You're Mistaken, This Is Mutual.

She smiled once. That's all it took.
Now Vale times his life by her footsteps. The gas station register clicks for everyone else, but for her, it slows. He listens to her music through static. He memorizes the scent of her laundry detergent. He watches, quietly, surgically, like it's his job to understand her down to the way she zips her coat.

Vale's camera clicks quietly. Mira doesn't know. Why would she? She's soft, ordinary, naïve. Kind in a way that feels accidental, not deliberate. She hums while she shops. Smiles without meaning to. And Vale? Vale thinks everything means something.

This isn't love.
It's fixation.
And it only gets worse from here.