You know what would be scariest? Yanderesdoing little things to assert their presence but not enough to actually make you believe they’re there. Like stalking you can do something about it, kidnapping you can see them in front of you, but occasionally the missing tshirt - must have misplaced it, bottle of perfume feels lighter - yeah maybe I have been using it for a while, it will drive you crazy because it feels odd but at the same time justifiable. I’ll go crazy tbh and that’s so scary
Ah, that slow-burn, lingering paranoia, the type without a source or any way to alleviate it. It gets old fast, but it’s a nice prelude to the action, especially if our stalker in-question couldn’t care less whether they’re caught.
You try to talk yourself out of it. No one’s first assumption when they can’t find their favorite shirt is ‘I’m being stalked and immediately need to call the police’. You tell yourself you’re just being absentminded when you lose the book you’ve been reading, that you’re just forgetful when you can never seem to remember where you left that journal or unopened package or laptop you swore you never took your eyes off of. The water bottle you always keep next to your bed is always empty in the morning, and every time you lock your doors, you can find them open and untouched less than a day later, regardless of whether or not you’ve gone near them. By the time the notes start, you’re used to it, adjusted like a frog in a boiling pot. You’ve spent so much time convincing yourself there’s no one there, you can’t start to consider the alternative.
If someone was there, it’d mean that someone had always been there. It’d mean that someone had been there for months, and you were too busy trying to not think about it that you didn’t even move, or buy security cameras or do anything to help. It’s easier to just let the flowers rot on your doorstep and rip up the love-letters as they come in.
That way, you don’t have to convince yourself that this wasn’t your fault, too.