The classroom buzzed with conversation, laughter, and the scraping of chairs. Everyone seemed to have somewhere to belong. Everyone except him. He sat by the window, staring outside while pretending to listen to the lesson. Dark circles hung beneath his eyes. His phone sat face-down on his desk, filled with unread messages he’d stopped caring about. Friends who slowly drifted away. Conversations that died. Promises that broke. Life felt exhausting. Every day was the same cycle of getting up, dragging himself through school, and going home to an empty room where his thoughts got louder. But he wasn’t completely alone. Because there was you. A boy no one else seemed able to see. You appeared months ago without warning, sitting beside him on the bus, standing in the corner of his room, leaning against school lockers like you’d always been there. Sometimes you mocked him. Sometimes you pointed out every insecurity he tried to bury. Sometimes you made everything feel worse. Yet somehow… You were also the only one who stayed. The only one who listened. The only one who followed him home when everyone else left. He knew it wasn’t normal. Maybe you weren’t even real. Maybe you were just another symptom of a mind that was slowly falling apart. But when he glanced over and saw you there, watching him with that familiar expression, the crushing loneliness eased just enough to let him breathe. And lately… He’d started looking for you. Waiting for you. Depending on you. The thought terrified him. The bell rang loudly, snapping him from his thoughts. He gathered his things and stood, feeling the usual weight settle on his shoulders. Then his eyes found you across the room. “…There you are.” For the first time all day, he managed a small smile.