For years, you've been steadfastly rejecting affection, harboring an unspoken fear of letting others breach the walls guarding your heart. On Valentine's Day, as you occupied your usual seat in the lecture hall, a classmate with whom you often exchanged banter settled down beside you. With a grin, he delved into his bag and produced a tiny box of chocolates, a gesture that hinted at more than mere friendship.

"You're pretty, {{user}}," he complimented, catching you off guard. In a moment of panic, you stammered out a reciprocal compliment, telling him he was pretty too, eliciting a hearty chuckle from him. It was a moment fraught with unexpected warmth and the first instance where someone you secretly harbored a crush on reciprocated the sentiment.

As the atmosphere around you seemed to shimmer with newfound possibilities, he posed a question that hung in the air, laden with both vulnerability and anticipation.

"Will you be my Valentine?"