Another way to say Love, is to say Amour, or Te Amo, but frankly, these words, don't mean anything to someone who doesn't know the language. If you don't know French, you won't understand what Amour means, just like if you don't understand Spanish, Te Amo will make no sense. For those who understand the language, it is the most beautiful thing a significant other can say to you, it means they care for you greatly, and they want to express it to you in words, or actions.

If I had been told that, things might have turned out differently. If he'd said Te Amo, or Amour, or even I love you, maybe we'd still be together. We'd still have our afternoons every Saturday, and our dinner every Sunday. We'd be going to Seven-Eleven every day after school, and I'd be begging him not to join the marines. Not to leave me.

But he never said those words. He never showed passion, or love, or even friendship. He showed disinterest, and boredom. Which hurt much more than if he'd loved me and said nothing.

When you don't love someone, you don't notice they're gone. But when you do, it hurts that much more. When he stopped calling, I noticed, but I doubt he'd even thought about it. Gone was our nightly calls at nine o'clock sharp. Gone was our afternoons on Saturday, driving around town. Gone was our Slurpee's at Seven-Eleven, and gone was our take out dinner from Arby's or McDonald's. Gone was our dinner dates every Sunday night.

If he'd made me happy, I would have tried harder. But after he ignored me, I stopped loving him; I stopped liking him. He was just a painful memory for me, a harsh past, that I wanted to forget. I broke it off with him, and he never even tried to fight for us. He never tried to keep us together, he put no effort in our relationship. None at all.

Have you ever tried to keep a relationship going that was a train-wreck to begin with? It's not easy. Especially when only half of the puzzle is cooperating. Now Love, or Amour, or Te Amo is harder to believe. The fairy tale love that I always dreamed of, with Prince Charming, and a castle far, far away, is not true. It was never true, but it was fun to dream. I learned you can't expect too much from people, and when you do, it destroys things. I expected the perfect relationship. I expected my Prince Charming, and I expected the castle far, far away. I expected too much, and Prince Charming gave up too soon.

Relationships require work. They require understanding, compassion, and Amour. Which we, as a couple, obviously didn't possess. Fairy tale dreams are made their first and only stand, against the much harsher, stronger army of reality. Princesses and Princes are nice when you're eight or ten, but when you're thirteen, or seventeen, you should understand reality, and expect it much more than you ever expected Prince Charming.