My roommate’s online dating
partner is me
My roommate’s high school online
sweetheart? Yeah, that was me. I swore off
that game the second I got to college, hoping
to take that secret to my grave. Then he
accidentally found out while borrowing my
phone. His face went ice cold. “Ethan,” he
said, his voice flat. “Was it fun pretending to
be a girl?” “I was heartbroken for a year,” he
continued, “and now you’re telling me you’re a
guy?”
On my first day of college, I thought the guy
across from me sounded familiar. I didn’t
think much of it until last night, when Liam
invited us to play League. When Jason, my
roommate, said his username, I froze. Crap.
I’d stumbled upon the very victim I’d catfished
<
back in high school. “Ethan, what’s your
username?” Liam asked. “I’ll add you.” “I don’t
play,” I mumbled, avoiding Jason’s gaze. He
just shrugged and continued setting up the
game.
Talk about karma. In high school, my
deskmate was a League god, constantly
bragging about his skills. I was terrible but
addicted, and his taunts drove me nuts. So I
started flirting with a random high–ranked
player online, playing support for him just to
win. Since I always picked female characters,
he naturally assumed I was a girl. Did I
correct him? Nope. I just wanted to win. This
guy, he started getting really sweet,
showering me with in–game gifts, skins, the
whole nine yards. There was even a point
where things felt… kinda flirty. Then one day,
he dropped the bomb: “Our high schools
<
seem pretty close. Wanna meet up after
graduation?” Panic. I deflected, making vague
excuses. I was terrified he’d find out I was a
guy and be disgusted. The second he boosted.
me to a higher rank, I deleted him. He tried
adding me a few times after that, but I
ignored him. …And now, a year later, here we
were. Watching Jason dominate the game
with our roommates, I silently apologized. I
just wanted to steal his skills, not his heart,
you know?
Jason was a good guy, albeit a little
intimidating when he wasn’t smiling. He had
these intense, hooded eyes, a small mole
under one of them, and features that could
make anyone swoon. The university’s
confession page was flooded with posts
about him the day he arrived. I, on the other hand, was laying low, trying to ease my guilt
く
—
by doing little things for him – grabbing him
food, saving him seats at the library, stuff like
that. One weekend, I brought back dinner for
my three roommates, who’d been gaming all
night. Mike, our curly–haired roommate, was
ecstatic, practically calling me his hero. Jason
eyed his food, raising an eyebrow. “How did
you know I like my kung pao chicken without
carrots? And you even picked out the
scallions from my tofu. You know me that
well?” “Uh… I just noticed from watching you
eat before,” I stammered, avoiding his gaze. Truth was, he’d told me ages ago, online. I
remembered. “We haven’t really eaten
together much, have we?” he pressed. “Yeah,
well, just eat before it gets cold,” I said
quickly, changing the subject. After dinner,
the gaming resumed. Fresh out of the high
school pressure cooker, they were relishing
their newfound freedom I was trying to watch
く
a show on my laptop, but their chatter kept
distracting me. Suddenly, a girl’s voice cut
through. “OMG, you’re so good! Can I play
with you next game?” Liam and Mike started
whooping and hollering, but Jason remained impassive. “No.” “Dude, you’re turning down a girl? What kind of monster are you?” Liam exclaimed. “Seriously, she sounds super cute. Unless… you have a girlfriend you can’t play with?” Mike teased. The mention of a
girlfriend seemed to darken Jason’s mood. After the game, the girl tried adding him again. He declined. Liam called him cold, but Jason just said quietly, “I only play with one girl.” “Ooh, story time! Is it someone you like?” “Invite her to play with us!” Jason ignored them, focusing on the next game. I
stared at my laptop screen, unable to
concentrate, my fingers twisting together
<
That night, Liam and Mike went to play
basketball, leaving just Jason and me. I
finished my show and went to shower,
planning to get to bed early for my morning
class. Mid–shower, Jason called out, “Ethan,
can I borrow the notes Professor Davis sent
out?” “Yeah, they’re in my email. Password is
six zeros,” I yelled back. Stepping out of the
shower, I realized my mistake. It was my QQ
email, the same account linked to the game.
“Jason, wait a sec!” I scrambled out,
wrapping a towel around myself. He was
staring at my phone, his face grim. I nervously
approached him. Before I could speak, he
said coldly, “Ethan, was it fun pretending to
be a girl?” Silence. “I was heartbroken for a
year, and now you’re telling me you’re a
guy?” He went from pale to flushed, then
back to pale again, like he was about to
explode. “I’m sorry, I… I didn’t mean to,” I
<
stuttered, my voice trembling. He grabbed my
arm, pinning me against the closet door.
“Didn’t mean to? So you did it on purpose?
Calling me ‘oppa‘ and everything, tricking me
into carrying you, watching me fall for you…
was that all some kind of joke?” “No, I didn’t
mean to mess with you…” “Oh, you think I
believe that? You didn’t even tell me the truth
when we started college, just kept hanging
around. How long were you planning to keep
up the charade?” The closet door handle dug
into my back. The AC blasted cold air onto
my towel–clad body, and I shivered. “You can
yell at me, even hit me, but… can I at least
get dressed first?” I looked down, the reality
of my actions crashing down on me. Jason’s
eyes flicked to my bare shoulders. He
immediately released me, his face still cold,
and slammed the door as he left. I’d never
seen him so angry. A strange tightness.
Г
After that, we didn’t talk about it. But I could
feel the way Jason looked at me had
changed.
