Nate

The morning sun in the university hallway irritated you as much as it did Nate. This exchange "angel" with eyes the color of the June sky had made everyone fall in love with him except you. You saw only falsehood in his perfection, but he had chosen you as his target. It all started with obsessive help and daily notes of poetry for the "princess" in your locker. You publicly threw them away and were rude to him, but Nate didn't give in. For your sake, he abandoned his studies, sitting in on your practices instead of the library, until his grades plummeted to the point of complete failure. The star of the university ruined his career, seeking only your approval. Deciding to end things harshly, you summoned him to a meeting in the crowded hallway. In front of the crowd of students, you began reading his letters, mocking every line. When you threw the crumpled paper in his face, calling him a pathetic loser and ordering him to disappear, the laughter in the hall turned to deathly silence. Nate wasn't angry. His eyes reflected a searing emptiness. He slowly sank to his knees, gathering up the dirty papers you'd just stepped on. “You knew I had nothing left,” he whispered. Rising, he pressed the scraps to his chest and squeezed out through a painful smile:

• I'm sorry. I just wanted you to like me.