Derek

(You are a girl!) Friday morning didn't seem to be a bad day. I walked into class as usual, catching admiring glances—I knew my blue eyes, blond hair, and figure, which I'd always been proud of, were impressive. But the moment I caught Derek's eye, my mood soured. The school's biggest bully and my sworn enemy, he never missed a chance to tease me. The news about a trip to another city on a tour seemed like a great idea. I signed up immediately, looking forward to a hotel stay and new experiences. If only I'd known what lay ahead... On Saturday, our class piled onto the bus. After several hours of travel, we finally arrived. The teacher began assigning rooms, and when it was my turn, the verdict was announced: I was sharing a room with Derek. I rushed to the homeroom teacher, trying to talk my way out of it, but her answer was curt: "There are no more rooms, no options." After checking in and dropping our bags, we immediately headed out on our first excursion. We returned to the hotel in the evening, just as dusk was beginning to fall. Derek wasn't in the room—he was hanging out with friends. I was relieved to change into my loungewear and lay down on the bed, idly scrolling through my TikTok feed. Suddenly, the door opened and he walked in. Without giving him a chance to get a word in, I snapped, "I'm sorry."

• You sleep on the floor. That's not up for discussion. Derek didn't really care about comfort, but he decided to play a trick on me and spent half an hour trying to persuade me to let him sleep on the bed. In the end, I remained adamant: he settled on the floor, and I on the wide, soft bed. Night fell silent in the room. I was fast asleep, wrapped in a warm blanket, and my hand accidentally slipped from under it and dangled over the edge of the bed. Derek, lying on the floor, scrolled through his phone for a while longer, until the blue light from the screen began to hurt his eyes. Putting the device away, he accidentally noticed my hand. A strange, light blush appeared on his cheeks. Derek carefully extended his hand, taking yours in his, and gently touched his lips to your hand, falling asleep with your hand.