Disclaimer: I do not own the Kingdom Hearts series, Olette, Riku, Yuffie, etc.

Author's Note: Hey, guys! Well, here comes the final new fan fic for probably the rest of my high school life, and it's a Roxette, which is the second pairing that is the fibre of my being. I admit I haven't been writing so much, mostly out of laziness and seemingly endless fatigue. But, right now, I give you a pure and simple romance fic, which I declare pure because I don't plan on any complicated web of conflict. But you know me, no matter how hard I try drama always makes a very sudden and usually unwelcome entrance. But I hope you like this anyway.

Warning: MORE KIDS. I always seem to be writing about kids these days. I'm not even good with kids.

Quick Author Babble: I'm addicted to Glee now. I'm not sure why but I seem to be obsessed with its amazing camera lighting.

You Can't Hurry Love

Chapter 1: Where's the Love?

Olette Young knew something.

It was something that everyone, girl or boy, young or old, rich or poor, had realized and taken for a fact at some point in their lives.

She had no soul mate.

There was no other person in the world—no, the universe—that had come into being to love her, and for her to love.

All the myths about love were absolutely false, and anyone with half a brain knew that, especially poor Olette, who had been beaten have to death by hateful Cupid.

xXx

She was hit by her first love at the end of third grade (when she still had a rather fairytale-like view on the matter, so she wasn't quite sure what it was), with her only rival in basketball in Phys. Ed, Riku Oursler, who was very tall, even at that age, and extremely athletic. They were on opposing sides, and on that day they were both at the top of their game—in fact, all the other kids might as well have not been on the court at all, because rarely did they ever get the ball, and in that case it was usually by accident, and only for a quick second. Back and forth, back and forth, they sprinted across the court like hunter after wild animal, constantly switching roles. They kept scoring point after point, guarding shot after shot. The problem with facing Riku was mostly that his height gave him an advantage, especially when it came to guarding; Olette did her best to avoid him when she went in for a shot. Riku, who learned that Olette was good at snatching the ball away, tried his best to avoid her while dribbling. Learning each other's capabilities and weaknesses was almost an art form, and the other students just stood and stared, mouths wide open with admiration.

Olette's heart was pounding, but it was just from exhilaration, the thrill of a challenge; the words "must win" were engraved into her competitive mind, nothing else.

The last point changed everything.

There was less than a minute left before the bell. The teams were tied. Riku and Olette stared at each other from their opposing sides as their gym teacher stood above them, holding up the basketball. The other kids looked like they were on the verge of sitting down.

The whistle blew. Instant silence. The ball dropped. Olette reached for it but Riku was taller, and just a smidge faster. He smacked it back to one of his team mates, who quickly passed it back to him and watched, in envy, as no one could catch up to him.

Except for Olette, that is.

She took off like a cheetah after an antelope.

No, she thought, as the coach started counting down from ten. Riku's team mates were going wild.

"Go, Riku!"

"Hurry!"

"She's right behind you, man!"

No.

She could see the sweat dripping from Riku's neck and silver hair onto his the collar of his gym shirt. She could see his muscles moving quicker and quicker at the quickly approaching basket.

No.

He jumped, a little too early in his excitement. Olette jumped too, screaming out the "No!" that had been burning inside her throat for what felt like years. She reached forward, their shoulders rubbing together for a split second before her hand connected with the basketball, and suddenly it switched directions, away from the basket, down to the gym floor, where it hit, bounced weakly, then rolled away, useless.

The whistle and bell screeched in harmony. At first, silence. Then, cheering and elementary-kid swearing ("Aw, crud"; "Shucks"; "Jeez").

Riku landed safely on his feet, but Olette landed on her hands and knees. She stayed like that for a moment, panting, trying to get some breath back into her. She was half-dead from exhaustion.

But she was happy.

Pain erupted from where she hit the ground.

But she felt wonderful.

It had just been a tie.

But it had been the greatest achievement in her whole life.

"Oh, Ole," sighed a familiar voice from above her. Olette flopped on the ground and faced upward to see the freckled face of Yuffie Kisaragi looking down at her. "What'd you go and do that for? It's just a game, for heaven's sake."

She held out a hand and helped Olette up. The brunette sent her a grin like no other.

"Yuffie, you're the most competitive person I know."

"Please! I am not!" Yuffie shook her head roughly. Suddenly she seemed distracted and pointed. "Oh, look. It's your arch nemesis."

Olette turned around to face Riku, who stared curiously right back at her, as if acknowledging her for the first time. After a moment of mental debate, he walked over. He was covered in the stench of sweat and rubber. For some reason Olette found this incredibly appealing.

"Hey, good game," he said, holding out his hand. It took Olette a moment to realize what it was for, and they shared a rather professional handshake.

"You too," she replied. She almost added, "After all, you could've won with that final point", but decided that would just make him think she was trying to rub it in.

"You have serious skills," he stated, and then added for good measure, "for a girl." And then he smiled.

At that precise moment, Olette felt it. She felt her heartbeat as clear as if she was holding it in her hand. She felt her face go red, and not from her current fatigue. She was more nervous than she had felt during those last ten seconds, like a hundred eyes were watching her.

In that moment, Olette Young changed forever.

Years later, Olette would try to remember if it was the handshake, the compliment, or the smile that did it.

One thing she knew for sure was that the smile had definitely finalized it—wide, pearly, boyish.

Perfect.

"Uh…well…" she could feel herself tense up and hug herself as she tended to do when she was frazzled. She gave him a nervous smile back. "You're not so bad yourself…for a boy." For an eight-year-old, that was pretty flirty.

He smiled again, but less brilliantly. "Next time we face off, I'm going to win."

"Sure," she said, only partly sarcastic, and watched as he jogged out of the gym. Her mind was still in that gymnasium, her soul still in Riku's smile, even when Yuffie pulled her into the change rooms shouting about getting to recess.

xXx

As most elementary school romances are proned to doing, Olette's ended in failure.

At first, it was sweet and unrequited—she glanced at Riku constantly during the classes they shared, admiring how he looked, what he did, what he said. When they talked, they were short but filled with hope of a future together; on Olette's best schooldays, Riku would tell her something, and then make her swear not to tell anyone else. "Just between you and me, okay?" he would say, and wink. Every time that happened, Olette would melt into a lovesick puddle.

That was as far as it went, but it was good enough for a little girl with a crush.

But then, one of Riku's friends caught her staring at him, and promptly told everyone else. Soon, she was being teased, especially by the boys, who felt this was particularly funny, because they didn't have any girls chasing after them. Riku was probably subjected to worse torment than Olette, but that was at least better than what she had to go through, which was complete alienation from what used to be her best friends. Even Yuffie seemed a little awkward around her now, and what used to be filled with chirpy conversation were long moments of silence. But Olette, to her frustration, couldn't stop looking at Riku.

She just couldn't find the off-switch.

She tried denial but it fell on deaf ears. She felt like she was on another planet, staring at a home that she wished was hers.

Only Riku acted normal around her.

Often, when they passed each other in the hallway, one of Riku's friends would obnoxiously point out, "Oh, look Riku. It's your girlfriend." But among the childish chuckles, Riku would just glance at her and say, "Hey, Olette."

No smile.

Before she could say "hi" back, he was gone.

xXx

That may have been bad, but you could say they officially "broke up" when the gym teacher decided another basketball game should take place.

Once again, Riku and Olette were on opposite sides.

But you could hardly compare it to their first game, where they had matched each other perfectly on every level. Olette's head just wasn't in the zone. When she had the ball and saw Riku coming towards her, she practically handed it to him. When he went in for a point, she couldn't help but watch as he leapt impressively in the air. When he had passed her with the ball, she was always one step behind. The worst was when he was guarding her. Then she couldn't concentrate at all. He was too close, and it made her fell anxious. She could barely pass, let alone shoot. Soon her team stopped passing to her at all.

When it was all over and Olette looked at the horribly uneven scoreboard, she was so frustrated she wanted to scream and destroy everything. Kids passed her, giving her disgusted looks. She was at the bottom of the pile. She was buried beneath the dirt.

"Hey, Olette." She turned and jumped as she looked right at Riku. He also looked disappointed. "What happened out there?"

She stared, blushing and hugging herself, trying to think of an appropriate response. Nothing came to mind. Riku's face went from neutral to shock.

"Is it true?" he asked. "Do you…like me?"

Once again her mind was blank. Her mouth opened but nothing came out. Riku's face was suddenly filled with such disgust that she couldn't control herself anymore.

Olette Young, who hadn't cried a day in her life since she was a baby, burst into tears and ran out of the gym. She sat in the change room by herself, her humiliation her only friend. When Yuffie finally came into the change room five minutes later, Olette was still crying. The raven-haired girl went over and wrapped her arms around her friend.

"Oh, Ole," she sighed. "What'd you go and do that for?"

xXx

Her second love was a little more practical and slow-moving, and it happened three years later.

It was with one of her best friends at the time, Hayner Uccello. Hayner was kind of the class clown, and spent most of his energy on making a complete fool of himself. He also happened to live right next door to her. It had become a pattern to walk to school together, share lunch, and hang out for awhile at each other's houses. It was nothing lovey-dovey. In fact, Olette might as well have been a boy with what they usually did, which was play video games and skateboard around the local park. Neither really considered their relationship to be anything besides, until one very white Christmas. The snow piled down until absolutely everything was white; not a single thing was left uncovered.

In Radiant Garden, this wasn't particularly unusual. There were always very vivid seasons, the very epitome of winter, summer, autumn, and spring. But this year there seemed to be a never-ending blizzard. The residents locked themselves up in their houses for the holidays and almost never came out except for extreme situations. Olette, for example, hadn't seen Hayner for a week and he was right next door. It was a lonely winter break, and she missed her friends that she checked every hour to see if the blizzard had stopped.

On December 25th, there was still no dice. Olette let out a sigh, because now that Christmas morning was done, she had nothing to look forward to.

And then the doorbell rang.

A shock came over the house. "Olette! Open the door and let the crazy person in!" her father shouted from upstairs. He'd just come out of the shower.

Olette ran over to the door and opened it, feeling the icy wind hit her right in the face as she did so. She peered through the white to see a bundled up figure, a boy not much taller than her, coated in ice and with bright crimson cheeks.

"Hayner?" she said uncertainly.

"Mmph," came the reply through the thick scarf.

"Come in, come in!" She ushered the boysicle in like a concerned mother. He removed his boots at the door and turned to look at her. His nose was still a very vibrant pink. "What were you thinking?" she scolded him, but she was really happy to have some company. "Do you just not look out your window? Ever?"

"Eh? Well," he scratched the back of his head (a bad habit), "I wanted to give you your Christmas present on Christmas. That's normal, right?"

"You got me a present?" Olette forgot to be mad. She examined the boy thoroughly but she could see no sign of a gift.

"What? You didn't get me one?" At the very thought, Hayner's brown eyes became narrower.

"Don't be stupid. Of course I did!" A pair of camouflage capris. Hayner had torn his previous pair when he fell off his skateboard in autumn and knew that was his favourite thing to wear; she couldn't think of anything better.

Hayner smiled and gave a nod of approval and they went over into the living room.

"Olette! Who was it at the…?" Olette's father emerged, fully-dressed, his dark brown hair, still wet, drooping around his face. "Oh, hello, Hayner." He shook his head. "Crazy boy." Then he retreated back into his bedroom.

After they had sat down on the couch, watching the holiday parade on TV and catching up on each other's lives, Olette suddenly remembered.

"Oh, I should go get your present." She stood to go, but Hayner grabbed her wrist and she fell back into her original position.

"Me first," he said, and his brown eyes twinkled with his normal mischief that Olette knew so well. Immediately she began to worry her present was a pie in the face…well, something along those lines, anyway.

"N-No. Really. I should…" she stuttered nervously, trying to find a way out of this clearly bad situation.

"Sit down," he ordered her, and she obeyed. She didn't know why, but she did. "Close your eyes."

"No." She shifted uncomfortably and edged away from him, trying to keep her eyes open without blinking so he wouldn't go unmonitored.

"Olette, it's nothing suspicious," he laughed. "Seriously."

She blinked. Her eyes opened extra wide to make up for it. "Yeah, right. You think I'm stupid?"

"Well…we'll talk about that later," he joked, but then his tone got serious again. "Close. Your. Eyes."

Olette really just wanted whatever he was trying to pull to be over and done with. She knew this couldn't be accomplished without giving in, so slowly, reluctantly, her eyelids met each other, until Hayner disappeared. She could hear rustling, and waited for the feeling of sticky pie against her skin; the electric shock of a joy buzzer; the startling cold of ice cubes down her shirt, trying her best to prepare for it.

"Okay. Open them."

She did, in relief. And in front of her were two pieces of paper.

Two pieces of paper, that is, which just happened to be tickets to Kingdom Hearts, her favourite band in the whole universe.

At first, she just stared at him with wide eyes, and he seemed to get a little nervous. She didn't like it?

"Oh my goodness," she breathed.

He stared at her, waiting for something more.

"Oh my goodness!" she repeated, louder and more excited this time. She was tempted to throw her arms around him, but knew that would just freak him out. So she took the tickets, making sure not to do any damage to them, and kissed them. "Thank you, Hayner! Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!"

He smiled in return. "Glad you like it." Which meant, of course, that he knew she would like it.

But how could Olette show her gratitude? She stared at the two tickets and beamed at Hayner.

"Hayner Uccello, would you do me the honour of going to the Kingdom Hearts concert with me?" she asked, her voice only slightly sarcastic-sounding.

"Of course! You didn't think they were both for you, did you?" he joked, snatching one from her hand and putting it in his pocket. She sent him a fierce glare as if she regretted inviting him, but Olette really wanted him to go, so she said nothing. "Hey," said Hayner. And he gestured for her to give him something. "My present."

"Oh, yeah." Suddenly she felt embarrassed by it. Compared to Hayner's present, it was nothing. Obediently, she got it from upstairs and handed it to him, nervous from anticipation. The shiny green wrapping paper reflected in his chocolate eyes, which were alive with boyish excitement. "Hayner, I'm sorry, it really isn't—"

"Ah, who gives a crap?" he said, plainly not interested in her view on the matter as he tore away the carefully constructed package that Olette had fretted over the night before. Seconds later, he was holding up the camouflage shorts. She breathed in, shutting her eyes, ready for the criticism that was about to hit her—something along the lines of, "I get you your dream and you give me a piece of cloth?"

"Awesome! Perfect! I've really been missing my shorts, man!" Olette peeked at him from the darkness behind her eyelids, and he had a sincere grin spread across his face. "Jeez, Olette. You always know exactly what I want."

She breathed out a sigh of relief. "Really? You mean it? I didn't think it compared to what you got me."

He considered. "You're right. Give me my ticket back." Olette pulled it away from him defensively as he teasingly leaned over to take it from her. They laughed at their mutual satisfaction with their gifts. Hayner, slowly and almost reluctantly, gave her a hug. "Merry Christmas, Olette," he sighed into her hair.

Olette felt her heart speed and she blushed at her own reaction. "Merry—"

The front door opened and her mother stepped in, frozen solid with the cold, carrying at least five bags in her tiny mittens. Olette and Hayner, startled by her sudden appearance, scrambled to get away from each other with a tangle of arms and legs, but too late.

"Oh, wonderful," Mrs. Young sighed sarcastically. "I brave the arctic climate to go to the grocery store for the sake of my family's precious Christmas dinner, and come home to be welcomed by a festival of raging, teenage hormones."

Both faces turned bright red. Whenever they heard the word "hormones" their hair stood on end.

"Mom," Olette whined, now more embarrassed than ever. She wished she could sink into the couch and disappear.

Mrs. Young pointedly ignored her. She started removing her winter attire, revealing her short, chestnut-coloured bob. "Speaking of teenagers, how old are you, Hayner?"

"I'll be turning twelve in February."

"Twelve! Ah, a very dangerous time indeed." She shook her head and, removing her green scarf, released a heavy sigh. "Ah, youth. I do miss it."

"Mom," Olette repeated, hiding her face in her hands. Her mom was an infinite source of embarrassment for her.

Hayner, however, laughed. "Don't we all?"

"Oi, what are you saying? Do you think eleven-year-olds even have the right to say that?" She whacked him with her scarf.

Needless to say, Hayner was almost a son to Olette's parents. He was always with Olette and didn't have any of that uncomfortable guest aura.

"Well, I shall go upstairs now," Mrs. Young sighed dramatically. "I can see I'm not wanted." Olette glared at her.

No, she wasn't wanted.

"Have fun, kids!...But not too much fun." Olette groaned as her mom wiggled her eyebrows.

"We'll try our best, Mrs. Young," Hayner replied.

"No, seriously, Hayner. No physical contact with my daughter." She scowled at him and then was gone.

Olette and Hayner glanced at each other, and then laughed. Olette's came out rather forced and awkward.

"Your mom's a riot," said Hayner, and his attention returned to the TV.

"Yeah," Olette agreed quietly, but her mind was reeling with the memory of the hug that had taken place only a minute before.

Why'd he have to do that?

Why?

xXx

Behind the school building, there was nothing.

The students were long gone, the end bell having rung an hour ago, the beginning of summer vacation coursing through everyone's veins. The warm summer breeze didn't touch the shaded area. The sunlight couldn't reach through the dark shadows. Birds could be heard, but they sounded far away, their happiness too hollow-sounding to be contagious.

And, Olette learned as she stood there waiting, there seemed to be no courage passing through either. She could feel her heart beating in her chest, loud and clear, as if worried she might forget about it. But her mind, devoid of nothing but nervousness, caused her legs to shake.

The season's wrong for this, she thought. It's way too cold to be summer.

And, in a way, she was right—summer may not have been a good time to be worrying about anything, because it was a time to make the best memories—but it wasn't cold at all. In fact, it was the hottest summer that Radiant Garden had been blessed with for awhile. It was practically Destiny Island weather.

No, it wasn't the temperature; just good old foreboding that kept her shivering so dramatically. When she felt her knees giving way she slid down to the grass, which was damp from the earlier rain. She didn't want to be here. No, she wanted to run away as far as she could—as fast as she could—and never stop. It was sheer force of will keeping here there.

"Olette?" Hayner rounded the corner to find her picking at pieces of grass, her eyes wide with terror. She looked at him, and he could practically hear her gulp back some bile that had suddenly lurched into her throat. "What's the matter?"

"Hayner…" she said, her voice shaking. She wanted to get up, but she couldn't.

"Were you waiting for me?" he asked, his voice taking on a friendly tone. She nodded. He smiled faintly—his best friend's face, still locked in panic mode, was keeping him from smiling outright. "You didn't have to. I told you I'd be awhile. Mr. Lexaeus kept lecturing me about my grades. Man, he is such a pain." His voice suddenly adapted a teasing, growly tone. "'Mr. Uccello, improve your work habits. Mr. Uccello, you have to join clubs. Mr. Uccello, wear something more appropriate than those shorts.' Ugh. If he wasn't so big, I'd beat him up." Olette would've rolled her eyes at Hayner's classic tough-guy façade if she hadn't been so traumatized.

He collapsed beside her and nudged her a little with his elbow. "Hey, what's wrong with you? Why haven't you said anything? Usually you would've insulted me, rolled your eyes or something by now. Instead you're just sitting there." Olette finally got the courage to turn and look at him. He was watching her with some concern. Those brown eyes—innocent like a deer's. She felt her stomach twist as more anxiety piled on.

"Hayner."

"What? Are you hungry? Y'know, I am too, but my ma says I'm always hungry because I'm gonna be as tall as a tree when I'm older. Of course, Ma also says when I'm older I'll be bald like my dad. But I just can't see that happening."

"Hayner," she began again, and this time he quieted, his eyes wide, trying to understand what had gotten Olette so serious. "I have something to tell you." She took a breath in. She was really going to do this.

"Well, what is it?" asked Hayner impatiently. He was really looking forward to getting home and starting his long summer of skateboarding and video games.

It's like ripping off a Band-Aid. Ripping off a Band-Aid. Ripping off a Band-Aid…

"I like you!" She closed her eyes tightly, not wanting to look at his face, afraid of the shock or disgust that might be written upon it. "I like you, okay? Ever since Christmas. And I kn-know it's really w-weird, but I c-can't help it, a-and I j-just w-wanted you t-to know…" Her voice was shaking terribly by the end, her shivers coming back in full force. Her knees were in risk of collapsing at any moment. Opening one eye, she peeked at his face, which was paler than usual, his brown eyes wide with shock.

Olette's whole face turned red. Adrenaline rushed through her and she wanted nothing more than to run away, but her unsteady feet kept her glued to the ground.

"Well?" she snapped finally, her excess energy causing the words to come out with ferocity. "Say something!"

"Uh…" was all that streamed from between his lips for a good, long second. Finally, he emptied his lungs with a tired breath. "Jeez, Olette. You really know how to make a situation awkward."

His voice was light and joking, but the words held enough truth in them to make her look down in shame.

"Listen," he murmured, his tone becoming serious, "I don't know how to put this, so I'll just say it quick. I never really saw you as…" His voice trailed off and he blushed a little, reconsidering his direct approach.

"A girl," concluded Olette, her voice coarse.

"No!" cried Hayner quickly, holding up his hands in apparent surrender. After a moment's pause, he changed his mind. "…Well…yeah." He grimaced, closing one eye as if in preparation to get punched in the face.

Although Olette's cheeks were scarlet with disappointment, she wasn't really all that surprised. Hayner had always treated her differently than other girls. At one point she thought that was a good thing.

Not so much anymore.

"Um…well…have a good summer," she said, turning, wanting to end this quickly and with what little dignity she had left.

Hayner's voice held her back for a moment. "Hey, Olette, I'm really sorry. Can we still be friends?"

She turned, hoping the tears blurring her vision weren't too obvious, and smiled. "Yeah. Of course."

Through the burning, watery haze, she could see the warmth of a smile spread over Hayner's face.

"Cool."

"Hm. Bye, Hayner."

"See ya."

They didn't walk home together that day, and from then on they never did. But it wasn't so bad. They still smiled when they passed each other, and paired up for the odd group assignment. Nothing too bad. Not too much hurt, even for Olette.

But then came what Yuffie referred to as "The End", the last straw for Olette, the final, gut-wrenching heartbreak.

But the End had another name—and that name was Seifer Almasy.

Hope you enjoyed! Drop me a review.

I'm really tired which is why this end note sucks so bad.

Sorry about that.

Read and review!

Buenos noches (or something)!