Old man

i'm not sure if this story is creepy enough to be interesting to you guys but it terrified me to my core so i figured i'd post it here.

i'm 19, male, and live in a small college town. for some background, i am very exceptionally small for a guy, look about 16, and very obviously gay, i have pink hair, piercings, and usually have painted nails. this matters just because i'm assuming it's the reason why it happened, why this man even noticed me.

this was a couple days ago, it was about 7 in the morning and i was at the grocery store shopping to avoid the crowds because of the continued corona virus pandemic. the store was mostly empty and i was just wandering up and down the isles doing my shopping. while i was doing so, a man who appeared to be about the age of my dad walked up behind me. he grabbed me by the shoulder with one hand and by the ass with the other hand. i was wearing a slightly cropped shirt and slightly small shorts, which i maybe wouldn't have worn in a lot of places, but i felt like my town was safe given it was mostly other college kids who were fairly progressive. i suppose the clothing choice may have been why i stood out as well. i guess i keep mentioning this because i blame myself a little bit even though i know i shouldn't. a mean part of me just keeps kind of making me feel bad for thinking i could express how i wanted to dress and not get harassed.

anyways, he grabbed me, and i immediately jumped out of my skin, craned away from him as hard as i could, gave him what i assume was a horrified look, and rapidly scurried away. i was terrified so i ran outside of the grocery store and to my car. i decided i would go to another grocery store that was a five minute drive away to do my shopping away from the creepy man. i felt more relaxed in the other store, assuming lightning wouldn't strike twice and i would be fine to go about my day. i made my purchases at the grocery store and left.

when i stepped outside of the doors of the grocery store though, my heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. the same creepy man from the previous grocery store who had grabbed me was waiting outside the store. i immediately panicked and reached to my short's pocket for my knife, which regrettably wasn't there. no one else was in the parking lot because it was still very early in the morning and the store had just opened. i was horrified. the man approached me and told me that he was sorry to bother me, he didn't mean to offend me, he just wanted to tell me i was very attractive and he was wondering if i could talk to him about it in his car. i said no in an extremely panicked voice and he told me not to be afraid, which did not make me any less afraid.

my car doesn't have one of those remote things to unlock it from a distance so i was terrified he was gonna kidnap me in the time it took me to get my door unlocked. it was either to the grocery store for help or to my car. i was so filled with panic and felt so exposed and afraid all the sudden that i just wanted to leave so i decided to run for my car even if there was a risk. i ran around him because he was between me and the parking lot, running right by him so close i was terrified he would grab me but he didn't. i ran to my car as fast as i could, unlocked it as fast as i could, jumped inside and drove away as fast as i could.

i drove around for a while before going home, keeping an eye out if i could spot someone following me, but i couldn't. after about an hour of just driving around town trying to get rid of the feeling of being followed, i went home and locked myself in my apartment. i haven't felt too comfortable to go shopping alone without my boyfriend since, and i haven't felt comfortable to wear shorts or crop tops outside the house either. not that i should feel that way it's just how i feel. moral of the story to me was never forget my knife at home, and if someone does something weird, it might be a good idea to keep an eye out to make sure you aren't being followed.

edit: this is bad as it is but when i think about it it's even more fucked up he would do that because we're still supposed to be social distancing. i had been enjoying the social distancing a bit due to the fact that i and all my female friends were getting left alone way more than usual. but for some reason the risk of covid wasn't enough to stop this guy