A/N: I'm really concerned about posting this story. I feel like the characters are too OOC. I think you readers will enjoy this story though if you ship Folive but please forgive me if the characters do go out of character. I tried very hard to keep them in character. I added and deleted so much until I finally decided to post this. I just really hope it is not too horrible.
Please leave me your thoughts.
Fletcher POV
"Fletcher, see me after the tone." My English teacher, Mr. Hayes announced to the entire class in her disapproving tone. Everyone turned their heads to look at me. In avoidance, I turned in my seat to look at Olive who was seated behind me. She shrugged. I sighed and turned forward in my seat to continue my work.
The tone stroked at exactly two thirty. It was finally the end of the day. When the rest of the students left the class, I went up to Mr. Hayes my English teacher to clear my name of whatever it was I did.
"You wanted to see me?" I asked the old man behind the desk.
"Yes Fletcher, take a seat." He gestured to the front seat in the middle row. Oh no, this can't be good. I took a seat on top of the desk. He stared at me for a second before saying, "you're failing my class."
"Oh…" Was all I said.
"You need to do better, or else you will fail this class and have to retake it next year." Great, another year with Mr. Hayes was like six years in prison.
"I promise to do better" I said.
"Good, and you can start by finishing up that project which was due last week and hand it in to me on Monday."
"Right I will get started on the project tonight."
"Started?" He glared.
"I mean…" I was at a loss of words. "um, have a good weekend." I picked up my backpack off the ground and raced out of the class room. I walked to my locker which was right next to Olive and Chyna's. They were standing at their lockers talking to the new kid at school, Heath. I disliked the new kid. He had only been at school for a week and he had already has his eyes on Olive and the worst part was it seemed like within only a week Heath had somehow got Olive to fall for his charm.
Heath waved goodbye to the girls and walked off. I continued to walk toward the girl's.
When Chyna noticed me she asked, "So what did you do this time?" Olive, who was looking the other way, turned to face me.
"I'm failing English"
"Well maybe that's because you don't do the work," Olive stated matter-of-factly, turning back around to place some books in her locker.
"Well maybe that's because you don't do the work," I mimicked her. Olive faced me to stick her tongue out at me. I mirrored her actions.
"Olive's right, maybe if you made an effort you wouldn't be failing," Chyna said.
"But it's too hard," I whined.
"It's English" Olive stated. "You speak the language every day. It's not hard, you're just lazy." I ignored her comment and opened my locker grabbing the few books I needed and zipped up my backpack. The three of us walked out the school and to Chyna's house.
"So what are the plans for tonight?" Olive asked.
"I think I am going to go home and start on the English project." I said.
"Olive, if you want you can sleep over tonight, we can have a little girl time" Chyna suggested.
"How about you sleep over at mine?" Olive replied.
"Again?" Chyna raised an eyebrow as if silently asking her why they always had a sleepover at Olive's house but Olive avoided the subject.
"You can come over around eight," Olive said. "I'll see you tonight."
Olive quickly said goodbye to Chyna and started towards her house. I followed suit.
"You still haven't told Chyna you don't like sleeping away from home?" I asked Olive when I caught up with her.
She shook her head. "Not yet. I will tell her eventually."
"So I'm still the only one who knows?" She nodded. It felt nice to be the only one to know one of Olive's deepest secrets; it proved how good of friends we really were; even if we did not always act like it around others.
When we arrived at my house, Olive wished me luck on my project before crossing the street to her own house. I smiled as I watched Olive cross the street before opening my front door and stepping into my house.
Throwing my backpack on the kitchen table, I opened it up and started getting to work.
Olive's POV
Chyna arrived a minute past eight. This was the first sleepover Chyna and I were having in weeks. I needed a little girl time.
We were resting on my bed flipping through magazines. "So what do you think of the new kid, Heath?" Chyna asked me after a long moment of silence. She was using her "suggestive" voice.
"He's cute and super sweet" I responded, not putting much thought into my answer.
"You got that right." Chayn agreed. "Would you date him?"
"Nah," Olive didn't even think about it. "He's not really my type."
"What is your type?" Chyna wondered.
Olive thought for a moment. "Well a guy who is nice, he can't be a jerk. A guy who makes me laugh but doesn't try to be funny. And he has to be somewhat smart, I don't know if I could handle dating someone who is completely brainless. I wouldn't mind if he was cute. And most importantly, a guy who knows the real me, one that I don't ever have to change for."
"Sounds like Fletcher."
"What? No! Not even close" I defended.
"Fletcher is super nice. He tries to be funny to everyone else besides you. He makes decent grades in every class besides English, you think he's cute, and you two have known each other for many years, he would never ask you to change, he loves you just the way you are." I stared at her with a blank expression. "I think that covers everything you described as your type."
"Well yes, but…"
"Oh, and let's not forget you have already admitted to loving him" Chyna pointed out.
"I didn't mean it that way." Olive crossed her arms.
"Either way you guys are the perfect match."
"But-"
"But what?" Chyna interrupted.
"But Fletcher would never go out with me," The words came out before I could think about what I was saying.
"Why not? You're pretty, super nice, scary smart, and the best friend Fletcher has ever had."
"I don't know…" Chyna and I continued to flip through pages in the magazines we were reading.
"Here we go!" Chyna exclaimed. I jumped in surprise at the loud outburst. She pointed to a page in her magazine. The title read 'The Perfect One. "It's a quiz, see" she pointed at the two charts on the page. "You test two guys using these questions," she pointed to the left of the page, "and see which one you are more compatible with."
"You have fun doing that Chyna." I patted her shoulder.
"Not me, you!"
"What? I'm not letting a stupid quiz in a magazine tell me who I am more compatible with." I exclaimed crossing my arms for empathy.
"Just try it, it will be fun."
"I don't know."
"Come on." Chyna grabbed a pen off her dresser and put Fletcher's name in the first chart and Heath's name in the second. "Now you ask them each the same questions rate their answer out of four and in the end see which one has the best score.
"I still don't think this is a good idea" I said, my eyes glued to the charts.
"Please" Chyna said in a baby voice stretching out the word.
I sighed "Fine, but I can't promise you that I will choose the person who gets the highest score. Or any of them for that matter."
"I'm not asking you too. I just want to see what happens." Chyna said. "Besides, who do you want to win?"
"Fletcher." I said without any hesitation. Chyna smiled.
o0o
The next day, I went over to Fletcher's house. I knocked on the door but no one answered. I tried again and waited a second.
"Come on in, it's open," Fletcher shouted. I opened the door and could not believe my eyes.
"Fletcher?" I looked around. The place was a mess. There were papers all over the kitchen table and crumpled paper on the floor. There was a pot of coffee on the table on top of some papers and coffee cups all around. And there was Fletcher, sitting on a chair wearing the same clothes as yesterday with his hair was sticking up in all different directions. "What happened in here?" I exclaimed.
"Working on project" Fletcher said between tired breaths.
"Did you even sleep last night?"
Fletcher turned to face me. His eyes were bloodshot with dark bags underneath. "Yeah, I slept right here for an hour then woke up and continued to work." I walked beside Fletcher and looked at his project. His project looked good; well, the parts that were finished looked good. I looked into Fletcher's tired eyes. He was so tired I couldn't tell what he was thinking. Fletcher placed his head on my side. I ran my hands in his messy hair.
"Fletcher, you need to get some sleep." I said.
"Can't sleep, must finish project," Fletcher took a deep breath. "So I don't have to retake Mr. Hayes' class again next year."
"Fletcher, you need to sleep." I wrapped my arms around Fletcher's waist and helped him up the stairs. He didn't protest at all he just followed me.
There were so many occasions when I was sick where Fletcher would come over every day to take care of me. Once in the morning before school and then right after school to keep me company. Now, I was just returning the favour.
I raised the covers and Fletcher climbed in. "Get some sleep and don't even think about going back downstairs."
Fletcher let out a small smile. "Thank you" he whispered. He slowly closed his eyes. I looked at Fletcher and thought back to the quiz. I thought about the first question.
"Hey Fletcher." I whispered.
"Yeah, Olive?"
"If you were rich, where would you go and why?" I asked.
"Back in time so I could finish this project on time." Fletcher whispered. I smiled and turned towards Fletcher's bedroom door.
"I will be back in a couple hours to check on you." When I turned back Fletcher was already asleep.
I walked out of the Quimby house and down the street to a nearby park. I took my time walking down the block and just thought. The park was full of little children and their parents. I walked to the swings at the far back of the park and sat down. I started to pump my legs and within seconds I could feel the wind rushing though my long blond hair. I love the swings, it's where you could think of anything you want and feel completely free. I was swinging for about five minutes before I heard someone calling me.
"Olive!" I stopped pumping my legs and looked behind me. There stood Heath.
"Hey, Heath!" I exclaimed.
"May I?" He asked gesturing to the empty swing beside me.
"Of course," I said.
He sat down beside me and started pumping his legs, going higher and higher. We swung together in unison. "I believe in children talk this is called double dating" He said. I laughed in response. That was what Fletcher and I called it when we were younger.
"Can I ask you some questions?" I asked Heath. He looked at me for a moment then nodded his head.
"If you were rich, where would you go and why?" I asked.
He thought for a moment. "I've always wanted to go to India. I know it sounds weird but there are so many interesting places to go and things to see in that country. Plus, it's like a whole different world than living in America."
"Wow, that's wonderful." I said in total amazement.
Heath smiled. "Okay next question."
"What's your favourite place to go on any given day?"
"That's an easy one, the park. It the one place where I can go and just think about whatever I want with no one around to bother me."
I laughed. "I love the park too." I said truthfully. "Your right, it is a place where I can just come and think. I can just be myself" He smiled. "Okay next question.
"This one is kind of personal, but is there anything you want to change about yourself?"
"That's easy, no. No one is perfect but I like myself the way I am."
I nodded as I rocked back and forth on the swing.
"Next question." He encouraged.
"What do you think makes a perfect relationship?"
He glanced at me before answering. "That's another easy one. Love. If there is no love between a couple, there is no strong relationship."
"That's true" Olive agreed. "Thanks for answering those questions. I know they were really random."
"That's fine, I enjoyed answering."
"Well not to be rude," I said. "But I really have to go check on someone."
"Wait," He grabbed my wrist to stop me from walking off. "You haven't told me about yourself."
I smiled. "Let's just say that I'm more of a closed book." He let go of the grip around my wrist and smiled. I walked off without another word. I was really please with Heath's answers. He was perfect.
I walked back down the street to Fletcher's house. I walked into his house without bothering to knock on the door. When I opened the door, there was Fletcher sitting at the kitchen table. He was wearing different clothes and his hair had been brushed.
"Fletcher?" I asked getting his attention. He turned around to face me. He looked much better. "How long did you sleep for?"
"A couple hours" He responded. "I feel much better now." He turned back around to work. I sat on a chair beside him.
"Can I ask you some questions?" I asked him.
"I guess" he responded flipping through some pages in his textbook.
"What is your biggest dream in life."
"To finish this project." Fletcher groaned. I rolled my eyes.
"Is there anything you want to change about yourself?"
"I want to change the fact that I suck at English. You're right, I speak the language every day, I don't know why I am so horrible at it."
"Fletcher, you know that's not what I meant." I said
"I still answered the question."
"Anyway last question, what's your favourite place to go on any given day."
"Anywhere but Mr. Hayes' class." Fletcher said.
"Fletcher!" I whined.
"What?" He asked dotting down some notes he got out of his text book.
"Never mind" I said quietly. Fletcher closed his book and looked at me.
"Is something wrong?" He asked, fully concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I stood up "I'm going over to Chyna's for a while." I headed towards the door.
"Wait, Olive." I stopped with my hand on the door knob. Fletcher came behind me. "You okay?"
I sighed, "yeah, I just need to talk to Chyna" I said.
Fletcher put his hands on my shoulders and looked me straight in the eyes. "You know I will always be there for you right?" Fletcher said.
I stared at him for a few seconds before answering. "Yeah, I know." I smiled.
"Good." Fletcher said and dropped his arms from my shoulder.
"I might come back later, if I'm not too tired." I said and opened the door.
"Alright, and I will be here, studying away." I smiled and left the house.
The night was growing colder. I pulled my cardigan closer to my body as I headed over to Chyna's. I walked around the house using the back door. I knew Chyna would be home alone for another few hours. I walked up the stairs to Chyna's room and knocked on her door. When I heard a "Come in" I walked in.
"Hey Olive!" Chyna greeted me. She was lying on her bed reading a new magazine.
"Hey, Chyna," I responded.
"So, have you quizzed the boys yet?" She asked cutting to the chase.
"Actually yes I have and I wrote it all down on here." I pulled out the piece of paper that I ripped out of the magazine which had the quiz on it and handed it to her.
"And how did it go?" Chyna asked staring at the paper
"Okay." I sat down on Chyna's bed beside her.
"Just Okay?" She asked looking at me.
"Well, I bumped into Heath at the park and we just started talking so I asked him the questions. You have no idea how amazingly perfect he is." I said with a smile on my face.
"Aweh, that's sweet." Chyna said. "But what about Fletcher?"
"That's the thing. He was so caught up in finishing his project that he couldn't even answer the questions properly. You should have seen him. I went over to his house this morning and he was a mess. He was up all night doing the project that took us two weeks to complete. He was so tired he almost fell asleep by just resting his head on my side. I understand he doesn't want to fail English but that was just something I've never seen before" I took a deep breath.
"So then you choose Heath?" Chyna asked.
"Well that's not all. When I went over to Fletcher's a few hours ago and asked him the remaining question I didn't get to ask this morning, he didn't answer them the way I would have wanted him too. I was upset and right away he could tell something was up. He became so concerned. He literally dropped everything just to make sure I was okay. I realized that he didn't care about the questions because they didn't mean anything to him. But when he could tell I was upset, he instantly took interest and made sure I was alright. Fletcher may not be perfect but he is the best friend anyone could ask for." Chyna sat there dumbfounded trying to take in everything I had said.
"Chyna, I think I'm in love with Fletcher," I concluded. I could tell Chyna was shocked. Heck, I was shocked.
"That's great!" Chyna finally said and hugged me tight. "When are you going to tell him? I mean he obviously loves you back."
"No, no, I could never ask Fletcher out." I shook my head.
"Why not?" Chyna asked.
"Because…"
"Because?"
"Because I can't. I am going to talk to him though, tomorrow night, after he has finished his project."
"Good for you. I am really happy for you." I smiled and hugged Chyna.
I decided not to go over to Fletcher's house that night. The rest of his family had probably arrived home after a long day at work and I didn't want to be a bother.
The next morning I awoke at around eleven in the morning. I quickly threw on some clothes and walked to the park. I sat on the swings and rocked back and forth. I just sat there and thought about the last couple days. I really wanted to talk to Fletcher, but I wanted to talk to him once his project was finished and out of the way. I decided to go for a walk around the block. I walked with my head down reminiscing about the past day's events. When, I turned the corner and bumped into someone. I stumble back but managed to stay on my feet. I looked up and realized I had bumped into Heath.
Fletcher's POV
I had finally finished my project. I felt so relieved to have it over and done with. I just wanted to fall onto my bed a go to sleep for a week, but I knew I couldn't. I had to talk with Olive. I put my project somewhere safe where it could not get ruined and headed out the door. I walked to Olive's house and rang the door bell. When no one answered, I climbed up a large tree in the backyard which would give me easy access to Olive's window which I knew she always accidently left open. I climbed threw her window and into her bedroom like I had done so many times before.
"Olive!" I called, but no answer. "Olive." I tried again. I was about to leave but a piece of paper with my name on it caught my eye. It was crumpled on Olive's floor beside her trash can. I knew it was wrong to look through Olive's things but I had to know why my name was on the paper. I smoothed the piece of paper and read the title "The Perfect One." In one chart was my name and on the other was Heath's. On the side of the page were a bunch of questions, the same questions Olive asked me yesterday. The thing at the very bottom of the page caught my eye the most. Underneath Heath's Chart was the letter A. Underneath my chart was the letter F.
I was taken back. I may get an A on my project but I think I may have failed what's most important. I folded the piece of paper and put it in my back pocket. I climbed out of Olive's window and down the street in search of Olive. I had to find her. I looked at the first place I could think of; the park. Olive is always at the park. That's where she goes to think when something's on her mind.
I ran to the park and there was Olive, sitting on the swings but she was accompanied by another person who looked to be Heath. The two were sitting on the swings talking. I could see Heath say something and Olive smile in response. I wanted so badly to go over there but something was holding me back. I waited for a couple minutes and in that time, Heath got up, gave Olive a quick hug, and left the park. I made my move and walked up behind Olive. I put both hands on Olive's which were wrapped around the chain of the swing. Olive jumped a little in surprise and leaned back to see who it was. When she noticed it was me she smiled and leaned on me.
"Hey," I whispered.
"Hi," She whispered back. "What are you doing here?"
"I needed to talk to you." I walked to the front of the swing "Can we go somewhere and talk?" I asked her. She nodded and I held out my hand for her to take. I politely helped her off the swing and we walked hand and hand to a nearby bench where we could sit in private.
"Olive, if I were rich I would travel around the world with my best friend. I think the most important thing in a relationship is trust; without trust there is no healthy relationship. To me it doesn't matter where I am, as long as the company is great. Did I forget any?" I thought for a moment. "Oh and if I could change anything about myself, I would change the way I treated you the last few days. I was too worked up on my project and blocked you out."
Olive stared at me for a second taking in everything I had said. "You haven't blocked me out" She said. "You may not have paid any attention to the question but you did pay attention to what was most important. As soon as you noticed I was upset you made sure I was okay. That what matters the most and that's why I love you." Olive lowered her voice on the last part but it was still audible. Olive and I sat there and stared at each other for a long second before I did what I have wanted to do for so long; I gently pressed my lips against Olive in a short yet affectionate kiss. It lasted no longer than three seconds but it was full of passion and love.
When we pulled away, our eyes locked. "I love you too." I finally said breathlessly.
I may get an A on my project, but I failed the most important test. But somehow, in its own strange way, everything seemed to work out just perfect.
A/N: So, What do you guys think? Do you think this story fit this couple? I wasn't too sure about it when I posted it. Tell me what you think!
Ps. The questions that were asked in this story came from a real magazine quiz!