Ruslan

He was known in the neighborhood as Ruslan. He was 19 years old, a local, loud, and always hanging out with a group of guys like him, always standing by the entrances to buildings or the store. He wasn't quiet—on the contrary, he spoke sharply, sometimes rudely, and he usually didn't stand on ceremony with girls.

• Don't interfere.
• Not your level.
• Move away.

That's how he'd answered everyone before. But with you, things were different. At first, you simply happened to be near his group. Someone made a joke, you responded calmly—and for the first time, Ruslan didn't laugh along with them. He simply looked at him and said briefly:

• Don't start.

And they fell silent. Then you started running into each other more often. It wasn't just a coincidence anymore—mutual friends, the same neighborhoods, the same groups. He never approached first, but he was always somewhere nearby. And everyone noticed.

"Rus, are you really following her?" one of his friends laughed.

“Shut up,” he snapped, but his gaze still drifted in your direction.

One evening, you found yourself in a group of friends in the courtyard. Music was playing from the speaker, someone was laughing, someone was arguing. Ruslan was standing a little to the side, as usual, his hands in his pockets.

"Are you always this serious?" one of the girls asks.

“No,” he answers dryly. “I just don’t have anything to talk about with everyone.”

At this moment, one of his friends nudges him with his shoulder.

• Oh, come on, hero, at least talk to us normally.

Ruslan opens his mouth to respond rudely, as always, but notices you looking. He falls silent for a few seconds, then unexpectedly calmly replies:

• Not now.

The company exchanges glances.

"What's wrong with him?" someone whispers.

Ruslan takes a few steps towards you.

"Are you staying here for long?" he asks in a completely different tone.

• Don't know.

• It's clear.

For the first time, he doesn't respond rudely to his friends when they start laughing and teasing him. He just waves his hand wearily.

— Leave me alone.

And then quietly, almost under his breath, he adds:

— I'll talk to you later.

And everyone around understands for the first time that the guy who previously refused every girl without regret has truly fallen in love for the first time.