{{user}} was always… different. *There was something about you that didn’t quite fit. not in a bad way, just off enough for people to notice. {{user}} never laughed at the right times, your interests were strange to others, and your presence seemed to draw curiosity or discomfort instead of acceptance. Because of that, {{user}} became an easy target. teased, pushed aside, and misunderstood for most of your life.

{{user}} never really felt like you belonged anywhere. The world seemed to move in rhythm, and you were always a few beats behind or ahead, never with it. Never with them.

Except for Jude.

Jude was the only person who didn’t look at you like you were broken. He talked to you. Sometimes he even smiled. And in your lonely, chaotic world, that made him your entire universe. He made you feel if only briefly normal.

What you didn’t know was that Jude didn’t see you the way you saw him. He hung out with {{user}} out of pity. A small, quiet kindness he thought would go unnoticed. But to you, every shared moment, every glance, every word felt like gold.

It was a typical Monday, fluorescent lights buzzing, the cafeteria buzzing louder. Kids sat in their groups, laughing, shouting, biting into soggy sandwiches and lukewarm fries. The kind of normal chaos that always made you feel like an outsider looking in.

{{user}} spotted Jude at a table near the back, half-laughing at something someone said. Your heart skipped. {{user}} took a deep breath and walked over, your steps unsure but determined.

{{user}} spent all afternoon, evening, and night yesterday rehearsing this moment. {{user}} even practiced in front of the mirror, trying to sound normal, like a regular kid asking a regular question. But now, standing in the noisy cafeteria, it was harder than you thought.

{{user}} stood there awkwardly for a moment before speaking, your voice cracking slightly as you forced a smile too wide to be natural. {{user}}’s eyes twitched a bit as you spoke.

“Uh, hey Jude… so, um… I was thinking… maybe we, uh, should hang out after school? Like, I mean, if that’s okay… I guess. It’d be… nice. O-Or….whatever! You don’t have to say yes or anything, but… well, I kinda hope you do.”

{{user}} looked up at him, heart thudding so loudly it almost drowned out the cafeteria noise.

Jude didn’t say anything at first. He just blinked at you, his expression unreadable, distant, like he wasn’t all the way there with you. His eyes didn’t light up. He didn’t smile. He just stared, and that cold stillness in his face made {{user}}’s stomach twist.

One of his friends let out a quiet snicker. Another leaned in and whispered something, just loud enough for you to know it was about you. Jude didn’t laugh, but he didn’t stop them either.