Author's Note: Thank you to rchen@infovalue.com, Authress, Wadesbabygirl21

Erriy, and Lyn for your support and info regarding my spelling for "Bright" and that the restaurant is "Gino Chang's and the diner is "Mama Joy's." I'll be using the diner later in the story, so this info is priceless. You guys rock! I hope you enjoy the story and please review if you get the chance! Thanks!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I don't mean to pry, but what's up with you and Amy?" Alex asked and she and Ephram walked away from the school.

"What do you mean?" Ephram asked innocently.

She shrugged. "You know, awkward silence and mumbling of hello's usually means tension."

"We were pretty good friends at one point," Ephram said. He didn't know why he was telling an almost complete stranger his history with Amy, but it just felt right.

"Before Colin woke up?"

"Yeah."

She nodded, understanding now.

"So, what's up with you and Colin?" Ephram asked, smiling.

Alex smiled as well. "What do you mean?" she asked in the same tone Ephram used moments ago.

"Well, being there are always some truth to a rumor..." he said.

"He talked to me in first period. I showed him how to write with his left hand. And now I'm trying to steal him away from his girl," she replied casually.

Ephram chuckled. "I see, I see. Why are you here? I mean, who would want to give up L.A. weather for this crap?"

"Yeah, it's like seventy degrees in L.A. today. Can you believe that? But, uh, I just got in some trouble back home. So, my parents thought it would be better for me to get away from the 'bad influences' and come here. They completely overreacted, but that's what parents do a lot of the time, especially Asian parents," she said.

"I think all parents do that," Ephram replied, trying to think of what she could have done that was so terrible to make her parents move her here, away from all her friends.

"What about you?" Alex asked.

Ephram looked at her strangely. "Colin didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

Ephram smiled. Colin was probably the only person not to refer to him as 'Dr. Brown's son.' He really liked that about the guy.

"My dad had this nervous breakdown after my mom died. Moved us here and opened a free doctor's office. He was supposedly the best brain surgeon in the world," Ephram added somewhat bitterly.

"Did he do the operation on Colin?" Alex asked, remember what Colin had told her earlier.

"Yeah. Amy asked me to ask him if he would and he did," Ephram said uncomfortably. Alex could tell he didn't want to talk about that part anymore, and she didn't press him for more information.

"Everyone's connected to everyone else here, eh?" she said.

"Yeah, it's a little weird at first, but you get used to it. It can actually get kinda nice in a suffocating way."

Alex smiled. "This is my stop," Alex said.

Ephram looked around. "Uh, perhaps I need my eyes checked, but there are no houses here."

"So observant, Mr. Brown. I'll see you later, I'm sure," she said, walking into Gino Chang's restaurant. What was she doing there? He decided not to ask and walked home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lunch was Alex's favorite part of school. She could sit down, read, and be left alone. She became oblivious to the whispers and stares that went in her direction and focus on the words on the pages.

"Hey, who's the chequita bonita?" Wendell asked, looking over in Alex's direction.

"That's Alex, from Los Angeles," Ephram replied casually.

"You know her?"

"I met her yesterday, she's cool."

"Introduce me, man!" Wendell exclaimed.

"She's in eleventh grade," Ephram commented, trying to tell his friend that she was out of his league.

"Grade is no barrier! C'mon, E!" he begged.

"Call me that again and I won't," Ephram threatened.

"Okay, sorry Ephram, won't happen again."

The two strolled over to the empty table Alex was sitting at.

"Hey, Alex," Ephram said.

Alex looked up and smiled. "Hey, Ephram."

"We were wondering if we could join you," he added.

"Oh, sure," Alex said, motioning them to sit down.

"Alex, this is Wendell, Wendell, this is Alex," Ephram introduced them quickly. He hoped Wendell didn't make a complete fool of himself.

"Nice to meet you," Alex said to Wendell.

"Believe me, the pleasure is all mine," Wendell replied in the most suave voice he could come up with.

Alex looked at him strangely. "You're in tenth, aren't you?"

Wendell was taken off guard. "Umm...yeah...how'd you know?"

Alex smiled. "Don't pretend, it'll get you farther with girls."

Wendell blushed while Ephram and Alex laughed.

"Now this is pathetic. Ephram and Wendell hanging out with that new girl," Charlie commented from the popular table. Colin looked up from his lunch to see Ephram and Alex laughing.

"That girl is doomed," Bright added.

"Totally. Besides the fact that she's a bitch, she gets pinned in the company of Wendell?" Charlie laughed as he spoke.

Colin realized that he didn't like Charlie. Bright and Amy were nice, but Charlie wasn't. He was too angry at his realization about Charlie that he didn't say anything.

"I heard that she was making moves on Colin," a girl gossiped. Colin couldn't remember her name. Carla? Kayla?...

"What?" Amy asked, angered.

"That's a total lie," Colin replied.

"Then why do people have that idea, Colin?" Amy asked, nervously pulling her hair behind her ear.

"We talked, I don't see what's so terrible about talking," he answered, annoyed.

"Nothings wrong with talking, it's who you talk to," Bright said, patting Colin on the back to try and calm him down. "I think she's bad news."

"You don't even know her," Colin replied tiredly. This insistence on only talking to certain people was really bothering him.

"And you do?" Amy asked.

Colin looked around at the table, all eyes were on him. "No, but I'm not the one judging her and calling her a bitch," he stated, looking over at Charlie and Bright. "And I would really appreciate it if people didn't gossip about her or Wendell or Ephram, it's pitiful," he added.

The table was silent.

"Okay, man," Bright said quietly.

The rest of lunch was eaten in silence at the popular table.

"No way, Two Towers was way better than Fellowship of the Ring," Alex said.

"C'mon, Two Towers became a war movie, Fellowship of the Ring at least stuck closer to the book," Wendell countered.

"Well, yeah, Two Towers had war scenes cause the book had war in it. I mean, how can you say that Helm's Deep wasn't amazing cinematography?"

"It was, I grant you that, but if you want to stick to the book, what is up with Aragorn getting thrown over the cliff by that wolf? It never happened in the book! And all that Arwen stuff, she's not even in the book!" Wendell argued.

"The writers took the Arwen stuff from the Appendices of the book. They hafta explain the elf/mortal relationship more, so they needed a vehicle to reveal all that info, which was Aragorn falling over the cliff. It wasn't in the book, you're absolutely right, but I think they did a good job of expanding the love story from info Tolkien had written and blending it into the movie," Alex replied.

Wendell tried to find a counter-argument, but couldn't. The bell rang just then, ending lunch.

"Victorious!" Alex said, smiling.

"No, no, I will be back tomorrow and we'll duke this out. This is not over," Wendell added as he got up.

"I'll be waiting," Alex replied with mock arrogance and she watched Wendell walk off. She turned her attention to Ephram. "Not a big Lord of the Rings fan?"

"Can't say I am, but I will rent the DVD now that I sat through a whole debate without saying a word and feeling stupid," Ephram replied as they walked out of the cafeteria.

Alex laughed. "Make sure it's the 4-disc extended version DVD set. That one has commentary by the actors and Peter Jackson, the director," Alex suggested.

"Will do."

"Sorry that you didn't talk. We should have picked a different subject or something," Alex said, feeling somewhat guilty.

"It's fine, really. I think you made Wendell really happy. I doubt he's talked that long to a girl his entire life," Ephram explained.

Alex tried to suppress a laugh then turned serious. "I think he's a cool guy, but if he thinks that I'm interested, could you, um..."

"Oh, yeah, yeah, I'll tell him it's a friend thing," Ephram replied.

"Thanks, it's not him or anything like that. It's just, um, there's no way I'm getting involved with someone right now. Too much stuff I'm dealing with," Alex tried to explain.

"Sure thing," Ephram replied. He couldn't decide if he was disappointed with the news that Alex was off limits. He was attracted to her, yes, but could not tell if that attraction was more than friendly. But he liked Amy, he knew that much.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Amy, are you okay?" Colin asked as they drove home from school that day.

Amy turned to him and gave him a small smile. "I'm fine, Colin," she said.

"Oh, okay, you just look a little pale," he replied, concerned. But it was the type of concern one would give a stranger who tripped in the street in front of you.

"I guess I just need more sleep," she lied.

What she needed was Colin back. Colin was alive and she was grateful, but she wanted him back. Her Colin, not this stranger in Colin's body. What if he never came back? What if this was it, this was the best she was going to get? She didn't want this, this was too painful. He didn't remember her, at all. She had to watch Colin make nice-nice with Ephram and then Alex. She could take Ephram, he was a boy, he was also her friend, sort of. But Alex...she was a threat. Amy felt guilty for not liking the girl when she didn't even know her, but Colin was hers. It had taken years for them to realize they cared deeply about each other, and she wasn't going to lose him again, not after fighting through the coma. But wait, this Colin wasn't her Colin. She wanted her Colin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you so much for reading my work, please review if you get the chance!