Remembering You [Folive]

11| one last story

ELEVEN

     That night, Olive sat in her old bed. She'd brought the photo with her. Tucked under the flowery blanket, Olive admired how happy the kids looked in the photo. She was one of the kids, obviously, she knew what she looked like. The boy next to her she figured out was Fletcher. There was no doubt—he had the same grin and cute round nose. It wasn't something Fletcher could have photo shopped.

So why was she with him as a kid? How did she know him? They had to have been childhood friends. There was no other explanation. But why wouldn't Fletcher just tell her that? Rather then giving himself the "caretaker" title? Her brain hurt from all the wondering so she put the picture away and got out of bed for a drink of water. When she opened her bedroom door, Fletcher was standing there and she almost crashed into him.

"Why are you here?" Olive asked. She had a tight a grip on the door handle.

"Look, I'm sorry," Fletcher said. "I never got to finish the story." His heavy breathing but Olive's face. She didn't know whether to close the door or let him, so she did both. She shut the door, bit her lip, then immediately opened it again. Fletcher hadn't moved an inch. She moved away from the door, indicating that he was allowed to come in.

Olive walked back to her bed, sitting on the edge. Fletcher sat criss-crossed on the floor. They sat in silence for a moment.

"So..." Olive started.

"Remember where we left off?" Fletcher asked.

"Yeah, Flynn and Liv had a major falling out."

Fletcher nodded. "Yes and for the next two years they fought and made fun each other constantly."

Olive put her anger and tension aside to let her face fill with shock. "Wait why?! Why?"

Fletcher raised his shoulders, as if he was experiencing the moment again. He never understood why they never reconciled after the incident, even now. But he always new it was his fault. Not only had he not defended her when those high schoolers were rude, but when Chyna came to the A.N.T. Farm, all of his attention on her.

"Don't worry," Fletcher assured. "Things finally changed for Flyn and Liv."
~

Now that Fletcher and Olive were at Ztech, they were around each other way more than when they attended Webster. It was a boarding school so they saw each other in the morning, till night. Fletcher and Olive's banter was second nature because it'd been two years since their friend-ship altering incident. Along with that, Fletcher's crush on Chyna skyrocketed. He never gave up trying to pursue a relationship with her.

Fletcher was always around other students and if he was with Olive, Chyna would be there. They were a trio first; his stand alone friendship with Olive was non-existent. There were occasionally time when they'd hangout without Chyna, but that's because she's busy. And even then, they couldn't go without arguing. This kept going on and on.

Until Olive's boyfriend, Dixon, broke up with her.

When Fletcher heard about it, he found her sulking on the terrace at Ztech.

She let out a sigh as he walked up to her. He asked her how she was and then they started talking beside the fence. Fletcher managed to make her laugh, and he didn't tease her once. He took a moment to put his mindset back to when they were best friends. Deep down, he knew that that version of them was still there, he just had to get it back.

"I know we fight all the time but, I'm always here for you," Fletcher assured Olive. It was one of the first kind exchanges between them since their falling out. Everything after that happened fast. Fletcher's heart pounded as they went in for a hug, because right then he had a plan. He did something he was waiting to do for three years. Fletcher closed his eyes and let everything unfold for itself.

When they pulled apart from the hug, Fletcher kissed Olive. It shocked both of them but at the same time, it felt right. The kiss indicated that not only had they forgiven each other, but that they had some hidden romantic feelings.
~

"After that, they basically were a couple," Fletcher finished.

Olive blinked, but said nothing. All of a sudden something came to her. She put things together. Flyn and Liv. They met when they were ten. That picture Olive found of her ten year old self beside a ten year old Fletcher. Flyn. Fl-etcher. Liv. O-live.

Fletcher was Flyn and she was Liv. Everything made perfectly sense. Actually, not exactly. Why wouldn't Fletcher just tell her from the beginning that they were a couple? It'd save her a lot of confusion and it could have helped her realize much sooner. Not to mention, she was now sort of dating Angus Chestnut.

"Did you like the ending?" Fletcher asked, his voice unsure.

Olive scrunched her eyebrows, hurt. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Fletcher knew what she meant, but still he had to ask. "Tell you what?"

"That it was us all along?"

Fletcher looked down, squeezing his eyes shut. "Because...I..." He took a deep breath.

"Because when you didn't recognized who I was, I couldn't deal with you not being my girlfriend anymore."

Olive shifted on the bed. "I was still your girl friend," she defended. "Even if I didn't remember."

Olive's harsh tone stung Fletcher. Guilt rose up inside of him. Fletcher kept his head down.  "All I wanted was for you to remember us. That's why I told the story."

Olive ignored his defense, shaking her head. "You didn't fight for us at all. Even when I went on dates with Angus, you didn't do anything. All you did was whine and scold me like I was a little kid."

Fletcher, still criss-crossed on the floor found himself slowly untangling his legs in case he needed to make an immediate exit. "I'm sorry...but if you know who I am now, then that means your memory is back right?"

Olive shakes her head in disgust. "I wish it was still gone."

"I'm sorry I did all that I could. I tried, I really did," Fletcher pleaded.

"No you didn't," she said. "Please, just get out of here."

Fletcher bit his lip to stop a tear from coming out of his eyes. He scrambled to her bedroom door and escaped the Doyle's house before Mrs. Doyle could notice.

That night, more of Olive's memory slowly came back to her.