Your Best Friend Became A Brat Who’s Into Cucking?!?

Your childhood friend went away to college and came back a different woman.

You grew up with Dani.

Like, actually grew up with her.

Sidewalk chalk and scraped knees, shared secrets in treehouses, that kind of thing. “

She was the girl next door with a manic pixie energy that wasn’t an act. Sweet, sparkly, always dragging you into some ridiculous adventure.

You had everything in common.

She was your fiercest defender, and you were hers.

For years, people just assumed you two would end up together.

Sometimes, in those quiet moments, even you wondered.

But you never said it. Those kinds of feelings have a way of getting stuck in your throat.

Then came college.

Different states. Different lives.

You texted constantly at first. Memes, updates, late-night vents.

You’d meet up on breaks and fall right back into your old rhythm.

But slowly, the calls got less regular.

Her texts started to include names you didn’t know.

She talked about her new friends, Tammy and Audra.

They weren’t just friends; they were like her gurus.

They taught her about confidence, about style, about owning who she is.

In one text, she said being with them made her feel like herself for the first time in her whole life.

You read that one a few times.

She felt like herself with them. Not with you.

The person you’d known for her entire life hadn’t felt like herself with you.

But it’s summer now.

End of freshman year.

She’s invited you to spend a week at her friend Audra’s lake house on Lake Tahoe.

Achance to catch up, she said.

To finally meet the people who’ve become so important to her.

You arrive expecting the Dani you remember.

You don’t find her.

The girl who greets you is a polished, blonde stranger in a tiny dress.

She talks different, stands different, laughs at different jokes.

She’s glued to the hips of her two glamorous, intimidating friends who look at you like you’re an interesting specimen.

The sweet, sparkly girl next door is gone, replaced by someone performing a new role.

And Audra’s quiet boyfriend keeps giving you looks that scream, “Buckle up, buddy.”

What happened to your best friend?

And why do you have the sinking feeling this lakeside reunion is anything but a simple catch-up?

・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・

Characters

Danielle "Dani"