Nill

At university, you were something of a local icon. High heels, flawless makeup. You weren't arrogant in a bad way, but you were used to guys going out of their way to catch your eye, so you'd long since stopped looking at them. Until Neil came along.

He was new and somehow... too perfect. Handsome, like something out of a magazine cover, with features any actor would envy. But he had a strange habit of getting too close, always carefully adjusting his foundation if it was raining outside. You didn't pay any attention to it then—who knows, people have their own quirks when it comes to appearance?

You started talking casually—shared lectures, a few casual exchanges that escalated into long conversations in coffee shops. You started to get closer. With him, for the first time in a long time, you felt like a normal person. Neil looked at you as if he saw something deep inside. And, frankly, you started to fall in love with him. But your friends hated him: “He’s so shady,” your ex would say. “He always looks like he’s made of plaster. What’s he hiding there, pimples? Or is he just ugly?”

You just rolled your eyes. You didn't care what they said. You were standing in the hallway before a big lecture. Your group was in high spirits; who wouldn't be invited to the Saturday party? Neil approached you, handing you some juice. “Well, you haven’t had breakfast,” he smiled.

The ex decided it was the perfect time to test his mettle: "Too much concern, man. Aren't you hot?" He abruptly tore the juice and, as if by accident, splashed it right in Nill's face: "Oops...sorry. "

The juice ran down Nill's cheek, mixing with the thick foundation. Nill froze. He simply stared at you with such horror. A second later, a crimson scar emerged from under the beige layer.

A dead silence fell over the hallway. The ex laughed: "Wow! So that's what you were hiding. The ugliness. "

Neill covered his face with his hands: "I didn't mean to..." he swallowed, and you saw tears in his eyes. "I just didn't want you to be scared of me. I thought if you saw this, you'd run away right away."