Author's Note: Okay, so, so sorry that this took 8 days to get posted. I've been working on my Dark Angel story and then I got stuck with this one, but anyway, here is the next chapter. I think there will be one more chapter and then that's it. It's so shocking that this story will be coming to a close...Anyway, please review. They mean so very much to me. Hope you enjoy!!
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Ephram walked over to Amy tentatively. She was sitting on a bench, far away from the Valentine's Day festivities. Her knees were against her chest and when Ephram looked at her face, he saw that she wasn't crying.
"Hey," he said.
She turned to him. "Hi."
"Can I sit down?"
"Yeah," she said, scooting over to make room. She looked out to the street and shops on the other side.
"You know, when my mom died, people would try to comfort me by saying that things happen for a reason. I think it gave them comfort to say something like that cuz it didn't comfort me. So...I can't say Colin getting into the accident and falling into a coma happened for a reason. But I can't help but think that if my mom hadn't died and if Colin hadn't been in the coma, I wouldn't have moved here, you wouldn't have befriended me, I wouldn't have fallen for you, and we wouldn't be sitting here right now. Is that reason or just life? I dunno," he said.
Amy thought about what Ephram had said and reached over to hold his hand. She looked into his eyes and then returned to staring in front of her. Ephram smiled slightly and sat next to Amy that day for what seemed like hours.
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He held her face gently with his hands before kissing her again. God, he couldn't get enough of this. It probably wasn't too smart doing this right in the middle of the fair where anyone could see, but they would worry about that later. She didn't seem to care, anyways.
"Hey," he said softly after they parted.
"Hi," she replied.
They both started laughing with happiness.
"I think we should get out of here," Colin suggested.
"Oh? And go where?" Alex asked.
"Anywhere."
"Hmm, okay," she said, kissing him lightly and taking his hand in hers.
"Where are we going?" Colin asked.
"Well, considering all of Everwood is shut down for this fair, I thought we'd just head back to my uncle's house. We can watch a movie or something," she said as they walked.
"What does the something entail?" Colin asked suggestively.
She looked at him and laughed, shaking her head. "You teenage boys are too hormone-crazed," she stated.
"Well, do you blame me? A beautiful girl is taking me to a house where we'd be alone...a guy can try," Colin jested. He had no idea why he was making a complete ass out of himself, but he felt like he could ask anything when he was with her and she would understand what he meant.
"Yeah, you can try, but it ain't happening," Alex said. Colin nodded in understanding. Alex was surprised that five minutes into their relationship they addressed the issue of sex and he had respected her response. All relationships were definitely not this open. Then she stopped walking and faced him. "But it is nice that you think I'm beautiful," she added.
Colin wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her. "What's a word that means beyond beautiful?" he asked afterwards.
Alex's head was spinning so much with joy that she couldn't really think. "Um, I...I'm not sure," she replied. If he wasn't holding her, she was certain she would have fallen with dizziness, which would have been terribly embarrassing.
"Well, whatever that word is, that's what you are," he stated. He sighed, it was like he was on a natural high and he hoped she felt the same way. Judging by the way she blushed, she did.
"C'mon, we should start walking again. At this rate, it'll take us the whole afternoon to get to my place," she said. It actually took forty-five minutes to walk what usually would have taken fifteen minutes because they stopped so often to kiss and talk and kiss some more. But neither of them really minded at all.
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"Okay, so A Beautiful Mind or The Bourne Identity?" Amy asked Ephram as they strolled through the video store the next day.
"Um, I'm not sure. They're way too different," Ephram replied.
"The second word of each title starts with a B," Amy commented.
"Yes, and Matt Damon was in Good Will Hunting, which was also about a genius like in A Beautiful Mind," he added.
"Exactly, you see? More similar than you think," Amy said, reaching for his hand to hold.
Ephram laughed and squeezed her hand. He was happy that Amy was willing to show this much affection in public where people could gossip and stare to their hearts' content.
"Alright, Ham, which one?" Amy asked him one final time.
"Well, Grover, why don't we combine them and see Good Will Hunting?" Ephram suggested.
Amy frowned momentarily and Ephram was confused as to what he did wrong.
Then he realized. "Amy, I'm sorry, that was Colin's name for you, I didn't mean to upset..." he started.
"It's alright, Ephram," Amy replied, cutting him off. "The Colin I knew is gone and I've accepted that. And in the back of my head, I've known that for a long time. And Colin's with Alex and I'm fine with that, I'm actually happy for them. So, don't worry about it," she added reassuringly, facing him and holding both of his hands in hers.
Ephram nodded and wanted to kiss her, but having their first kiss as a couple in a video store didn't sound so appealing. "Okay."
"Good," Amy replied, smiling. "Now let's go get Good Will Hunting."
Ephram smiled in return as Amy dragged him over to the appropriate isle.
They eventually got to Ephram's house which was thankfully empty of people. His dad was at the office and Delia was playing with Sam.
"So, did you want anything to drink?" Ephram asked Amy as they headed towards the kitchen.
"Wait, Ephram..." Amy said cautiously.
Ephram froze. He worried that she would tell him that they weren't working out after one day and that she was still madly in love with Colin. Although he braced himself for the ultimate rejection, he grasped her hand gently, silently pleading to her to stay there, with him.
A small smile crept over Amy's face and Ephram was very confused. However, the confusion was instantly swept away when he felt Amy's soft lips on his. No...this could definitely work out.
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"You have amazingly small feet," Colin commented on Sunday as he and Alex sat on her living room couch with their feet on the coffee table in front of them.
"No, you just have big, floppy feet," she replied, her head resting comfortably against his shoulder.
"No, I'm normal. You're the weird one," Colin teased.
"Well, we all knew that," she replied, playing along as the end credits of the movie rolled on screen. She loved cable.
Colin laughed. It was ironic that he called himself normal because the whole "losing your memory" thing wasn't very normal. But when he was with Alex, he felt just like a regular teenager. That made him indescribably happy.
"Are you hungry?" Alex asked him.
Colin thought about it, but his stomach gurgled in response. Alex laughed and Colin blushed with embarrassment.
"Sorry," he said.
"It's all good. Let's make something to eat," she said, pulling him off of the couch and heading for the kitchen. "What do you feel like having?" she asked him.
He shrugged. "Are you cooking it?" he inquired.
"Yeah," she said, looking into the refrigerator for something to cook. "But you're helping."
Colin came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her backwards against him. He kissed her neck gently. He never wanted to stop touching her, to stop being with her.
"It's so nice having a girlfriend who can cook," he said between kisses.
Alex stiffened and Colin felt it.
"Did I bite your neck?" he asked worriedly while he released her.
She turned around and shook her head. "No, it's just that no one's ever called me their girlfriend before," she confessed.
"You were never in a relationship before?" Colin asked incredulously.
"Unless that make-out session with that guy I hardly knew at that party which landed me in Everwood counts as a relationship," she said quickly.
"I don't think so," Colin replied.
"Well then, no."
"I feel very flattered to be the first boyfriend," Colin said, kissing her.
"Yes, you should be," she said, kissing him back passionately.
They kissed for minutes until Alex finally pulled away. "Okay, we need to eat. My tummy's gurgling too."
Colin laughed and they started to prepare their dinner.
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"So, big weekend, huh?" Ephram asked Alex the following Monday before school started.
She smiled. "Yeah," she admitted, as she opened her locker to get out her history and English books for her first two periods. She and Colin had spent majority of Saturday and Sunday together just hanging out. It was wonderful to be with him. "For you too, eh?"
"I doubt as big, but, yeah," he replied. "Amy's not upset about you being with Colin since he's not her Colin, but she needs to take it slow with me." But he couldn't help but smile when he thought about that kiss she gave him.
"I'm sure you won't mind," Alex commented, noticing Ephram's grin as she closed her locker.
He shook his head. "Nope, not at all. She's worth it."
Just then the bell rang.
"Alright, see you during lunch," Alex said before walking off to history.
Colin wasn't in class when Alex sat down, but she soon felt someone kiss her cheek. Just when she about to scream at that person for touching her, she saw it was Colin.
"You don't look too happy to see me," Colin said.
She smiled with embarrassment. "I didn't think it was you, I was about to yell at you."
"Why wouldn't it be me. Expecting someone else to kiss you?" he teased.
She rolled her eyes before replying, "It's just this whole concept of a relationship is new. And I sorta forgot momentarily that you are my boyfriend," she said.
"I think I should feel hurt by that. You forgot I was you boyfriend? How'd you feel if I forgot you were my girlfriend?" Colin teased some more.
Alex was clearly flustered. "I know, I know, and I'm sorry. But if you told me right when I got here that nine weeks from then I would be in a relationship with an amazing guy who would willingly show he affection for me during school, I would have thought that..." she rambled.
"Alex?" Colin cut her off, amused by her discomfort. She was the one that was always so poised.
"Yeah?"
"It's cool, I get it. I'm not offended, don't worry. What I didn't tell you yesterday was that this is new to me too," he confessed.
"You were with Amy for a couple of weeks," Alex commented.
"Yeah, but um, she sorta did most of the talking and the work. It wasn't a real give-and-take type of thing," he said.
"Oh," she replied, enlightened. And here she thought that they were a fully functioning couple for at least part of the time they were together.
"Alright class, let's get started..." Mrs. Evans said, stopping the conversation between Alex and Colin.
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"Why do you two look so happy?" Wendell asked suspiciously during lunch.
"Huh?" Alex asked.
"You're both glowing like crazy," Wendell explained.
"Really?" Ephram asked innocently from beside Alex.
"Yeah," Wendell said. "Oh my God!" he exclaimed.
"What's wrong, Wendell?" Alex asked.
"You two are together!" he whispered loudly.
Ephram and Alex looked at each other and laughed. That was the last thing they suspected Wendell to say.
"No, that's not it," Alex. "We aren't together."
"But there's something going one then, right? You'd admit that much, right?" Wendell asked fervently.
"Yeah, Wendell, something's up," Ephram said.
"I dating Colin," Alex confessed, unable to hold back a smile.
"And I'm dating Amy," Ephram added, smiling as well.
Wendell looked at them for an instance in complete shock. "Colin Hart? Amy Abbott?" he asked incredulously.
"Yes," Alex and Ephram replied.
"Oh my God!" Wendell shouted. People all around their table looked at Wendell, annoyed. Alex and Ephram told him to hush.
"Seriously?" Wendell whispered.
"Yes," Alex repeated.
"Since when? How?" Wendell asked.
"Since Saturday. They broke up because Colin likes Alex and Amy likes me," Ephram answered. Amy liked him...he couldn't get over that fact. It made him feel so special.
"How come you guys didn't tell me?" Wendell asked, annoyed.
"We're tell you now," Alex said.
"Fine, fine. This is weird, now I feel like a total loser cuz I don't have a girlfriend," Wendell sulked.
"What about Molly?" Ephram asked.
Wendell shook her head. "Nah, kissing her was fun, but she'd make a boring girlfriend," he said. "Not too intelligent."
Alex laughed.
"It's all your fault, you know," Wendell accused Alex.
"Huh? How do you figure?" she asked him.
"Cuz of you I want a smart girl, you've successfully spoiled me. And cuz I want a smart girl, that take away like seventy-five percent of the girls in Everwood. And then the remaining twenty-five percent want anything to do with me," Wendell reasoned.
"Aw, that's so sweet," Alex said, leaning across the table to mess with Wendell's hair affectionately. "Your time will come," she assured him. "I bet you'll grow up to be a major hottie and then all these girls who've dissed you will be kicking themselves in the ass for not going out with you."
"Who'd grow up to be a hottie?" Colin asked, sitting down on the other side of Alex and wrapping an arm around her waist.
"Wendell," she said, jumping in surprise at the sudden contact. Colin laughed, remembering their conversation in history class and Alex swatted him playfully.
"I fully agree," Colin said.
"You do, man?" Wendell asked, somewhat honored that Colin was sitting at their table.
"Yes," Colin replied truthfully.
"What are you doing here?" Alex asked Colin.
"Came to see you."
"They don't care?" she asked, alluding to the popular kids Colin usually hung out with.
He shrugged. "Dunno. I figured I'd spend half my lunch with them and half with you and Ephram and Wendell, assuming you guys wouldn't mind," Colin said.
"Not at all," Wendell replied.
Ephram looked over to where Amy sat and saw her looking at him, smiling. He smiled back. He wondered how long it would be until Amy came over and sat with them, if she would sit with them ever. He didn't like the popular kids and Amy knew that.
"Hi," Amy said, sitting down next to Ephram.
"Wow, okay, I just saw you over there," he said, surprised.
"Kayla was getting annoying again and your company is much better anyways," she replied. "Hi, Wendell," she said with a smile.
Wendell's mouth was slightly open with shock. The most cherished couple in County High was no longer together and they were both dating his best friends. The weirdness hadn't quite sunk in until now. "Hi, Amy," he replied slowly.
"So, what's up?" Amy asked the group.
Suddenly the group launched into a conversation about the weekend and the absurd things at the Valentine's Day Fair. Ephram looked around his group at the smiling faces and was amazed that they all had come so far.
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Author's Note: So, what did you think? The feedback would be great! Thanks!
