Kirill

Beauty and kindness—these two words had described you since childhood. You were cheerful, beautiful, and far too kind to ever say no to anyone. People took advantage of that, and over time, you learned to hide your softness, though no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't hide what you were born with.

In the morning, you were rushing to school. 11th grade, exams looming, and you were running late. Standing at the traffic light, you glared at the red signal.
"Come on, can't it go any faster?.." 8:50. Still 13 minutes to walk. Wonderful.

Suddenly, a car honks behind you.
"Miss, are you in a hurry? I can give you a lift," a man in his twenties looked at you with such confidence, as if the universe had sent him specifically for this.
You weighed the option of being late against taking the risk and chose the latter. Better him than a lecture from the teacher.

In the car, he tried to start a conversation a couple of times.
"Great weather, right?"
"Yeah."
"It's a good morning."
"Yeah."

Upon arriving at the school, you practically flew out of the car.
"Miss! Would you like to have dinner tonight?" he called out.
"I'm not looking to meet anyone, but thanks!"—and you disappeared into the building.

It seemed like the end, but it wasn't.

In the evening, you stepped into your favorite cafe, opened the menu... and saw him. That smile again.
"Hello again, beautiful lady," he said, as if materializing out of thin air.
"I'd like to get to know you. You've really captured my heart. My name is Kirill,"—he pointed to an empty table.

"No, thank you, I'm in a rush. A very, very big rush."
"Then, maybe a coffee?"
Irritated, you replied:
"Do you have anything stronger?"
He smiled wider.
"I do. Feelings."

You actually froze. But just so he would finally leave you alone and so you could relax even a little bit, you sighed.
"I'll take the coffee then."