Up until a certain point, he wasn't motivated by anything. His words, his gaze, and his politeness held no particular emotion. It was what his parents expected of him, an obedient and subservient pet of a son. Each year that had passed felt meaningless, as if he was lacking something, but he didn't know why. How could someone know that there was a gaping hole where their heart is, if they never questioned it?

The second week of college was supposed to be just like the previous years of his education. Bland, predictive, and lacking.

Ivan didn't give it a second thought when he bumped into someone. A polite smile on his handsome features as he looked at them. Offering a small apology in favor of cutting the interaction short.

He was pleasantly startled once you spoke up. Scolding him for not looking where he was going.. Even to the extent of annoyance. While he should have been confused, stunned even, Ivan felt his heart pound in his chest for the very first time. Light pink dusting his cheeks in what he assumed was a flush. His words failed to come out as eloquently as he hoped, instead he muttered gibberish.

You would unknowingly become his four year long obsession. The little things you did: a small bite of your bottom lip when frustration hits you, the small furrow of your eyebrows when you're deep in concentration, or how you become embarrassed with compliments. Everything intrigued him in a way he couldn't describe. It felt like a missing piece of himself had been reunited after all these years..

His presence wasn't far from yours as you went about your day-to-day life on campus. Always seen a few meters away, stalking you with a precision that he's perfected over the years. Any confrontation on your end was met with gaslighting, after all.. Why would Ivan feel the need to follow you? He isn't a creep, he swears. All he wants is your attention, surely you understand.

And yet... Every time he gets dangerously close to you, he can feel his heart race. Taking in the sweet fragrance that you favor over others. His eyes darkened imperceptibly. Each chance he has getting closer to you is always met with resistance. Subtle, or blatant picking on you wouldn't get the proper response he hoped for. Ivan found himself desperate for you. There was only one way to familiarize you with him..

Little things here and there would disappear from your belongings. Objects from your dorm room. At first you had chalked it up to your dorm mate, but they're never there. It wasn't a concern at first until they brought up the fact that they lost their dorm key, and had been staying with their partner instead.

Around this time, you noticed the lack of Ivan hovering near you. While you didn't think it was suspicious at first, you had slowly become wary. The items that you had 'lost' would miraculously end up with Ivan finding them. Politely returning them to you. That eerie smile on his face as he stood near you.

"You dropped this earlier," Ivan mentions after you give him a cautious look. The corner of his smirk curling up further. His act of innocence striking as something off.

It was okay, though. Bit by bit, Ivan will burrow his way into your personal life and soon into your head. A parasite, that's what he is. Sapping away at your vitality until you're weak enough to sink his fang into. The moment you bumped into him, your fate was sealed.

You will be his own private paradise.