My friend was a stalker

I’d like to preface this with some info on me. I’ve been stalked twice in the past and this is my red flag radar is generally pretty on point. <br><br>This happened to me at 19 year old art student (I’m currently 24). I was hanging out with one of my friends, Alex, who I was casually dating at the time. One night we had gotten particularly drunk and decided to take a three hour drive to the beach. We had been driving for about an hour when Alex spotted one of his friends, Joel, who is also in art school. He was with his girlfriend, Olivia, and invited us in. I was a little apprehensive since I knew nothing about them and it was the middle of the night, but I was also seeing stars from the drink. They invited us in and offered us some drinks. I was still drunk by the time we got there, but in no mood to drink anymore. They brought Alex in the kitchen to make drinks, which left me alone in the living room with Olivia. I had no problem with her, she seemed a little shy at first, but I was able to get a decent conversation out of her after a while. Things started getting off when she started graphic (and I mean graphic) descriptions of her sex life. I had no idea what to do, so I tried to be polite and laugh, but she wouldn’t let up. Alex and Joel eventually came back with drinks and I decided to go to the bathroom. When I came out, I decided that I wasn’t comfortable and wanted to leave. Alex was in the middle of a pointless argument with Joel and didn’t want to go until they finished it. I went outside with them and they looked back at me and told me to go back inside, since I was “Olivia’s friend now.” I was like, “no the fuck I am not.” <br><br>I think at this point it’s important to mention that I had the feeling Joel was high on something. I’m not sure what his deal was, but he seemed like he was having difficulty speaking and maintaining eye contact. Alex and Joel eventually came back inside and had another argument, which I later found out was about his problematic behavior around Joel’s girlfriend. <br><br>When we were finally ready to leave, I told Joel and Olivia to have a good night and they said thanks. They looked surprised when Alex said “good night, Olivia. See you soon.” By that point, Alex and I were fighting, so we didn’t get to discuss it on the drive home. When I asked him about it later, he told me that he didn’t mean it like that and that Olivia was just his friend. I asked him why he was talking to Joel about her like she was his girlfriend and he said she was one of Joel’s friends that he was especially close to. It didn’t sit right with me, but I was trying to focus on my studies, so I didn’t really think about it for a while. <br><br>About two months later, I found myself in a relationship with Alex. We were together for about a year when I started to notice some weird behavior from him. Joel and Alex were still friends, but I didn’t talk to him that much. Alex had moved in with me and I was starting to get jealous. I had a feeling that he was seeing another girl behind by back and I eventually found out that he was. I confronted him and he confessed that he was seeing Olivia. He tried to get me to understand that he had been in love with her for years and that we were just friends. I said that was messed up and I didn’t want to have that kind of relationship. He said he understood and that he didn’t love me anyway. <br><br>It was a strange thing to hear because I felt like it was almost an insult. He admitted that he had been seeing Olivia every weekend behind my back while I was at work. I broke up with him and moved to a different city. <br><br>A few years later, I was able to find Olivia on Facebook. I was curious to know how they were doing, but I didn’t really think about it until a few years ago when I was visiting with one of my friends and Alex was there. He tried to talk to me and I ignored him. He said he needed to talk to me and I said I didn’t have anything to say to him. He said he was sorry for what he did to me. I said that was a long time ago and I forgot about it. He looked disappointed in me, like I was supposed to be brokenhearted about him cheating on me. I just didn’t care. <br><br>I think that’s why it’s crazy when I found out this woman’s story. She had also attended art school and had the same experience with Alex. He had been dating her for several weeks and introduced her to his friends. She had had a similar experience with Joel and ended up seeing Alex behind her back. She said it was just sex, but Alex really started to get clingy after a while. She started noticing strange things, like how he would follow her to class and watch her. She said she confronted him and he said he was sorry, but then he started sending her messages every five minutes. She said she was in class and he was texting her after every five minutes, asking where she was and who she was with. She said she didn’t really know what to do, so she went to the police and eventually filed a restraining order. <br><br>She said the last time she saw him was at a restaurant a few years ago. She said he was sitting by himself and he saw her. She said she was too scared to leave, so she went to the bathroom until he was gone. She said when she came out, he had already paid his bill and was gone. <br><br>I’m sorry if this didn’t really fit the sub, but I figured it was just something to think about. Thank you for reading :)