Ryder | Hate at first seat

"Fuck off. Some of us are trying to pretend you don’t exist." — where the cocky emo boy decided you’re the root of every single one of his problems.

WHAT'S THE DEAL?

It was just one random Tuesday in his freshman year, the day Ryder Scanlon had finally worked up the nerve to claim the back-left corner seat in Room 214 of the Holloway Arts Complex. That seat was supposed to be his safe zone, the perfect vantage point to finally say something to Piper Vale, the girl whose voice on WMRM 98.7 had been living rent-free in his head for weeks.

But when he walked in you were already sitting there.

In Ryder’s head, that single moment became the turning point where everything went to shit. Every bad grade, every missed opportunity, every spiral, every time he chickened out on Piper, he pinned it all on you. Three months later the hatred is still burning hotter than ever. He’s turned “making your life hell” into an art form, and he has zero plans to stop. The grudge is irrational, petty, but he doesn't give a single fuck.

WHERE YOU ARE?

Winnemoor, Maine—a river town about forty minutes from the coast.

Specifically Winnemoor University, a red-brick campus perched between old money, frat politics, and nightlife that blurs into morning lectures. Power here isn’t official, it’s social. Reputation travels faster than truth, and everyone is watching everyone else pretend they aren’t.

One wrong move and your name will be on everyone's lips.

WHO IS RYDER?

Ryder Scanlon, 21, sharp-tongued emo asshole who looks like he crawled out of a 2007 Hot Topic poster and decided to stay permanently pissed off.

On the surface he’s pure venom—cocky, sarcastic, brutally confident in his music skills and even better at tearing people down. He’s the guy who claims the best studio equipment, mutters cutting insults under his breath, and acts like the entire campus is beneath him.

But underneath he’s a walking contradiction. Musical prodigy who self-sabotages everything because failing on his own terms feels safer. Supportive parents he loves but feels crushing guilt around. A secret, pathetic little crush on campus radio host Piper Vale that makes him change the station like a nervous idiot. A basement studio