DISCLAIMER: Though I find this completely unnecessary, I feel somewhat obligated to state that the Kingdom Hearts franchise does not belong to me. Also, as you read the story, keep in mind that this is simply a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of their rightful owner's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Chapter Four – Olette's Fifteenth Birthday

Saturday, May 22, 2010 – Second Semester of Freshman Year.

The next day rolled along very quickly. Olette sat at the edge of her bed with a frown; her restless slumber caused her distress beyond unreasonable doubt. Her talk with Pence in the coat room closet helped Olette get things off her chest, but it somehow managed to unveil what Olette feared: facing the reality that Hayner just wasn't interested anymore.

Walking carefully to her dresser, the green-eyed brunette noticed a picture of her three best friends and herself. In the photograph, each of the four was making a hysterical facial expression of some sort: Pence had his eyes crossed as his tongue hung sloppily at the edge of his open mouth; Roxas had arched his left eyebrow in a mock seductive way as he puckered his lips playfully, mocking the infamous 'Duck Face'; Olette had her eyes wide open as she put on a forced smile, showing off her braces; and Hayner had scrunched his face together as tightly as he could, the way he usually would during choir warm-ups.

The teenaged girl sighed at the forgotten memories the framed picture held. Letting her eyes linger from the other scattered photos on her dresser, she smiled to herself; each of the pictures was of either her three best friends and herself or it was of just Hayner and herself.

She shook her head sadly as she dragged herself toward the stereo clock. 9:34 AM read the cracked surface of the digital clock. Inhaling miserably to herself, Olette realized that she had not spoken to her boyfriend civilly or even had a decent conversation with Hayner since the month before.

Why hadn't she been more understanding? Why couldn't she have been more reasonable? Why did she say all the things she had? Why wasn't she just more logical than she was emotional? Olette shook her head again as she relaxed her shoulders. She did not know the complete answer to any of the questions that raced through her mind.

Olette blinked slowly as she looked toward the mirror above her dresser. There was a Post-It stuck in the center of the oval-shaped mirror.

"Olette, happy fifteenth birthday! Daddy, Lawrence, and I are flying to Radiant Garden to pick up your baby brother, Cameron. Your father figured that you had birthday plans with Hayner and the boys, so he said to leave you home. We'll see you later tonight if not early tomorrow morning. If we don't make it back before midnight – no promises that we'll even make it back before tomorrow – then… HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, baby! I'll take you out to dinner some time this week, just you and me. I love you, sweetie.

"Love always,

"Mommy

"P.S. hugs and kisses!" read the little pink Post-It note Mrs. Anderson left her eldest and only daughter.

"I don't even get to spend my birthday with my family because my dad thinks I'm going to spend it with my boyfriend," Olette whined, rubbing her left eye violently with the end of her silk pajama sleeve. "Dear God-."

Ding-dong!

Olette ran to the small window beside her bed. She drew the curtains back to see who could have possibly been at the door. From the second story, she had the perfect view of the driveway; however, Olette did not see any cars, leaving her to assume that the person at the door was either Pence or Roxas. Olette put her robe on and raced down the stairs straight to the front door. She peeked through the little peephole, hoping to see a speck of black or blond hair. Raising an eyebrow, Olette took not of the lonely shape that sat on her doormat. She opened the door briskly and picked up the nicely wrapped box decorated with a design so meticulous that no one else could copy it.

Smirking to herself, Olette whispered, "Only Pence…"

Carefully, the brunette examined the gift as she dragged herself lazily past the kitchen where she and the boys would usually concoct their experimental foods. Then, Olette plopped herself on the large sofa and turned on the television. She noted the specific detail in the wrapping. The last thing Olette wanted to do was to ruin the art Pence had even bothered creating for her. Slowly, her eyes flew to the rectangular piece of paper attached to the gift-wrapping. She traced her fingers across the paper, flipping it open.

"Olette Marie Anderson, I don't give a fucking damn if it's your birthday. Open the stupid present and stop staring at Pence's art. It only took him five minutes… he literally did it right before we dropped this off.

"Much love,

Roxas & Pence :D" read the card.

Olette laughed as she read the letter that Roxas and Pence wrote for her. Tearing through the heavily designed wrappings, her green eyes sparkled as they fell upon the unsealed box filled with even nicer gift-wrap. This time, the gift-wrap securely hugged three different shaped items. Picking up the nearest one, Olette ripped through the paper only to discover a set of highlighter, permanent markers and colored pencils on top of a professional planner. Just then, another note fell carelessly on her crossed legs.

She read it to herself as she giggled.

"Dearest Olette Marie Anderson I of Radiant Garden,

"This is to say that we are wishing you a merry birthday. You are now fifteen, the age Juliet met her Romeo. We, Nicolas Pence Aarons II of Twilight Town and Jonathan Roxas Way II of Twilight Town, present thee with this: a set of colored highlighters, markers, pencils and the master planner of the century – Okay, you know what? Roxas's idea for making this seem really amazing was really stupid! D:

"Anyways, we really do wanna wish you a happy birthday, Sister! Hope you enjoy this present and the rest of the ones that we got it. Hopefully, it makes you crazy life a hell of a lot easier!

"Love always,

"Pence & Roxas"

Next, the birthday girl turned her attention toward the massive present lying in the center of the box. She grabbed the next gift from the enormous box. Olette was careful to make sure that she'd find any type of note attached the present. Sdly, there was no note this time; however, Olette enjoyed this gift as much the previous one. In all the years she had known Pence and Roxas, the one thing Olette desired more than an event planner was a set of stationery paper craftily conjoined to a box of greeting cards already presorted for the right occasion, such as birthdays, anniversaries and other festivities.

"This is absolutely perfect!" Olette squealed as she pressed the awkwardly shaped box to her chest. "Ohmaigersh! I have the best friends in the whole freaking world!"

Ding-dong!

"More gifts, boys?" Olette giggled to herself. "This is already enough!"

Putting the stationery set aside, Olette hopped off the couch. She tenderly tucked a strand of stray hair behind her ear as the giftwrap surrounding her fell to the ground. She made her way slowly and cheerfully to the front door.

Ding-dong!

"Hold your horses, boys!" Olette shouted playfully. "I'm coming!"

Without looking through the peephole, Olette raced to the door, turned the top lock and swung the door open.

"Hey!-ner…?" Olette was disoriented as she looked cautiously at the blond-haired boy in front of her. "What are you doing here?"

Running at hand through his spiky hair, Hayner exhaled in frustration. What was he doing at her house? It wasn't like before where he could just visit her spontaneously. That was when their relationship was 'peachy keen'; but now, things were on edge. Hayner knew, just based on Olette's reaction, that he was the last person the brunette wanted to see.

"Can I come in?" he wondered in apprehension as his hand dove into the front pockets of his cargo pants.

"Sure…" Olette stammered, stepping aside for Hayner. "Come on in…"

Hayner entered the house awkwardly, the way he had only years before when he and Olette had first become friends. He watched as his girlfriend shut the door behind her. Hayner was then led to the couch in Olette's living room, the same couch they had fallen asleep on during their first hangout. The blond-haired teenager looked toward the white walls of the room where he and Olette had exchanged Valentine's Day gifts only the year before.

"Olette," he started, feeling the tension rise as Olette sat furthest away from him. "I-."

"I'm not like most girls," Olette blurted out randomly.

With wide eyes, Olette smacked her forehead with great force. She had not meant to say what she did, but it was the only thought she could currently process.

Hayner nodded, taking what his girlfriend into consideration.

"Well," he admitted, "I'm not like most people."

Olette leaned against the couch cushion as much as she could before bringing her legs to her chest, curling herself into a ball. She sighed; being with Hayner, especially after what happened the day before, was not something she was stable enough to do on her own.

"I am probably the most fragile person you will ever meet…"

Shrugging, Hayner slowly scooted closer to the depressed girl to his right. "And I am probably the most emotionally retarded person you will ever know…"

"You're supposed to handle me with care!" Olette shouted through tears as her mind travelled back to the happenings of yesterday.

Remembering his brutal mistake from yesterday, Hayner cringed. He hadn't meant to say the things that he did. It was just one of 'heat of the moment' things.

"Olette, you're supposed to act like I'm not there!"

Olette put her head between her knees as tears began to fill her eyes; in the past month alone, she had gone from passionate and strong-willed to weak and fragile. It was something that happened her when depression and anxiety kicked in.

Hayner sighed as he watched Olette cry. He knew that her emotional and mental state of mind was partly his fault; however, he also knew that he did not have it in himself to apologize for everything that had happened.

"I-I," Olette stuttered, still crying into her knees and not knowing that her boyfriend was right beside her, "I'm sorry for ruining who you were…

Hayner nodded, trying to figure out what to say to her. He didn't allow the words of his girlfriend to completely sink into his mind because he feared the scolding words. "Well, you know – wait, what?"

The words kicked in almost instantly, confusing Hayner completely. The boy put an arm around the sobbing form of his girlfriend. Why she was apologizing to his mistake was beyond him. What the hell was she doing?

"I'm sorry for everything!" Olette's sobs grew worse as Hayner wrapped an around her.

Hayner held the crying girl tightly, letting her stain his t-shirt with tears. "Olette, why? You shouldn't be…"

Olette shook her head as she let Hayner cradle her; his fight had gone on for much too long. She was now suffering from her anxiety and distress more than usual. The only thing she knew she could do was to just give up fighting.

"I'm always clinging onto you when you're around Belinda. I've been nothing but a jealous loser! And I'm always on your back about emotional crap that you really have no control over and no use for at all. And I'm sorry that I cause you so much stress about the Idiot Circle and about Seifer and-."

Hayner watched as Olette cries worsened and worsened. He felt her nuzzle closer to his chest as she continued to rub her back gently. It was usually pretty easy to get Olette to stop crying, but Hayner knew that there was something different about the tears she was crying at the moment. The blond-haired boy held his girlfriend tightly, allowing her to sob more and more.

"Olette," he sighed, "please stop!"

"But it's true, isn't it?"

Hayner shook his head, whispering carefully into Olette's brown hair. "No," he began. "It's far from it actually, Olette. You need to learn how to blame someone other than yourself, bae."

"But this is my fault…!"

Hayner inhaled, pulling Olette on his lap. "Well, babe, I'm sor- I'm sorry for ruining your happiness."

"You didn't ruin-!"

Hayner pushed Olette off his lap and onto the couch. He stood up, hovering over his girlfriend. "Then why are you always crying nowadays? Why co you always look so sad? Why do you always put on a fake smile for the world to see? Why don't you act the way you used to when we were first together?"

Olette shut her eyes tightly. She knew in her heart that Hayner was right. The brunette knew that Hayner – although not the entire cause for her change in mood – had played a very significant role in her sudden depression and anxiety.

"Hayner…"

Hayner ran a hand through his hair, sitting beside Olette once again. "Olette, I've thought long and hard since yesterday. I don't know… Olette, I can't lie to you anymore. I'm sorry."

Olette looked at her boyfriend in confusion. The only time he ever really emphasized her name was when he had a hard time coughing up the truth or just when he was uncomfortable with the situation. This was one of those times when Olette herself could not tell the difference.

"Why…?" Olette wondered, scooting closer to Hayner curiously. "Lie to me about what?"

"C'mere," Hayner said, pulling Olette onto his lap once again and wrapping his arms around her tightly. "Olette, I don't know how… how to put this exactly… I don't really know where to start this."

"Start what?" Olette breathed on her boyfriend's shoulder. She had forgotten how amazing she felt in his arms. She had almost forgotten that he smelled like lavenders. Taking in his scent, she rested her head onto his shoulders.

Hayner began to struggle with his words as Olette nuzzled her head against his cheek. He smiled to himself realizing that thought it seemed to take forever to gain her forgiveness, it didn't take too much for the fighting to stop. Why hadn't he tried something sooner before coming to his final conclusion?

"Olette, I can't do this anymore," he tried once more, "… we can't be together anymore. I'm breaking up with you."

Author's Note: Like I said the passion for this story is back. I don't know why, but it is. Oddly enough, I think rereading this story sparked something in me. I really don't know what. LOL. Honestly, I think it has to do with the fact that my English teacher is having us analyze Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Her in-depth analysis of that novella reminded me of the in-depth analysis that some of my friends have given this story. Well that and the fact that I need a break from my senior year. ASDFJKL; ASDFJKL; ASDJFKL; haha

Oh yeah, I would like to dedicate this chapter to Jeanette, my 'fat cow'. I rarely see her now that I'm stuck after hours working for ASB; however, when she and I do see each other, it's story time! :D I want to dedicate this story to thank her for the hours she spends listening to me go on and on and on about a story. Just ONE story, too. Hmm.

Thank you for reading this chapter of Lose Your Love. It was rewritten on October 22, 2012. It was republished on October 23, 2012. Reviews are so very much appreciated! Stay tuned for the next installment (or next rewritten chapter) of Lose Your Love!

~ May Vulcan