My High School Crush Kissed Me On A Bet To Humiliate Me. Now He Transferred To My College And Wants A Second Chance. Should I Give Him The Satisfaction Of A Response?

The Truth About the Past

Thursday afternoon Fay texted asking if I wanted to grab lunch at the student union. We met up around 1 and got sandwiches from the deli counter, then found a table by the windows overlooking the quad. She made small talk about her classes for a few minutes before bringing up what she really wanted to discuss.

She said she could tell Nico really liked me and he seemed different from how he was in high school, more genuine and less cocky. I asked her what she actually knew about his time at his other schools before he transferred here. She said she’d heard he partied way too much freshman year and stopped going to class, which tanked his grades and got him kicked out. She mentioned he had academic problems at his second school too but she didn’t know much about his personal life during that time. I thanked her for being honest and told her I was still figuring out how I felt about everything.

That night I sat in bed scrolling through social media, clicking through profiles of mutual friends and people from high school who’d ended up at different colleges. I found Nico’s page from his first university and went through his old posts and photos. Most of it was typical college stuff: parties and football games and late night food runs.

Then I found pictures of him with a girl who showed up repeatedly over several months freshman year. Her arm around him, his hand on her waist, comments on posts calling each other cute couple names. I clicked over to her profile and scrolled back to that time period. The posts from when they were together were happy and full of inside jokes.

Then there was a gap of a few weeks with nothing posted. After that, several posts about being tired of games and wanting someone genuine, about knowing your worth and not settling for people who take you for granted. The timeline matched up with right before Nico flunked out. I wondered if his pattern of not appreciating people until they were gone extended beyond just what he did to me.

The Rejection

Friday after my economics class Johnny caught up with me on the path heading toward the library. He said Nico had asked him what he thought Nico’s chances were with me. I stopped walking and looked at him, waiting to hear what he’d said. Johnny told me he’d been honest with Nico: that I seemed happy with my life and not particularly interested in revisiting the past. Nico had apparently gotten defensive and insisted he was a different person now who genuinely cared about me. Johnny said he didn’t know what I was planning to do but he wanted me to know that Nico was asking around and trying to figure out where he stood. I thanked Johnny for the heads up and told him I appreciated him being real with Nico instead of just telling him what he wanted to hear.

Saturday night there was a house party off campus that most of our friend group was going to. I showed up around 10:00 with Leilani and some other girls from our dorm. The house was packed with people, music loud enough that you had to lean close to hear anyone talking. I grabbed a drink from the kitchen and made my way through the crowded living room.

That’s when I saw Nico standing near the back door talking to a girl I recognized from high school who’d also transferred to our university. She was laughing at something he said, clearly interested in him, touching his arm while they talked. I watched from across the room to see how he’d respond. He was friendly and smiling, but his eyes kept moving around the room like he was looking for someone.

When he spotted me watching, his whole posture changed. He said something to the girl and excused himself, then worked his way through the crowd toward where I was standing with a group of friends. He came up next to me and asked if I was having fun. I said the party was good and asked how he was doing. He made small talk for a minute before mentioning he’d been thinking about my answer to his date request.

I looked at him and told him honestly that I wasn’t sure dating was a good idea given our history. His face fell and he asked if I was ever going to forgive him for what happened in high school, saying he thought we’d moved past it. I corrected him gently, explaining that I had forgiven him, but forgiveness didn’t mean forgetting or pretending it didn’t matter.

Something shifted in his expression then, like he was actually hearing what I was saying for the first time instead of just waiting for his turn to talk. He looked at me with this mix of understanding and regret that I’d never seen on his face before. He asked if there was anything he could do to prove he’d changed and that he was serious about wanting a real chance with me.

I told him the problem wasn’t about proving anything. I explained that I’d built a whole new life here, worked hard to become someone confident and happy, and I wasn’t interested in bringing someone into it who reminded me of the worst moment of my old life.

Nico was quiet for a moment, processing what I’d said. Then he asked if I was saying there was no chance at all, ever. I thought carefully before responding because I wanted to be honest without being cruel. I told him I was saying I was happy with my life exactly as it is right now. He nodded slowly, looking more defeated than I’d ever seen him, and walked away without his usual confident swagger.

Real Love vs. Old Games

Over the next few days my phone stayed quiet. No good morning texts from Nico, no random memes or questions about homework. I noticed he wasn’t at the library during my usual study times, wasn’t at the coffee shop when I grabbed my afternoon caffeine.

Tuesday evening Leilani asked if something had happened with Nico because she hadn’t seen him around lately. I explained our conversation at the party, how I’d been honest about not wanting to date him. She said she was proud of me for being honest instead of stringing him along or being cruel just because I could be.

Wednesday afternoon Rocco found me after class and asked if I wanted to get dinner that weekend. Like an actual official date instead of just casual hanging out. I said yes without hesitating.

Saturday night he picked me up and we drove to a nice Italian restaurant off campus, the kind with cloth napkins and candles on the tables. We sat across from each other and talked about everything: our classes and our families and our plans after graduation. He told me he thought I was smart and funny and beautiful. I believed him because he’d never given me reason not to. Never played games or made me question if he meant what he said.

Being with him felt completely different from anything I’d felt with Nico because Rocco had liked me from the start without needing to lose me first to realize my value.