{I'm back with a new chapter. This one might not be as long as the others but a lot happens. Enjoy!}

Chapter Four

Rosemary sat in a daze for the next few minutes. They all ate and laughed and talked, but it was like Rosemary's mind was somewhere else. Wandering through a new world that was strange and filled with surprises. She wouldn't exactly say this place was unpleasant, but it wasn't a trip through wonderland either. It was full of strange thoughts. Thoughts of Austin. Thoughts of long walks on the lake shore with him. And watching the sun set over the water. Thoughts of him wrapping his arms around her and whispering sweet poetry into her ear in his hushed, musky voice. Or him quoting Shakespeare and comparing her to a mid summer's day, as Romeo had his lover. Thoughts of him holding her chin in his large, soothing hands. And yes, even those more-than-slightly-embarrassing thoughts of him kissing her.

Oh and how she longed for those fantasies to be real. For some part of her heart, some part of her soul wanted him to love her in a way she could imagine no one else feeling for her. She wanted to be his, and in turn, him to be hers. She wanted to be Mrs Fellon someday...

This last thought momentarily shocked her, but she realized it was natural considering she wanted to be "his". That presumably had to entitle marriage at some point, she assumed. And so then the thought wasn't so shocking, or scary to put it one way. No, it was more comforting to know-

She stopped herself short as she woke from that terrible day dream. What was she thinking? Marrying Austin Fellon? At 17? Of course not! That simply wasn't possible, not even merely plausible! She suddenly wanted to wash her mind with soap for ever thinking such a thing. Though her intentions had been innocent.

Still, she couldn't help but wonder where these strange thoughts were emerging from. Had she really fallen that quickly into this smitten state? Was she that easily wooed? It was a terribly troubling thought to know that she only that quickly had been having thoughts of marriage. Maybe I need to lay off the coffee. She thought as she stared down at the pool of black that swirled in the mug in front of her.

That nagging feeling in your gut, the feeling you get when someone is watching you, began to act up for Rosemary, and she soon realized Austin was watching her from the corner of his eye. Michael babbled on about something to do with baseball try-outs and Austin seemed mildly interested, but she could still feel his eyes on her... Watching her every move...

"Rosemary, what's wrong?" It was her uncle's voice that broke her from her daze. She hadn't even noticed him enter the room. Nor, had she, apparently, noticed that she'd risen from the table in a flash and was now standing, her chair knocked to the floor from the commotion.

Embarrassed, she tried to force her mind to work, but it was difficult. Austin was now fully staring at her, as well as Michael and her uncle. She had to think of something... Quickly...

"B-bathroom." She mumbled and everyone looked at her like she had gone insane. "I... I mean... I need to go to the bathroom." She quickly said, trying to gather her wits and cover that utterly unintelligent remark seconds before. Before anyone could say anything else, she raced down the hallway and out of the kitchen.

"Poor girl." Her uncle spoke as she was out of the room. "Sickness must be messing with her brain." He spoke with concern.

Michael and his uncle went back to eating quickly after Rosemary ran out, leaving only Austin to peer down the hallway where she'd so easily escaped away... He somehow seemed to know, that this, would only be the beginning of some very strange things to come...

9 Days Later

For the eighth time that week, Austin had met Rosemary for lunch. She'd stayed home from school the first few days, due to her uncle's concern for her health, and now, she'd finally gone back to school.

She got into the lunch line and subconsciously lowered her hand down to her jeans pocket, making sure she had lunch money. In the days since she'd first visited Bolt's grave and she'd been rescued by her next door neighbor, Austin Fellon, Rosemary had been acting very differently. Not all of it was her fault. They were simple things. Things you wouldn't notice unless you really knew Rosemary, but to Rosemary herself, they were monumental changes. She'd began to have memory loss, and even a bit of paranoia. She'd began to see things from a cloudier point of view. Everything, except her long-time friend, now recently-discovered crush, Austin Fellon.

She assumed that everyone noticed she'd been acting a little odd. Her uncle, to whom she confined these new attributes (all except her newly developed crush on her childhood friend), said it was probably just an aftermath of the illness to which she'd fallen. She had gone to the doctor and gotten checked out. She hadn't remembered hitting her head or anything, but she had x-rays done anyway. No concussion, no cause for memory-loss, nothing. Absolutely nothing wrong.

Rosemary had tried to brush it off, but, as you might imagine, it was incredibly hard for her to do. Especially when it began to affect her everyday life. First, she couldn't remember her locker combination. Then she forgot what class she had for 3rd period, and then, she forgot what color her car was! After that, she had asked Austin to drive her to school, and walk her to all her classes (which wasn't a large hassle, considering they had every class together). Still, it made Rosemary a little uneasy.

She was pulled out of a mental evaluation (self quizzes she'd began frequently undergoing to make sure she had everything she needed and wasn't forgetting anything vital) by Austin's voice right behind her ear.

"Looking for me?" He laughed and she spun around. Without noticing, she'd been absently scanning the crowd of people in the lunch room. The expression she carried must have been a little unnerving for Austin, because he quickly stopped laughing and gained a more serious stance. He grabbed her arms for probably the hundredth time that week and looked her directly in the eye. "You OK Rosy?" He sported his now well-known catch phrase.

Liquid concern painted his face a pale shade of worry. Rosemary mentally shook herself and tried to fake a smile. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." She said, making an effort to give a reasonable explanation for her odd behavior. Though she'd told her uncle about her newly adopted issues, she'd made an effort to keep it hidden from Michael and Austin. She wanted to keep it that way. "I was just... Lost in thought."

Austin smiled but still looked concerned. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a slight squeeze. She smiled up at him and hugged his waist. They'd always hugged, but in this small hug, Rosemary found herself not wanting to let go. Yet, not wanting to seem clingy, she released him and turned away.

Not that she saw it, but Austin actually frowned when she pulled away, wanting to hold her longer. He looked at Rosemary's slender figure in front of her and wondered what was happening to his poor little Rosy...

11 Days Later

It had been nearly 3 and a half weeks since that day in the forest, and Rosemary was starting to think she was going insane. She could barely remember her own name at times. Everything was foggy and it was really scaring her. Everything... Except Austin. She seemed to only fall more and more in love with the guy. Yet she didn't want anything to move too fast. It was a very confusing and complicated time in her life.

Rosemary sat, dazed as ever, in her science class. They were discussing the lab procedure that needed to be followed for tomorrow's experiment. Rosemary barely heard what was going on. She stared down at the paper in front of her. Not really reading the words but merely acknowledging their existence. She was suddenly pulled from her daze by her lab partner's voice.

"... So what do you think?" He asked.

Rosemary peered at Austin as she tried to recall what he'd been talking about. He frowned, and she realized he'd asked a question. "Sounds good." She cleared her throat and shuffled the paper on her desk, trying to look like she actually knew what she was doing.

A concerned look passed over Austin's features for at least the hundredth time that day. By now, he'd already noticed Rosemary's memory-loss. It would be obvious to anyone who spent more than five minutes with her. She just wasn't acting like herself, and it concerned him.

"Rosy, are you sure you're OK?" He asked, lacing the fingers of his right hand through hers. He gave her hand a tight squeeze so he could be sure she was listening. It seemed like he was having to catch her attention a lot lately. He was starting to become seriously worried that something was definitely wrong.

Rosemary opened her mouth to speak when the bell chimed, signaling the end of that class period. Finally, the long day was over. Rosemary closed her mouth again and unlaced her hand from Austin's. Silently, they both gathered their books and headed to the parking lot. They were silent even in the car for a long time until Rosemary finally realized that they weren't heading towards her house like they did every other day after school.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked Austin suddenly.

They then turned onto a side road that ran up a hill in a mess of spiraling, curving roads. They strode into an area thickly patched with trees and shrubs. The further up they climbed the thicker the forest surrounding them seemed to get. They road for probably another 3 miles in silence before Rosemary asked again, this time, using his voice to reinforce her question.

"Austin, where are you taking me?" Rosemary asked, suddenly wary (as she was already well aware) of the fact that Austin looked completely 'built'. Thick muscles ran up his sun-kissed arms and strong hands gripped the wheel. Rosemary's thoughts spun wild. Would he try to hurt me? Why is he taking me all this way up here? How far are we from other people? Were only a few of the suddenly panicked thoughts that wound their way through her brain. If he tries something... At best I can outrun him... But how far can I run until I trip or he catches up to me? She tried to calm herself, but her heart was beating fast and her ears began to hum as she felt the blood racing through her.

Suddenly, and with a jolt of force, Austin slammed on the breaks and the car lurched to a stop. His hands were nearly balled into fist while still gripping the wheel. His knuckles were white, and the side of his neck was hinted with red. Probably from anger, Rosemary (frightfully) realized. He turned to her and was surprised to see tears lingering somewhere just behind his soft blue eyes. Agony was pulsing through him as she stared into those now distressed pools of sapphire. He looked like he was about to burst into tears. Rosemary, in that moment, realized he hadn't been gripping the wheel in anger, it was pain. He was desperately clutching to the shattered pieces of his composure, barely willing them to stay together with all of the remaining might inside his miserably fragile body.

She stared at him, sure he'd been mad only seconds ago. But now, seeing him in such a delicate state... It was hard for her to not pull him into her arms and never want to let go. She could see the pain seeping from inside him and it bothered her a great deal. She never wanted to see him like this. Never.

"W-what's wrong?" She forced herself to speak suddenly. She had to know what was wrong. She just had to.

A tear escaped from his eye as he spoke. "W-what's wrong with you, Rosy? D-did I do something?" He asked looking away and tightening his grip on the steering wheel. "Ever since that day in the rain... You've been acting differently... Did I do something?" He turned his face back to her, tears staining both cheeks now. "Did I cause this?"

She responded almost immediately. "Oh no! You did nothing wrong! I just..." That was it. He knew. He knew for sure. She had suspected he did but she couldn't be certain. But now... Now it was too evident to ignore. What was she supposed to tell him? The truth surely wouldn't suffice his need to know what she, herself didn't truly understand. He certainly wouldn't settle for, 'I'm not sure what's wrong'. She couldn't believe that she was settling for it! She wanted to help him, to nurse his poor, hurting soul, but she wasn't sure how.

"You just... What? What Rosy? Just tell me what's going on!" He demanded to her.

Rosemary sat, thinking hard, for a long moment. She looked down at her hands, which were folded loosely in her lap. "I'm really not sure what's happening Austin. I'm just not sure." She told him honestly. She couldn't think of anything else to say. She knew it wouldn't keep him content on any terms, but it helped.

It took every ounce of willpower Austin had to not cling onto Rosemary and never want to let go. He wanted to comfort her just as much as she wanted to comfort him. He buried his face in his hands for a long time. When he emerged, his tears had dried and nearly all trace of them had disappeared as well. Only a hint of redness touched the bags under his eyes. He sat up straight in his seat and unbuckled the seat belt.

"What are you doing?" Rosemary asked as he climbed out of the car and walked to the other side. He opened her door and waited for her to climb out. She pulled herself out and looked at him, still waiting for an answer.

"We're going for a walk." He said quietly. He laced his fingers into the spaces between hers, and began pulling her along. She had no choice but to follow. Not that she really minded...

{Well, that's it for now. Chapter Five will be here before you know it, I promise.}