Here's chapter 12!

Albert offered to buy me some more eggs, as the ones I bought were cracked open all over the asphalt. After repurchasing the item, we exchanged phone numbers with plans to see a movie later in the day.

Driving home, I couldn't help feeling a little giddy. I'd never gone on a real date before, and I was ecstatic.

"I'm home!" I called, pushing open the back door to Amber's house.

"Okay! We're in the kitchen!" Dad called.

Walking in with eggs and pancake mix under my arm, I started preparing breakfast.

"Guess what?" I asked my aunt and father as the pancakes were cooking on the griddle. "I'm going on a date."

"What!?" Dad shouted. His coffee spilled onto the newspaper, creating a dull brown stain. "What!?"

"I'm going on a date," I said matter of factly. "Later today."

"We just got here!" My father said, rubbing his hand over his eyes. "You won't see this guy after we go back home. He lives in a different continent for crying out loud!"

"Actually, he lives in Nevada."

That shut him up pretty quickly.

"That's great honey!" Amber said. "What's his name?"

"Albert," I said with a smile.

Ambers eyes narrowed for a moment, but she smiled nonetheless. "Well I would like to meet this guy," she said. "Why don't you invite him over for breakfast?"

"Er... Okay?" I said, pulling him out and sending him a quick text.

Hi Albert!

Hey. What's up?

I was just wondering if you'd like to come over for breakfast. My aunt insists.

Sure! What's your address?

After giving to him, he texted me saying he'd be over in about ten minutes.

"He's coming," I told Amber.

Looking at Dad, he seemed to be fuming. "I'm not sure this is a good idea," he said, sighing.

"Relax," Amber told him. "Emma's growing up. Let her get out and see the world!"

"Whatever," Dad grumbled.

...

Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang.

Dad insisted on getting it. Trudging up to the door, I stayed close behind him.

"You must be Emma's father," Albert said as the door opened. He held out his hand. "I'm Albert. Its nice to meet you."

Dads shock clearly showed as he shook the offered hand. "Nice to meet you."

Albert gave me a smile as he came in. "So... What's for breakfast?"

"Pancakes," I said, smiling in return.

"Ah," Albert said. "That explains the groceries."

I expected the meal to be a bit awkward, but it was quite the opposite. Dad actually seemed to like Albert, and Amber seemed to know him already.

Afterwards, Albert helped with the dishes. Dad pulled me off to the side. "I like this guy," he said, nodding appreciatively. "He's a good kid."

"Yeah," I said. "So I can go out on that date then?"

"I'm not sure," Dad said uncomfortably. "You just met him."

"I know," I muttered. "But he does seem like a nice guy."

After a good while of silence, Dad spoke up. "Fine," he said. "But if anything goes wrong, you aren't allowed to date anyone until your 40."

"Okay! Thanks, Daddy!" I said, giving him a hug and skipping off to find Albert.

As I walked into the kitchen, I stopped in my tracks when I heard my name mentioned.

"Emma is under control, I'm watching her," Amber said, scrubbing viscously at a pan. "I don't understand why you need to step in."

"Extra precaution," Albert replied. "Evans insisted."

"Fine," Amber said briskly. "But you know part of her won't completely give in. Being friends is the highest rank you'll have in her life."

"Being friends is all I need."

I was fairly confused. Give into what? Why does it seem Albert knows me? Who is this Evans guy?

I shoved the while thing to the back of my mind. It was probably a different Emma.

"Hey Albert?" I asked, stepping into view.

Albert nearly dropped the plate he was holding. "Geez... What's up?"

"I was just wondering when you want to see that movie," I said, twisting a charm necklace with a certain gold band with diamonds that matched my green eyes on it. "I'm fine with whenever."

"We could go now if you want," Albert said, drying his hands on a hand towel.

"Sure!" I said, grabbing my purse from the chair.

"Have fun, Emma," Amber smiled.

"Thanks," I said. "Bye Dad!"

"Bye," a distant reply called drop the room next to us.

"Let's go," I smiled, walking out the door with a confident attitude.

...

"I have to say... For a movie I've seen a lot that was pretty fun!" I said. We had just gotten out of the theater, where they were playing Catching Fire for a really cheap price.

"I've never seen it," Albert shrugged. "I'm not very updated on a lot of stuff around here."

"Oh," I said. "That kinda sucks."

"Yeah," Albert laughed. "But I'm adjusting."

I laughed too. "So Albert... Tell me a bit about yourself."

"Random or factual?" He asked.

"Random, I guess."

"My favorite color is green, I like warm weather, I have 11 older brothers, and one younger. I'm 20 years old, and I have no idea how to use a lawn mower," Albert said, holding up a total of five fingers.

I blinked. "Okay. Well, my favorite color is blue, I also like warm weather, I have two younger sisters and one younger brother, and I am 17 years old. Although, my birthday is coming up... Anyways, I can't use a blender properly."

"There we go," Albert laughed. "No we know what to keep away from each other!"

"Beware the lawn mowers and blenders!" I shouted, twirling around with my fist in the air. I got some weird looks, but we just laughed it off.

"You have a lot of siblings," I said.

"Yeah," Albert said. "But I never see them. Do you want to get ice cream?"

"Sure. Why don't you see them?"

"They don't really like me. Or my younger brother. Besides, we live way too far away from each other," Albert replied.

"Oh. That's too bad," I said. We walked into an ice cream shop, the bell jingling pleasantly. "Maybe I can meet them sometime."

"You probably don't want to," Albert interjected hastily. "They aren't the nicest folks."

"Fine," I said, groaning dramatically and placing the back of my hand over my eyes. "I see how it is..."

Albert snorted sarcastically and smiled.

"What can I get you?" An old man with an Australian accent (no surprise there) asked.

"Oh, um..." I coughed. "Can I have a peanut butter chocolate shake please? Oh, a small too."

"I'll have the same," Albert said.

After we paid for the ice cream, Albert suggested walking around the nearby park.

"So... What do you like to do in your spare time?" I asked, swirling the shake with my straw.

"I like to read and watch movies," Albert shrugged. "Not all that productive, but it satisfies me."

"Same," I said. "What's your favorite book? Or movie?"

"Hmm... I really like a book called Candor. Have you heard of it?" Albert asked, looking at me out of the corner of his eye."

"Can't say I have."

"Well, if you don't mind, I can spoil the entire plot for you..."

"Not the while thing!" I said, pretending to be horrified. "Just the basic storyline please."

"Okay. Its about this neighborhood that's run by the main characters father. Everything is perfect - literally. There is always some sort of music playing that causes whatever bad thoughts or actions to disappear. But this kid, the main character, finds out about it and fights it. He even helps other kids escape before they are brainwashed to oblivion..."

Albert continued discussing the book, and I couldn't help but lose focus. Instead, I thought about what I overheard him saying to Amber. She had said something about me - or another Emma - never giving in... But to what?

...

The end of the summer had finally come. As I waited at the airport with Dad, I couldn't help but feel sad I was leaving. Albert and I had grown close over the summer, but we both agreed it was way too awkward to be dating. Instead, we were really good friends. Best friends, actually.

He had promised he would come visit in two weeks. Still, Albert was busy today and couldn't see me off. Instead, Amber came and was waiting uncomfortably behind us.

"Say bye to Albert for me!" I called over my shoulder as the flight began boarding.

"You've already said bye to him about 50 times!" Amber laughed. "But okay. I'll see you later."

"Bye!"

After we start down, it wasn't too long until the plane actually took off. It was a long flight, almost 18 hours, so I decided to try to sleep it off. I napped for about an hour, but when I woke up again, I couldn't nod off again.

Sighing, I reached for the book I was reading. Harry Potter, a classic. Too me, at least.

After reading for a bit, I turned on a movie. Unfortunately, I had only brought one movie, Frozen. I didn't even know why I brought it. It wasn't exactly my favorite. Still, it was better than nothing.

Almost immediately, some sort of sad feeling filled me up. I had no idea where it came from, but it went away almost immediately. Like it was never there in the first place.

I shrugged it off. It was nothing, and it was easy to forget. But as soon as the well known characters started to show up, a feeling of giddy joy washed over me, only to disappear a second later.

What was even stranger was the fact that the first time Hans came up, a ridiculous smile lit up my face. Embarrassed, I grabbed a blanket and pulled my knees up to my chest and covered most of my face with it.

Still, that was it. A small sensation of something, and then it was gone. Just like that. It was so weird, but honestly, I loved it. I actually felt something, instead of watching a movie with nothing else going on inside your head. A feeling of longing.

A feeling of love.

I shook my head roughly. Why in the world was I thinking of these things? Love was something you discover once. You can't feel that with a movie. Or any other fake, artificial people or objects.

For some reason, that thought sounded so ironic in my head.

...

As soon as I got home, I was bombarded with questions from Mom. Did I have fun? Is Albert a nice guy? How was Amber doing? What did I do? How was the flight?

"Mom!" I laughed. "You've heard everything over the phone!"

"I know," she sighed. "I've just missed you."

"I missed you too," I said, giving her a hug.

"So... Who is this Albert anyway? Are you two...?"

"No! We're just friends. That's it," I said. "I swear."

"Fine," Mom teased. "But you should seriously get out there a little more."

"And I am," I promised. "Actually, there's a huge back to school party going on tonight..."

"You're going."

Laughing, I threw a pillow at her and went to unpack. Dumping out the contents of my suitcase, I sighed looking at the mess around me. Still, it was home.

Home. As soon as I thought that, a flicker of something came across my mind. A small group, probably four people with their faces blurred out, unrecognizable. Some sort of castle. Snowy woods. A small bracelet, made up of little snowflake charms.

Then it was gone.

Blinking hard, I shook my head and went back to hanging up my clothes. Still, the flicker of images never stopped. They weren't clear at all, and I had no idea what was happening.

But then, some familiar images came to mind. An S tattoo, just like Amber's. The green ring Dad gave me on my sixth birthday. A notebook full if different Disney sketches. Suddenly, I started seeing familiar things, but they were twisted, making no sense. The back of Albert's head, a bloody sword in his hand. Amber, an angry look burning in her eyes that I've never seen before.

None of it made sense. It had to have been a weird dream I had the night before. That had to be it.

I tried to forget about it as I continued cleaning up. Soon, the room was almost spotless, but the thoughts I had seemed to have been burned into my head.

The doorbell rang, and I stood to go get it. However, my Dad beat me to it.

A couple seconds later, Dad came into my room. "Someone's here to see you," he said, jamming a thumb in the direction of the hallway.

"Okay," I said, throwing one last crumpled ball of paper into the trash can.

Walking out to the door, I saw a young man just about my age. "Can I help you?" I asked, pulling me hair up into a ponytail.

"Emma?" The guy said. He looked kinda familiar, as if I knew him a long time ago. "Thank God."

"Who are you?" I asked, stepping outside and closing the door.

"You don't exactly know me," he said in a strained voice. "But I think you know my older brother."

"Depends," I shrugged. "Who is he?"

"His name's Albert."

"Oh!" I said. "Your Albert's brother?"

"Yeah," he said. The guy kept giving me weird looks, as if he wasn't used to seeing me. "My name's Hans."

"As in -"

"The guy from the Disney movie? Yup."

"Oh. Well, how can I help you Hans?" I asked, smiling politely.

"Well, um... I'm new to this area... I don't really know anything - or anywhere around here," Hans stammered. "I would really love you - it! I meant... It..."

This guy blushing like crazy. "You want me to show you around?" I asked. "I can do that."

"Thanks. Sorry, I'm just not used to this yet."

"Used to what?"

"Nothing," Hans muttered. "Its nothing. I need to go, but if you can show me around tomorrow, that'd be great."

"Sure!" I said. "There's an park around the corner. Meet me there tomorrow at...?"

"Noon?" Hans asked.

"Sure."

"Okay. Thanks again, Emma." Hans said, starting to walk away.

"No problem!" I smiled, going back inside and closing the door.

Some sort of peaceful feeling washed over me, causing all thoughts of the weird images I conjured up to disappear. Smiling vaguely, I walked back to my bedroom and turned on a movie.

Completely by coincidence, or maybe not, the movie was Frozen.

This is the final chapter of A Past Never Forgotten!

For the next part of the series, Hans point of view WILL be added. Its going to be kinda essential, so I hope you guys will like it.

Just so you guys know, the next story will be called...

A Love Never Abandoned!

I'll post when that's up, so hopefully that won't be a long wait!

Please leave one last review for this part of the series!

HUGS AND KISSES LAURYN OUT!