In the deepest reaches of the cosmos, something stirred. An eldritch entity, unfathomably ancient.

A Stranger.

The Stranger cast Its psyche into the void as It had done countless times before. And as before, It sensed only the broken remnants of dead civilizations. Though Its reach was significant, nothing living could be found.

But just before The Stranger moved on, the sensation It had been waiting eons for came to It at last.

A blue and green planet. Swirling clouds. Humidity and atmosphere. Life.

With infinite precision, The Stranger honed in on this world, observing the myriad forms life had taken. With equal parts relief and regret, It found what It had been searching for.

Sentience.

It took their thoughts into Itself, trying to understand their minds.

Oh. Ohhh. The seeds of madness often sprouted here of their own accord, it seemed.

How wonderful.

The Stranger scanned mind after mind, searching for one compatible with Its designs for this planet. One that could face the horrific trials that lie ahead and, against all odds, remain unbroken.

The Stranger didn't hold much hope. Even having found these lifeforms, actually happening upon a suitable subject would be all but impossib-

But there it was.

From across the Dark Tapestry, you have been chosen. May you find the strength to endure the living nightmare to come.

Accept of me my blessing...

My curse.

The Stranger imbued this lifeform with a shard of Itself. It would take time to manifest fully, but time was relative. Even by the mortal's meager lifespan, events should move more than fast enough for Its purposes...

All that was left to do now was watch and wait.

---

I woke violently, yet I found myself unable to move. My heart was racing, my sheets were drenched in sweat. Groggily, I tried to discern what was wrong.

My mind was filled with confused thoughts of broken alien worlds, the sheer frailty of sanity, and the harsh indifference of the universe...

But hey, that was nothing new. I'd been having these kinds of dreams for years now, and though it was really weird at first, I just kind of got used to them after a while. No, I was definitely panicking for some other reason...

Oh no, Object of Obsession!

I'd slept through the alarm I'd set to grab the the latest volume as soon as possible!

With newfound resolve, I overpowered my sleep paralysis and threw on a plain white bra, some jeans and a baggy hoody, banging into furniture in my haste.

"Norma, are you alright up there?" my dad called up the stairs, but I'd bounded down them so quickly he hadn't noticed I was already beside him.

"I'm late, gotta borrow this, sorry!"

I plucked dad's ballcap right off his head on my way by and flew out the door before he could answer me.

"Late? It's not even a school day..." he mused to himself. Shrugging, he sipped his coffee and returned to the kitchen.

I jogged block after block, mind completely empty in anticipation of this newest release. Before I knew it I was outside my local bookstore. They didn't carry much in the way of manga, but by some miracle this series happened to be among their selection.

I tightened up the drawstrings of my hoodie and tilted the ballcap to cover my face, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. I'm extremely shy, and probably come off to my classmates as boring, awkward, and kind of a klutz at best. But they'd think far worse of me if they know the truth of my strange predilection, my inescapable kink. And that truth is...

I'm completely into yanderes!

The moment I saw those manic eyes in Object of Obession Vol 1, I fell in love. The unapologetic desire, the insatiable longing, the unhinged passion of all-consuming love. Ahh, I just can't get enough!

But if anyone from school saw me reading stuff like this, I knew my chances of having a normal highschool relationship someday would be over. I knew yanderes weren't real, or at least not as desirable in real life as they were in romanticized fiction, and that I would have to get over this unusual preference some day.

But that day was not today.

As expected, there was no lineup of any kind, and even more fortunate, hardly any customers to speak of. I would get in, claim my prize, and get out as fast as possible.

There was a middle aged woman stocking shelves behind the counter. I was far from social, but I'd come in here enough over the years to know her name was Linda, the manager.

This was not good.

The other employees knew me by sight, and to make things less awkward for everyone, there was an unspoken agreement to have new releases of OoO put aside for me. I doubted the manager was aware of this arrangement.

As I approached, she turned around and gave me a polite smile.

"Umm, hi there. Was there a pre-order put aside for Norma Lity by any chance?"

"Oh, hello dear. Let me take a look..."

She turned around and took a knee to rummage through the locked drawers behind the counter for what felt like an eternity.

"Those lazy kids! I told them not to just cram the books in here like this..."

Linda heaved a sigh and looked up at me with an apologetic look.

"Sorry Norma, some of the sticky notes we put on each book with the names of who ordered them seem to have fallen off and gotten all mixed together. What was the title of the book or books you ordered?"

It was an innocent enough question, but she may as well have been cackling and brandishing a pitchfork for how severely it spiked my anxiety. I nervously looked around, but if there was anyone else in the store, they weren't paying us any attention.

"OoO vol 14..." I mumbled.

"Ooo? I'm not sure what that is, could you say it a little louder, dear?"

"O-Object of Obsession volume 14!" I stammered.

Linda dug around for another painful minute before pulling my book out from among the others. Her gaze was naturally drawn to the cover.

Wild, lecherous eyes with pupils drawn like hearts, messy pink hair falling haphazardly across her face, round lips pursed with just a hint of tongue... Linda and I were both stunned when we saw the cover art, but for very different reasons. Her eyes widened, looking from me to the book and back again, but to my great relief she said nothing.

"Yes, well. That'll be $13.54."

I reached into the front pocket of my hoodie, feeling only my phone. I dug through my jean pockets, grasping at lint. Frantically, I checked again. By the third round, a nervous sweat was causing my head to throb.

Why am I such an idiot?

I was in so much of a hurry to get here, I somehow forget to grab my damn wallet!

I was stumbling through some incoherent excuse. Before I broke down completely, a melodious voice rang out from behind.

"She's with me."

I spun around and was struck silent by the sight.

It was a girl around my age. She had long, white hair, with lashes that followed suit. They framed serene, crystal blue eyes. Her pale skin was flawless, her body slim yet curvy in all the right places, and her exquisite white dress drove those points home. In stark contrast to my brown locks and humble features, she was the very definition of natural beauty. And yet, warning bells were going off in my head for a reason I couldn't quite place.

I realized my jaw had dropped, but I had sense enough only to close my mouth and watch as she elegantly brushed past me to pay an equally confused Linda. My mysterious saviour picked up the book and handed it to me without so much as glancing at the cover. In fact, her eyes never left mine.

"Keep the change," she said over her shoulder, and sensing that I was still out of it, led me away from the counter and onto the sidewalk outside. The fresh air and sunlight only further accentuated her beauty, but they were enough to finally snap me out of my trance.

"T-thank you! Thank you so much! If you hadn't-"

Mid-sentence, I realized it. I had seen this girl before, but only from afar.

We didn't share any classes, which is why I didn't notice at first, but there was no mistaking it.

She went to the same school as me.

Embarassment burned at my cheeks. She hadn't seemed to notice exactly what manner of book she had bought for me, and I intended to keep it that way. Though I was conflicted, my weasely instincts kicked in. Without another word, and without looking back, I ran all the way home.

A few hours later as I lay in bed, clutching the manga to my chest after reading it for the first time, I couldn't help thinking about that girl. She seemed really nice... Maybe I should have tried talking to her more. She definitely didn't deserve to watch me run off like that.

I sighed. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, I was making a complete idiot of myself the entire time. She probably just wanted me to stop holding up the line. At best, she pitied me.

Still clutching my newest copy of OoO, I fell asleep. If I dreamed at all, it was only of an indifferent void.

---

A few hours earlier...

A girl stood alone on the sidewalk. Lost in thought, her long white hair swayed in the breeze.

She had noticed Norma some time ago, during their freshmen year. Though it was impossible to describe Norma as anything but average, she had nevertheless taken an inexplicable interest in her. So when she happened upon the girl in need at the bookstore, she found herself only too happy to step in.

Object of Obsession, huh? I never would have guessed...

A wicked grin suddenly appeared on her lips.

Oh, my. How interesting...

She gently traced the tightened muscles in her cheeks, enjoying the unfamiliar sensation.

Ahhh, what a wonderful gift you've given me, Norma...

My first smile.

TMix

Thank you for reading chapter 1 of my very first series! More love interests and existential dread to come in future chapters. Rampant speculation and mocking of any and all typos are welcome in the comments below.