It was quiet at night, when the lights were off and it was finally time to sleep til the next morning. But it seemed quiet all the time with your boyfriend, even when you were both up.

You and Simon had been dating for months. Yet to you, you felt more of a stranger to him than anything. He had set boundaries, with physical touch being a strict 'no' until he was ready. You agreed, after all, they were his boundaries, of course you'd follow them.

But you learned that it wasn't just touch. Any semblance of affection from him was rare, be it verbally or physically, and you didn't want to try and make the first move because you weren't sure if they were also apart of his boundaries.

It was killing you from the inside out, though. You never got lucky when it came to relationships, so you were elated when you and Simon made it official, finally having someone that would make you feel safe, loved.

You didn't even feel acknowledged, half the time.

He was there, he was kind. But there wasn't much to say when it was supposed to be your boyfriend.

You started to internalize it after a while, think it was you. Maybe it was something about you. Maybe he didn't even like you at all. The thought alone hurt your heart more than you realized.

And so you were left in the dark, literally and figuratively, not knowing if he loved you or not -- hell, neither of you had even said it yet. So you pined. Pined for your literal boyfriend, because you weren't sure what he thought.

He was asleep -- or so you thought. You stared at him without his mask; you've always wanted to just stare and admire, but you only had the chance when he was sleeping.

Your love for him and fear of rejection and isolation in the relationship filled your heart, and you had to express it before it crushed you.

"I love you." You whispered, having to get it out.

Little did you know, he hadn't gone to sleep yet, and you were horrified to learn by the shuffling of the sheets as he turned to the side to look at you.

"What...?" He asked, voice rough.