[I wrote this all yesterday and added a few finishing touches. This takes place sometime during FFVII: Crisis Core. And no, I have nothing against AerithxZack. In fact, I adore the pairing. But I had to write this story for my sake. It's based on a true and very personal story. I'll say no more. Enjoy my tragic one-shot.] Heartbreak How did it come to this? It didn’t make sense. Everything was just fine yesterday. He had even said “I love you” before he kissed her goodnight. And just earlier that day, he had told her that he would always love her. Always. When did always turn into never? “Is it really over?” Aerith mumbled, hesitantly looking over to her boyfriend Zack. Surely he didn’t mean it. It was their one-year anniversary to that day. He was playing a joke on her. Of course, that was it. Zack was such a goofball sometimes. She didn’t understand it all the time, but she had grown used to it. He wouldn’t break up with her on such an important date...And in her church, too. Yes, her church. Seeing how she spent so much time there, Aerith saw it as her second home. This place was her sanctuary, her safe place. Nothing bad ever happened here. In fact, this was the place where she had met Zack in the first place. He had come crashing through her roof, and they had immediately fallen in love. Aerith had glanced into his bright eyes one time and she believed in love at first sight from that moment on. “Yeah, it’s over,” he responded without hesitation. Aerith listened for the sarcasm in his voice, but there was none. Absolutely none. “But—but why?” she whispered, tears filling her eyes. Her green eyes flickered up to Zack, her one true love. She heard rumors from the Turks that he had bought her a ring. The Turks, experts in their field of work, were never wrong. But Zack was still taking back his love for her? This made no sense at all. “I just...” he ran a hand through his hair, clearly feeling awkward. “...I don’t...feel for you romantically...anymore.” His words were formal, but they still cut right through the girl’s heart more than any other words could. “Was it something I said?” Aerith inquired without thought, her heart breaking with each passing second. Her tears were nearly flowing now, but she kept it inside, knowing she had to be strong. At that moment, she didn’t know why she had such a strong desire to be strong. She could only guess that instinct was telling her to save whatever dignity she had left. And besides, she didn’t want Zack to see her heart breaking. She still loved him so so much... “It has nothing to do with you,” Zack stated, surprising Aerith. This boy really, really made no sense. If she hadn’t done anything wrong, then why didn’t he love her anymore? Love did not just disappear overnight. It was, literally, overnight for these two. She had seen love in Zack’s eyes last night, but today, she saw impassiveness. He was being so cold, breaking her heart like this. Couldn’t he see the pain he was causing her? “I...don’t...understand...” “I don’t see any point in continuing this relationship,” he said bluntly. “We’re so different. Things aren’t going to work out.” So different?! What a lie! They shared the same taste in music, same philosophical beliefs, same everything! Ok, so he was in SOLDIER and she was a flower girl in the slums. On the inside though, they were so, so alike! “We’re not very different,” she stated softly, surprised that she had spoken that stray thought aloud. There was one main train of thought running through her head as all this went on, and that was “Is this really happening? Is this really happening? Is this really happening...?” Zack was silent at this comment. So, he too realized the truth of Aerith’s declaration. He wasn’t a completely fool after all; he had been caught in a lie, and he wasn’t going to dig himself deeper into that hole. That was a very wise move. “It’s time I left,” he finally said. Zack picked himself up off the ground, and wiped off some of the pollen that had gotten on his pants. He had been sitting right by the edge of the flowerbed, and Aerith had been in the same position only a foot away. But now, he was leaving her...forever. Why? All because last night he had planned to break up with her. He saw no hope of a future with her, and he had gotten whatever he wanted out of her. There was nothing left for him now; he just wanted an exit, even if it hurt those around him. “Why are you doing this?!” Aerith asked him, eyebrows furrowed in sadness and misunderstanding. There was no logic in this madness! Either he was being forced to do this, or he really was a cold, heartless jerk. “Is it Elena?” she inquired ruthlessly. “Are you leaving me for someone else?!” “I. Don’t. Love. You. Anymore. It’s that simple.” Zack’s firmness broke Aerith’s heart completely, and one tear slid down her cheek despite her efforts to keep the emotions inside. He turned away, this time, not looking back for any reason. The black haired man started toward the exit, giving a casual wave to the heartbroken girl over his shoulder. “Hey!” Aerith shouted in anger. She was so surprised at the rage and betrayal she felt, and it was a relief that she allowed it to control her now. “You forgot your stupid cure Materia!” Trembling, she picked it up off the ground where Zack had been sitting. Without thought, she chucked it at him, hitting him in the back of the head. A satisfying "thud" reverberated throughout the church. I hope I knocked some sense into your head, you...you...liar.... She immediately wished she could take the action back, for when Zack turned around to pick up the fallen Materia, he still looked emotionless. There was absolutely no expression on his face. He felt no pain from this. None at all. Zack turned back around, Materia in hand, as he walked forward. He exited the church without another word, leaving Aerith alone in her confusion and sorrow. You said you would never leave. You promised you were different. You promised so much...and for what? I believed in you, and you don’t care. You don’t care at all. You’re not the person I thought you were. You lied to me and betrayed me. You taught me how to love, then you crushed me so that I may never love again. You’ve done all this and you won’t lose any sleep over it. That’s what kills me inside.
Oh my gosh, Peanut. This was amazing. I absolutely loved this. I was actually tearing up (very, very, very close to crying) at the end of it. You took my absolute favorite pairing and wrote one of the most sad stories I have ever heard. This was incredible. I couldn't find any grammatical errors. You did a wonderful job. <3
They say a good writer is able to manipulate the audience. I had to read this a second time, because after the second paragraph, I just couldn't stand reading it. Zack breaking up with Aerith the way he did...completely out of character for him, and yet, lo and behold, he goes and does it, leaving a very broken hearted Aerith behind...makes me want to hit him with the buster blade, I was so mad. I'm not sure, but I think you might need to put in an extra space in the 'I. Don't...', but then again, English wasn't my strong suit. Other than that, good job.
Oh God, that was heartbreaking D: The emotion changes were extremely lifelike...people do get angry when they're broken, and reading that she threw something at him made it even sadder. "Site" should be "sight" at the end of the second paragraph <3 apart from that, perfect story... just a little depressing ><
I know, it broke my heart writing it. It was so lifelike because my boyfriend just broke up with me for the same reason. I was so mad that I had to vent. But no, I did not throw anything at him. xD I'll correct the typo right now, thanks.
Wow. Really, that was amazing. It brought me to tears and made me remember a few things. Really, that was great. No grammatical errors, spelling errors, and the emotions were really lifelike. Made me a little upset though to see Zack so much out of character. XD "I.Don’t.Love.You.Anymore." With that line, I think you should put spacing between the periods and words. Basically turn that into: "I. Don’t. Love. You. Anymore." Nothing too big. But other than that, it was amazing. <3
D: Aww :glomp: You should have thrown something at him, that fool >| Just noticed something else x3 "more than any other words could" It was the end of the paragraph and sentence, there needed to be a fullstop/period.
I should have. xD But considering I still have to see him a lot at school, that wouldn't be a good move. I'll fix that and the sentence with periods.
