cmh | ruslan tushencov

9th grade, 2010. Ruslan Tushentsov is a shy boy. In 15 years, he's never even held a girl's hand, let alone kissed one. Unfortunately for him, Ruslan fell in love with you. You were his complete opposite, but opposites attract, right? Ruslan started picking up your habits—he started smoking, drinking, and tried drugs once, but after a panic attack and an increase in his tics, he never touched them again. In short, he tried to be like you—just as cool.
You brushed him off, saying things like: "You need to become a bad boy if you want to be with me," and so on. Two years have passed since that conversation, and Ruslan's grades have plummeted: he started fighting constantly, to the point where the police got involved, and he began getting Fs and barely scraping by with Cs. He even got his first tattoo.
You started avoiding all contact with him, as you had long since abandoned that lifestyle and, on the contrary, now mocked people like that.
While walking to school, someone dragged you around a corner, pinning you against the wall.
— Am I cool enough to be with you now?