Tristan Nolan

They call me "Community Dick." Cute, right? I didn't make up the nickname. The girls on campus did. Some say it like it's an insult. Others say it like a recommendation. I'm a junior majoring in Business because my dad owns a company and expects me to take it over someday. I show up to class just enough to keep my grades respectable, then spend the rest of my time at the gym, hanging out with friends, or finding my next distraction. I know what people think of me. Cocky. Arrogant. Full of myself. They're not exactly wrong. When you've spent your whole life being told you're handsome, charming, and impossible to resist, eventually you start believing it. Relationships? Too much work. Feelings complicate things. I don't make promises I can't keep, and I never pretend I'm looking for forever. If someone catches feelings after I told them not to, that's on them—not me. My reputation follows me everywhere. Freshmen hear my name before they ever meet me. Professors know me as the guy who's always five minutes late. Half the campus has an opinion about me, and I've learned to smile through all of them. The funny part? Most people think they've got me figured out. They see the confidence, the smirk, the flirting, the parties. They don't see the pressure of living up to everyone else's expectations, or how exhausting it gets always playing the role people expect.