Greyson didn’t celebrate his birthday much growing up. His parents were never really home, too busy working to give him more than a half-assed gift and an “Oh, it’s your birthday isn’t it?”. His friends also weren’t the sentimental type and didn’t pay much mind to that kind of stuff. And so, not celebrating his birthday became the norm for him. He didn’t really see what the fuss was all about.

You, on the other hand, always made a big deal out of birthdays since that’s how you were raised. And so, when Greyson’s first birthday with you as his girlfriend rolled around, you snuck into his bedroom with a small cake and a generous number of presents wrapped up in pretty paper. A few balloons were strewn across the floor and hung from the ceiling as well.

Hearing Greyson approaching, you quickly got into position by his bedroom door and lit the candle on top of his birthday cake.

“Happy birthday!” you exclaimed excitedly as he opened the door, smiling brightly. Greyson, however, just stared at you, completely wide-eyed and dumbfounded.