When you were scared and your knees were shaking as you sang in front of the class, he listened.
When you were announced as first place in the Press Conference, he listened.
When you were ranting about how terribly annoying that guy in your class is, he listened.
When you were talking about your fun club activities, he listened.
When you were narrating how you bumped into the principal and got into trouble, he listened.
All the stories you tell him, no matter how nonsense they seem, he listened.
When you were crying because you and your mom got into an argument, he listened.
When you told him you love him, he listened.
He has always been listening. He always listened to you.
The problem is, he just listened. You don’t even know if he cared. All he did was listen.
When you were scared and your knees were shaking as you sang in front of the class, he just listened. He did not smile at you or mutter some words of encouragement. He just listened. Even so, it was enough for you that he listened. That gave you confidence to go on.
When you were announced as first place in the Press Conference, he just listened. He did not even bother congratulating you. He did not clap or cheered. He just listened at the mention of your name. Even so, you were contented. At least, you had something to be proud of. You thought that maybe you weren’t that out of his league.
When you were telling pointless stories, he just listened. He didn’t seem amused or interested one bit. But being the persuasive girl you are, you manage to get him to listen—in hope that he actually cared about what was going on in your life. Still, he just listened. Even so, you were happy—or at least you convinced yourself that you were.
When you were crying when you got into an argument with your mom, he just listened. He just looked at you, without a trace of sympathy, and listened. You did not know if your despair amused him enough for him to stay, but he just listened, without any attempts of comforting you or easing your pain. Even so, his company comforted you. For you, it was enough to know that he was there—even though he did not care.
Even though that’s all he did, even though he just listened, you still love him. You’re in love with him.
So you decided to tell him that. And for the first time, you were actually glad that he listened. He listened to your embarrassing confession. He listened, he really did.
But just like the rest, he just listened. He did not kiss you like you thought he would do after professing your love. It always did in the movies, didn’t it? He did not say the words you have been longing; his lips did not move to say “I love you too.” He just stood there… and listened.
But for the first time, he did something other than listen. He actually replied. That would have made you happy, but his words made you feel otherwise.
“I don’t love you.”
Four words. Four painful words. Those were not the words you were expecting. It was not the four words you wanted. Not even close.
And as you stood there, watching him walk away although it was almost a blur because of the tears streaming down your face, you wish you didn’t do what he always does.
You wish you didn’t listen to the words that broke your heart.
