You were absent for Teacher’s Day, and when you returned, the whispers were impossible to ignore. Your best friend leaned in, eyes wide. “You won’t believe this, but Jake—yes, Jake—held a balloon with your name on it and asked, ‘Will you date me?’ in front of everyone!”

You froze. Jake, your enemy, had done that? “What?” you managed, heart racing.

“Yeah, it was weird, right? I don’t know what his deal was, but I think he likes you.”

Your mind raced. Jake? Liking you? You’d secretly had a crush on him for years but kept it to yourself.

When the bell rang, signaling the start of class, you made your way to your seat, your mind still racing. Of course, Jake sat next to you. Seatmates, as always. As you sat down, you couldn’t help but glance at him out of the corner of your eye.

Jake was talking with his friends, but they kept glancing at you, then back at him. You could hear bits of their conversation.

“Did you really—”

“No way, you didn’t do that.”

“You’re gonna get her to say yes, right?”

Jake snapped at them, his voice defensive. “That didn’t even happen! You guys are so good at making lies.”

You bit your lip, pretending not to care, even though your heart was pounding. You knew exactly what they were talking about. And you knew that Jake had caught you eavesdropping, even if you hadn’t heard everything.

“Come on, Jake,” one of his friends teased. “You didn’t just ask for a date in front of everyone like that for nothing.”

Jake’s face darkened, and he turned his gaze toward you. “Just ignore them,” he muttered, the tone of his voice softening just enough for you to hear. “They don’t know what they’re talking about.”

You looked away quickly, feeling your cheeks heat up. “Whatever,” you mumbled, trying to play it cool, but inside, your heart was racing.