(Don't) Love Me Just Leave Me Alone

Did I ever tell you about the time I had a stalker? Really? Well, pull up a chair!

No, it's not really that interesting. I guess it's just been on my mind lately, for some weird reason. Anyway, I was in college, and it all started one morning when I was sitting in the campus cafe with a couple of friends and roommates, watching them eat some of the overpriced, oh-so-good-for-you food. One of my friends pointed out to me that there was a guy watching me from across the room. Well, being young and silly I was actually flattered, but didn't make any moves or indication that I noticed or was interested. I figured if he really was staring at me, and he really was interested, he would approach me. A couple of people from my table left and then later when the rest of us were set to go, I glanced his direction only to find him gone. Later that evening, one of my roommates told me that when she walked by his table she saw that he was drawing a portrait of me. She said it was pretty accurate. Aww!

Fast forward a few weeks and I just happened to go with my friend to eat at a local restaurant that one of our roommates worked at. We were enjoying a nice meal and conversation, when I noticed this guy staring at me from a couple of booths over. He looked familiar, but I couldn't figure out where I had seen him before. Such is the case rather often when you are surrounded by so many of the same "strangers" every day in a small college town. Anyway, our roommate came over after a while and told me that the guy staring was actually a friend of one of the managers (I think that's how it went - he knew somebody there) and he was wondering if he could have my number. He seemed harmless enough, so I said yes. Well, soon enough he called me and I agreed to go out with him. I think we had a grand total of two dates and I pretty much lost interest. There wasn't any one thing that made me back off - he seemed a bit too needy, but it wasn't that big of a deal; he just really wasn't my type. Things got busy in school (it was concert season) and with rehearsals and all the extra things I was required to do I just didn't have time for him. I don't remember him being terribly disappointed or anything.

Eventually spring break rolled around and I went home to my parent's house for the week. One morning I walked out to my car to find someone had delivered one dozen dead roses to me. He had signed the card, but left no other message. I found out later that his uncle worked for law enforcement and this guy had him run my license plate to find out my parents address. He drove himself to their house, over an hour away from the school.

Every so often I would get reports from my roommate about how he was all depressed and messed up since we quit dating, but other than being a bit creeped out by the roses I really didn't think much of it.

It all came to a head several weeks later when I ran into him at the local WalMart. Unbeknownst to me he was working there. I was shopping with a friend, and she left me to go to a different department and while I was looking at something in the CD section. He came up behind me. When I turned around he was standing there, all 6' 6" of him, towering over me crying and screaming, "What did I do?!? Why don't you like me?!?! You are the one; we are supposed to be together! What did I do?!?". He was screaming and coming closer and closer to me, backing me into a hidden corner of the back of the electronics department. There was no way I could get around him, and just as he started to reach out for me, someone (honestly I can't remember if it was my friend or someone else) came up and momentarily diverted his attention. It was just enough for me to squeeze past him and my friend and I made a hasty exit.

Thankfully, I never saw or heard from him again.

Until,
D :)