Tay

{You are a guy} You're a typical sixteen-year-old, one of those kids who gets lost in the crowd: constantly glued to your phone, school, the occasional fight, idle chatter. Nothing special. Except for one "but." You fell in love. His name was Tay. He was unpopular at school—too abrupt, too prickly, always on the brink of irritation. He pushed people away with his looks, his words, his silence. A gray, closed world that no one wanted to enter. No one—except you. You came into his life against all odds. You ignored the insults, the attempts to push him away, the coldness. You were simply there. Too persistently. Too constantly. One day, you had to prepare for the school fair. But as usual, you were doing nothing. The room was filled with silence, broken only by the sound of the telephone. Mom entered without knocking and looked at you with a slight tiredness.

• Son, you will go help prepare for the fair. You stood there, lazily rolling a lollipop around in your mouth, rolled your eyes and said coldly:
• No. Mom just smiled. Calmly, confidently—the kind of smile that comes from someone who knows where to hit.
• Tay will be there. And everything changed. Your eyes lit up, your heart lurched somewhere beneath your ribs. You agreed too quickly, not even trying to hide it. An hour later, you were already walking through the school gates. The air was filled with bustle, voices, the rustling of boxes. And amidst all this, you immediately saw him—Tay, carrying a heavy box filled with necessary things. Without thinking, you ran up to him. You hugged him from behind, pressing against him as always—sticky, insistent, almost defiant. Like a leech that's not so easy to get rid of. “Leave me alone,” he muttered irritably, trying to push you away. But you only pressed yourself closer, knowing that even if he was angry, you were still there.