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08/25/2026 2:25 PM

Anissa lay sprawled on her bed, her brown hair spilling over the edge toward the floor, staring up at the ceiling. She had been trying to take a nap, but she just couldn’t quiet her mind. Her thoughts kept revisiting the text message exchange with Hunter the day before. For days prior, far too many days, Anissa had been tormented by not knowing how Hunter was doing. At first, she honestly didn’t even know if he had survived the accident. Then she heard that he had, but

Anissa gazed up at the giant sign over the zoo entrance as they walked up. “Free Day for College Students. The perfect day to see monkeys! And elephants. Ooh… and zebras!” She turned to Hunter. “Do you think we’ll see anyone we know? Besides our double-daters, I mean.”

Hunter shoved his foot into his running shoe and crouched down beside his car to hurriedly tie the laces. It was only the first day of practice, and he was late. So much for a good first impression. He grabbed his wallet and keys, sliding them into his pocket, then tossed his backpack into the car and slammed the door. He spun and took off at a brisk jog through the parking garage, heading directly for the stairs. He took them three at a time, bounding down them like a g

11/3/2016 9:38 PM Anissa adjusted her glasses, leaning forward to look into the small mirror on her car’s sun visor. Maybe she should have put in contacts. But, no – he had seen her in her glasses before; he was used to them. Breathe, Nissa, breathe, she told herself. There’s no reason to be nervous, right? You’ve had coffee together and seen movies together and hung out a million times before. But she was nervous, an excited nervous, little ripples of anxious energy sp

12/1/2016 5:05 PM

Transcripts of Voicemails Left on Hunter’s Phone 10/28/2016 1:12 PM Hunter, hi. It’s me again. Your mom called me again last night. She said she had been going through your phone for messages and missed calls and finally realized who I am. She said, “You’re that girl, the one he always talks about.” … I’ve been thinking about all of this, and what it must have been like for you, to be talking to me in person as yourself and then through email as the secret admirer, and

10/20/2016 7:32 AM To: Anissa Marlin From: s3cr3t4dm1r3r31@gmail.com Re: Hi, Anissa. Day 29 Guess: Really want to know who I am (you do), because this has become more than a game for you. Clue: This has always been more than a game to me, and the more I know about you, the more I want to know. And the answer to your question is: Yes. 10/20/2016 10:50 AM To: s3cr3t4dm1r3r31@gmail.com From: Anissa Marlin Re: Hi, Anissa. Okay, so I did some checking, and I realized that there w

10/13/2016 8:02 AM To: Anissa Marlin From: s3cr3t4dm1r3r31@gmail.com Re: Hi, Anissa. I haven’t lied to you. You can trust me. No, I don’t have a girlfriend. I would never do that to you or to whatever girl I was dating. That would be disloyal and cruel. As for Hunter and Sean, your reasoning seems pretty logical on both… so… maybe I really am just a stranger from outside the college who got his information from Megs at some coffee shop near campus… Just kidding. I’m not.

10/6/2016 8:57 AM

9/29/2016 8:03 AM To: Anissa Marlin From: s3cr3t4dm1r3r31@gmail.com Re: Hi, Anissa. So you are intrigued… that’s good to know. I’m glad this hasn’t been an absolute failure, especially since it hasn’t exactly gone as smoothly as I hoped. But, hey… all’s well that ends well, right? I considered waiving your question, but I’ll give in: I lived out of state last year. I moved here just before the start of this semester. Day 8 Guess: Identity. You’re firm in yours. Clue: Kee

9/22/2016 8:45 PM To: Anissa Marlin From: s3cr3t4dm1r3r31@gmail.com Re: Hi, Anissa. Anissa, Yes, I am a guy. It is probably good to clarify that. As for how I knew that you like puzzles, let’s just say that I’ve made an effort to learn more about you. That is kind of the point of this, after all. Let’s begin. Day 1 Guess: The first guess is that you’re a straight-A student, and you hate to get B’s. Clue: Hallway. (That’s where I first saw you.) And now… was I right? I

9/22/2016 5:01 PM To: Anissa Marlin From: s3cr3t4dm1r3r31@gmail.com Subject: Hi, Anissa. Anissa, I tried to write you a poem, but everything I tried writing only came out sounding creepy, so… plain writing it is. For some time now, I’ve wanted to get to know you better, but it never seemed to be the right time. I first noticed you several weeks ago, and our paths have crossed a few times since then. I know that you are smart, and funny, and beautiful. There’s something a

9/20/2016 7:54 PM To: Anissa Marlin From: Declan O’Neal Subject: Hotness Hey, Hotness! So, imagine my surprise when I’m being given a tour of the new campus I’m transferring to and I look over and see your sweet bod lounging on a bench reading Shakespeare. You always did seem like a Shakespeare girl. I know things didn’t end well between us, but I’m back in town now and we can make things right. How about coffee tonight at 10? We can catch up and see where things go. By t

8/25/2016 6:15 PM 8/25/2016 6:17 PM 8/25/2016 11:47 PM From: Hunter Dresson To: Anissa Marlin Re: Study Group I haven't heard from you yet. Normally I wouldn't keep after someone who clearly didn't want to text me, but... I need to talk to you before next class. Would you like to meet in person instead? I'll be in front of Cowley Hall at 11:30 tomorrow. – Hunter 8/25/2016 11:54 PM 8/25/2016 11:57 PM 8/25/2016 11:59 PM 8/26/2016 12:03 AM 8/26/2016 12:07 AM 8/26/2016 12:09AM

8/25/2016 4:21 PM From: Meghan Varner To: Anissa Marlin & 29 others Subject: Study Group Hey fellow Physics students! I might be a total nerd, but I’m kinda freaking out about this class. Can you believe we have an exam our first week? Anyway, I realized that the university email system lets me send an email to the entire class, so I thought I'd give this a try. Hi, I'm Meghan, the girl with the long brown hair who sits in the front row. I promise I'm not a weirdo. I'd reall

The original version of this book was my very first attempt at writing Teen Fiction. I expected it to be fun. I expected it to be a learning experience. What I did not expect was for it to go viral, get over 1 Million reads in a matter of months, and rank as high as # 2 in Teen Fiction on Wattpad. The first, unedited version of this story was posted in serial form on Wattpad, and contained more than 100 chapters. This version has been completely revised, and is differen

I’M NOT A STALKER by Crystal Crawford ©2017 Crystal Crawford. All rights reserved. Please do not copy, reprint, or otherwise reuse any portion of this work without express permission from the author. Dedication: To my husband and children, who are my real-life love story, comedy, and adventure