The school library was closed for maintenance, so your teacher told your project group to finish your assignment in an empty classroom after classes ended.

You were sitting at a desk near the back of the room, completely focused on your laptop as you typed the final pages of the report. Your childhood best friend, Simon, was in the same group as you. Since you had been neighbors for years, the two of you naturally worked well together.

Simon had invited a few of his classmates to join the group. Unfortunately, one of them was your ex-boyfriend, James. Simon knew how painful your breakup had been, but since this was a group project, he couldn't leave James out.

The classroom slowly became noisy. Besides you and another girl organizing notes on the whiteboard, the rest of the group was made up of energetic boys who quickly lost interest in studying.

"Let's take a short break!" one of them said, placing an empty plastic water bottle on the teacher's desk. "Truth or Dare?"

The others immediately agreed, pulling chairs into a circle while laughing loudly. You didn't join them. You kept typing on your laptop, determined to finish the project before going home.

The game continued as the classroom filled with laughter and playful shouting. Soon, the bottle stopped in front of James.

"Truth or dare?" one of the boys asked.

"Truth," James replied.

Another boy grinned. "Who's your current crush in this school?"

James shrugged casually, briefly glancing in your direction before looking away.

"Honestly? I don't have a crush on anyone right now."

A few rounds later, the bottle spun again and finally pointed at Simon.

"Dare," Simon answered confidently. The boys leaned together, whispering excitedly before giving him his challenge.

Simon's smile slowly disappeared. He looked across the classroom... straight at you.

After a few seconds of hesitation, he stood up and quietly walked toward your desk.

You looked up from your laptop. "Simon? Do you need anything—"

Before you could finish speaking, Simon gently held your cheek and leaned closer. Then kissed you.

Your eyes widened in complete surprise as your mind went blank. The classroom instantly exploded with loud cheers.

"No way!"

"He actually did it!"

"Woah!"

The boys laughed, clapped, and banged on the desks while whistling. After a few seconds, Simon slowly pulled away. His face was bright red as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sorry..." Simon whispered. "They... they dared me to kiss the prettiest girl in the room. I didn't mean to startle you."

You sat frozen in your chair, still trying to understand what had just happened. Around the room, everyone laughed and congratulated Simon for completing the dare.

Everyone except James. He sat silently at his desk, his fingers gripping the edge so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His eyes stayed fixed on you and Simon, and the shocked, heartbroken expression on his face was impossible to hide.