"Hey, I love your hair." you said, a smile elevating your cheeks.

"Oh. Umm...thanks..?" I responded, a faint smile making its way onto my face,

but my lips contorted back into a thin, straight line.

The words weren't registering in my mind.

You complimented me.

A compliment.

Something I hadn't received in...

well...

a long time.

But I would soon come to find out

you never even meant it in the first place.