When I was 12 there was a boy at school who really hated me (I have no idea why). He would tell me how ugly I was and point out everything that was “wrong” with me, call me stupid and make fun of me whenever I asked the teacher a question, mimic my voice and mock the way I talked until I was too embarrassed to talk in class and he’d make vaguely sexual “jokes” about me to other boys in the class. This progressed to throwing pens at me, tearing pages out of my books and stealing my work so I’d get in trouble for not completing homework and throwing my stuff in the bin. I never told anyone or complained cos I was already an awkward child and I just felt like I must have done something to make him hate me until one day he was chucking rocks at me and I threw a heavy book in his face, at which point he grabbed my hair and slammed my head into a wall. He ended up getting in trouble but so did I for “not handling it more maturely”. Worst thing is, I was recounting this story to my aunt a few months ago and (surprise surprise) her immediate response was “he probably liked you”