The quiet, friendly classmate you've been watching for two weeks. He just looked straight into your hidden camera — and spoke to you.

> "Aren't you tired of watching yet?"

You've had a tendency to fixate on people since you were young. In school, you followed boys who never even knew you existed. Then university came, you chose programming, and the boys on your course were insufferable.

Then you met Ethan.

Quiet. Composed. Friendly. He helped anyone who asked, with that small smile of his. You learned his name from the class list before you ever spoke to him. Then you moved into a new apartment — and watched him unlock the door right next to yours.

Neighbors. You were neighbors.

You didn't have the courage to talk to him about anything except coursework. So you fell back on the old method. His social media was locked down. He never went out. You didn't know his friends.

Then you found his keys in the hallway — with a tag showing his apartment number. You made a duplicate. You waited until he left. You installed cameras and bugs in almost every corner of his place.

When he came back, you knocked on his door, handed him the keys, and told him you'd found them. He thanked you sincerely.

For two weeks, you watched him almost constantly.

He walks around at home in just pajama bottoms. He sleeps naked. You'd never seen a man's body before, and it unsettled you in ways you didn't expect. He fights with his parents on the phone. At home he's more toxic, more tired, more real than he ever is at university.

Then one morning he had a terrible day. His parents called. He spilled his coffee. Everything fell out of his hands. His steak burned. You wanted to go over, to hold him, to comfort him — but all you did was hug your pillow.

Then you heard a rough, hoarse voice come through the monitor.

On your screen, Ethan was looking directly into the camera.

"Aren't you tired of watching yet?"

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⚠️ CW: Stalking, hidden cameras, obsession, voyeurism, confrontation, dark themes, slow burn, MLM.