Episodes from the Life of the Quiet Guy: the Next Door Room

It's a commonly-held belief amongst nerdy, too-many-times rejected guys that good-looking girls are automatically only attracted to dickhead guys. I wouldn't say it's true, and don't worry, I'm not about to go off on a personal rant about bitch-level girls - partially because I was raised by a feminist and consequently see women as being practically more human, and partially because I'm bisexual.
However, one of the observations I've made in my state of less-than-total-social-participation is that girls should never be treated as anything less than a highly intelligent opponent at chess. For every idiotic girl who'll fuck on the first date (and give you all her delicious STDs) there are fifteen who are playing a clever game. What prompted me to write on this subject is the series of events going on just a couple of feet from where I now write.
Let me explain. I am a student in the UK, and so I live in a converted late-victorian terraced house; my room is actually what was once half of one large room; in the other half lives one of my housemates. She's intelligent, funny and fiesty. No, I'm not about to try and net her, I just thought I'd let you guys know. Now, she's playing the game very well. She's in the process of finishing her years-long relationship with some borderline autistic twat from her home town; in short, She dated a quiet guy and he underestimated her. Not that I'm going to go into the minutiae of why their relationship collapsed, but basically, she decided she was sick of his I'm-a-nice-guy-because-girls-want-nice-guys-look-at-me-I'm-a-nice-guy act. She coolly informed him a couple of months  ago that she just wanted to be friends (Ha! Never heard that one before, have you?) and ever since then has been busily catching up on the good casual sex she's been presumably missing out on. Only now has the poor bastard caught the hint and getting pissed off; he calls her and texts her in a variety of tones from pleading to threatening. Oh, we men and our cajoling! Women have got wise to how desperate most guys are, and my housemate is no exception. She goes through a big long discussion which turns ugly, letting some emotion come into her voice, finishingthe conversation with a pretty final (unless you're a desperate guy) "fuck off!". What does she do next? Collapse crying onto the bed? Bawl her eyes out about how unfair life is? No, of course not, you idiots; she's not stupid. No, she puts on "Walking on Sunshine" (well, actually she puts on the All American Rejects because she's not seen American Psycho or read High Fidelity and thus has no reason to ironically appreciate "Walking on Sunshine", and she's still gunning for "nice guys" in her head) and gets on with her life, drowning any misery with a facade of inane happiness, wherein she dresses up and texts her next sex-toy. It's the number one way to win in the slogging-match which accompanies the end of a relationship, and us guys can't do it because we're chivalrous (bullshit!).
So, what does this little tale teach us? Not an awful lot, you stupid twat - never treat women as though they're all the same. Just think that way, and remember to play your cards close to your chest.
At times I get very glad that I can withdraw from this vicious cabaret (yes, yes, I love you Alan Moore) and fall back on having sex with men. It's so much more straightforward.
So, "nice guys", you're fucked if you think your relationship will last if you won it through underestimating your woman. Girl Gamers and Indie Girls and Hipster Girls and Nerdy Girls are still girls, and they're all smarter than you. So here, take a look at this picture, and remind yourself not to make the same mistake next time. Yes, there will be a next time if you fuck it up, not like how it was for these poor fuckers.

Welcome!

So, basically, I'm a bit of a wallflower. I'm not a beta, nor am I socially awkward. I am very aware of what goes on around me; it's just that, as a result of the way I was raised and the circumstances surrounding my childhood, I've developed a quiet personality.
It's fascinating to me to see how other people respond to me. A lot of people - mostly other guys - take my quietness and lack of competitive spirit as a sign of weakness, which I suppose it is to an extent; I don't feel motivated to compete, I don't feel the need to shove my machismo into other people's faces. That's not to say that I can't do these things; indeed, I often give people a bit of a surprise when I choose to show that I have a bit of spunk. However, through most of my childhood and to an extent right up to now, I'm often seen by others as the weak one in the group. As I mentioned above, I don't show that I know this.
The results can be hilarious. For example, in my house, which I share with three other guys and four girls, we often play Mario Kart, and one guy in particular loves to take the piss out of my poor performance (I admit it, I'm shit at it). It's not overt, but it's there; so I ocasionally remind him to back off, because I can tell that really he's less confident than me and less aware than me. Even if all I do is clearly say in response to a muttered jibe, "what's that you're saying?" and turn to face him, it's enough. Like a dog faced with a deep voice and a menacing look, he backs down. 
It's not always like this, of course. People don't often notice me, or when they do they don't particularly think of me as being worth their while, and this means I get overlooked at parties. If it didn't mean that things can get boring pretty quickly, I'd enjoy it - it's almost like being invisible. 
The best thing about it is that I'm well-placed to hear gossip.
As I mentioned above, I can surprise people by simply being perceptive; it helps the most in romantic situations.But that's a story for another post.