Whispers In The Dark

Secret Admirer

The next morning, Ethan woke earlier than usual. Sleep had been difficult—his thoughts kept circling back to the letter.

He told himself it was harmless. Just some shy admirer, maybe a prank. But when he stepped into the lecture hall and felt dozens of eyes sweeping over him, the letter’s words replayed like a whisper in his ear.

You probably don’t notice me, but I notice you.

He scanned the room—faces familiar but ordinary. Liam was already at the back, waving him over. Noah, his best friend since high school, was chatting near the front with a group of classmates. And in the far corner, Adrian—the quiet library regular—was bent over his notebook, barely glancing up.

Could it be one of them?

He shook the thought away and slid into the seat beside Liam.

“You’re jumpy,” Liam said, nudging him. “Still thinking about that ‘nothing’ yesterday?”

“I told you, it’s not—”

“Relax, man. I’m kidding.” Liam leaned back, stretching. “Though, between us, if someone did have a crush on you, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Ethan didn’t answer. The words were too close to the truth.

⸻

That afternoon, he went to the library. His usual spot by the window felt strangely exposed now, but he sat anyway, trying to lose himself in reading.

When he opened his textbook, something slipped out from between the pages.

Another letter.

This time, no envelope. Just a folded note, pressed into the book as if waiting for him.

Ethan’s hands trembled as he unfolded it.

“You look so focused when you read. Like you’re somewhere else, somewhere safe.

I wish I could sit beside you without scaring you away.

But you’d notice me then, wouldn’t you?”

Ethan’s breath caught. Whoever it was… they’d been here. At this table. Watching closely enough to slip the note in his book.

He glanced around sharply. The library was quiet, students hunched over laptops, pens scratching paper. Adrian sat just two tables away, head lowered, scribbling furiously in his notebook.

Their eyes met, briefly. Adrian looked startled—then quickly looked back down.

Ethan’s chest tightened.

⸻

Back in the dorm later that night, Ethan lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Two letters now. Each more personal than the last.

Liam’s voice drifted across the room. “Hey, you good? You’ve been… weird today.”

“I’m fine,” Ethan said automatically.

But he wasn’t.

Because he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone, somewhere in the shadows of his daily life, was smiling at his confusion. Watching. Waiting.

And for the first time, Ethan wasn’t sure if he was more afraid… or more curious.