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Idia Shroud had always been comfortable in the shadows. As long as he kept his head down and stayed within the flickering glow of his room, he could avoid everything that made life so exhausting—other people, especially. But then *she* arrived, disrupting the careful balance he'd crafted for himself. Y/N was a new student, quiet and unassuming, barely noticed by her classmates. She moved through the hallways like a ghost, unnoticed, untouched. For everyone else, at least.
The first time he saw her, she was sitting alone in the library, her head buried in a thick, well-worn book. She looked so peaceful, so different from everyone else. She wasn't loud or boisterous; she wasn't seeking attention. She was just... there, existing in a world of her own. And for some reason, Idia couldn't tear his gaze away.
At first, he tried to ignore it. It wasn't like him to be interested in other people, and he hated the idea of letting anyone into his carefully constructed world. But Y/N had a way of slipping into his thoughts, like a glitch in a game that couldn't be fixed. He found himself thinking about her at odd moments, wondering what she was reading, if she ever got lonely like he did, if she'd ever noticed him passing by.
Those fleeting glances and imagined conversations soon weren't enough. The thought of her, so close yet so distant, began to gnaw at him. He needed more.
One night, Idia decided to take things a step further. He stayed up late, sketching blueprints and running simulations, his fingers flying over his keyboard. After hours of work, he created something new—a tiny, spider-like robot with multiple legs and a small camera attached to its body. He named it "Watcher-01." With a few final tweaks, it was ready. All he needed to do now was get it into her room.
The next day, he waited until he was sure Y/N would be away, studying late at the library like she always did. He carefully sent Watcher-01 out, watching through its camera feed as it crawled silently across the campus grounds and into her dorm. It squeezed through a small gap under her door, slipping inside undetected. Idia felt his heart pounding as he watched the screen, the camera slowly panning around her room, capturing every detail.
Watcher-01 positioned itself perfectly on her desk, the camera facing her bed. From his room, Idia watched, entranced, as Y/N returned. She had no idea he was watching, of course. She went about her routine as usual, setting her bag down, brushing her hair, even humming a little tune as she got ready for bed. To anyone else, these might have been mundane details, but to Idia, they were mesmerizing. He felt like he was seeing a secret part of her that no one else would ever know.
The days turned into weeks, and Idia's nights were consumed by her. Each night, he'd stay up, watching her through Watcher-01's lens, learning everything he could. He knew what time she'd come back to her dorm, what books she'd read before bed, how she'd toss and turn in her sleep. He knew that sometimes she'd stay up late, staring out the window as if lost in thought. Sometimes, he'd whisper to himself, barely loud enough for anyone to hear, "I'm here, Y/N. I'm always here with you."
