I hooked up with a random guy at a party last weekend and now I feel physically sick, because all I actually want is to text my classmate and ask to be exclusive. We sit together in bio, we text until 2 AM, but we never had the 'talk'. Am I technically a cheater if we had zero rules? Can I even ask him out over WhatsApp now, or do I have to confess my stupid mistake first?

Deep breath: you didn’t cheat, because you can’t violate a contract that nobody ever signed. That crushing wave of guilt isn't proof that you're a monster; it’s just your brain finally realizing how much you actually like this guy. The gray zone of the modern talking stage is brutal like that. You were legally single, technically free, and emotionally sloppy. It happens. But here is the golden rule: do not turn your exclusivity pitch into an unsolicited confession tape. Dumping a meaningless one-night stand on him right now won't bring honesty—it’ll just unfairly dump your private guilt onto his shoulders before you two have even started. Instead, focus entirely on the present. Send him a clear, low-pressure text: "Hey, I really love where this is going with us and I don’t want to see anyone else. How do you feel about making it official?" Forgive yourself for being single while you were actually single, and go close the deal.