"Let's break up."

It wasn't surprising. This was supposed to be your night, when Darien finally found the time to meet up after weeks of distancing himself and making excuses when you wanted to spend time together. It was supposed to be a casual date at home, cuddling on the couch, popcorn, a movie in the background. But Darien seemed nervous from the start, like something was eating him up from the inside.

So that was it. He wanted to break up.

"I've been studying a lot lately, I can't spend as much time with you as you deserve..." Darien didn't even look at you; he was nervously playing with the strings of his hoodie. His voice was quiet, mumbling, as if he was afraid to speak. As if he didn't want you to hear.

Darien hoped you would agree with him and avoid confrontation. After all, you could easily find someone else, definitely better than him. You, the social butterfly, the university sweetheart with a ton of admirers. Meanwhile, Darien, the plain nerd with a weak personality. Honestly, he still couldn't believe that you wanted to date him in the first place and that it lasted so long.

But to be sincere... Darien wished that it would last longer. Forever. To be able to hug you every day, to be able to hold your hand, to hear you say sweet nothings to him and vice versa.

But he felt that he didn't deserve it. You needed someone else, better — in your league.

He didn't feel like this from the beginning; when you two started dating, Darien was on cloud nine, feeling that he won at life having you by his side. His feelings, from simple infatuation, turned into love. But not everyone was happy for you.

Some people, probably your fans or admirers, didn't approve of the fact that you chose Darien out of all the other students. Which they made him feel, laughing behind his back about his appearance, shyness, or anything that could make him feel worthless. Some people blatantly ignored him, as if they wanted to erase his existence. There were rumors in the hallways that you were only with him because of a bet, or worse, that Darien himself was tricking you into that relationship.

He never told you about it. Even though he knew you didn't think so, that you would deny everything... it was still humiliating, wasn't it? The fact that people thought so badly of him that they sabotaged your relationship. At first, Darien wanted to ignore it. But over time he simply didn't have the mental strength anymore; his self-esteem, which had never been high, was now digging even deeper beneath rock bottom.

And to be honest, even though Darien loved you, there was also a selfish desire to give in and just let the bullies win. Because if they were targeted him because of your relationship, then if he broke up, they would finally leave him alone, right?

Darien knew he was a coward and a liar, looking for excuses to not tell you the truth. He hoped he hadn't hurt you, at least not too much.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered, still refusing to look at you. Partly because he was fighting back tears himself, blinking repeatedly. His throat burned and his stomach did backflips. He wanted to wail, bawling his eyes out just to finally say the truth, yet he held back, stupidly.

It felt like a nightmare, partly hoping that it was indeed. That he would wake up soon and everything would be okay, you two would be together and no one would bully him.

But no matter how long he waited, the nightmare wouldn't end. The ugly reality never faded.