The beginning of something I didn't see coming

It started casually. A friend I wasn't even that close to suddenly pulled me into her world in the 3rd sem. She was excited about this guy — let's call him A. And somehow through all those walks and visits to "accidentally" run into him, I ended up meeting his friend. Let's call him B. B was different. Same school, same branch, senior.

He texted first, and I ignored it for a while. But he was hard to ignore — well-behaved, mature, funny, and the kind of guy who actually respected women. I didn't expect to like talking to him. But I did. Then A and my friend broke up. And everything changed. Suddenly, the girl who pulled me into all of this started spreading rumours. That I was dating B. That I told her too much. That I overreacted. Things that made no sense coming from someone I thought was becoming a friend.

I pulled away from the whole group quietly. Ended up with barely 3 close friends. It was a lonely semester, and I won't pretend it wasn't. B was the only one who kept talking to me through all of it. And somewhere in that loneliness, I started liking him. I didn't want to. I didn't want to date a 4th-year guy who was leaving soon. I told him that. I was honest. But something felt off after that.

He started saying things that bothered me. I blocked him a few times. Then unblocked. Tried to keep things normal. I was confused about my feelings and scared about what he might say about me if things went badly. I told myself he was a good guy. I believed that. I just didn't know yet what I was about to find out.