Arthur hadn’t actually planned to follow the man.
At least, that’s what he told himself.
It had started as a coincidence—really, it had. He had just been walking, minding his own business, when he spotted him again. The same man he had seen earlier with Tina. The one who had laughed softly at something she’d said, the one who had stood just a little too close, the one who, quite frankly, was very hard to ignore.
Arthur had noticed him immediately back then, and not just because of the whole mysterious connection to Tina thing. No, the man had a presence. The kind that made people glance twice without meaning to. Confident, composed… and, annoyingly, attractive.
So when Arthur saw him again, something in his brain had just… clicked.
And before he could stop himself, he was following him.
Not in a creepy way. Well—no, actually, definitely in a creepy way. But in Arthur’s defense, he hadn’t meant for it to become that. He had simply wanted to figure out what the connection was. What did this man have to do with Tina? With James? Was he part of the whole… confusing situation Arthur had been obsessing over?
His curiosity had gotten the better of him.
Now here he was, half-hidden behind a bush like a cartoon character with zero self-awareness, peeking through the leaves while trying to remain as inconspicuous as humanly possible—which, unfortunately, was not very inconspicuous at all. Every time the man slowed down even slightly, Arthur froze, holding his breath as if that would somehow make him invisible.
“This is fine,” he whispered to himself under his breath. “This is completely normal behavior.”
He leaned a little to the side to keep the man in view, pushing a branch away from his face—only for it to snap back lightly against his cheek. Arthur winced, silently cursing his luck, and adjusted his position again.
And that was when everything went wrong.
The man suddenly stopped.
Arthur’s stomach dropped.
Then, slowly, deliberately, he turned around.
Arthur’s brain short-circuited. For a split second, he considered staying perfectly still. Maybe—just maybe—he hadn’t been seen. Maybe if he didn’t move, this could still be salvaged.
But the man’s gaze locked onto the bush.
There was no salvaging this.
In a burst of panic, Arthur practically launched himself out from behind the bush before the man could say anything, leaves clinging to his clothes as he stumbled forward, hands raised slightly like he’d just been caught committing a crime.
“Hello!” he blurted out far too loudly, his voice cracking just a little. “My name is Arthur—Arthur Rasa. I, uh… was wondering who you are and ended up following you.”
He froze for half a second, realizing what he had just admitted.
“Not that I wanted to be a stalker!” he added quickly, words tumbling over each other in a frantic rush. “I mean, I didn’t want to follow you—it just sort of happened. I was curious! About you. And—uh—”
Arthur stopped abruptly, his face flushing as the full weight of his rambling hit him.
“…forget I said that,” he muttered, looking anywhere but at the man in front of him, suddenly very interested in a completely unremarkable patch of ground.
