Warnings: mention of bullying
English is not my first language, for any mistakes I'm very sorry
PopularYan who was the kind of person everyone knew. Popular, handsome, and effortlessly charming, he always seemed to have a crowd surrounding him. He was the star athlete, the boy teachers let off with a warning, and the person everyone seemed to want to impress. He knew exactly how much influence he had over the other students and he very much enjoyed using it. He always got what he wanted because someone would usually find a way to give it to him.
PopularYan who wasn't necessarily cruel to everyone. In fact, he could be incredibly charismatic when he really wanted to be. He knew how to make people laugh, how to charm teachers with he's perfect smile when he'd gotten into trouble, and how to make his friends feel important. But that charm disappeared whenever he found someone he considered an easy target and she just happened to be one of those targets.
She was painfully shy, the sort of a girl who could sit in the same classroom for an entire semester without anyone knowing much about her. She preferred sitting in the library during lunch, kept her headphones in whenever she walked through crowded hallways , and rarely raised her hand in class, not because she was dumb or didn't know the answer she just simply didn't want to do this, she liked being alone. She wasn't unpopular because people disliked her, most just simply forgot she was there in the first place .
She didn't have many friends, and she was perfectly fine with that. She liked having a quiet life. Books, music, studying, and the occasional conversation with the few people she trusted were enough for her. She had no interest in school gossip or parties or getting involved with the people who seemed to rule the school. And that was probably what caught his attention. She didn't care about him, about who he is, she didn't want his attention.
Everyone else seemed to know his name. People laughed at his jokes even when they weren't funny, watched him whenever he walked into a room, and constantly tried to get his attention. And she, barely looked at him. When he passed her in the hallway, she simply moved out of his way and continued walking.
PopularYan who at first found it amusing. He started with small things. He'd tap the back of her chair during class, steal her pencil , or even lean over her desk just to ask a question he already knew the answer to. Whenever she looked at him with wide, nervous eyes, he'd grin and make some teasing comments about how quiet and shy she was.
His friends quickly noticed how entertaining she was to bother.
Soon , the teasing became a regular occurrence. One day someone would hide her notebook, the other day someone else would make a joke about how she never spoke and she is probably mute. And he would always take whatever she was holding and make her ask for it back. Sometime he'd deliberately stand In her way in the hallway just to watch her become flustered as she tried to figure out how to get around him.
She never fought back, she would quietly ask for her things, lower her head when they laughed, and wait for them to get bored as they always did. She wasn't weak, but confrontation terrified her. She hated drawing attention to herself, and she knew that standing up to someone so popular as him would only make things worse for her.
PopularYan who noticed that, he also noticed every single little reaction she gave him. The way her fingers tightened around her books when he approached. The faint blush on her cheeks that appeared whenever he leaned too close. The way her eyes darted away whenever he caught her looking at him. He began finding those reactions strangely addictive.
Eventually, he started bothering her even when his friends weren't around. He'd sit beside her during lunch without asking. He'd walk past her desk and casually take her pen, only to return it several minutes later. He'd appear beside her in the library and complain that she was ignoring him. Whenever she asked why he kept bothering her, he'd simply laugh and tell her that se was too easy to tease.
Eventually she started recognizing his footsteps and despite herself, she started recognizing the sound of his voice before he even reached her. But what she didn't realize was that he had started recognizing hers too.
He knew when she was nervous because she spoke more quietly. He knew when she was upset because she'd stop fidgeting with her sleeves. He knew which teachers she liked, which ones made her uncomfortable, what books she preferred, and which hallway she took when she wanted to avoid crowded areas.
PopularYan who at first told himself it was because she was his favourite person to tease and then he realized he was thinking about her all the time.
PopularYan who would find himself looking toward her seat whenever he entered the classroom. He'd glance toward the library during lunch. If he didn't see her in the hallway, he'd wonder where she had gone.
The realization should have bothered him but instead, he became way more interested than before.
And then she started avoiding him. She began taking different routes between classes just to avoid him and his group of friends. She stopped going to the places where she knew he would be. If she saw him and his friends, she'd immediately turn around and walk the other way.
PopularYan who hated it. He had spent months trying to make her look at him, and now she was actively trying not to. For the first time, he understood that he didn't simply want her attention. He needed it.
One afternoon, he noticed her talking to another boy from their class. The boy was helping her with an assignment, and she was smiling, really smiling. It wasn't the nervous little smile she always gave him. It was sod and genuine. And he couldn't stand it. He didn't even think before walking over and inserting himself into the conversation. His usual playful smile was gone, replaced by something colder. He found an excuse to pull her away, leaving the other boy standing confused. She looked at him nervously. He didn't understand why this expression bothered him so much right now. He was the one who had spent so long making her nervous. Except now, he didn't want her to be afraid of him. He wanted her to trust him.
That was when the bullying began to change. He still teased her, but he became much more careful now. If someone else made fun of her , he was suddenly there. If someone tried to take her belongings, he took them back. If someone laughed at her, he made sure they regretted it.
His friends began noticing change in his behaviour too. He was no longer laughing when they picked on her. Instead, he would tell them to leave her alone.
She didn't understand his sudden change. The same boy who made her school life miserable, was suddenly walking beside her between classes, carrying her books without asking, saving her a seat at lunch, and making sure nobody bothered her. When she asked why he had changed, he simply shrugged "You're my problem. Not theirs". She didn't know what that meant and neither did he.
PopularYan whose protectiveness gradually became possessiveness. He started asking her where she was going after school. He wanted to know who she was spending time with. He noticed whenever she talked to someone for too long. Whenever another boy showed interest in her. He didn't like shading her attention. He especially hated the idea that she might eventually realize that she didn't need him. So he made himself useful.
PopularYan who helped her with difficult assignments. He walked her home when it got dark. He brought her things when she forgot them. He remembered small details she mentioned once and surprised her with them later. He became the person she could rely on, even though she couldn't quite understand why he was suddenly trying so hard
Slowly, she stopped being afraid of him and that was exactly what he wanted. He wanted her to look for him when she entered a room. He wanted her to sit beside him without being asked. He wanted her to tell him about her day, to trust him with her secrets, and eventually to realize that he was always going to be there.
But beneath all of that kindness was something much darker. He still couldn't stand her with anyone else. Whenever she laughed with someone else, his jaw tightened. Whenever she mentioned spending time with someone after school, he'd start asking too many questions. Whenever she talked to him about her new friend, he smiled and pretended to be happy for her while quietly wondering how he could make sure that none of them became too important to her.
Once she had been the girl desperately trying to escape his attention and now he wanted nothing more than for her to willingly seek it.
PopularYan who knew he had crossed some invisible line a long time ago. This wasn't a crush anymore. He wanted to be the first person she thought of she woke up and the last person she spoke to before going to sleep. He wanted to be the person she trusted above everyone else. He wanted her world to slowly become smaller until he was at the center of it. And the most frightening part was that he was willing to wait. He had learned that forcing her would only make her afraid again. So instead he decided that he would be patient, he would be kind, and he would make her love him as much as he loves her. Because if he couldn't make her love him through fear, he would make himself so deeply woven into her life that one day she wouldn't be able to imagine it without him.
