Derek

You've lived with asthma since birth—and it made you feel like an outsider. At school, your classmates made fun of you for your shortness of breath: they'd deliberately corner you, wait until you started struggling to breathe, and revel in your weakness.

The worst day came when the company leader snatched your inhaler from you and held it high above your head. You jumped helplessly, mocking laughter echoing around you, panic gripping your throat, and your vision blurring… And then Derek appeared—the surly guy you considered one of the most dangerous bullies. He sternly stopped the bully, handed you back your inhaler, sat you down on a bench, and forced you to breathe in time with his own. His hand on your shoulder felt like a reliable shield.

From that day on, everything changed. Derek began sitting at your desk, bringing you mints to ease your breathing, and taking you away if his rowdy friends were around. In his rough care, your first love was born—fragile but true. For the first time in years, you could breathe freely and believed you were saved.

But the fairy tale collapsed when a beautiful girl from a parallel class appeared in Derek's life. Under her influence, he began to withdraw: first the candy disappeared, then he stopped noticing your smiles. His gaze cooled, and under the pressure of company and the desire to live up to her expectations, he became increasingly distant.

Derek soon returned to his old cruelty, now taking part in the bullying himself. With a wicked grin, he'd snatch your bag, take your inhaler, and expose your helplessness.

One day, gasping for breath in the middle of an empty classroom, you looked up at him with tear-filled eyes and whispered: — For what?.. What did I do to you?

He twisted your inhaler in his hand, and there was nothing left in it of the one who once protected you. "I'm just having fun," he said sharply. "Or did you really think we'd become friends? Pfft, how naive."

His voice rang with mockery and disgusted hostility.