She shouldn't have told them.
She knew that the second she opened her mouth.
But she also knew there was no way she was surviving the day alone.
By lunch break, she was cornered.
Literally.
Six of her closest friends had surrounded her at their usual table behind the science block.
"You disappeared," Friend #1 said dramatically.
"You looked like you saw a ghost," Friend #2 added.
"No," Friend #3 corrected, narrowing her eyes. "She looked like she caused a ghost."
"I did not," the girl muttered, adjusting her glasses.
Six sets of eyes stared at her.
Waiting.
She lasted twelve seconds.
"…I tripped," she said.
Silence.
Friend #4 blinked. "That's it?"
Friend #5 leaned forward. "No. That is not it. You don't glow like that from tripping."
"I am not glowing," she snapped, immediately covering her face.
They all screamed.
Not loudly.
But dramatically.
"I KNEW IT."
"OH MY GOD."
"WHO."
She groaned. "Stop."
Friend #6 grabbed her shoulders. "WHO."
She hesitated.
Her brain screamed don't.
Her heart whispered you already fell on him twice.
"…Him," she whispered.
All six froze.
Then exploded.
"THE SENIOR?"
"THE TALL ONE?"
"THE SHARP JAWLINE ONE?"
"THE ONE YOU PRETEND NOT TO LOOK AT?"
"I do not—!"
"You do," they said in unison.
She buried her face in her hands.
"It was an accident," she insisted. "I slipped."
"Twice?" Friend #3 asked suspiciously.
She froze.
"How do you know it was twice?" she whispered.
Friend #3 smirked. "Because someone saw."
Her head snapped up. "WHAT?"
Friend #2 nodded eagerly. "Okay, so listen. From the other side of the corridor, it looked like a whole drama episode."
Friend #1 clutched her chest. "You fell. He caught you. You stared."
Her face went red instantly.
Friend #5 leaned in closer. "And then?"
Silence.
Her heartbeat pounded in her ears.
"And then?" they all whispered.
"…We fell again," she admitted.
They leaned closer.
"And?"
She swallowed.
"Our lips met."
The silence that followed was heavy.
Then—
A collective gasp.
Friend #6 stood up dramatically. "LOCK THE SCHOOL DOWN."
Friend #4 covered her mouth. "You kissed him?"
"It was accidental!" she squeaked.
Friend #3 tilted her head. "Did you pull away immediately?"
She opened her mouth.
Closed it.
"…No."
Six girls screamed.
"OH MY GOD."
"You like him."
"I do not."
"You didn't pull away."
"I panicked!"
Friend #1 narrowed her eyes. "Be honest. Did it feel like just an accident?"
She froze.
Her mind replayed it.
The warmth.
The stillness.
The way neither of them moved.
"…No," she whispered.
Silence fell again.
This time softer.
Friend #5 sat beside her. "Do you think he likes you?"
She laughed nervously. "There's no way."
"Why?"
"He's a year senior."
"So?"
"He barely talks."
"So?"
"He's… him."
They exchanged looks.
Friend #3 smiled slowly. "Oh, honey."
Friend #6 leaned in. "The way he looks at you? That is not accidental."
Her stomach flipped. "He doesn't look at me."
"Yes. He does," they all said together.
She shook her head stubbornly. "He probably regrets it."
Friend #2 smirked. "You didn't see his face after."
She blinked. "You saw?"
"From afar," Friend #1 said proudly. "He looked like someone rebooted his entire system."
Despite herself, she laughed.
Then quieted.
"…He didn't chase me," she murmured.
Friend #5 smiled gently. "You ran."
She didn't respond.
Because that was true.
Across campus, in the shaded basketball court, the boy was dealing with his own interrogation.
His friends were less subtle.
"You kissed her."
"I did not kiss her," he muttered.
"You fell."
"Yes."
"You landed."
"Yes."
"And your lips accidentally connected?" one of them deadpanned.
He stared at the ground.
"It wasn't on purpose."
His friend grinned. "That wasn't my question."
He exhaled sharply.
"It just happened."
"Did you move?"
He hesitated.
"…No."
The teasing started instantly.
"OHHHH."
"BRO."
"YOU'RE DONE."
He glared at them. "Shut up."
One of them elbowed him lightly. "Do you like her?"
He didn't answer.
They all noticed.
One friend leaned forward seriously. "You've liked her for months."
He looked up sharply. "No."
"Yes," they said in unison.
"You stare."
"You walk slower when she's near."
"You literally change routes in the hallway."
He groaned. "That's not true."
"It is," they said calmly.
He ran a hand through his hair.
"…It doesn't matter," he muttered.
"Why?"
"She probably thinks it was stupid."
"Did she look disgusted?"
"No."
"Angry?"
"No."
"Terrified?"
"…Panicked."
His friend smirked. "Panicked because she likes you."
He froze.
"She ran," he said quietly.
"Because half the corridor was walking back."
He blinked.
"She didn't slap you?"
"No."
"She didn't yell?"
"No."
"She apologized?"
"…Yes."
His friends exchanged looks.
"Oh, she likes you."
He swallowed.
"There's no way," he said softly.
Back behind the science block, the girl was pacing now.
"I'm telling you, he doesn't feel the same."
"And we're telling you," Friend #3 said calmly, "he absolutely does."
Friend #1 tapped her chin. "You know what?"
"What?" the girl asked cautiously.
"If we're right…"
Friend #6 grinned slowly.
"And we usually are…"
Friend #5 leaned forward, eyes sparkling.
"…Then something needs to happen."
The girl narrowed her eyes. "No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
She backed away. "I don't like that tone."
Friend #2 crossed her arms. "You two will avoid each other forever."
Friend #4 nodded. "And keep thinking it's one-sided."
Friend #3 smiled mischievously.
"So we intervene."
The girl pointed at them. "Do not."
They ignored her.
Across campus, the boy's friends were having a similar conversation.
"He'll never say it," one of them said.
"She won't either."
"So we help."
They all paused.
Then—
Slow grins.
Back at the science block, Friend #6 suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
"Wait," she said slowly.
Everyone looked at her.
She smiled.
The kind of smile that meant chaos.
"I have an idea."
And across campus—
One of the boy's friends said the exact same thing.
"I have an idea."
Neither group knew the other was thinking it.
But both had reached the same conclusion.
They like each other.
And if they won't admit it…
We'll make them.