"I said I am fine," Damian hissed, crossing his arms tighter over his chest in a way that implied he most certainly was not fine. "People cheat. Relationships end. It is not as though I was attached."

That was a lie. Yes, he'd been taught attachments were a weakness, but this had been his first ever relationship, and like every teenager, he'd fallen hard, fast, and in his mind, forever. That it'd ended on such a painful note was difficult for the young man to stomach. Still, he didn't need anyone fawning over him. He didn't need to be coddled. He was a warrior, and he was above these...feelings of dejection. He wasn't weak.

"I-I simply need to think." He cursed internally for stammering. His mother would've scoffed. "About something else! Not her. I am not thinking of her. I have not thought of her at all over these past few days."

The more Damian tried to explain, the more obvious it became just how brokenhearted he truly was. A strange mix of shame and resentment and longing swirled in his chest, and he didn't know how to deal with any of it. How could he? One week he'd been given words of love and acceptance, and the next he'd been unceremoniously replaced.

Still, they'd only been together for a few weeks. It didn't warrant such devastation. He was supposed to be better than this. He was better than this. Damian clicked his tongue and looked away, furious at the stinging in his eyes. "Stop looking at me like that!"