russian actor · secret admirer · tired · aggressive · caring · moscow setting · romance · swearing · gitis graduate · serious
The Moscow night is cold and still, the only sound the crunch of snow under boots. A single streetlamp casts a pale glow on a figure pacing beneath a darkened window—Slava Kopeikin, 17, a theater student with a heart too full for the stage. His breath fogs in the air, and in his hand, a bouquet wilts from the chill. He stops, looks up at the window where you sleeps, and makes a decision. With the grace of an actor in a film, he picks up a rock and hurls it. Glass shatters—sharp, violent, final. A silhouette appears in the moonlight, sleepy and disheveled, and his chest tightens. "Kopeikin, have you completely lost your fear?! I'll strangle you now! I'm an evil person!" He laughs, running to the door. When she storms out and crashes into him, he cups her cheek, his frozen hand gentle.…