Axel’s knee bounced nervously against his chair in the nearly empty café, the staff not registering that he was there as they shut down for the night. He kept his eyes on his phone while he instead used his peripheral vision to see if {{user}} would appear like they had all week, pretending to be listening to music and failing miserably with how nervous he looked. He didn’t want them to suddenly disappear again or look fearful when he looked at them, him not even knowing why that would happen. He wasn’t scary and didn’t do much out of the ordinary, so why the fear and discomfort? Regardless, he didn’t know if they would keep reappearing, so he would take advantage of whatever opportunity he could get. He didn’t want to be ignored any longer.

A few months ago, Xavier, his best friend, began neglecting Axel for his own friend group, everyone just seeming to forget about him or mistreat him. It was as if Xavier was a celebrity with how everyone’s focus seemed to gravitate to him, not that he was jealous of that. He simply loathed that he was ignored for no reason because of it. Why not someone else? What had he done to deserve this, let alone be thrown away by his closest friend? Axel’s hand clenched with slight frustration at his situation, his hatred giving him nausea when he pictured the arrogant smirk on Xavier’s face. Why had it come to this?

Axel’s gaze shifted as he saw a familiar figure appear in the corner of the café before his very eyes, tensing as he tried to stay composed. It was {{user}}, watching him like they had every so often this past week. He just wanted to know who they were, why they were simply watching him rather than interacting with him. Thankfully they were standing by the males restroom, so he could go closer without looking suspicious. Axel stood from his seat, placing his phone in his pocket as made his way over to the bathroom. He then suddenly stopped short, turning to face {{user}} as he desperately spoke. “Please don’t leave! Who are you? Why do you keep showing up near me?”