Hey guys. I know I haven't seen you in a while, but Fanfiction is being a piece of shit right now, and it's not letting me update Name's Memory. I've tried every weekend and it's not working. I don't know why I'm wasting my time right now, it's probably not gonna work... but I really want you guys to get this chapter, I suppose. If anyone knows what's going on with fanfiction or how to fix it PLEASE tell me! Though I suppose if you're reading this, it fixed itself... God, I've written this Author's Note about 50 times now... But I'm hoping it works now, so if it does, here's chapter 29, it's Lexi's big epiphany chapter. Not much action, only realization. Blah blah blah. I just hope I haven't lost readers... but anyway, if it works, here's the chapter. Please enjoy, I think I did a pretty good job on it.

No.

Just, no.

It's not right.

It's not possible.

Simply not possible.

How could he? How could he just lie to me like that? He obviously knew who I was.

But it made sense. Too much sense. It explains so much.

His smile fell from his face when I said my name. He seemed surprised and somewhat... scared. "Reiyne..." I heard him murmur, sounding like it was the first time in forever since he had said that name. "I'm, uh, JOE!" He practically shouted at me. Funny, I was SURE I knew him from somewhere, but I didn't know any 'Joe'.

Of course I didn't know any Joe! Of course I knew him from somewhere... How could I have forgotten those beautiful blue eyes? He must have recognized my name. It made sense. Too much sense. Was he glad to see me?

I realized something; the text didn't have a signature. Funny, everyone I knew had a signature, but why didn't Joe?

He must have realized. Realized that it still had his real name on it. He must have deleted his signature before texting me. He must have. It made sense. Too much sense.

Had I been paying attention to where I was, I would have realized that I had gone down my driveway and was now walking down a path I had walked two days ago.

Sloane paused the video at an image of Anthony lying on the ground shirtless and a rag of cloth tied around his head, looking like he was about to eat a handful of dirt.

"This is 'Driving me Crazy'. It's one of my favorites."

"Why... is he shirtless? On the ground? Eating dirt?"

"He's going to his house to get help to save Ia-" Sloane cut off as the doorbell rang.

I had been close. So close. Close to finding out who he was. But he had come. He interrupted it. I didn't realize. But it made sense. Too much sense.

Joe rested his chin in his hands and looked up at me. "Did you have problems with jerks?" he asked, and I swore his eyes flicked up to my ear. How did he know? No, no, it was just my imagination. It had to be.

It hadn't been. Of course it hadn't been. It made sense. Too much sense. Of course he knew. He knew it all. He always knew it all.

"So, was this other guy your friend, too?" Joe asked, taking a sip of his Sprite.

Oh God. He had asked about himself. That didn't make any sense. But of course it made sense. Too much sense. He had tricked me. Tricked me into telling him. About how I felt.

Joe grasped my hand tightly for a second before letting go again. What on earth was that all about? And it seemed familiar, somehow... what was I talking about? I'm crazy. I'm loony. I've lost it. How can touching my hand be familiar?

What? No. That couldn't be right. Could it?

"Cheyenne, you can't ignore something like that!" he commanded again and reached out to her hand, grasping it tightly.

Dear Lord. It was right. I had remembered. Subconsciously. But still. And it had made sense. Too much sense.

"Joe, it's fine! I'm fine, see? All I got was this small scar. And besides, you weren't there, so it's not like you could have done anything, right?"

Wrong. I had been wrong. So wrong. But he had done so much. He had saved my life. How could he blame himself for such a small thing?

"I, uh, need to go to the restroom..." he trailed off, eyes still locked on something behind me. "I'll be right back."

What had he gone to do?

"Lexi! Long time, no see!" Anthony joked, gently punching my arm. "I just came in to reserve a table for tomorrow, when I saw I- Joe, and he wanted me to meet someone. I had no idea it was you!"

Oh. Right. He had seen Anthony. And that would have ruined everything. Anthony would have seen. Anthony would have told. So he had to stop Anthony before Anthony stopped him.

"So, Joe," I started, setting my fork down for a bit. "Where are you from?"

Joe swallowed his food and set his fork down to, looking uneasily to the side. "Oh... I'm from, uh... Sacramento..."

I sat up straight as he said that. "Oh, really? I knew I had seen you before! Which high school did you go to?"

"Er... I don't remember..."

"Well, it wasn't Wilcox High, was it? There weren't any 'Joe's there."

"Uh, yeah, I don't think it was Wilcox..."

His reluctance to answer questions about his high school seemed to be growing.

Of course it had been. And of course it had been Wilcox. I should have known. It made sense. Too much sense.

"So..." I said slyly, leaning forward and resting my chin in my hands. "Any cute girls at your old high school?"

Joe looked at me but quickly brought his eyes down again, muttering "Yeah, one."

I reached over and grabbed his hand; it startled him and he quickly looked up at me again.

"Joe, I told you about Ian because I trust you. Please, trust me. Tell me about this mystery girl." I smiled and pulled my hand back again.

Joe sighed and looked me in the eyes. "I - don't remember her name... but she was amazing, the most beautiful girl I had ever seen then. She was really shy, yet really nice, and was always willing to help someone, even if they weren't her friend. We weren't close, though, and she moved away before high school ended."

I just kept looking him in the eyes for a bit longer, then slowly said, "I moved away before high school ended too..."

Joe laughed nervously. "Heh, what a coincidence! Anyway, this restaurant is really good, don't you think?"

Had he been talking about me? Probably not, and yet it made sense. Too much sense. Like always.

"I'm not going on a date, Sloane, I'm simply catching up with my best friend from seven years ago who happens to be a guy!"

"Yeah, yeah, if that's what floats your boat. I wonder what Ia-"

"Sorry, Sloane, I need to go.

Wow. Again. So close. But always so far. Always.

"Yeah, about that, what's all this 'stardom' all about? Sloane's watched a few of your videos, but apart from that I know next to nothing."

Anthony gave me a smile that seemed slightly... nervous? "Heh, yeah, I'm in a two-man web show called 'Smosh'. We do comedy sketches on YouTube."

"Niiice... are you well-known?"

"Yeah, we're the third most subscribed channel on YouTube!"

It should have been a clue. Had I simply asked one more question, had I simply dug deeper, he would have told me. He would have.

"Isn't it a small world?"

"Smaller than you think, Lex..." he muttered quietly into the phone.

"What was that?"

"Oh, uh... nothing, Cheyenne!"

He slipped up. But he had saved himself. It made sense. Too much sense. It was a small world. Too small for my own good.

I still wasn't paying attention to where I was. Had I taken a moment to look around, I would have realized I was standing in front of that little drug store, about to push the door open.

Anthony cocked his head thoughtfully to the side, a look of confusion flicking over his slightly Hispanic face. "Ian Hecox? But he never said... never mind, just forget it.

I was stupid. Oh so stupid. It was obvious. It made sense. It all made sense. Too much sense.

This relationship was strange... not in a bad way, of course! But with all my former relationships, we were at the 'twirling, giggling, "Better, now that you're here!"' stage several weeks into the relation. With Joe, however, we were there after two days of meeting. It was almost like I knew him longer...

Of course I did. Of course I did! How did I miss it? How?! Two days. Only two! But it wasn't. It had been years. So many years.

Bridget was eying Joe with a slightly uncomfortable look in her eyes, Joe seemed a bit nervous as he glanced between the two, and Sloane simply stared at him with his mouth open and his eyes wide.

They would have known. They would have recognized him. It made sense. Too much sense. He must have told them. Told them what he was doing. How could they agree? How could they keep that from me?

"Oh my god, I can't believe I'm standing next to Anthony Padilla! And he knows me! I'm a HUGE fan of Smosh, you guys rock!"

"Oh?" Anthony questioned, and he raised his eyebrows at Joe. He shook his head lightly at Anthony and then turned to me, a grin stretching across his face.

Oh, Sloane. Sloane. Yes, of course he would have recognized him. Of course that would have confused Anthony. Of course. It made sense. Too much sense. Why Joe responded like that.

It seemed like Joe knew little details about me, what I liked, and so on and so forth. I absolutely hated pink cotton candy, but I was a sucker for blue cotton candy. It was almost as if he knew me... but that's impossible, of course. We met two days ago.

He remembered. He remembered all those things. From all those years ago. Yes, he knew me. Just as I knew him. But clearly, I didn't know him enough. Or I would have known. I would have seen. It made sense. Too much sense.

I didn't realize it, but I had simply been standing in a deserted aisle in the drug store. Of course no one else was there; it was nearly midnight! Not even the cashier was there.

He froze and turned to me as he started the car. "You're going to the reunion tomorrow?"

"You're going to the reunion tomorrow?"

"The reunion tomorrow?"

"Reunion?"

Oh dear lord. Of course. Of course, of course, of course. He'd be there. And he knew I would be there too. Was going to tell me tomorrow? When I had realized that he had gone to my old high school? When I would have made the connection? Was that what he had been counting on?

But I had been smart. Clever. I had figured it out. Without his help. Now, I knew. I grabbed a box off the shelf, threw some money on the deserted counted, and ran out the store. It made sense. Too much sense. But I'll beat him at his own game. I'll beat Ian Hecox.

Lexi figured it all out. Yay for her. Anyway, if this does upload, what are y'all gonna be for halloween? I'm going all out with my costume this year... gotta rainbow punk wig, a rainbow tutu, rainbow feather earrings, rainbow eye makeup, a sky blue shirt, and sky blue tights. Any guesses as to who I am? Anyway, if this DOES update (I'm hoping to God it does...), there should be a new update next weekend as well. Hopefully. FF is pissing me off right now. So I'll see you all later. Hopefully. Happy Reading, I'll Be Trying To Update! ;)