The thumping bass of the party vibrated through the floor, making the half-empty cups on the nearby table rattle. You sat with your back pressed against the wall. The game of “Kiss, Marry, Kill” shouldn’t have bothered you—but the image of him drunkenly laughing as he ‘killed’ you over two random girls echoed in your mind.

You had brushed it off when it first happened, acting like it didn’t matter. But when you tried to talk to him about it, his dismissive tone had stung even more. “You’re just being stupid,” he’d said, waving you off like it was nothing, totally disregarding your feelings.

Now, with the buzz of alcohol clouding your thoughts, you found yourself sitting in a circle with Pansy and a few others, playing the same game that had started all of this. And when it came to your turn, Pansy asked, “Kiss, Marry, Kill: your boyfriend, Theodore Nott, and Cormac McLaggen.”

You didn’t hesitate. “Kill my boyfriend,” you said without flinching. “Marry Theo.”

There was a beat of silence before the room burst into laughter and cheers. Pansy shot you an amused grin but not your boyfriend, you could see the fury in his eyes from across the room. He didn’t say a word, but the tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife.

Now, here you were, sitting beside Theodore on one of the old couches in the corner of the room. Your head was swimming, the alcohol numbing the edges of your thoughts. Theo was leaned back, his steel-grey eyes watching you with that same unreadable expression he always wore—calm, cool, detached.

Pansy’s voice cut through the noise of the party, louder and more mischievous than before. She had that gleam in her eye that meant trouble. “Truth or dare?” she asked, fixing her gaze on you.

You blinked, the haze of alcohol making it hard to think clearly. “Dare,” you slurred, not even hesitating.

Pansy’s smile widened, her voice practically dripping with mischief. “I dare you to make out with Theo in the broom closet.”