Primary Song: VIXX- Girls, Why?

Genre: Fluff

Characters: Leo/ Female OC (unnamed)/ N and his unnamed girlfriend

"Sleep well," my boyfriend bids me goodnight.

"Goodnight," I smile. When we hang up, I feel satisfied and happy. Mostly.

In the entire four minutes we spent talking to each other, Leo had not said a single word of what was possibly the most important topic ever: our three years anniversary that was quickly approaching in a week. Did he not care? Or did he forget?

Feeling a bit lacking in the relationships department, I decide to call my unnie who was far more experienced. "Unnie?"

"Oh, my baby sister. Why did you call?"

"Why do I do if Leo seems to have forgotten our anniversary?”

“He forgot?” The shock is evident in my sister’s voice.

“It seems like it.”

“I’d double check if I were you. Maybe he didn’t forget, but is pretending to have forgotten because he’s planning a surprise for you.”

Hope swells in me. “I didn’t think of it like that,” I mutter. “Is it weird if he’s never said ‘I love you’ in the past three years we’ve been together?”

I hear my sister sigh over the phone. “Just because he doesn’t say it doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel it,” she assures gently. “Leo doesn’t seem like the guy to say it so easily, so be patient with him. I’m sure he’ll say it eventually.”

I let out a loud, dramatic, exasperated sigh. "I suppose you're right," I say glumly. \

"Don't worry. These things take time. I have to go now, but will you be okay?"

"Yeah, I will. Thanks unnie."

"No problem. Goodnight!" She hangs up, and I'm left with my thoughts.

As I ready for bed, I replay her words over and over as a way to reassure myself. She's right; just because Leo doesn't say 'I love you' doesn't mean he doesn't feel it. But still...I want to hear him say it. As proof of his feelings for me.

The last thought before I drift to sleep is how to get my boyfriend to say exactly what I want to hear. How hard could it be to say 'I love you'?

Movie night at my house is the perfect time to get Leo to say ‘I love you.’

I glance up at my boyfriend who is so focused on the movie. As usual, he's not smiling, but I know that he's happy because of the glimmer in his eyes. I wonder if he'd be upset if I tried to initiate more skinship. After all, we're already leaning against each other, his arm lightly around my waist. This is more than the usual amount of skinship we have.

Holding a breath, I dare to scoot closer to him and snuggle a bit. Feeling him tense up, I lean away. but Leo gently presses me towards his side with his arm. With the largest, dumbest smile I’ve ever sported, I snuggle in his arms.

When the movie’s over, he turns to me and simply says, “That was a good movie.”

“Yeah, it was,” I lie because I was honestly not paying attention at all. I was too distracted being in heaven because my boyfriend actually allowed me to snuggle with him.

Unfortunately, Leo removes his arm around my waist, and I miss the comfort. “It’s getting late, so I’m going to go now,” he says as he gets up.

Without thinking, I grab his hand. “Wait,” I rush. When he looks at me inquisitively, I gulp and let go of his hand “Do you like me?”

My boyfriend is confused. “Of course I do.”

“No, I mean, do you really truly like me?” I stress, trying not to use the word ‘love’.

“What are you saying?” Leo deeply frowns.

I let out an exasperated sigh and close my eyes. “Never mind.”

“No, tell me. I hate it when you start something, but don’t finish it.”

I nervously my lips. “Do you really truly like me?” I repeat.

“Of course! Why else would I be your boyfriend?” Leo seems slightly annoyed.

“No, I mean-” I hesitate, unsure what to say.

“What? What do you mean?” He explodes.

“Do you love me?” I finally snap.

We lock eyes. Leo’s frozen. I’m incredibly and extremely nervous for his response. That in itself should be a warning. If I’m nervous to see if he loves me, it’s a sign that says he doesn’t show it. Maybe he doesn’t show it because he doesn’t have any.

Swallowing all my pride, I gather my courage to softly say, ““I love you, Leo.” If it were possible, my boyfriend seems to freeze even more. “Do you love me too?”

When at least a minute passes with nothing but silence on my boyfriend’s part, I begin to worry. “If you don’t love me, you can just tell me that. I won’t be mad,” I mutter and bite my bottom lip. He still doesn’t say anything. I inhale and exhale deeply to keep myself from crying. Leo’s still silent. “You should go now,” I mumble. I grab the blanket Leo and I’ve been using and get up to go to my room.

“Wait,” Leo finally says and tries to stop me, but I smoothly slide my wrist from his grasp.

“Goodnight,” I say softly without a trace of a smile, and leave him in the living room. I trust him to leave soon. I’m right; only a few minutes after I curl up in my bed, I hear the beeping of the door he opened to leave. Seconds later, the soft thud of the door closing reverberates through the apartment unit.

As I lie in my bed, I realize that Leo never gave me an answer.

Leo couldn’t believe he did something as stupid as freeze up when his girlfriend asked if he loved her. He knew without a doubt he did. But it was impossible for him to say so.

Why? Why was it so hard for him to say? That question plagues him. He’s frustrated by how he didn’t know the answer.

After arriving at his own house, Leo sits on his bed, staring at nothingness, as he thinks about how stupid he was minutes earlier.

His phone buzzes loudly, snapping him out of his deep thoughts. Leo contemplates not picking it up, but when he sees who’s calling, he knows he has to answer. The caller can be annoyingly persistent.

“What do you want, N?” grouches Leo.

“Whoa there,” N sounds surprised. “You sound angrier than usual.”

Leo huffs, “Well, that’s because I am. I completely blanked when my girlfriend asked me if I love her. Then I left without explaining. I. Left. Now she probably thinks I don’t love her.”

When N’s silent for an incredibly long time, Leo furrows his brows. “N? You there?”

A sudden burst of laughter is heard over the phone. “Yeah, I am. But Leo, you’re such an idiot,” N chuckles.

“Thanks for telling me something I already know.” Leo rolls his eyes as he impatiently waits for his friend to calm down.

“So, what are you going to do now?" N asks. "What are you going to do to convince her that you actually do love her?"

Leo shakes his head and groans, "I don't know."

"You do love her, right?" N accuses.

"Of course!" Leo defends himself indignantly.

"Then why didn't you tell her that?"

That was an excellent question. Leo wasn't quite sure. "I-I don't know. I just kind of froze. We never really discussed it before. I guess I thought she understood without me having to actually say it," he sighs.

"Was it because of your pride?" N knew his friend all too well.

Leo thought about it for a while. "Yeah, I guess. Something like that."

N tches at his friend. Leo could almost imagine N shaking his head. "You screwed up badly. But it's okay since your girlfriend is such a forgiving person."

"But what do I do to e