If love has a providence

My roommate, Stacy, had this takeout-thieving habit. One day, she went too far - she scarfed the food my online gaming buddy, ShadowStrike, had ordered for me.

Later, ShadowStrike sends me a screen-grab from the delivery guy's camera and hits me with, You look like that? How dare you even talk to me? Gross!

He dumps me and immediately hooks up with "Valkyrie," the top female gamer in our scene.

Everyone starts posting pics of Valkyrie, laughing at me, "Look at the whale who got dumped. Serves you right!"

"You're no match for Valkyrie! She's gorgeous and a gaming god!"

I stare at the picture... and freeze.

Isn't that... me?

...

I logged into the game, and bam, my gaming buddy, ShadowStrike, had cut ties with me.

I tried to message him, but he'd just sent "Disgusting" and then blocked me.

Just then, my roommate, Stacy, saw me online and invited me, "Hey, Liv, I'm one game away from Diamond, could you carry me?"

I tried to shake off the weird feeling I had. Figured I'd help Stacy then figure out the deal with ShadowStrike.

But when I hit the group-up, someone else was already in the lobby. The ID was way too familiar: ShadowStrike.

Stacy and ShadowStrike were chatting on voice comms. When he saw I was in the room, the friendly tone he had been using turned immediately sour.

He snapped, "Ugh, why'd you invite her?"

Stacy, from her bunk above me, whined, "What's wrong, ShadowStrike? You know her?"

ShadowStrike was blunt, "No, and I don't want to know her. Don't ever associate me with her."

I frowned and asked, "What's your problem?"

ShadowStrike's voice was cold, "How dare you ask me that? I feel sick just thinking about us being buddies. Don't ever say we were a thing. I'd be too embarrassed."

With that, he muted me and said to Stacy, "I don't want to play with her."

Stacy leaned over her bunk, grinning smugly. "Sorry, Liv, ShadowStrike is way better than you. Maybe next time."

And then she booted me from the room.

ShadowStrike was good, yeah, but it wasn't why I was his gaming buddy. I knew him from real life.

His real name was Chad, and he was the star point guard on the basketball team at the university next door.

Once, when I was at a competition, I twisted my ankle, and he carried me to the nurse's office. He was so worried, making jokes to keep me from freaking out. I was smitten with this kind, good-looking guy.

So when I realized that he was also ShadowStrike, I accepted his invite to game together.

We played a long time. Him the jungler, me in mid, and we clicked.

So, I said yes to being his gaming buddy.

Hed said I was the best female gamer hed ever met and hated those cringy girls who just flirt to climb the ranks.

But now I was hearing Stacy, up in her bed, cooing as she played support, "Oh, Chad, honey, can you give me the blue buff? Pwease?"

Chad laughed, "Sure thing."

It was super cutesy.

I bit my lip, feeling mixed emotions.

I decided to get out of the dorm.

Just then, Stacy suddenly asked, "ShadowStrike, why do you hate Liv so much?"

Chad didn't hold back. "She's just plain gross. Makes my stomach turn to look at her."

I froze.

Gross?

Im not exactly conceited, but I had actually been runner-up in the school's "Hottest Student" pageant last year.

This was the first time anyone had ever called me "gross."

Stacy, hearing that, seemed taken aback for a second.

But then she went back to her overly sweet voice. "I get it! Guys like you should be with a goddess! I hate ugly people too!"

Chad laughed. "Like you, you mean, you goddess?"

Stacy giggled like they had just shared an inside joke.

I turned to look at Stacy who was facing away from me playing the game.

Her bed was a mess.

Her sheets and pillowcases hadn't been changed all semester; they were yellowed and dingy.

Her hair hadnt been washed in two weeks, she probably last showered a few days ago, and her body was emitting this gross fried-food smell.

She was sitting on her pillow, all two hundred plus pounds of her, simpering to Chad, "Oh, you're so bad!"

I couldn't take it anymore, so I left to grab something from the cafeteria.

About thirty minutes later, Chad posted in our gaming squad's Discord: "[Anyone wanna game?]"

He was high rank, super skilled, and lots of people wanted to ride his coattails. But he had only ever played with me.

Everyone jumped at the chance. "[Carry me, Chad!]"

"[Whoa, Chad's not playing with Liv today? What's the occasion?]"

Chad replied, "[Don't ever bring her up in front of me.]"

Everyone started to sniff out the gossip. "[Whoa, you guys break up?]"

"[Just checked Liv's profile, and they aren't gaming buddies anymore.]"

"[Man, you two seemed perfect, even from the same town. What happened? I was waiting for wedding bells.]"

Chad immediately replied with a vomit emoji.

He was making it very clear how much he disliked me.

Everyone jumped to conclusions.

"[Did Liv cheat or something?]"

I sighed.

I was curious why Chad suddenly hated me.

So I tagged him while he was still chatting, "[Since you're here, you should at least explain why. I don't want people making stuff up.]"

The group immediately pounced. "[Wait, does this mean Chad cheated?]"

Chad seemed annoyed that I was getting so bold.

He sneered, "[How dare you ask me? Since youre so desperate to know the truth, I guess I'll spill. Ive already given you enough chances to save face.]"

Then he posted a picture.

He quickly added, "[How could you even think of hitting on me when you look like that? So gross.]"

I clicked on the image and scowled.

It was a photo, secretly taken.

The picture showed a heavyset girl with dark hair, grinning while holding a food delivery bag like she had pulled off a heist.

It was Stacy?

The squad chat blew up.

"[Who is that whale? She's terrifying!]"

"[Is that actually Liv?]"

I immediately typed, "[Where did you get that picture?]"

Chad didn't hold back, "[I wanted to meet you. You kept making excuses, so I respected the fact that you were a girl, but when I asked for a picture, you kept refusing. So, I had the delivery guy take a picture of you when they dropped off my food order. I know it's a weird thing to do, but thank goodness I did. Or else I'd never know you were a lard butt!]"

I frowned. "I didnt get your delivery. That's my roommate. She must have taken it."

Chad scoffed, "[I knew youd say that! Youre saying thats your roommate? Fine. Then post a picture of you.]"

Everyone else jumped on the bandwagon. "[Yeah, Liv, weve known each other for a while, and weve never seen what you look like.]"

"[I remember her saying she was a dancer. With that body, she must be in the belly dancing club!]"

"[Lard bucket, you deserve to get dumped!]"

I looked at the guys insults. I was disgusted.

Even if I proved it wasnt me, who cares? I knew Chad's true colors now.

We were no longer buddies, so I wasn't going to argue with them.

Besides, I didnt want to post my pictures for them to pick apart.

So, I just replied, "No."

Chad sneered, "[I wont hold it against you for lying to me. Just stay away from my school.]"

Our school was literally right next to his.

Their basketball team often played on our courts.

We had seen each other a few times.

But he didn't know it was me.

What if he did see me again? He wouldn't recognize me.

I muted the chat, ate quickly, and went back to the dorm.

Stacy was on her bed, feet up, scrolling through TikTok.

I went to her and asked bluntly, "Stacy, did you take my delivery?"

I was going to tell her about the leaked picture, that it was posted on the gaming Discord, and that "ShadowStrike" the dude who was hitting on her online was the one who posted it.

Instead, Stacys bulk climbed off her bed.

She threw the half-eaten chicken leg bones onto my desk, sneering, "It was super hot out! I was doing you a favor by grabbing your food. So what if I ate a few legs? Here's the rest of it, so quit being such a cheapskate!"

The greasy bag hit me, and bones scattered all over the floor.

It was pretty gross.

My face hardened.

"Clean it up."

Stacy scoffed, rolling her eyes. "It's your food. Why should I clean? You always look like you have money. I thought you were rich, but you're so cheap! Its just a few chicken legs. You dont see me giving you the stink eye when I share. You know how many people want to order me food? I'm doing you a favor by eating it!"

She waddled off to the bathroom.

I didn't want to waste my breath. I just swept the chicken bones onto her desk with a blank face.

When she came out and saw, she screamed and tried to hit me.

I easily dodged.

Our other roommate came back from lunch and tried to stop the fight. "Whats going on?"

I was still catching my breath.

Stacys shrill voice yelled, "Liv's online boyfriend dumped her! Now he's playing with me, and she's jealous. Shes going crazy!"

Our roommate looked at Stacy's fat face and then at me, looking unsure. "Are you sure?"

Stacy laughed. "Of course! They dumped her! She keeps trying to get back with him! If you dont believe me, listen to this!"

She pulled out her phone and made a call.

Thirty seconds later, Chad's voice sounded, "Hey, what's up?"

Stacy cooed, "Chad, honey, Liv's jealous that you're playing with me. She's losing it and threw trash on my desk!"

Chad replied angrily, "She dared to do that to you? I knew it. Ugly girls have such ugly souls."

Stacy whined, "Yeah. If she's this awful, you won't be talking to her, right?"

Chad said to reassure her, "Absolutely not. I cant stand her."

Stacy, all sugar, "But you guys are on the same team! You might see her!"

Chad, sounding disgusted, said, "Our team is high ranking. If it weren't for her skills, she wouldn't be able to play with me. Dont worry, I'll get the leader to invite you instead. Ill only play with you.

Stacy giggled like she was the happiest girl in the world, "You're so sweet."

"Don't worry about her. Girls who can't handle their emotions take it out on other people."

Chad hadnt even finished talking to Stacy when he was already tagging the team captain on the Discord. "[Can you make room on our roster? I have a friend who wants to join.]"

The captain sounded reluctant. "[We are a team of pros. Everyone is a contributor, so I hate the idea of cutting anyone.]"

The other team members didn't want to lose their spots, so they agreed with the captain.

Chad seemed to have already anticipated it.

He typed, "[I want to add Valkyrie.]"

The chat blew up!

"[Valkyrie? As in the beautiful woman who just won the recent game companys beauty pageant?]"

"[Dude! I know her! She's hot, her face and her body are perfect. Plus she's a beast on the game. And I heard shes a super rich college student!]

"[No wonder Chad dumped Liv! He's friends with a goddess. That's insane!]"

"[I support getting Valkyrie on our team!]"

"[Just imagine being on the same team as her.]"

When they heard that Chad wanted to add Valkyrie, the captain hesitated.

Everyone had heard of the "Beauty Queen" event.

He knew how much attention Valkyrie would bring to the team.

"[I want to add her, but we need to cut someone to make room. Who should we get rid of?]"

Everyone went quiet.

No one wanted to be cut.

Then Chad said, "[Lets drop Liv.]"

That was what everyone wanted to hear.

They would not be cut from the team, and they could get close to Valkyrie.

Everyone jumped on the bandwagon. "[I agree! It's a no-brainer! Get rid of the lard bucket and bring in a goddess.]"

"[Yeah, Livs pretty good, but we dont need experts. We need eye candy!]"

"[Plus, Valkyrie is awesome. She just hit Diamond rank yesterday!]"

"[Liv is nothing compared to Valkyrie. She's beautiful and super skilled. I support getting rid of Liv.]"

The vote was unanimous. I was busy ignoring the chat.

The only message I saw was when the captain sent me a DM asking me to have an in-house match with Chad.

Whoever won, would get their way.

I read the chat, thinking that "Valkyrie" sounded familiar.

But I couldn't remember where I'd heard the name.

Just then, the match started.

I couldn't beat Chad. He played characters that had an advantage on my line.

He didnt finish the match though. He would wait for me to die and then would laugh while recalling in front of my corpse.

After a few rounds of this, I sighed, surrendered, and told them I was going to leave the team.

I lost the match, but everyone else was thrilled.

"[Quick, quick, add Valkyrie!]"

Chad, looking smug, added a woman to the team a few minutes later.

I saw the name and avatar. It was so familiar.

The "Valkyrie" was my roommate, Stacy?!

Stacy entered the chat, and everyone went wild.

"[The goddess has arrived!]"

"[I'm so excited. Valkyrie, can I add you as a friend?]"

"[Valkyrie, can you please let me be your gaming partner?]"

"[Stop dreaming, Valkyrie belongs to Chad.]"

My hand froze as I went to leave the chat. I looked at Stacy who was eating fried chicken and giggling while typing.

Stacy could feel me looking at her. She glared at me, "What are you looking at? Everyone has their own preferences. So what if they call me a goddess? Do you think that everyone likes a person like you? Get over yourself!"

I looked away and didnt say anything.

Maybe she had filtered her pictures and was using some kind of technology. Plus her voice was sweet and she had good people skills. She probably asked people to vote for her.

After scolding me, Stacy typed, "[Why is Liv still here? Chad won the match. Captain, are you not getting rid of her?]"

Chad immediately typed back, "[Of course I am!]"

Then he booted me from the Discord server.

Chad had asked me to join in the first place, so I wasn't too sad that I was gone.

I found another team in our town, applied, and logged off.

I had to practice for my dance show this afternoon, so I wanted to take a nap.

While I was drifting off, I felt like I was being stared at.

I rolled over and grumbled. I wasnt even fully awake when I heard a loud thud, then Stacys pained screech.

"Oh! That hurt! What the heck are you doing, Liv!?"

I instantly woke up, sat up, and saw Stacy on the floor, looking like a blob. I frowned, and then I noticed that her phone screen was showing... a photo of me!

It was taken while I was napping!

I was faster than Stacy, picking up the phone. "Why are you taking pictures of me?"

She glanced at the screen, looking guilty.

But then, two seconds later, she gave me an annoyed look. "Its just a photo! Whats your problem? You always take selfies. Why does it bother you?!"

I said coldly, "You're violating my privacy. I'm going to tell the resident advisor."

I was going to go report her when she jumped at me, squashing me with her bulk and grabbing the phone. She quickly deleted the picture.

She laughed. "Deleted it. No harm, no foul! Don't be so sensitive!"

Then she pushed me out of the dorm room, sneering, "Go ahead and report me! You can't prove anything! Get lost!"

I was furious and messaged my resident advisor.

The resident advisor replied quickly: "[Liv, I understand. I will talk to your other roommate to hear her side of the story.]"

I sighed, that was all I could do.

Then the RA messaged: "[The city is having a 'League of Legends' meet up next week. We need someone to go out and do a cosplay as a character. Theyre missing a performer for the lead role. Are you interested?]"

I remembered what happened with Chad and replied without thinking, "[No interest.]"

Then the RA hit me with: "[It adds points to your grade.]"

Me: "[Fine, Ill go.]"

It was just a show. Itd be quick.

It was such a big campus. There was no way I would see Chad there.

I jinxed myself.

Later that day, Chad was on the phone with Stacy. I overheard Chad ask, Hey, Valkyrie, can you come watch me at the big game meet-up next week?

Stacy loves to speakerphone her chats with Chad.

She said, I have something going on that day. But Ill watch you on the stream!

Chad sounded sad, Okay, then, maybe next time?

I frowned, but I shook it off.

Who cared?

Even if he was there, he wouldn't know it was me.

Stacy said she wasn't going to the meet-up.

When I was backstage changing, I saw Stacy in the audience.

She was focused on her phone, and hadn't seen me.

I was about to look away when a group of guys wearing black jackets with the "State U Basketball" logo walked by me.

The guy in the front was on his phone.

The other guy wrapped his arm around his neck. "Still talking to the Valkyrie, Chad?"

Chad laughed. "Yeah, I was just saying that when I win the championship, I'm going to go to her school, surprise her, and ask her to be my girlfriend!"