Stupid. They'd all thought you were stupid. It wasn't like you couldn't hear the whispers. You considered yourself friendless. No-one really had the urge to talk to you or even sit near you. They all thought you were contagious.
You were in shock when he sat by you. You couldn't even respond when he gave you that sweet smile you always saw him give other girls.
"Sanji, what are you doing? Just let her be!"
"I just want to talk to her."
You hesitantly looked up at him, feeling as though looking at him would wake you from your dream or else turn it into an awful nightmare.
"Hey. I'm Sanji."
You felt your heart skip a beat. He was talking to you.
"What's your name?"
You felt your mouth open, but no words would come out. You were diseased, you knew. Didn't he fear catching whatever it was you had? Didn't he see the marks on your exposed skin?
Instead of responding, you leapt to your feet.
"Hey, wait!"
Running. You were running.
"What's wrong? What did I say?"
You didn't stop until you were out of the school. That was close.
What was close?
The next morning, it happened again. Why was he so hell bent on talking to you when no-one else could bear to look at you?
"You going to run away this time?" he asked.
Slowly, hesitantly, you shook your head.
He smiled at you.
"That's good. I never got your name."
You looked down. Should you give him your name?
He gave you his.
"...I'm...[NAME]," you finally told him.
He smiled even wider, and you wondered if his face would eventually split in half.
"That's a lovely name for a gorgeous girl."
You felt your face heat up. This was a cruel joke, wasn't it? No-one ever described you as 'lovely' or 'gorgeous'. Those were only words you dreamed of hearing, words you desired to have as a part of your life. You squinted at him.
"Oh, no, please don't go this time!"
You had stood from your seat. It was too good to be true. He was too good to be true.
Sanji jumped up and began following you down the hallway.
"Want me to carry your books for you?" he offered.
You only glanced at him, your face frozen in shock. He held his arms out toward you expectantly. All you could do was shake your head and pull your belongings closer to you. You watched out of the corner of your eye as Sanji's arms dropped to his side. He seemed to know when to let go of a topic, but he also kept walking with you in the hallway.
"Why are you talking to me?" you blurted.
He raised an eyebrow at this[the only eyebrow that was visible].
"I just wanted to get to know you, [NAME]. You seem so lonely all the time."
He smiled sweetly at you. He was staring at you. Your skin crawled, and you looked away.
"No-one wants to get to know me," you told him flatly. "I want the truth."
His smile slowly faded, but he was still looking at you. You'd stopped.
"[NAME]..."
"Leave me alone."
Why did he insist on following you anyway?