✧. ┊little lies

Stephen had been saying he was fine for weeks. He would randomly lie about the smallest things all the time.

it was odd.

Fine when he barely slept. Fine when he skipped meals. Fine when he canceled plans because he was “busy,” only to spend the evening sitting alone in his apartment. Every time you asked if he was okay, he smiled the same practiced smile and insisted nothing was wrong. You stopped arguing with him after a while, quietly noticing the unopened takeout in his refrigerator, the dark circles beneath his eyes, and the way he always seemed to be pretending everything was under control.

That evening was no different.

You found him hunched over his laptop, surrounded by papers and half empty coffee cups. He greeted you with the same tired smile, and you sat beside him in the silence that followed. For a long moment, you simply looked at him, your concern impossible to hide.

“…You don’t have to keep pretending with me. You dont.. have to lie”

The room fell still.

Stephen stared at you, his expression tightening as panic overtook the exhaustion in his eyes. His heart sank. Somehow, those words felt less like comfort and more like you’d seen through every carefully built version of himself.

He stood so quickly his chair scraped across the floor.

“You think I’m pretending?” he asked, his voice already shaking.

You opened your mouth to explain, but he cut you off before you could say a word.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” he yelled, and immediately regretted it.