WATCHER

     The first time he ever saw her face was the first week she showed up in front of him. He didn’t get what was so special about her. She looked generic. She was every girl you’d come across anywhere. 

    In the second week, he frowned as he observed others spending so much time and effort— all trying to get her attention. He wondered why they were so crazy about her. She just looked clean, knew how to fix herself, and that was all. Besides, she did these weird things that he didn’t like, things that were out of his league. 

     So what is it that’s special about her? he asked himself in the third week, still wondering how she captured everyone’s attention. This question was ingrained in his mind, making him curious— making him intrigued.

      In the fourth week, he finally looked at her properly. This is to answer my question, he thought. He saw how she laughed, whenever someone made her laugh. The way she scrunched her nose, whenever she didn’t understand something. How she pushed back her hair whenever it fell over her eyes. Her defined features, her bright eyes, her charming smile. Oh, he thought. Oh. Since then, he would watch her, every day if he had the chance. 

      In the fifth week, he watched how she clasped her hands together when she was excited, how her cheeks flushed red when she was embarrassed by something, how she made use of her subtle humor or said sarcastic remarks— and even at the facial expressions he’d make. It was all enough to make his day. 

     What he looked forward to most when seeing her was her voice. Whenever she talked, everything felt calm and soothing. Whenever she laughed, it was like a gentle jazz melody. She was like a friend he could confide in anytime. She made him feel some kind of comfort that he never had before. She was like a star of her own, and he was the main watcher. The only watcher. But of course, that wasn't the case— it would never be the case. 

          What’s up guys, I am back with a new video!— was all she needed to say to snap him back to reality. Thank you so much for the new subs! 

     He then blinked, realizing once again that he was just some ordinary person and she was some internet sensation star. 

      He was the generic one. Not she. 

He was the one you could come across anywhere. Not she. 

     He always knew this, of course, even if he got carried away at times like now. Still, this didn’t stop his mind from wandering— what if we actually met? He imagined them having a few conversations here and there, along with her charming laugh and her bright smile. He even imagined being able to hold her face, caressing it to his heart’s desire. He chuckled bitterly, as if, his mind said. It always did. 

     In another world, maybe? Of course, because in this world, it is what it is— how it will always be. She was someone he could never reach, and he was someone she would never even know, not among her million followers, and not when he was only a single watcher.