"I am not like you, and I don't want to be like you"

Twice.. in the course of a single week I have heard this one phrase, "I am not like you, and I don't want to be like you". It hurts.. I cannot reveal how sensitive I am.. only because it hurts even more.. These words cut me to the bone.. and yet.. i can neither deny not defend myself.. After all.. this is but a creation of my own.. i am a creature of my own lies.. held prisoner by the cage of fabrications I have built around myself...

How do I show anything.. Emotions are a luxury I cannot afford.. i hide all feeling behind the cruel exterior I project.. and hope someone.. anyone would look past that.. but noone does.. and I labour on.. Noone is truly alone.. and yet I am.. because I am seemingly perfect.. happy.. and free of pain..

Because I try to lend a friend some strength, i am taken as cold hearted.. a conceited fool.. who isn't affected at all.. and is only out to derive as much superficial gratification as quick as possible. It hurts still.. when this same person says, "I don't want to be like you". Look past the armour, just once....