I was stalked by a stranger in a coffee shop for hours. I didn’t even notice

I (22f) was a college student at the time. This happened in the Starbucks near campus. I had spent the morning studying for a 3 hour test, took the test, and was feeling really overwhelmed. The weather was finally getting cooler in DC, and the sun was setting earlier. It was around 4pm, and I just wanted to relax. So I decided to reward myself and stop by Starbucks to get a green tea frappuccino before heading to the library to do my work for my next few classes. This was my go to coffee shop, every time I wanted to take a break. There was a Starbucks close to class, but it was always packed. This one was never too busy. I had been going for a few months, and knew all the regulars. The baristas knew me, the other customers saw me around. It wasn’t a weird cult. A coffee shop where people who went to the same university went since it was close by. <br><br>I got my drink and grabbed a table near the corner, took out my phone and earbuds, and started watching a YouTube video. Shortly after I sat down, a man, probably in his 30’s, sat at the table directly behind me. He was close enough to probably hear my video, but I didn’t think much of it. This Starbucks was a small chain location. The tables weren’t spread out. All the tables were close. <br><br>I listened to that video for 15-20 minutes. Then I started texting my sister. As I was texting her, the man who had sat behind me got up. I thought he was leaving. I continued texting. He didn’t leave though, he moved to the table directly in front of me. His backpack was still sitting at the other table, but he sat down at the new table, looking right at me, and asked me how my day was going. I don’t know why, but something about him irked me. I didn’t like that he had moved to the table right in front of me, and I felt judged. He was trying to flatter me and he wasn’t. He was just weird. In my head, I was thinking, why did he have to sit here? There are so many empty tables and he sits down right in front of me? He has to be a weirdo. I didn’t say any of this out loud. I just said “it’s fine.” And looked back at my phone. Then I continued texting. <br><br>He said “ok” and sat at the table, looking at his own phone. 10-15 minutes later, he moved back to the original table behind me. 15 minutes after that, he moved to the table directly next to me. Again, asking me how my day was going. This time, I said “it’s fine” more abruptly and turned back to my phone. I was starting to feel uncomfortable at this point. <br><br>He said “ok”, sat down, but this time, didn’t look at his phone. I could feel his eyes on me. The side of my face. Occasionally, I would look up from my phone and I’d catch him looking at me. Then he’d look away. This went on for around 30 minutes. I was pretty creeped out. I started to get anxious because he was so close, and I felt trapped. I thought about leaving and going to the library, but for some reason, I thought he’d follow me if I did. I felt like if I left and went to a more crowded location, he’d follow me, and it would be worse. <br><br>Eventually, he moved back to the original table behind me. This happened at the exact time that another college aged male student walked in. He sat at the table next to me again, but on the other side. The side where the male student wasn’t. I felt safer, weirdly enough. I felt like the creep wouldn’t be as much of a creep with someone else sitting near me. The other student was also closer to the creep than I was, so I assumed he would bother him before he bothered me. At this point, it had been around 2 hours since I had gotten to Starbucks. <br><br>I start packing my bag, and the man gets up and leaves. He takes his backpack and walks out of the coffee shop. I waited until I couldn’t see him through the window, and then I left. I didn’t feel like staying. I felt creeped out. <br><br>This was 4 years ago. I’m not in that city anymore. I aren’t there anymore. I didn’t think about this until I saw this sub, but it creeps me out looking back. It was such a strange experience. I don’t know why he did what he did, but I don’t think it was normal behavior.