"Ain't you coming?" she asks, tossing the words over her shoulder like it's nothing.

Snap. Back to reality. Right—walking. I should be walking.
Must've glitched for a second there. This had to be a bluff. Right? Right??

I catch up to her, awkwardly hugging my bag like it's my emotional support animal.

Now what? What do I say?
"Hey Ruth, funny story… remember when you casually confirmed we were dating in front of the entire tuition center?"
Yeah, no. That's a terrible opener. Abort.

I glance at her, my mouth already halfway into a sentence I haven't figured out yet.

"Hy," I say.
Great start, Shakespeare.
"I, uh… I wanted to ask you something…"

"Oh! By the way," she interrupts, completely hijacking my tragic rom-com buildup,
"I told your friends we're dating."

…

I'm sorry, WHAT now?

My brain throws a blue screen error.
System rebooting in 3… 2…

"Why?" I ask, trying to sound chill while my soul is screaming in six languages.

She shrugs. "Your friends said you liked me."

Oh. Oh no.
Those traitors.
Those absolute backstabbing goblin-tier gremlins.
I'm gonna shave their eyebrows in their sleep.

"Ahm, about that—" I try to protest, but she keeps going.

"And I figured rejecting you when you weren't even there felt kinda mean, so… yeah. I just said we're dating."

WHAT KIND OF LOGIC IS THAT?
"I didn't want to hurt your feelings, so I started a fake relationship with you."
Ma'am, this is not how we solve problems on Earth.

I nod slowly, trying to process. My internal monologue is throwing chairs.

She turns to me, dead serious now.
"So yeah, that's the current situation. It's either I reject you here and now…"

But I didn't even propose!!

"…or we actually do this."

Silence.

I stare at her like I'm trying to solve a crossword puzzle with only the color red.

This is not how I imagined dating would start.
There were supposed to be flowers. Maybe some awkward texting. Not… emotional blackmail with a side of miscommunication.

I weigh my options.

Say "no," get rejected, and become a walking meme until I graduate.
Say "yes," and suddenly I'm in a relationship I didn't apply for.

What do I really lose?

Self-respect? Already gone.
Dignity? Hanging by a thread.
Control of my life? Never had it.

…

"Sure," I say, grinning like an idiot.

Curse you, humanitarian side.
You never let me live in peace.