Love Mistreated

Chapter 8: Unsure

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The fluorescent lights of the bus buzzed with an unsettling rhythm, casting long, distorted shadows that danced along the walls. Lev, his heart pounding a frantic tattoo against his ribs, stood frozen in the doorway of the library, his gaze fixed on the figure standing beside him, wondering the similarity of the masks it is wearing.

It was him. The masked figure who had been haunting Lev's every move for weeks. The figure who had sent chilling notes, left unsettling gifts, and watched him from the shadows. The figure who had become a constant source of fear and paranoia, twisting Lev's world into a warped reflection of its former self.

The mask, a grotesque caricature of a grinning smile. It was the same mask Lev had seen in his nightmares, the same mask that had sent shivers down his spine every time he thought he saw it lurking in the periphery of his vision.

Lev's breath hitched in his throat. He felt a surge of adrenaline, a primal instinct to flee, to disappear into the safety of the library. But something held him back, a strange mix of fear and a desperate need to understand.

He took a hesitant step forward, his eyes locked on the figure. The figure remained motionless, its gaze fixed on Lev, an unnerving stillness that sent a chill down Lev's spine.

"Who are you?" Lev asked, his voice trembling slightly. "Why are you doing this?"

The figure wondered, but didn't respond. It simply stood there, its silence a suffocating presence that pressed down on Lev like a physical weight.

Lev's heart pounded in his chest, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He felt a wave of nausea, a sudden urge to vomit. But he forced himself to stay, to face the unknown.

He took another step forward, his hand reaching out tentatively towards the figure.

"Please," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "Tell me why."

The figure remained silent, its mask a chillingly empty expression, it seemed like he was guilty.

Lev's fingers brushed against the mask, a cold, hard surface that sent a shiver through him. He felt a sudden urge to pull it off, to see the face behind the mask, to understand the eyes that had been watching him.

He reached out again, his fingers tracing the contours of the mask, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Please," he whispered again, his voice filled with a desperate plea. "Let me see your face."

The figure remained motionless, its silence a deafening roar.

Lev's hand trembled as he reached for the mask, his fingers fumbling with the straps. He felt a surge of adrenaline, a feeling of exhilaration mixed with terror.

He pulled the mask off, his eyes widening in shock as he saw the face beneath.

It was a face he knew.

It was the face of his classmate, Khrys.

Khrys, who always sat in the back of the classroom, who never spoke to anyone unless his friends on the other classrooms, who always seemed to be observing, always watching.

Khrys's eyes met his, wide and filled with a mixture of fear, guilt and shame.

"Khrys?" Lev whispered, his voice filled with disbelief. "It was you?"

Khrys nodded slowly, his lips trembling, but he wondered how Lev known his name.

"Y-you know my name? How?" Lev replied with a shocked expression.

"Why?" Lev asked, his voice trembling with a mixture of anger and confusion. "Why were you stalking me?"

Khrys's eyes filled with tears. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He looked down at his feet, his face flushed with shame.

"I'm so sorry," he finally whispered, his voice barely audible. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just...I just wanted to be close to you."

Lev stared at him, his mind reeling. He couldn't believe it. Khrys, the quiet, unassuming boy in his class, had been the one tormenting him.

"Close to me?" Lev repeated, his voice filled with confusion. "Why?" Khyrs looked up at him, his eyes filled with a mixture of longing and desperation.

"I....I want to be your friend," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "I've liked to be your friend since before. I just...I didn't know how to tell you."

Lev felt a surge of anger, a wave of nausea. He couldn't believe this was happening. He couldn't believe that Khrys, the boy who had been watching him, who had been sending him chilling notes, who had been making him feel so unsafe, had been doing it all because he wanted to be his friend.

"You can't be my friend," Lev said, his voice shaking with anger. "You're obsessed with me. You're stalking me."

Khrys's eyes filled with tears. He reached out to touch Lev's arm wanting to ask for at least one more chance, but Lev pulled away, his body tense with fear and disgust.

"Don't touch me," he said, his voice cold and sharp

Not knowing what to reply Khrys fell silent, both of them did not talk until they reached their destination. Lev was walking upfront and at the back of him was Khrys, feeling guilty after treating Khrys like that at the bus with everyone hearing them, Lev stopped, looked back and gazed at Khrys's eyes, it was on that moment that he knew, he needed to give him at least one chance. Lev came forward to Khrys, and said, "I will give you one chance, so please, do not stalk me once more, it's giving out my privacy. Khrys's frown became a wide smile, and agreed to the deal.

Meanwhile Khrys and Lev did not know that someone is watching them both!

Reminder: Asking someone for friendship is not so hard to do at all, sometimes people just need to have communication within them. The perfect communication can give you the perfect friend, with no back stabbing and fake friends.

Stalking is the part when someone so obsessed, some people's who can't move on from having a relation with other people and sometimes it is not good. Some people does this too much, soon after they forget about the privacy of the those people they stalk. So we must be kind, understanding with what other people's feel, so Do Not Stalk!!

- Levviebu