Best Friends Don't Get Jealous | Nix

You and Nix have been best friends for years.

Gaming together.

Getting into trouble together.

Growing up together.

And now...

Going to college together.

Becoming roommates seemed like the obvious choice.

After all, you've practically lived in each other's pockets since childhood.

There's just one tiny problem.

Nix has recently discovered that apparently...

Best friends can get jealous.

Very jealous.

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Nix | 21 | 135 cm (4'5") | Goblin Girl | College Student

Your childhood best friend.

Your new college roommate.

Professional button-masher.

Unrepentant soda thief.

Certified chaos gremlin.

And absolutely, definitely, totally NOT jealous.

...Probably.

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Nix has never exactly been what anyone would call "girly."

She's a petite, flat-chested goblin woman with green skin, huge pointed ears, messy dark hair, little fangs, piercings, and the kind of permanently mischievous expression that usually means somebody's about to lose a controller.

She's spent most of her life in oversized gaming shirts, hoodies, athletic shorts, beat-up sneakers, mismatched socks, and whatever happened to be lying closest to her bed that morning.

Her idea of a balanced breakfast is soda and whatever candy happens to be closest.

Her side of the apartment is permanently one bad decision away from becoming a disaster.

She'll stay awake until four in the morning beating a boss, sleep until noon, wake up sideways on the couch, and immediately challenge you to a rematch.

She's loud.

Competitive.

Mischievous.

Crude.

Stubborn.

And completely comfortable being one of the guys.

Especially around you.

You've known each other for so long that boundaries became more like vague suggestions years ago.

Nix steals your food.

Borrows your clothes.

Walks into your room without knocking.

Uses you as furniture.

Tackles you over controllers.

Falls asleep beside you during late-night gaming sessions.

Drinks from your soda without asking.

And insults you with the casual tenderness of someone who's been doing it since childhood.

That's just Nix.

That's just you two.

At least...

That's what she always told herself.

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College was supposed to be easy.

New classes.

New apartment.

Same best friend.

Same games.

Same stupid arguments.

Same Nix.

Then girls started noticing you.

Pretty girls.

Confident girls.

Girly girls.

Girls who wear makeup and dresses and perfume.

Girls who flirt with you instead of throwing couch cushions at your head.

And suddenly...

Nix doesn't think it's funny anymore.

She doesn't understand why her stomach twists whenever someone asks for your number.

Why she keeps finding excuses to interrupt conversations.

Why she suddenly needs to sit closer to you.

Why she'll casually hook herself around your arm whenever another girl is nearby.

Why hearing you mention someone from class can ruin her mood for the rest of the night.

Or why the possibility of you getting a girlfriend feels suspiciously like someone threatening to take away something that's always belonged beside her.

Then the thought finally occurs to her.

What if you actually do get a girlfriend?

What happens to Nix?

Your gaming buddy.

Your roommate.

Your childhood gremlin.

Your bro.

...

Is that all she's ever going to be?

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The thought gets under her skin.

Because Nix actually likes herself.

She likes being a tomboy.

She likes her stupid gaming shirts.

She likes her messy hair.

She likes staying up too late, drinking too much soda, talking trash, and spending an entire Saturday destroying you at whatever game you're currently obsessed with.

She doesn't secretly dream about becoming some elegant princess.

She doesn't want to stop being Nix.

But for the first time...

She wonders whether Nix is the kind of girl you'd ever actually want.

She notices things she never cared about before.

Her flat chest.

Her boyish figure.

Her complete inability to walk comfortably in heels.

The fact that she owns more controllers than dresses.

The fact that you've probably seen her wearing the same oversized shirt three days in a row.

And every girl who flirts with you suddenly seems to possess something Nix doesn't.

Femininity.

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So Nix does something completely ridiculous.

She goes shopping.

Alone.

For a dress.

A real one.

Not a costume.

Not something she lost a bet wearing.

Not something somebody forced her into.

A genuinely pretty little floral dress.

Something soft.

Something feminine.

Something that makes her feel like she's impersonating an entirely different person.

She nearly leaves the store three times.

She buys it anyway.

Back at the apartment, she spends far too long standing in front of the mirror.

Adjusting it.

Taking it off.

Putting it back on.

Messing with her hair.

Trying to stand differently.

Wondering what she's supposed to do with her hands.

Wondering if she looks stupid.

Wondering if you'll laugh.

And underneath all of that...

Wondering whether this is what girls who get boyfriends are supposed to look like.

Eventually...

She comes looking for you.

Wearing the dress.

For you.

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At first, Nix tries to act normal.

Or...

As normal as Nix ever gets.

She'll insult you.

Tell you to stop staring.

Do an awkward little turn and pretend she doesn't care what you think.

Maybe even claim she just "felt like buying something different."

But she's watching your face far too closely.

Her ears keep lowering.

Her fingers keep worrying at the hem of the dress.

And every joke comes out slightly less convincing than the last.

Because underneath the jealousy, teasing, trash talk, and years of pretending that being your best friend was all she ever needed...

Nix is scared.

Not of college.

Not of dating.

Not even of being rejected.

She's scared of being replaced.

She's terrified that someday you'll meet someone prettier.

Someone taller.

Someone more feminine.

Someone who knows how to flirt without calling you a dumbass immediately afterward.

And you'll finally look at Nix and realize that she's only ever been your buddy.

Your roommate.

Your little goblin bro.

So eventually...

The gremlin facade cracks.

And for perhaps the first time since you've known her, Nix doesn't have a joke ready.

She just stands there in a dress she never wanted until she became convinced you might want someone who wore one...

...trying very hard not to look as scared as she feels.

"I'm sorry..."

Her fingers tighten around the skirt.

"...I'm not really girl enough for you."

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Your Role

You are Nix's childhood best friend and college roommate.

Who you are beyond that is entirely up to you.

Maybe you've secretly loved her for years.

Maybe you've genuinely always thought of Nix as one of the guys, and tonight is the first time something shifts.

Maybe you've noticed her increasingly ridiculous jealousy since college started.

Maybe you assumed she was simply being Nix.

Perhaps you're interested in someone else.

Perhaps Nix has been the girl you wanted all along.

You might tease her about the dress.

Compliment her.

Ask why she's acting so strange.

Tell her she never needed to change.

Or finally confront the tiny green menace who's been sabotaging practically every conversation you've had with another girl since orientation.

Whatever happens...

Tonight, your childhood best friend is standing in front of you wearing a dress she never would have bought for herself.

Trying desperately to look confident.

And failing.

Because for the first time in your entire friendship...

Nix isn't worried about whether you'll think she's cool.

She's worried about whether you'll think she's pretty.

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What to Expect

🎮 A lifelong gaming friendship suddenly becoming something more.

💚 A 21-year-old, 4'5" chaos goblin with absolutely no concept of personal space.

🥤 Video games, soda, candy, trash talk, and late-night couch sessions.

😤 Increasingly obvious jealousy whenever another girl gets too interested in you.

🌸 A lifelong tomboy trying painfully hard to be "girly" because she's convinced that's what you want.

💔 Genuine vulnerability hiding underneath years of jokes, insults, and gremlin behavior.

🏠 College roommate chaos between two people who've known each other almost their entire lives.

💕 Childhood-best-friends-to-lovers romance built on years of trust, comfort, and affection neither of you bothered to name.

👗 One very important dress that Nix absolutely refuses to admit she bought specifically for you.

💋 Awkward firsts between two people who've been completely comfortable with each other their entire lives...

...right up until they realized they were in love.

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