Author's Note: Hmmm.....I'm hitting a writer's block, I think I know where this story is going, but not too sure. So, may take a while for updates, I apologize. Thank you to my faithful readers, you guys are amazing! I hope you enjoy and please review!
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"What should I share?" Colin asked. He had hardly any information to share.
"Whatever you want to," Alex replied.
He thought about it, wondering if she would get scared away if he told her how he felt. She had yet to run, at least, because of something he had said.
"At dinner yesterday, I told the Abbotts that I was going to order the chicken lo mein and they looked at me funny. Turns out that my favorite dish there was the sweet and sour pork before the accident. I disappointed them because I couldn't remember. I hated the fact that I disappointed them, but I hated it more that they expected me to remember. I hate the tests. It's as though people don't see me as a person, as I am now. They see me and a stranger in Colin's body who will be leaving soon once I can remember who I was. But what happens if I don't remember? I'm just getting sick of it, all of it," Colin said angrily.
There was silence for a while then Alex asked, "Have you told anyone this? Like Amy or Bright?"
"No, they're trying so hard to be cool, I don't want to make them upset," Colin explained.
"But if they're hurting the situation, they're not doing what they want to do. It's obvious they want to help you, but maybe they're going about it the wrong way," Alex suggested.
Colin shrugged. He knew Alex was right, it was what he had been thinking for so long. But how do you tell the people who have stuck by you when you were unconscious for six months to back off? To relax? How do you tell them that you are a different person, and you might be a different person forever?
"God, it wasn't always this hard," Colin said, frustrated and angry. "Bright was always close minded in a sense, but he wasn't so openly hostile towards people like he is now. I heard from a kid that he sort of got in a fight with Ephram...that's not him. He was critical of other people but he didn't get into fights. And Amy...she was so carefree. She always smiled and her dimples showed, not because she was trying to make me feel better, but because she was truly happy. She had this spark in her eyes that I loved, but now it's like she's just....I dunno. What happened to you, Grover?" Colin asked softly.
Alex was in complete shock. She grabbed his arm quickly and made him turn towards her.
"Do you realize what just happened?" she asked him anxiously.
"Huh?"
"You remembered Bright, you remembered Amy. You were just telling me how they used to be and how they are now!" she said excitedly.
Colin blinked several times before realizing what he had done. "You're right! I mean, I don't remember too much, but I remember them from before. Wow! Cool! This is so great!" Colin said happily.
He hugged Alex with his left arm and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He liked the contact with her, but he would never say that. He was supposed to be with Amy.
"Thanks," Colin said softly as he held Alex.
She pulled back to look at his eyes, but still kept her arms around him. "What for?" she asked him. God, his eyes are nice, she thought.
He let go of her and she did the same. "Just for listening, I mean, I don't think I could have remembered stuff when I was with Bright and Amy. There's pressure there. There's no pressure when I'm with you," he replied honestly.
She smiled.
"We're about fifteen minutes away from Bright and Amy's house, I want to tell them about what I remembered," Colin said excitedly.
"Oh, that's a good idea," she said, as they resumed their walk.
The walk to the Abbott's house was lighter, happier. Alex told him what life in Los Angeles was like, which broke all those stereotypes people in small towns have. When they reached the door, Colin knocked and Bright answered. Alex stood back on the porch area.
"Colin, hey, what's up?" Bright greeted.
"I remember some stuff about you and Amy," Colin said proudly.
Bright's eyes lit up. "Really? What?" he asked excitedly.
"Can we come in?" Colin asked.
"We?"
"Alex is with me," Colin explained. Bright's eyes grew dark as he looked over at Alex.
"You know what? I have to go, um, it's almost time for work," Alex said, uncomfortably walking down the steps.
"It's only 4:15," Colin said.
"Oh, well...you know, girls take a long time to get ready and everything. So, yeah, uh, bye," she rambled.
Colin looked at her strangely, but she wouldn't look at his eyes. "Thanks, again," he said.
She nodded before walking away.
Colin stepped inside the Abbott's home, and Bright closed the door.
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I am not a man-stealer, I am not a man-stealer, I am not a man-stealer, Alex chanted to herself as she walked towards Gino's. She tried vainly to convince herself that she did not want Colin. But there was something there, between them, that she only realized when Bright saw her. His eyes were so angry...she was a threat. She understood this now. She didn't mean to fall for Colin, really, she wasn't a bad person. She never wanted this, she just wanted to finish high school, go to college very far away and live happily ever after. Why couldn't she like Wendell? It would have been so much easier that way. She sighed in frustration.
She wasn't ready for all the drama in this small town. She wanted to go back to her life in L.A., which, ironically, was much simpler than life in Everwood. She missed her friends, her house, her own bed. She missed her parents. She could still remember the look on their faces when they told her she was moving to Everwood. It was one of complete disappointment and loss - they had given up on her. They probably viewed themselves as failures. But they weren't. They were good parents, she was the bad daughter. She hadn't cried when she got expelled or when she had been punished by her parents or when they told her to pack, but she felt like crying now. She kept on brushing everything aside before, but it was catching up to her now, like a huge tsunami that was about to hit land. And she could no longer ignore how she felt about all of it - her mistakes, her isolation, Colin. She had gotten herself in a big mess.
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"You were almost late, again, Alex," Gino said without the Italian accent as she hurried into the restaurant.
"I'm sorry, Gino, I took a walk and lost track of time," Alex replied, removing her jacket and going behind the counter to where her cousin was.
Gino shook his head. "I didn't tell your parents about the first time you were late, but if it happens again, I will. I don't want you slacking off around here, you have the weekends to do that," he said warningly.
"Thanks for not telling them. They would have had a fit. I won't be late again," she assured him.
Gino smiled, Alex was a good kid who got caught up in a very, very bad situation. He wouldn't have told her parents if she was late again anyways, he just said that to maintain his "guardian" role over her.
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