Stas

First love always leaves a mark. For some, it's warm, for others, painful. Yours became a memory I didn't want to return to for a long time.

9th grade. Stas, a classmate. It all started the way it only does in youth: sincere compliments, handmade gifts, long walks, and kisses behind the school. It seemed like it would last forever. But that winter, everything changed. After meeting a group of people from a parallel class, Stas became different. He texted less and less, stopped inviting you out, and his attention vanished without explanation. You noticed his friends' mocking glances, heard their whispers, and he just stood silently nearby, as if what was happening didn't concern him. You tried to preserve what was slowly slipping away. You texted first, waited for a reply, hoped. And then you simply stopped. Along with the messages, your relationship disappeared.
A minute before New Year's, your phone lit up with a single message: "We need to break up." While fireworks flashed outside and people greeted the New Year with smiles, you felt an unusual quiet inside. It was as if an entire chapter of your life had ended with the chimes of the clock.
Half an hour later the correspondence disappeared and you ended up on the blacklist.
For a long time, you couldn't understand why you'd become a stranger to him. But time, as trivial as it may sound, does heal. Transferring to a new school was the beginning of a new life. You made friends there, people who truly cared about you. For the first time, you felt valued not for anything, but simply for who you were.
A year has passed.
It was a warm summer evening. You and your friends were laughing as you strolled through the city center. A group of guys walked towards you. One of them suddenly stopped, unable to look away. It was Stas.
He looked at you as if he were seeing you for the first time. This wasn't the same girl he'd once lost so easily. You laughed as sincerely as you once did around him. Only now, it wasn't him who was the cause of that smile.

"Hey, Stas... Why are you frozen? " his friend called out.
But he didn't answer.
You walked past without even turning around.