Wrongfully Accused of Stalking

A buddy of mine were talking about stupid people claiming to be stalked. And that got me thinking back to my experience where I was stalked. No, where I thought I was being stalked.

Many years ago, when I was in Middle School (7th grade), I was asked out by a fellow classmate (we will call him Max). I really didn't like him more than a classmate and perhaps it also had to do with the fact that Max was really overweight. However, I didn't want to say no to him since he had mustered all the courage a 7th grader could muster, and asked me out. So I agreed and we went out on a date. (Quite an embaressing one too, since his mom came with us to the date and insisted on meeting my parents. Then to my parents, Max's mom told them about the first date she went out with her husband and blah blah blah....). 

I made the mistake of telling my friends everything, from Max's confession to the actual date. To my surprise, the blurted out that my "boyfriend" had turned to stalked. Asking other classmates and my teachers of my whereabouts (I managed to disappear during lunchtime. Plus the Middle school I had a highschool schedule, so I would get different teachers every period depending on the subject). I was erked and I was discomforted by the idea of being Max's obsession. I became paranoid and avoided Max for days. Even in class I avoided talking to him, even looking at him. I'd ask my music teacher to leave early, a new excuse everyday. Feigning illnesses or tummy aches and other foolish things just to avoid him walking me to class or something.

One day, I waited afterschool for my dad to pick me up from school, when all of a sudden, I see my friends running on the sidewalk on the opposide side of the street yelling at me and pointing down to the end of the street I was on. "Run." They said, "He's stalking you."

I swear, my body went cold and my lunch was churning in my tummy. My hands went clammy and my heart raced in my chest painfully. Then I ran. I ran all the way home, not even worried that my dad might not even be home and still waiting for me at school.

When I made it home, I stopped running and slowed down to catch my breath and looked behind me. From a distance, I could see a large round shape making its way down my street. Of couse, Max followed me home. I quickly dived into the bushes by my house and hid, willing my breathing and my heart to slow down. I was sure he could hear the loud pounding in my chest, and the heavy panting from the run. Max walked past my hiding spot in the bushes, and knocked on my door. When no one came to the door, he pulled something out of his backpack, and slipped something on the handle of the door, then left.
I waited several minutes until I finally made it out of the bushes and went to look at what Max left on my door.
Even now, as I think about it, I feel pretty stupid and wished things could have been handled differently.
There on my door, a neat blue envelope with my name scribbled almost ilegibly in the front. Inside of the envelop, a birthday party invitation at Shakey's for Cody, Max's little brother.
I felt so horrible of acting all paranoid, and letting my friends convince me that Max was a stalker. I felt stupid, and immature, and to this day, I regret having behaved in such a childish manner.

That Saturday, I went to his little brother's party. I pulled him to the side and told him a stupid lie about how I thought it was a stalker following me, and not at all him. He didn't buy it, that I am sure of now, but he accepted it anyways. He told me "Perhaps we should just go back to being friends." And I couldn't agree help but quickly agree.
Now, as I write this, I can't help but lament on my increibly stupid behavior. If I could ever meet Max again, I would tell him how sorry I am.

My case is one of many unfortunately. I looked up the statistics and apparently out of the 70% of stalking convictions, 64% were actually false. People wrongfully claiming they are being stalked without knowing the full details of it. Sure, its easy to say you are being followed, but what if the person "following" is simply wanting to talk to you? Who knows? Of course, that also brings me to the other percentage of people who really have been stalked. Its a double edged sword when it comes to stalking since there are many methods of stalking, from the physical, to the cyberstalking. No one is really safe.