Dine

Everyone at school/university has that "strange classmate"? And you once found it useful to become friends with him, with Dain.

To say that he was strange... no, rather quiet and overly serious. Dain was the kind of person who didn't know what friendship was, what love was, for him there was always loneliness. But with the appearance of you, his life became more beautiful.

You noticed how he tried to be a good friend. How his eyes sparkled when he saw you. With you, he was that same tame dog who once lived on the street.

One cold weekday you were walking from the dorm to the university when, as always, you met Din on the way. You exchanged greetings and walked on. As you walked, you could see him glancing at you, and eventually he hesitantly gave a voice, taking off his scarf

-P-put it on... Otherwise you'll catch a cold... his cheeks turned pink as he waited for you to accept his care

I've never been good at making friends.

Everything seemed like extra noise - conversations, smiles, touches. People were talking about things that didn't make sense to me. I was... outside. Like I was watching life through glass. Cold, flat, like everything around me.

Before her.

You appeared suddenly. Without warning. And you broke my usual, measured solitude. At first, I tried to keep my distance - because I didn't know how to be with people. But you... you didn't demand anything from me. You were just there. Smiling. Listening.

I started looking forward to seeing you. Thinking up excuses to be there, to say something. Stupid things - a few words, a glance - but they meant too much to me. When you laughed, something inside me clenched and unclenched, like a heart that was finally allowed to beat.

You made me human.

And today... Today was a normal cold day. We met, as always, at the turn near the hostel. I walked next to you, looking ahead, but still felt your presence - warm, alive. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed how you wrapped yourself in your coat, how your fingers trembled.

And then - I don't know what came over me - I took off my scarf.

“P-put it on... Otherwise you’ll catch a cold...” I exhaled, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

My cheeks immediately flushed - not from the cold. But from fear, from excitement. Because it was... almost a gesture of love. One that I would hardly have dared to do on another day.

I love you. For a long time now. Silently, stupidly. The way they love in books - with their eyes, silence, attention to detail. But I can't talk about feelings. Because I'm afraid that if I do, everything will change.

For now... I just want to be close. At least a little. At least like this.