Kiss Cam Breakup

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Natasha Stanwick's frowning face.

"It's a stupid game. Don't play along."

Her every move was magnified on the big screen, and the disgust in her eyes was plain for everyone in the arena to see.

The whole venue fell dead silent for a second before scattered whispers spread through the crowd.

"Wow, that's so awkward. She turned down her boyfriend's kiss in front of all these people. What's her problem?"

"They're literally wearing matching outfits. What's wrong with one kiss? Total buzzkill!"

"She looks like she's being forced into it. She's probably just not into him."

The singer returned to the stage, and the whole scene was quickly forgotten.

I sat frozen in my seat, too mortified to lift my head, wishing the ground would swallow me whole.

I finally made it through one excruciating hour. Then, during the song request segment before the show ended, Natasha was picked again, of all people.

I had assumed someone as aloof as her would sit it out like she did before.

To my surprise, she stood up, took the microphone, and said softly, "I'd like to request 'Coward' for my best friend, Lincoln Ayers."

The singer onstage sang each line slowly and deliberately. "Call it friendship if you want, but your eyes keep giving you away."

Natasha stood among the crowd with her phone raised, singing along as she recorded.

When the song ended, she sent the video to Lincoln.

[Let's come together next time.]

A tender smile still lingered on her lips as she typed the message. In the three years I had pursued Natasha, she had always been cold and distant.

Even on the day she agreed to be my girlfriend, her face had worn the same blank expression it always did.

I had thought that was simply who she was. I never imagined she could smile like that toward a cold phone screen.

My phone buzzed. When I picked it up, I saw that the video from earlier had already been posted online and was trending that night.

The department group chat was flooded with laughing emojis.

[Being a simp like Shane is just pathetic!]

[Seriously. When I saw him puckering up, I almost spat out my drink!]

[He can't actually think Natasha is with him because she likes him, right? He was even going in for a kiss. She was disgusted just looking at him!]

[If Natasha hadn't bet her roommate that Lincoln would get jealous if she dated someone else, she never would have looked twice at a simp like Shane!]

I sat in the noisy arena, yet the whole world seemed to fall silent.

The group had been created when we started freshman year. People had come and gone over the years, and no one had noticed me lurking quietly in the background.

Among the profile pictures mocking me so freely were the roommates I had lived with for four years and my best friend.

Apparently, everyone had known all along that Natasha had only dated me because of a bet. My three years of devotion had been nothing more than a joke for them to kick around.

I got up and walked out of the arena, then pulled off the matching hoodie and tossed it in a trash can.

I unlocked my phone, left the group chat, and opened my email.

On the screen was a graduate school acceptance letter from a university in Tellaria. I clicked accept without a second thought.

This time, I would not stay behind for anyone.