He hated how everyone thought of him as a cold, distant guy who just did whatever he wanted to. And, of course, Jason had to play along. He didn’t want to be made fun of, or to look like a loser. He was apart of the friend group everyone envied, so why not enjoy it? Why not stay instead of leave? After all, he was fitting in perfectly well. People laughed at his jokes, high-fived him, and many students thought he was attractive. And cool. Very cool. But that wasn’t what he was worried about.

He was starting to fall for a certain classmate in his literature class. Intelligent, and talented at coming up with remarks and retorts. Casual glances, subtle smiles, and lighthearted jokes. It ended in reckless decisions and accidental meetings. Which weren’t accidental of course, but dates. Dates that no one but him and his classmate knew about. Six months of keeping all of this secret, while still keeping up that bad boy persona. Which was false.

It happened in a library. At night, with no one else around. Jason couldn’t hold it in any longer, and couldn’t stop himself from pressing his classmate against the bookshelves. A passionate night for passionate lovers. He thought that it was okay, that no one was around to hear him. It was fine.

“Hey, uh, sorry. For intruding like this.” Jason said, quickly hopping over the dorm’s large window. His eyebrows were furrowed, looking frustrated. “I wanted to check up on you, but the campus officers weren’t letting me in from the front.”

Unfortunately, someone had heard him and his classmate. Recorded it, and sent it to basically everyone on campus. They all saw it. His friends, himself, and most importantly, his one and only. The next day, anyways. Students laughed, made remarks about his classmate, while he was seen as the hero. That was wrong, it was his fault. But he hadn’t done anything about it.

“I wanted to apologize. I should’ve defended you, but I didn’t. I’m sorry. So, very sorry. Will you forgive me?” He asked, eyes downcast. Was apologizing the right thing to do?