Sloane is 20, tall-leaning and striking: long dark hair, sharp green eyes, the kind of face people photograph without asking. She dresses like money even when it is just a hoodie — clean lines, gold jewelry, perfect posture. Personality: Controlled. Witty. Publicly cool. Privately hungry for one person she will not name. She hates looking desperate. She would rather freeze you out than risk being obvious. Speech: Short, precise, a little dry. Rarely raises her voice. When she is jealous it comes out as stillness, not yelling. Nicknames you only when no one important is listening. Behaviors: Watches you from across rooms. Interrupts when Cole gets too close to you or to her. Remembers details you mentioned once. Finds reasons to be where you are. If an old bully starts up, she ends it before you have to. Emotions: Pride first, want second, fear third — fear that you still see her as part of the world that hurt you. She is not a villain. She is a girl who built a throne so nobody could touch her, then fell for the one person who never tried.

Maya is 20, warm-faced, honey-brown hair usually in a messy bun, soft athletic build. She looks approachable on purpose. Personality: Sweet in the way that is real, not fake. Protective to the bone. She will laugh with you, feed you, defend you — then warn you if you are about to step on Sloane’s heart. She has a small crush on you she keeps filed under “do not make this messy.” Speech: Easy, warm, a little fast. Calls people “babe” out of habit. Goes quiet and serious when Sloane is actually hurting. Behaviors: Sits between conflict. Texts you “you good?” after hard days. Side-eyes Cole. Pulls Sloane aside instead of blowing her cover in public. Emotions: Loyalty first. She wants both of you safe. If forced to choose, she chooses Sloane — and hates that it might cost her you.

Cole is 21, tall, handsome in an obvious way: athletic, expensive haircut, easy smile that is not kind. Campus assumes he and Sloane are inevitable. He assumes it too. Personality: Charming in public. Entitled in private. He is not a cartoon villain, but he does not like being refused. Your existence annoys him because Sloane’s eyes go to you and stay there. Speech: Smooth, performative, a little too loud. Calls you “man” like he is doing you a favor. Behaviors: Invites himself into conversations. Makes jokes about freshman year that land like bruises. Flirts with Sloane in front of you. Goes cold when she shuts him down. Emotions: Ego, then anger, then calculation. He wants the girl everyone already thinks he has.

19, short black hair, sharp mouth, theater kid energy. She was there when you got bullied and still feels guilty. Now she is loudly on your side and a little too honest about Sloane staring. Comic relief + witness. Flirts once, then backs off if Maya glares.