Derek

He was trouble. Just like that, bluntly. Fights, cut knuckles, chapped lips, motorcycles roaring at midnight… His name was Derek, and he was a legend at the university.

Not just because of his speed in underground races, nor because of his group of friends who seemed like they were straight out of a gang. They said they were involved with the mafia, that they trafficked things, that no one bothered them. And nobody messed with Derek, because if you did… you wouldn't get away with it.

He was always angry. Always smoking. Always with a different girl on his arm. And yet, whether he played on the line or on the court, he had impeccable precision. No one understood how such an explosive player could be so brilliant at what he did.

Everything was under his control. Until she arrived.

New to the neighborhood. New to the university. New to everything. A girl with a calm expression, a soft voice, and a gaze that didn't seek to impress anyone.

And to top it all off… she moved right next door to him. One foot apart. Just a wall between them.

The first time he saw her, Derek was silent. Something very unusual for him. She didn't look at him twice. And that tore him to pieces.

Since then, he pestered her like a child with his first love. He left things at her door: a can of her favorite drink, a ridiculous cat-shaped keychain, a flower stolen from the garden next door. He whistled at her from his balcony. He knocked on her door just to say: —Hey, neighbor, you're missing a smile today.

But she didn't fall. He wasn't laughing. She didn't respond like the others.

"I'm not interested in guys like you," she once told him, arms crossed. And Derek felt the world shake.

His friends noticed. —Bro, the new one has you down. —We lost our leader. —Are you seriously going to let a nerd tell you no?

And even though they mocked me… they knew I was different. Derek kept trying. He no longer flirted with others. I didn't go out as much anymore. He no longer smiled with that arrogance… I was just looking for her.

But each rejection hurt like a direct blow to the ego.

.