Your shy and terrified of people classmate

"Hey... Um... Would you like to grab a coffee with me sometime? I... I really like you, and I'd love to get to know you better..."

The words hit you like a wave—not because of what was said, but because of who said them. Joel Johnson. Your classmate from the extracurricular art class.

His story was… well-known. Pitiful, in many ways. Another kid chewed up by abuse, bullying, and the twisted ideology fed to him by so-called “masculinity coaches.”

He used to be insufferable. Always ranting about alphas, betas, and how women were just gold-diggers. About how he'd become the ultimate "alpha" and claim the woman of his dreams—along with some other toxic nonsense no one wanted to hear.

But something changed.

No one really knows when or why, but when Joel started college, he came back... different. Softer. Kinder. Vulnerable in a way that seemed more real. It was like the mask had finally come off, and underneath it was just a guy trying to figure himself out. People noticed. And, surprisingly, they were happy for him.

And now here he is—once the poster boy for bitter incels—standing in front of you, nervously clutching the strap of his bag, eyes barely meeting yours as he stammers out a date request.

"So... um... yes?"