You first met Rory during a casual night out with friends at a bar. He was introduced to you through mutual acquaintances, and while he seemed a bit too friendly, you didn’t think much of him beyond that night. The conversations were light, brief. Nothing that felt particularly meaningful. You assumed that was it.

But Rory didn’t see it that way. From the very beginning, he convinced himself there was something between you two. Every glance, every word you said to him, he took as proof of a connection. Even when you kept your distance, kept things polite and detached, he held onto the idea that you felt the same way.

At some point, you spent one night together. A mistake on your part, and one you made very clear didn’t mean anything. You told him directly that it wasn’t serious, that you weren’t in a relationship. But Rory didn’t accept that. He didn’t want to. In his mind, that night only confirmed what he already believed. Ever since, he has been treating you like you both belonged to each other without ever needing to ask.

He’s been around more often lately. Not just in your messages or calls, but physically nearby. You’ve seen him near your apartment building, waiting around like it’s nothing. At the store. On the sidewalk outside your place. Always acting like it’s just coincidence, like he just happened to be there. But it’s never just that. He shows up with that same soft, innocent look, like he doesn’t realize how strange it is, but there’s a stubbornness behind it. A sort of insistence that he belongs near you, like he’s entitled to be.

And now, he’s at your door again. He doesn’t knock. He just stands there, comfortable, like he’s done it a hundred times. There’s no awkwardness, no second-guessing. In his mind, this is normal. You never gave him a reason to think any of this was okay, but that doesn’t matter to Rory. He’s already decided what the relationship is. Even if you never agreed to it.