TW: Obsessive behaviour, unrequited love207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7sy7TCjOqM
Apologies that the story is too long, but ideas seem to flood my head at midnight.
How does it feel when a stranger is obsessed with you, and you never knew it? 207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5KakcyBGe
It was devastating.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE5xxItmLvN
It has been four years since I transferred to this school. I managed to make some good friends and forged good relationships with my teachers. My grades aren’t bad, and I make some time for my hobbies. My life was normal, just like any other teenager’s would be. 207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0nQuBvdG3f
I made memories and enjoyed school life. Until that.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaYYMl2PYqa
All my friends warned me recently, “Adam, you see the girl over there? Don’t talk to her. She’s danger.” They repeated the same words for the past week when we walked in the hallway to our class.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWxCyutzNXD
Not like I ever converse with her, but the reason why I should not was more flabbergasting than their advice itself. Of course, I was called to the principal’s room after that but the miscommunication was soon resolved.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtO3TdHOV7
The thing that astounds me is that a stranger whom I had just come across, maybe two or three times in the hallway, decided to involve me in her brawl. It was creepy that something like that had–Oh, I think I see her.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvntudNHnE5
The gossip grew louder as she came walking. She looked down at the ground, her hair let down, almost looking like a dark spirit. I gulped down. All I need, after all, is no drama. I would be glad if we got over this awful encounter.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbKWsnMoNI
I looked at the ground as I walked to my class, deliberately ignoring her. I wonder what went on in her mind when she did it.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHqRa3R0eO2
—207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUAF4c0isc
We weren’t close. He was outgoing; I was introverted. He had friends; I had none. People liked him but were jealous of and despised me. We never shared eye contact for more than a minute, let alone talk. It’s no wonder that girls who see him want him–such was his charm. And unmistakably, I’m also one of them. 207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfWlOcC0suV
We sat in the same classroom, just not next to each other. We were in the class study group, just didn’t study together. We both had each other’s numbers in group chats, just never texted. We walked in the same hallway each day, just never talked.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0l3uPsVEG
We were typically strangers.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyInMJBfU11
Or not.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtGiFv7Ld5
Every time he sneaked out of the class with his friends, he smiled at me. Every time we walked in the hallway, he made eye contact. Every time there was an exam coming up, his friends asked me for help. And… as if by a miracle, I got to work with him for the annual celebration.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡptpOyqHdvm
The annual celebration was a festival hosted by our school every year to display its students’ proclaimed talents. It was mostly welcomed as being the only time of the year for some leisure. The students forgot about their exams and their parents’ nagging about grades around this time, while the parents had some fun seeing their children do something different.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7sBzvz2Fz
Not to mention, this was metaphorically the time for every girl's debutante ball and every guy’s chance to be an escort. You had a chance to let the entire school know about your presence.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0IFxCrP4Q
Being the introvert I was, I chose the job of a technician, controlling lights and sounds in the background, while my prince charming, being the extrovert he was, chose to dance. Dance made everyone in the school crazy, and then when he chose it, it was decided that he was the next heartthrob.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIn2VIjKyop
A week before the celebration, he and his friend came to the studio to decide how to enhance their already dashing performance. 207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡybZBolGR08
They danced for the tech team, only the few people who had seen them dance before their actual performance. Suggestions and praises were brought out with roars of applause. We were only five, but the claps were like ten. 207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrSCrr6RsME
I returned to my desk, while my team leader enquired about their wants and ideas on how the lights could be operated to match their performance.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9WL54XOCF
He threw in some suggestions but his friend did most of the talking. I bet the leader asked more questions just to get him to speak because who didn’t want to hear his voice?207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDL5dKIMKmp
“I think we all agree on that,” he finally said, receiving approving nods from his friend and the team leader, “so let’s do it.” He glanced at those behind the team leader for a split second but returned to mine after scrutinising the room.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydeSGry2O7
I pretended to focus on my computer though I had nothing going on. I’ll show him that I don’t care so much that he wonders why.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLuyE61lOoU
“Aria, control the backlights,” instructed my leader, as she designed the role for every one of us until she had nothing left for her to do. She sat on a chair and, “Blue, then pink and violet. A flash after a cue, then the spotlight on Adam, got it?”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ9bgZl9Vv5
My brows frowned, my eyes were about to roll and I had to control my urge to scoff. She can dare call his name when I haven’t? She’s got to have some nerve. Has she forgotten I topped her in Science? How is she ordering me around? It must be the other way around.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUh7Wg6YB5Q
“Aria, the lights!” she yelled. Yeah, my slaps aren’t going to be light if you call his name again.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ZcL2MAHRG
“Sorry,” I managed to utter while glaring at her.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe00fIrGKVF
“Let’s do it again,” she said. Thinking you’re resolving the conflict? Great pretence.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ3yGX3TSKM
The music blared and others were busy not to screw up in front of Adam, after all, everybody would want to look good in front of a guy like him. He sat on the chair, looked down on the ground, and tapped his feet along the music. Oh, how dashing he is!207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmhqHPTh9WJ
“Aria!” yelled the devil again. 207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRghVk0B1p
Hearing the leader’s shrill voice, his eyes snapped back and forth between me and her, unaware of what had happened.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKaS3umIs3d
“Oh, my bad. There’s an issue with the system,” I reasoned.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWIc0mvIke
“Really? Let me take a look,” she said and hurried forward.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWxb1DPArC
“No, it’s fine now,” I said, giving her a disgusted face. She stepped back and stated, “Don’t mess up again.”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCgFqhE5fO
I gritted my teeth at her warning. She acts as if she has the privilege to order me around. 207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7iHcvPj0q
I looked at my prince charming, and oh, his innocent pecan brown eyes! They can calm me down so easily. He probably has no idea how I feel but, the way I’m determined to make him see me truly scares even me.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2fC6HVIqKG
He will fall for me after this.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNWeESVaBO
“Red light, now Aria!” said the monster, ordering me once again. But this evening’s going to end with her embarrassment anyway.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0cWDabgoo
The background music and the lights were composed and rehearsed for the next two hours. The witch exploited us and our patience effectively. 207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfTMLYHogyX
When the lights and their timings to the music were finalized perfectly, the boys rehearsed with the spotlight. His black hair sparkled, and his body moved to the beat flawlessly. The lights could have been done better and improved, but all thanks to the witch, it ended up being mediocre.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡke7XmwQJwm
Nonetheless, the performance was once again greeted with cheers and applause. “Great performance, man!” said Gregor. It’s no wonder all the boys wanted to be him.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZbJazHs6v
“Thank you for your hard work,” Adam said, “Please watch our performance at the celebration.”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYp4fqZF6ND
He sure knew how to light up my mood.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0iDLmxe9z
He looked at me and gave one of his most appealing smiles, which I loved. His smile was such a tease just like him.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvs7yhzYvwO
I smiled back, looking at the ground, then at him. He must have picked up the hint.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbKMZ4j20t3
“Okay, then we’ll get going,” said his friend, whose name I can’t be bothered to remember. Anyway, Adam is now going to stop him and say– “Yep, see you guys later.” What?207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCwN7Vz71k2
How could he say that? He was supposed to ask me to come with him.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChtmRKCIMM
He gave everybody else–the team leader–a striking smile and turned his back to leave.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmdEmJs9nXp
“Wa– “The evening was quite tiring, wasn’t it?” interjected the team leader. I turned to her, “Oh.”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnkmqmSc7Ws
Everyone looked at me now. “If it wasn’t for you, the evening would have been easier,” I muttered.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjwNnmNZPZB
“What?” she said, “Did you say something, Aria?”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbIjRgq3Ze
Someone tell the witch to stop calling me by my name.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rJcC8fSOy
“As if you didn’t hear,” I muttered again.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUmU3yO8NnG
“Hey, can you talk a little louder, I don’t hear you. And also look– “Shut up!” I yelled smashing a computer down. The room went silent as I felt them staring at me. 207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJNPNMlLJb
I looked at the devil’s eyes with contempt and disdain. 207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4dgcV6lMa
“Is something the problem? Why are– “You are the problem,” I yelled, looking down.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqx9XaZuXg5
“What do you– “Shut up, will you?! Why did you send him off? I wanted to talk to him!”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhhfoaoK40
“You mean Adam? I can call– “Don’t say his name!”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOhCD9qGcI0
The room was hushed again. “Aria… by any chance, do you like him?” 207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn8S06t6u86
I lifted my head, met her brown orbs, and looked into it to find a reason to hold back. Unfortunately, I couldn’t, “So what if I like him?”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcERQ3qnyQF
I strolled to her, “Will you be jealous? Are you going to try to pull him away from me? Tell me.”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhSMBnR7QS6
“No, no. It’s nothing like that. I have just never seen you and him together before.”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJRMvfN85B
And that was the last strike.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdVmM0dBFDY
“Hey, do you see her? The black-haired one. She caused a ruckus at the studio before the celebration. Heard she was kicked out of her debutante ball,” they giggled.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2zsupy2kJ
“Oh my, is that her? Ad– I mean you-know-who’s crazy fangirl?”207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0qtRZQ4em
It’s all lies, you know it too, right?207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOhabTS3Hn
I saw him come in the hallway. The whispers died down, as he strolled, but they sure couldn’t have slipped off his ears. He must have heard them, but he knows better than anyone why I did it, doesn’t he?207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFmMnJKr12R
He must know that I did it because I loved him, and also that the witch deserved it. Anybody who saw her treat me like that would know it. He knows it, so why does he look down when he walks past me?
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