Author's Note: Thank you to all my readers and reviewers. You guys rock! I live off the reviews. Okay, so, to address some concerns: the Amy/Colin interaction will come in the next chapter, I promise, I've already written it. This chapter is Ephram-centric simply because I thought it would be good to see how he interacts with the girls in his life and how he's feeling since I love his character. Okay, please reviews, they mean the world to me. Thanks and I hope you enjoy!

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The music blared, just like Ephram liked it. It helped him forget all his troubles. His mom, his dad, Amy, Colin, all of it dissolved in the music. The phone rang. Weird, who'd call at eight o'clock on a Saturday night? he thought.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Ephram?"

"Yeah?"

"It's Alex."

"Oh, hey! What's up?" Ephram asked happily.

"Nothing much, which is why I'm calling."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I don't work on the weekends and I'm so bored. I was wondering if you wanted to watch Lord of the Rings," she explained. She had told Ephram earlier about why she was in Everwood and her living arrangements. Ephram had been just as surprised as Colin was.

"That sounds great," Ephram said.

"Cool, I'll be over in a bit," she said.

"Alright, see ya soon."

"Bye."

Ephram hung up the phone, at least his Saturday night wouldn't be spent alone. He hung out in his room for a while then went downstairs.

Andy Brown was in the kitchen when Ephram appeared, smiling.

"Someone looks happy," Andy teased.

Ephram smirked. "Alex is coming over, we're watching Lord of the Rings," Ephram explained.

"Alex? The new girl?" Andy asked.

"Yeah, she's really cool."

"Good, I'm glad," his father replied, a weird smile on his face.

"What?" Ephram asked, slightly annoyed.

"Nothing," Andy said, still smiling.

"No, Dad, you don't just smile like that for no reason," Ephram said impatiently.

"I'm just glad that you're getting over Amy, that's all," Andy explained.

Ephram frowned. "I'm not getting over Amy, Alex is just a friend. Amy...Amy's hard to get over," Ephram said quietly.

Andy nodded understandingly. "Delia's over at Nina's house and I'll get out of your way after I meet Alex," Andy said, getting up.

"Dad, you don't have to go. This isn't a date or..." Ephram started, but the doorbell rang. Ephram went and answered it.

"Hey," Alex said, smiling.

"Hi, come in," Ephram said. It had been the first time Alex was in the Brown's home, though she passed it often on her walks.

"Cool home," Alex complimented.

"Why thank you," Andy said, walking into the living room, smiling. "I'm Andy Brown, Ephram's dad. Nice to meet you, Alex," he said, extending his hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Dr. Brown," Alex said taking his hand. She had heard about Dr. Brown's world renowned hands and though impressed, Ephram always shed realism to his father's persona with numerous stories of burnt meatloaf.

"Please, call me Andy," Andy replied.

"Okay," she said.

"You kids have fun, there are snacks in the kitchen," Andy said as he grabbed his coat.

"You're not staying with us?" Alex asked.

"No, no," Andy said.

"Okay, it's a three and a half hour film though. Please don't feel obliged to stay out that long," Alex said politely.

Andy smiled. "I'll be back later," he said. "You guys be good, just don't destroy the furniture."

Ephram blushed with embarrassment.

"Sure thing," Alex replied. With that, Andy was gone.

Alex turned to Ephram. "Your dad's cool," she said.

Emphram laughed. "Um, if you say so," he said skeptically. They made their way into the kitchen for snacks.

"Seriously, he's not uptight like mine," she said.

"Okay, let's not talk about fathers, please. New subject: popcorn or chips?" Ephram asked.

Alex thought about it and replied, "Popcorn."

"Excellent choice." Ephram took out the popcorn bag and placed it in the microwave. Once the popcorn was ready, they made their way into the living room and watched the movie.

About two and a half hours later, Andy returned home.

"Hey, kids, still watching?"

"Shh, Dad, troll fight scene," Ephram said.

Alex was so transfixed on the TV that she didn't even realize Andy was back.

"Uh, okay, I'll be at Nina's," Andy said, confused.

"Yeah, okay," Ephram replied mechanically.

When the movie was over, Ephram and Alex smiled at each other.

"Cool, huh?" she asked.

"Very cool," he replied. "The story line is confusing at times, but it's still a nice movie. Awesome special effects," Ephram added.

"Did your Dad come back?"

"Yeah, I think he went to Nina's house, our neighbor, to pick up Delia. He's probably upstairs putting her to bed," Ephram replied, rubbing his eyes.

"Oh, okay," Alex replied, slightly uncomfortable with being alone with Ephram in a room without any distractions like TV.

He watched her fidget. "You okay?"

"Fine, but I should go. It's getting late," she said as she got up.

"I'll walk you home," Ephram offered.

"We're in Everwood, I won't get abducted or anything," she joked.

"I know, but still," he insisted.

As they walked, Alex said, "Thanks for hanging with me, I just didn't feel like being alone today." She didn't want to tell him that when she had nothing to do she just thought about her past, which made her terribly unhappy.

Ephram shrugged. "I had nothing to do, I was glad you called. As you can see, I'm a loser who doesn't go to the parties the popular kids are having on Saturday nights. I did that once, and got into trouble," he explained.

"You're not a loser, Ephram. Far from one," Alex replied. "But yeah, from personal experience, I don't think I'm going to a party like that ever again."

Ephram understood and nodded in agreement.

"Why didn't you explain to your parents that you didn't drink or smoke at that party? I'm sure it would have helped."

Alex shook her head. "It's not like I didn't try. But they just saw me as a failure and it was easier that way. I mean, it was shameful, getting expelled and everything. And I just added a whole mess of fuel to the fire with that party stuff," she replied sadly.

"You're not a failure," he stated firmly.

"In a sense, I am," she replied. "Getting expelled killed almost any chance I had of getting into a elite college, which is what I was aiming for my entire school career. I disappointed my family and I disappointed myself," she added bitterly.

"College doesn't equate to fulfillment in life, you know. You're a good person, that should mean something," Ephram told her.

Alex made a small smile. "Thanks Ephram, but can we talk about something else?" she asked. The whole topic made her remember, and she didn't want to do that.

"Oh, uh, ok. So, I noticed that you're pretty popular with the guys," Ephram commented jokingly.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Well, you have lots of guys hanging around you, but not too many girls," Ephram said.

"Yeah, the girls don't really like me. They never got over that 'the new girl is trying to seduce Colin' thing and then the 'Kat' nickname didn't help much," Alex explained.

"I almost forgot about that Colin thing. That was like a month ago, right? It's gotta be rough..."

"In a sense, yeah. I can't talk about girlie things to anyone," Alex said.

"What do girls talk about when they're alone, anyways?" Ephram asked, intrigued.

"Depends. Mostly boys. And then there's that whole 'man, I have such bad cramps'...."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Ephram said uncomfortably.

Alex laughed, "You asked."

"I'm just not cut out to be a girl friend, what can I say?"

Alex laughed more at the ridiculousness of the statement. "I should hope not. You make a great boy-space-friend."

"Boy-space-friend? That's an interesting phrase."

"Yeah, you...Wendell...make great boy-space-friends," Alex said.

"And Colin?" Ephram asked innocently.

"This is the house," Alex said, looking up at a modest sized gray house with a bench on the porch in the front. She walked up the steps and sat down on the bench. Ephram followed.

"Alex? You didn't answer my question," Ephram said, sensing Alex's uneasiness.

"I...I think I'm falling for Colin," she admitted.

"Woow, um, that, that can create problems," Ephram rambled.

"No kidding. I didn't mean to. I don't think I should hang out with him anymore," Alex said.

"He likes you, you know. If as a friend or something more..."

"Don't Ephram," Alex pled, cutting him off. "He has Amy. Amy has been waiting for months to get Colin back and Colin's remembering her."

"I know."

"How?"

"Colin told me a couple days ago. He said he was talking to you and started remembering things about Amy and Bright," Ephram said.

"You should have seen his face, Ephram. He was so happy...I'm not going to mess with that," she stated.

"You're scared he's starting to like you," Ephram replied, more of a statement than a question.

"I don't know how he feels, but I know if I get closer, I won't want to walk away. And I have to. I mean, those two have known each other forever. It's like they're destined to be together," Alex said, frustrated.

Ephram got off the bench and paced back and forth, anxious. He wanted to tell Alex everything, fill her in on how he thought destiny had nothing to do with Amy and Colin, and how he had crept into Amy's heart, only to be slammed out once Colin woke up.

"You know I like Amy, right?" Ephram finally asked.

Alex was surprised, Ephram always skirted around the issue of Amy when she had brought it up. "Um, I've suspected, yes," she said cautiously, not knowing where this whole confession was leading to.

"And if I tell you this, you must promise not to tell anyone, ever."

"I promise," Alex said, looking at him curiously while he paced.

"I kissed her. And she kissed me. Then Colin woke up and it's like none of it ever happened. I'm pissed, she's probably trying to forget me, and Colin is befriending me and you. I want to hate the guy cause Amy's says she's so in love with him, but I don't because this Colin isn't the same Colin from before. And I like the guy. So, if you think this all destiny, well, I just think there's something more to it than that," Ephram explained.

Alex processed all she had heard for a what seemed like minutes. "Colin, he doesn't know," Alex commented.

"Nope, Amy said she didn't want him to know. I told her that if he asked me straight out, I wouldn't lie to him, but I wouldn't volunteer the information. So Amy's been pretty conscientious in making sure she doesn't talk to me too much so Colin doesn't suspect anything and ask me," Ephram said sadly.

"I see..." Alex said quietly, pulling her knees up against her chest. "You know...every time I see him now, I'll be deceiving him cause I know something he should know but doesn't."

Ephram stopped pacing. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realized, that was selfish," he said, angry at himself for bringing Alex into a situation she never asked to be in.

"No, don't be, it's the perfect excuse to walk away from him."

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"Ephram, can I talk to you?" Amy asked, approaching Ephram, Alex and Wendell in the halls after classes the following Wednesday.

"Uh, yeah, okay," Ephram said unemotionally as he gave a backwards glance to Alex and Wendell. Alex smiled encouragingly while Wendell lifted his eyebrows up and down as seductively as he could.

"What is it?" he asked her once they were out of hearing range.

"How have you been?" she asked him.

"What? You barely talk to me since Colin woke up and now you're interested again?" Ephram asked, annoyed.

Amy didn't know what to say, she understood perfectly why Ephram was acting that way.

"Look, Ephram, I'm sorry. I know I let our friendship go when Colin came back but you have to understand, he needs me," she insisted.

"Yeah, whatever, and the rest of us don't. What do you want, Amy?" Ephram asked, hurt and frustrated.

She hesitated. "Colin does need me, right?" she asked him finally.

"What? Of course he does. Why would you ask something like that?"

She looked down, slightly embarrassed. "Alex."

"Alex is his friend yeah, but you're his girlfriend," Ephram replied, noting the distaste when he said girlfriend.

"But you see, I'm not," Amy replied. Ephram looked at her strangely. The whole reason why they were no longer talking was because she was his girlfriend.

The silence made Amy continue. "He's not the same Colin as before. He's remembering a lot actually, but he's still not the same person."

"Well, yeah, Amy, I mean these things take time. My dad told everyone this. But that doesn't mean he won't get back to his old self and that doesn't mean you're not his girlfriend," Ephram said. He wondered why he was insisting so much that Amy was Colin's boyfriend when all he wanted was for Amy to be single.

"I just don't know him anymore, Ephram," Amy replied, lost.

"Have you even tried?" Ephram asked, getting more annoyed.

He was the wrong person to talk to about this stuff and he no longer wanted to be her shrink or confidant. He wanted to be her boyfriend and since he knew he couldn't, he did really want to talk to her anymore.

"What?" Amy asked, confused.

"Have you even bothered trying to know Colin for who he is today? I mean, as if he were a new person, like I was? You're good at making conversation," Ephram explained.

"It's hard, Ephram, I know him, I loved him..." Amy trailed off.

The last words stung Ephram more than he could have imagined. "Look, just because something is hard doesn't mean it's impossible. Don't you see that's what he's reaching out for - someone to talk with instead of lecturing him about his past and putting pressure on him."

Amy thought about it, she never realized that her trying to rejuvenate his memory might actually be hurting him.

"Don't you see it, Amy? Why did he befriend me? Why did he reach out to Alex? When you and Bright have been with him almost 24/7 since he woke up, why did he remember the beginnings of his past with Alex who he knew for only a few weeks? Think about it," Ephram ranted as he walked away.