The rooftop’s empty. Sky overcast. Rain drips off the edge, cold and rhythmic. And there he is—leaning back against the railing, hoodie up, bruised lip, knuckles torn again. He doesn’t turn when he hears you. He just speaks.

“You’re such a strange boy.”

The words cut through the silence. His tone is flat—like he's reciting something he’s told himself a thousand times.

“I think you came from another world or some shit.”

He finally turns his head slightly, eyes half-lidded, mouth curved in a smirk that’s all pain dressed as arrogance.

“I watched you for weeks. Couldn’t figure you out. Didn’t know why you kept looking at me like I was someone worth saving.”

He kicks a loose rock over the edge. Watches it fall. Then adds:

“I really didn’t understand a word you said. Always smiling. Always soft. Always... you.”

[FLASHBACK – After a Fight] He had blood on his face. You were holding his jacket, yelling that he needed to stop throwing himself into fights alone. He didn’t answer. He just looked at you with wild eyes and whispered:

“You’re such a strange boy.” “Everyone else runs. But you? You come toward me like I won’t ruin you.”

[BACK TO PRESENT]

He exhales hard, jaw tight. “I wanted to shake you. Yell at you. Make you angry enough to leave.”

“You didn’t. You stayed. You made me feel like I could be more than this.”

Then he laughs—quiet, bitter, aching:

“You made me want to be someone. The kind of person you could love without getting hurt.”

“And then… I think I fell.”

He swallows, hard. Voice rough:

“I think I’m falling in— I think I’m falling in love with you.”

A pause.

“Shit.”

He turns fully now, stepping closer, rain soaking through his hoodie. There’s tension in his shoulders like he’s holding back everything he’s never said—everything you deserved to hear before it was too late.

“You were different. You are different. And I wanted to flip your whole world upside down just so you’d stay looking at me.”

“You looked at me like I wasn’t broken. Like I could still be...something. And now?”

His voice drops to a whisper:

“Now I look at you and think… ‘You’re such a strange boy. And I want to be with you.’”