The Breakup Dare

It reminded me of three years ago, when I first met Theo. It was the first time Ellery brought me along to one of her friend group gatherings and introduced me to everyone. Theo was the only guy in the group.

He came up to me all smiles, planted himself in the seat next to mine, and started whispering about Ellery with exaggerated winks and nudges.

"Dude, I seriously don't know what you see in that oblivious girl. I've known her for years. You're by far the best-looking out of all her boyfriends, and you've got the best taste too. That earring of yours looks really unique. Honestly, if I were a girl, I'd fight her for you."

I was a little flustered by all of it, and I smiled sheepishly, genuinely believing that Theo was being sincere and welcoming me into their circle. My guard dropped completely. When I heard him compliment my earring, I took it right off and gave it to him as a gift.

Even Ellery, watching the two of us hit it off like old friends, chimed in with a hint of jealousy, "Theo, dial it back. Reid is my boyfriend. That makes him kind of like your brother-in-law. Don't forget who you actually grew up with."

He turned around and stuck his tongue out at her.

Half an hour later, Theo excused himself to use the bathroom. When he came back, his entire face was swollen. His ear was the worst of it, angry and red. The discomfort was so bad that tears were streaming down his face.

I asked him what happened and offered to take him to a hospital, but he stumbled back a step and pointed at me in disbelief.

"Reid, I welcomed you with open arms. Why would you do this to me? I literally just told you I'm allergic to any jewelry that isn't real gold or silver. Why didn't you warn me that the earring you gave me wasn't either?

"And here I was, trying to be nice. I wore it this whole time. Why would you do this to me? Just because you're jealous that I grew up with Ellery? I never imagined someone could be this cruel."

I had no way to defend myself. The earring was something I had given him in front of everyone just moments earlier, and he had mentioned his allergy during our conversation.

Both of those things happened right there in the open, so there was no way I could claim I was unaware.

In an instant, the way Ellery's other childhood friends looked at me changed. There was disgust, confusion, and even revulsion.

"Ellery, sure, we all pick on Theo. That's our thing. But we've never let someone from outside the group pull something like this. You owe us an explanation."

"Exactly. Look at his face. It's serious if he ends up scarred. I really don't know what you were thinking, bringing a guy like him here."

"I never thought anyone could be this awful."

I pressed my lips together and looked to Ellery, waiting for her to step in and tell them it was not intentional. I just wanted her to take my side and leave with me.

Instead, she waved over a waiter, ordered three different shots of hard liquor, and then mixed them into a single glass. She looked at me with a blank expression.

"Reid, I don't know whether you did this on purpose or not. But the fact is, Theo had an allergic reaction because of you. If it had been anyone else who did this to him, the least we'd do is break their arm or their leg. But you're my boyfriend, so just drink this and we'll call it even."