My Crush Bacame My Childhood Sweetheart

I secretly admired the aloof school heartthrob for three years, but over time, I developed feelings for my childhood friend who had always silently supported me.

Although it was just a choice between two, we couldn't have our cake and eat it too.

But then, my childhood friend died in a car accident.

After I witnessed his cremation, the school heartthrob, who had never spoken to me before, confessed his feelings.

He gazed at me with a look of indulgence, his beautiful eyes seemingly drawing me in.

"Guess, am I Julian or Tommy?"

1

Julian Moss was my childhood neighbor, and both our families were unfortunate.

His parents divorced, and he grew up with his alcoholic father, who would beat him whenever he drank too much.

My father passed away early, and my mother, eager to maintain a lavish lifestyle, had many boyfriends and even became a mistress, treating me with cold indifference.

Julian and I always comforted each other, and he was like family to me.

On my birthday, he used the money he earned from part-time jobs to buy me a birthday cake.

But while crossing the street, he was hit by a BMW and died instantly.

After watching his cremation, I expressed my condolence at his funeral.

"Julian, I hope you have a good life in the afterlife."

That night, I missed Julian terribly.

With him gone, I had lost my best friend. Memories of our happy times together kept flashing in my mind, and my tears soaked the entire pillow.

I fell into a restless sleep and dreamt of Julian, his face covered in blood, trembling as he said to me, "Cathryn, it's so cold and lonely down here. Will you come and keep me company?"

Then he reached out with his bruise-covered arms and pushed me into an abyss.

I screamed and woke up with a start.

Realizing it was just a dream, I wiped the sweat from my forehead. In the pitch-black room, my phone suddenly dinged twice.

Still shaken, I was almost scared to death on the spot.

Who sent messages at this hour?

But when I opened my phone, my adrenaline spiked.

It was from Julian, "Can I have whatever I need?"

I almost dropped my phone. After hiding under the covers to calm down, I finally regained my composure.

It must be a prank.

I replied, "Who are you? Why are you pretending to be Julian and playing tricks?"

Julian said, "I really am Julian. Don't you believe me? Did I scare you? It took you so long to reply."

I replied, "How can you be Julian? He's already dead!"

Julian said, "Yeah, I'm dead, but not completely. Even if I've turned into a ghost, I wouldn't harm you, dummy."

The tone was exactly like Julian's.

Could it really be him?

I tested him, "Julian, you have a birthmark on your butt. What shape is it?"

Julian said, "Cathryn, are you crazy? When did I ever have a birthmark on my butt? And when did you ever see my butt? There is nothing between us, you know."

Oh my, could it really be Julian?

I then asked him several personal questions about Julian, like what gift I gave him when he was ten, and what we did on Christmas's Eve last year. He answered them all correctly.

"One last question, if you answer this, I'll believe you. Who is the crush I've liked for over three years?"

Julian said, "Ha~ Tommy Murray, that bastard."

Tears welled up in my eyes as I cried and typed, "You're the bastard! Julian, it really is you. How could you buy me a cake and then just die? Do you know how sad I am?"

Julian said, "I didn't expect to have such a short life. But it's okay, I'm still here, and I'll always be with you in another way."

I asked him what was going on, but he didn't tell me. He just said, "Don't meddle in the affairs of the underworld. It's not good for you. By the way, do you have any wishes? Maybe I can help you fulfill them."

Could I even make a wish?

"Julian, are you in heaven or hell? Are you a god or a ghost?"

Julian said, "Don't worry about it! You like Tommy, right? I'll make him confess to you."

What the heck? Could such a wish really come true?

Was his power that strong?

But that was not important. What was important was that Julian didn't truly leave, and he was still by my side.

2

The next day, I took the bus back to school alone.

Because of Julian's sudden death, I had taken a week's leave.

As soon as I reached the dormitory door, I heard a girl crying inside. I pushed the door open, and they glanced at me but didn't pay much attention, continuing to comfort Luna Johnson.

Luna, the principal's daughter, was usually arrogant and domineering. I had never seen her cry like this before.

But since they always bullied and ostracized me, I didn't care about their issues.

Suddenly, my roommate Mary whispered, "Don't be sad. He's not worth it."

Luna said, "No one has ever dumped me before! Who does he think he is?"

My heart skipped a beat.

Luna's boyfriend was Tommy. Did Tommy really break up with her?

Could it be that Julian used some kind of black magic for me?

Goosebumps rose on my arms, and I subconsciously glanced at Luna.

Was I ruining someone else's relationship?

Luna noticed my gaze and glared at me fiercely, "What are you looking at, hillbilly?"

I quickly averted my eyes, feeling guilty.

It must be a coincidence, right?

Luna wasn't a good girl anyway. If Tommy had any sense, he should have dumped her long ago.

I hurriedly packed my books and went to class.

I had quite a few classes today, after professional courses and general studies, there was a foreign language class in the afternoon.

I walked into the crowded cafeteria alone, joining the long line, feeling a bit empty inside.

When Julian was around, we almost always had lunch together.

I took out my phone, staring at his social media account, and sent an emoji.

"Julian, do you eat over there? What do you do every day?"

But by the time it was my turn in line, he still hadn't replied.

I felt a bit disappointed.

After getting my food, I planned to find a seat to eat when I suddenly felt someone touch my thigh.

I was wearing a skirt, just above the knee, not too short.

At first, I thought someone accidentally bumped into me, so I didn't think much of it and continued to finding the seat. But then, someone slapped my butt.

I looked up in shock and saw a creepy guy with a pockmarked face, tall and skinny.

It was him!

I glared at him, but he acted as if nothing happened, leisurely carrying his tray to an empty seat.

Due to my upbringing, I was somewhat timid and used to enduring things.

This time was no different. I didn't want to cause trouble, thinking it wasn't a big deal.

It was just a couple of touches, wasn't it?

I stood there, my nose tingling, eyes slightly red.

With Julian gone, I had to learn to protect myself.

So, I mustered the courage to go and scold the creep.

Just as I was a few steps away, a tall figure stepped in front of me, dumping the entire tray of food over the creep's head.

I was stunned because the person who stood up for me was Tommy.

The creepy guy glanced at me, then at Tommy, and perhaps he felt guilty, his face turned pale but he didn't react.

As the people around us started to look over, Tommy took hold of my wrist and led me away from their gaze, finding a corner for us to sit down.

3

I was still lost in the shock of the moment, staring blankly at Tommy.

He gently ruffled my hair, "What's wrong? Did it scare you? Next time something like this happens, don't be afraid. There are so many people in the cafeteria, and there are cameras too!"

Tommy! My crush, the heartthrob of the law department, the guy I had secretly admired for over three years.

Before this, we hadn't exchanged more than ten sentences. Oh my god!

He was looking at me with such affection, and those beautiful eyes of his seemed to draw me in.

This was a scene I had only dreamed of.

"Tommy... thank you for earlier."

"You're welcome." Tommy smiled slightly, his gaze falling on my tray, "Why are you only eating vegetables?"

Ever since my mom shamelessly wrecked someone else's family, I had a huge fight with her, accusing her of being a mistress and threatening to cut ties.

So, she hadn't given me any living expenses for a long time, and I didn't want to use that dirty money anyway.

Julian occasionally helped me out, but he didn't have much money either. His dad spent all his money on alcohol, not caring about him at all.

We were both in the same boat, relying on scholarships and part-time jobs to get through college.

That was why Luna and the others ostracized me.

Probably because I couldn't afford expensive makeup or bags, and I didn't have time to join them in the dorm for celebrity gossip.

Whenever I had free time, I worked with Julian.

When Tommy returned, he brought me a plate full of delicious food, "Here, eat up. My treat."

Had Julian really become my protector?

But it had been so long since I had such a hearty meal, so I didn't hold back and dug in.

After the meal, I was planning to head back to the dorm, but on the way, he actually confessed to me.

"Cathryn, I've noticed you for a long time. Will you be my girlfriend?"

When I was confessed to by my crush, even if I knew it was Julian's doing, my heart still raced.

"Tommy, did you get involved in something unclean?"

"What unclean thing? I'm very clean." Tommy looked at me sincerely, not joking at all, "I really like you."

"But aren't you with Luna? How did you suddenly start liking me? We haven't even interacted much before!"

Tommy replied, "Luna has always been the one clinging to me. We're not in a relationship. She's been spreading rumors about us. The one I like is you, but there's always a guy by your side, so I didn't dare confess my feelings."

His words were flawless.

I had never seen Tommy come to the dorm to find Luna, nor had I seen Luna receive calls from him.

All the details about their relationship were just Luna bragging in the dorm.

It was possible she was just making it all up.

However, I still turned him down.

"The boy you mentioned, he's my best friend. I don't know if you've heard, but he recently died in a car accident. I'm not in the mood for a relationship right now."

Although I liked Tommy, I didn't think I was good enough for him, which was why I never confessed my feelings despite my long-standing crush.

"It's okay, I can wait for you." He said, looking at me with intense eyes. "We can be friends for now. You won't refuse that, will you?"

Who could refuse to be friends with their crush?

Especially when it was something the dead Julian had fought for me.

Tommy and I exchanged contacts and he invited me to the library that evening.

4

After parting ways with Tommy, I kept messaging Julian's account, but there was no response.

If it weren't for the fact that chat history from last night still exited, I would have thought I was imagining things.

Could I really not contact Julian anymore?

Had he moved on to his next life?

As I approached the dorm, I heard my roommates' angry voices from inside.

"Did you find out who the girl harassed in the cafeteria was?"

"We just heard she's a pretty girl."

"Maybe she has nothing to do with Tommy? He was probably just being a good Samaritan."

"Tommy isn't the type to meddle. He must have broken up with me because of that girl."

"There were lots of onlookers. I'll ask around to see if anyone took photos."

"We have to find that brazen mistress!"

I was so scared I wanted to avoid them, but just then, Mary came back and suspiciously stopped me.

"Why are you standing here and not going in?"

"I dropped something... "

Inside, Luna and the others were still discussing, and Mary gave me a disdainful look, "You weren't overhearing, were you?"

Before I could explain, she grabbed my collar and pushed open the dorm door.

"This sneaky girl was overhearing you."

Luna and the others immediately joined in.

After the door slammed shut, they pulled my hair, slapped me, stripped me of my clothes, and even took photos of me.

It wasn't the first time they treated me like this.

It wasn't because I overheard. They just found an excuse to bully me.

If they really cared about being overheard, they wouldn't have talked so loudly in the dorm.

They had plenty of photos of me, and no one stood up for me. If I wanted to finish college peacefully, I had to endure it.

After tending to my wounds in the bathroom, I grabbed my books and headed to class.

I never told anyone about being bullied by my roommates, not even Julian, because he would have stood up for me, which might have put him in danger.

But now that Julian was gone, if he could somehow intervene, I hoped those who bullied me would get what they deserved.

I couldn't focus in class, constantly messaging Julian about everything Luna and the others had done to me.

Unsurprisingly, Julian still didn't reply.

That evening, I waited for Tommy at our meeting spot, but after twenty minutes, he still hadn't shown up.

Just as I was about to message him that I would head to the library first, I saw Tommy with Luna.

Luna was frantically saying something to him, and suddenly, Tommy hugged her, and she kissed him.

Afraid they would see me, I turned and rushed into the library.

That night, Luna didn't return to the dorm. I overheard the others teasing that she was on a date with Tommy and wouldn't come back until they had their fill of each other.

Looking at my chat with Tommy, I felt like I had been a fool all day.

But what went wrong?

Was everything happening just a figment of my imagination?