My Best Friend Made Me Dress In Plain Clothes For The Ball Selection

No more pointed comments about fake friends, no more social media drama or public arguments—just polite coexistence until housing changes happened in January. It wasn’t friendship and it wasn’t the closure some people expected, but it was livable.

I felt relieved to have clear boundaries, even if they weren’t the reconciliation everyone thought we should have. Some mutual friends seemed disappointed that we didn’t hug and make up, but I was done pretending everything was fine when it wasn’t.

Finals week came and went. I got my approval for a room change to a single for spring semester.

I packed up my stuff the day after my last exam and moved everything to my parents’ house for winter break. My sister picked me up, and on the drive home, she asked how I was doing.

I told her everything that happened since the ball. She was quiet for a while and then said she was proud of me for standing up for myself.

She said watching me accept Alexis’s treatment for three years had been hard, but she knew I had to figure it out on my own. My parents were supportive when I got home even though they’d always liked Alexis and seemed sad the friendship ended.

My mom said sometimes friendships run their course and that’s okay. My dad asked if I was sure I’d tried everything to fix it.

I explained that you can’t fix a friendship where one person needs the other to stay small. They both hugged me and said they understood.

Having their support felt validating even though the situation was complicated and messy. Winter break arrived with the quiet relief of distance and space.

Colin and I started doing video calls every few days, and those conversations felt different from any friendship I’d had before. He’d ask about my day and actually listen to my answers without redirecting the conversation back to himself.

When I mentioned feeling nervous about a family dinner, he didn’t tell me I was overreacting or that other people had it worse. He just said my feelings made sense and asked what would help me feel better.

I noticed how different this was from years of Alexis dismissing my concerns or turning them into opportunities to talk about her own problems. One night we were on a call and I mentioned missing the campus veteran center where we’d first crossed paths.

Colin smiled and said he’d been hoping I’d bring that up. He told me he’d visited three times before the ball selection, always timing it so he could see me interact with the older vets, and he’d been working up the courage to introduce himself for weeks.

Hearing that made something shift in my chest because Alexis had spent years convincing me that guys like Colin didn’t notice girls like me unless they felt sorry for us. But Colin had noticed me specifically because of my character and kindness, not despite some imagined flaw.

We made plans for spring semester, including study dates at the library and weekend trips to nearby hiking trails. I realized I was building something real with someone who genuinely wanted me to succeed and feel confident.

My sister came into my room one afternoon and caught me smiling at my phone during a text conversation with Colin. She sat on my bed and said she was glad I’d finally found someone who treated me the way I deserved.

That validation from her meant everything because she’d watched the Alexis friendship damage my self-worth for three years. Spring semester started with me moving into my single room in a different building, and the freedom of that space felt incredible.

I could decorate however I wanted without worrying about Alexis’s opinions. I could study without her pointed comments about how some people had to work harder than others.

I could just exist without constantly monitoring whether I was being too confident or too successful or too anything. Three weeks into the semester, I was grabbing lunch in the dining hall when I saw Alexis at a table across the room with some girls from her communications class.

Our eyes met for a brief second and we both nodded politely before looking away. No dramatic confrontation, no tears or apologies or attempts to rehash everything that happened.

Just two people who used to share everything and now shared nothing. I sat with Liliana and Declan, who’d become real friends over the past few months.

People who celebrated my successes instead of finding ways to diminish them. Colin joined us a few minutes later and kissed my cheek before sitting down.

I caught Alexis watching from across the room with an expression I couldn’t quite read. I turned back to my friends and focused on the conversation happening at my table instead of worrying about what she thought.

Sometimes I felt sad about losing what I thought Alexis and I had, but mostly I felt relieved to be free of constantly feeling like I wasn’t enough.