Sophia could offer.
Sophia buying Dani coffee before Manon arrived.
Manon posting gym selfies after Dani mentioned liking athletes.
Sophia wearing Dani’s favorite color suspiciously often.
It escalated quickly.
One afternoon Dani flopped dramatically into her cafeteria seat.
“I think you guys are trying to kill me.”
Manon froze. “What?”
Sophia looked equally panicked. “Why would you say that?”
Dani pointed accusingly between them.
“You two keep giving me food.”
There was a pause.
“That’s not attempted murder,” Sophia said carefully.
“I’ve had three iced coffees today.”
“Skill issue,” Manon muttered.
Dani narrowed her eyes.
The problem was Dani genuinely liked both of them.
Manon made her laugh harder than anyone else. Being around her felt chaotic in the best way. Manon dragged her into stupid adventures and hyped her up constantly and looked at her like she hung the moon.
Sophia, meanwhile, made Dani feel soft. Calm. Seen. Sophia remembered tiny details about her and always texted her good luck before exams and listened to her ramble about literally everything.
Dani was very aware they were both gorgeous.
Which did not help her situation whatsoever.
One Friday night the three of them ended up at a bonfire party.
Music blasted through cheap speakers while everybody crowded around the fire.
Dani sat between Manon and Sophia on an old blanket.
Which turned out to be a horrible decision because both girls kept trying to subtly impress her.
And by subtly, it meant not subtle at all.
Manon took off her hoodie and handed it to Dani when she mentioned being cold.
Sophia immediately offered her scarf too.
“You’ll overheat,” Dani laughed.
“Worth it,” Manon said.
Sophia glared at her.
Later, Dani mentioned wanting marshmallows.
Both girls stood up simultaneously.
“Oh my God,” Dani wheezed laughing. “Relax. I’m not royalty.”
“You could be,” Manon replied instantly.
Sophia looked like she wanted to throw herself into the fire.
Dani stared at them both.
“You guys are so weird.”
Neither denied it.
The worst part?
Everybody else noticed too.
“Oh they’re fucked,” Lara whispered at lunch one day.
“Like genuinely completely fucked,” Megan agreed.
Meanwhile Dani sat across from Manon and Sophia completely oblivious while eating fries.
“So hypothetically,” Dani said, “if somebody accidentally dyed their white hoodie pink, do you think bleach could fix it?”
“You dyed your hoodie pink?” Sophia asked.
Dani looked offended. “Accidentally.”
Manon grinned. “Honestly it fits your vibe.”
Dani pointed at her dramatically. “THANK you.”
Sophia watched them bicker and sighed internally.
Because this was bad.
Very bad.
She was losing.
Except later that same day Dani rested her head on Sophia’s shoulder during study hall because she was tired.
Sophia nearly ascended.
Then Manon walked in, saw it, and almost died on the spot.
The rivalry officially began after that.
No more subtlety.
No more pretending.
If they were going to fight for Dani’s attention, they were going all in.
And Dani?
Dani still had absolutely no idea what was coming.