a/n: i suck at descriptions so that didn't really do this story justice

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Y   V   A   N
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I had been planning this for as long as I could remember.

A clothed table with a lit candle which was sandalwood scented, his favourite, placed right in the middle. String lights wrapped around tree branches shone dimly as they added a magical effect in the night sky. A box of pepperoni pizza, extra large. And of course, not forgetting the red rose.

With the soothing sound of gentle waves and the cool soft breeze, it was the perfect date night for our one year anniversary. What was even better was the fact that this beach was the place where we met for the first time.

This place and food were not the fanciest compared to a five star restaurant with its exquisite food. Nevertheless,  this date was still a date.

Sitting upright, I flatten out the creases of my shirt and made sure the fold of my collar was right for the one hundredth time. I had been sitting here for half an hour and I was starting to get worried and slightly mad. Assuming he was running late, I gave him a benefit of doubt. He was known for being late anyway.

Another five minutes had passed and I had my elbows propped up with my head resting in the palm of my hand. Where in the world could that boy be?

What if he forgot about tonight? I mean it is possible. . . said an inner voice.

No it can't be. He couldn't have forgotten about our anniversary, could he? my little heart cried.

Checked my watch, it was 7.25 pm. If he didn't arrive in another five minutes, there wasn't anything much I could do. I guessed I would just pack up and go home with a sad heart.

What a shame it would be. A hassle it was to set up every single thing here, all for nothing.

It was 7.29 pm now.

And just as I was about to get up, a silhouette of a familiar figure appeared in the distance. Flutters of butterflies in my stomach intensified as he closed the distance between us. I stood up with the rose in hand while I waited for him to reach me.

As he walked up to me, my outstretched arms pulled him in for a hug. When I let go to give a quick peck on the lips, he dodged it almost immediately so it landed on his cheek. Weird.

I wanted to vomit all of the lovely things that were dying to be said out on this special day. But I kept a straight face. Well at least I tried to.

"You're late," I said as the both of us settled down.

"Yeah I'm sorry about that," but his apology didn't feel like an apology, like it was insincere, staged almost.

Maybe I was just being a tat bit paranoid. Being almost an hour late for a date, especially on this special day was no big deal, right? It didn't mean anything, did it?

"Can't believe it's been already a year," and yes it was true I couldn't believe our relationship lasted for the past twelve months.

"Yeah," he breathed, looking at the setting sun.

I opened  up the box and his eyes shined when he saw pizza. We both took a slice each. "Happy anniversary, Luke."

"Happy anniversary, Yvan," he smiled and we clinked, instead of glasses, our pizza slices together.

As time passed, we shared about what we were up to in school and slipped in a little bit about what would be happening in band in the upcoming rehearsals. We talked about anything and everything, literally anything under the sun. . . well the moon because it was night.

I rested my head on his shoulder as we stared at the sea, watching the tidal waves coming onto the shore and back out to sea. The rhythm of the waves crashing onto the shore was relaxing, calming.

When Luke stirred a little, I lifted my head to see an unsettled expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked softly.

"When are you going to come out?" he shot back with a question, harshly.

"What?" I was taken aback, sitting upright now.

"Like really, when? I want to be able to show you off to my friends, I want to hold your hand in the streets," he confessed. "But I can't do all that because you want this --us-- to be a secret. Because you're too scared to come out. Like come on, it's been one damn year. How long do you want us to be in hiding?

"Look. I respect your decision on when and where you want to do so but I can't take this anymore. And I know that doing this on our first anniversary is very unprofessional but like I said, I can't take it anymore."

I was rendered speechless. I was so taken aback by every single thing he said.

"W-what are you trying to say?" I asked weakly even though the answer to that was right in front of my face as my eyes became glossy.

He sighed. "What I'm saying is that we should just. . . break up," he muttered, struggling to say out the two painful words. "Goodbye, Yvan."

And with that, he stood up and left me. Emotionally and physically.

My heart was shattered into a thousand pieces.

I watched the sea. As they said, calm before the storm.