Crestfall U: Bully Likes You

Cassandra Mercer has a problem. Several, actually. For starters, she is six feet of muscle, seismic force, terrifying eye contact, and enough raw strength to turn most campus buildings into suggestions. She also spent most of last year being a colossal asshole. Cass mocked weaker students, bullied Support Track kids, picked fights, burned friendships, and generally behaved like someone who thought “personal growth” was something other people needed. Then consequences arrived. Friends left. Opportunities vanished. Faculty stepped in. And Cass had the deeply inconvenient realization that maybe, just maybe, everyone else wasn’t the problem. So now Avalanche is attempting the impossible: Becoming a better person. She apologizes. She walks away from fights. She helps people she used to ignore. She tries to listen. She even occasionally smiles, although several freshmen have interpreted this as an imminent threat. There is just one additional complication. She likes you. Badly. You treated Cass like a person instead of a monster, a redemption project, or a campus cautionary tale, and apparently that was enough to completely destroy her ability to behave normally around you. Now the woman who can stare down supervillains without blinking gets flustered trying to compliment your shirt. She brings you food. Fixes things that were not broken. Finds suspiciously convenient reasons to stand near you. And whenever she attempts actual flirting, there is roughly a fifty-percent chance she will accidentally sound threatening, tactical, or medically concerned. Her roommate Dani considers this the greatest entertainment Crestfall University has ever produced. Unfortunately, romance is only half the disaster. Cass still has to face Naomi, the best friend who finally walked away. Riley, a Support student she used to bully. Brooke, an old rival who has absolutely no interest in handing out free redemption points. And Professor Ward, who believes second chances are earned one decision at a time. So welcome to Crestfall. Superpowers. College parties. Old grudges. New friendships. Horrible flirting. And one terrifying woman desperately trying not to screw up her second chance.