A/N: Hi everybody! I've finally decided to update this story - *YaY* haha. I'm sorry it took so long, but I was actually considering stopping this story all together for a while. I had several reasons. The most important reason was that on the show, when Colin woke up, he seemed like a pretty nice guy. Plus, Amy started being such a jerk to Ephram that I didn't really want to continue writing a romance about the two of them. However, after thinking it over for a bit, I've come to this conclusion. Most likely, if Ephram had come to Everwood a year earlier, Colin would have been mean to him. I mean, look how Bright treats him, and Colin and Bright are best friends. Things are just different in the show, and that's why Colin's making an attempt to be so nice to Ephram. Plus, Amy's been better lately, and I still think she and Ephram need to be together. So, I'm going to continue this story. Be warned, though, from here on out my story's going to start differing a lot from what really happened in the show. So, with that said, on with the story!
Chapter Five: Listen to Your Heart
~Amy~
November 14, 2001
Oh Patrick, you'll never believe what a horrible day I've had. I'm so tired, both physically and emotionally, all I want to do is go to sleep. Unfortunately, I can't. I've got so many thoughts all running through my mind, and I just can't seem to make any sense out of any of them. So, I figured I'd tell you about my problems. You're just about the only one I can think of that would be willing to listen.
My day started out alright. It was the annual Fall Thaw Festival and I was super excited about spending the whole day with Colin. He's been really busy the last few weekends, but he promised we'd spend the whole day together. He was good to his word. We met up at the festival and Colin was giving me his undivided attention. I should have been thrilled. I mean, I've been dying for Colin to pay more attention to me the last few weeks. But yet, for some reason my heart just wasn't in it. Colin picked up on my lack of enthusiasm, and we ended up having a horrible argument. It was totally my fault and I felt completely rotten afterwards. Then I ran into Ephram. God, how I wish I hadn't run into Ephram. He could tell I was upset and asked me if I wanted to talk about it. I said yes. I mean, we have gotten to be pretty close these last couple of weeks . . . and I felt so lonely and depressed . . . but, oh gosh, how I wish I wouldn't have said yes. I think I've made a mistake that just might be unfix able . . .
*****
Amy felt light jitters of excitement flutter through her body as she studied her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing new jeans and one of her favorite pink sweaters. The outfit accented her figure perfectly. She had decided to leave her hair down, with a few strands clipped back, giving her the desired "girl-next-door" look. She nodded with approval. She was going to be spending the whole day with Colin at Everwood's annual Fall Thaw Festival, and she wanted to look nice.
She was actually a little anxious. She and Colin hadn't been spending that much time together lately, and she was really hoping that spending the day together would get some of the sparks back into their relationship. She spritzed herself lightly with her favorite vanilla scented perfume and quickly ran down the stairs where the rest of her family was waiting.
"Jeez, Amy, think you could have taken a little longer getting ready?" Bright asked, clearly annoyed.
"Yes, actually I'm sure I could have," Amy said with a grin, refusing to let her brother get to her. Nothing was going to ruin her good mood.
"Well, thank goodness you didn't," interrupted Amy's father, Dr. Abbot, "We're already 15 minutes late. Come on, let's get going."
Amy nodded and followed her family out the door, fighting to keep the happy smile off her face.
"Why are you in such a good mood, anyway?" Bright asked her, once they were seated inside the car.
"No reason, it's just such a beautiful day," Amy said grinning at her brother.
"Yeah right, you just can't wait to get all kissy faced with Colin."
Amy shot her brother an exasperated glance, "If you must know, yes, I am looking forward to spending some time with my boyfriend. And don't forget what you promised me, Bright."
"Yeah, yeah I know. Stay away from Colin."
"Yes, I know he's your best friend, but you get to hang out with him all the time. Plus, you have plenty of other friends you could hang out with today. I'm really not asking all that much -"
"Amy, relax!" Bright interrupted her,"I'm not gonna bother you and Colin today. You're right, I have plenty of other friends to grace with my presence. Namely, Lisa Chapman."
Amy just rolled her eyes.
*****
"Hey beautiful," Amy heard a familiar voice say from behind her.
She spun around smiling widely, "Hey Colin."
Colin quickly leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips, smiling when he heard Amy's happy sigh of contentment. He laced his fingers between hers, and the two set off towards the festival.
"I've missed this," Amy said dreamily, a few seconds later.
"Missed what?" Colin asked
"Us . . . spending time together."
"We spend time together. . . "
"Not like we used to. You're always so busy," Amy pointed out.
"I always make time for you," Colin said. Amy was surprised to find that he actually sounded irritated. She wanted to disagree, but didn't want to make Colin mad.
"Hey I know, I was just pointing out that this was nice. I just love spending time with you, that's all," she said, trying to smooth things over.
"Well, what can I say, I am irresistible. And I'm all yours for today," he said, shooting a cocky smile at his girlfriend.
"Perfect," Amy said, leaning up to kiss him.
The two continued wandering around the festival for a while, laughing and joking. Amy was having a great time. This was exactly how she remembered it between she and Colin. This was the Colin she was crazy about, the Colin she . . .
"Hey Amy, what's going on over there? Don't tell me we missed the start of the pie eating contest," Colin said with a grin, breaking into Amy's thoughts.
"Huh?" Amy said, following Colin's line of vision to where a group of people had gathered towards the center of the festival. "Oh, I don't know. I doubt it's the pie contest, though, they usually don't do that until later in the afternoon."
"Well, let's go check it out," Colin said, leading Amy over to the crowd.
Amy was completely unprepared for what she saw in the middle of the crowd. It was a middle aged man, with a beard, who was talking to the air. He seemed to be completely unaware of the world surrounding him. She briefly wondered if it was some kind of performance. But then she noticed the distressed looks on the people's faces who were watching. One woman looked close to tears. And the man looked so sad . . .
"Wait a minute," Amy whispered suddenly, "Isn't that Ephram Brown's father?"
The woman next to her looked up, "Yes, that's Dr. Brown all right, poor thing."
"Well at least now we know why Ephram's such a freak," Colin muttered under his breath. Amy elbowed him the ribs, but kept her attention on the woman standing next to her.
"What's wrong with him?" she asked softly.
"Why dear, don't you know? He lost his wife for heaven's sake. Now granted, most people don't go around talking to their dead spouses in public, but I suppose everyone has to deal with their grief in their own way. I do feel bad for his poor children, though . . ."
Amy glanced up and saw Ephram and Delia watching their father from the other side of the crowd. Poor Delia looked terribly upset, but Ephram was watching the whole scene with an expressionless look on his face. Everything suddenly clicked into place. Why Ephram never talked about his family, why he always seemed so stoic and unreachable, why the Brown's had come to Everwood in the first place . . .
Ephram suddenly looked up and locked eyes with Amy. His expression never changed, but his hard stare told Amy everything she needed to know. She could almost feel his anguish. In that moment, her heart broke.
*****
"And so I told him, 'Well, I actually did do my homework but -' Amy? Amy, are you even listening?" Colin asked suddenly.
The two of the were seated next to each other on the Ferris Wheel, one of Amy's favorite attractions at the festival. Their cart was nearing the top, and the view was fantastic. The sun was shining brightly and there wasn't a cloud marring the clear sky. A light breeze took the edge of the bright sun, foretelling of a coming winter. The day was perfect, but Amy was feeling terribly cold.
"Colin, did you know?" she asked suddenly, not looking at him. Her gaze was focused on the figure of a young boy, sitting alone on the far side of the festival.
"Did I know what? What are you talking about Amy? You've been acting really weird today."
Amy sighed, "About Ephram's mother . . . did you know?"
"Aw jeez, don't tell me we're back on that."
"Colin, just tell me the truth. Did you, or did you not know that Ephram Brown's mother died recently?"
"Well, the teacher might have mentioned it a while ago, but I don't see why it matters. . . "
"How can you say that!" Amy cried, finally turning to look at Colin, "How can you be so heartless? It's bad enough that you had to make Ephram's life miserable, but to pull all that crap when you knew his mother had just died?! What's happened to you, Colin?"
"What are you talking about? Nothing's happened to me. I haven't changed. The real question is what's happened to you, Amy. Why do you even care about the Brown kid? It's not like you even know him."
Amy bit her lip, slightly guilty for keeping her friendship with Ephram a secret from Colin. She had instinctively felt that if Colin had found out she was spending time with Ephram, he would have freaked. She shook her head, "That has nothing to do with it. This is about having some compassion. I don't care if you don't want to be best friends with him, Colin, but for God's sake, did you have to treat him so cruelly? Imagine what he's going through! Think how you would feel if you're mother died! God, I can't even imagine . . . "
"Look, Amy, I'm sorry. I didn't realize this was such a big deal to you. If it will make you happen, I'll leave Brown alone. I swear."
Amy looked at Colin, tears in her eyes, "You really don't get it, do you? I don't want you to leave Ephram alone for me. I want you to leave him alone because it's the right thing to do."
"God Amy! I just don't get you sometimes. What do you want from me?"
"I want the old Colin back!" she screamed at him.
"This is the old Colin, like it or not. You're the one who's changed Amy - not me!" he fired back at her.
Suddenly Amy heard a creaking noise and felt the Ferris Wheel come to a screeching halt, right as she and Colin reached the top. The cart swung slowly in the wind and Amy peered over the side, only to see little maintenance men scurrying around down below.
"Great," Colin muttered.
Amy peered off into the distance, fighting the tears that were threatening to fall. Her gaze once again fell on the lonely boy, sitting all alone. She thought back to Colin's last words. Maybe she was the one who had changed. The question was . . . why?
*****
Amy watched Colin's retreating figure disappear. They had finally gotten the Ferris Wheel working, and once Amy and Colin had gotten off, Colin had stormed off, without so much as a farewell glance. Amy kept her gaze downcast and began running in the other direction. She was desperate to get away from the festival. The laughter, the smells, the sounds, the happiness . . . it all felt as if it was choking her.
She had almost reached the edge of the festival when she felt herself run smack into another human being. She muttered an apology and quickly tried to continue on her way without looking up. She felt someone grab her wrist though, and she turned back.
"Amy what's wrong?" Amy found herself staring into Ephram dark eyes. The worry and concern she saw there was almost enough to make her break down and start crying.
"Nothing," she whispered unconvincingly.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Ephram asked, ignoring her denial.
Amy bit her lip, staring back at Ephram, unable to break his strong gaze. She knew she probably wasn't in any condition to be talking about what had just happened, especially with Ephram. She really just wanted to be alone right now . . .
That wasn't true. The last thing Amy wanted to be right now was alone. She was sad and depressed and Ephram was looking so kind and inviting. . .
"If you don't mind," she said softly.
Ephram smiled at her.
*****
Amy led Ephram down a pretty nature path, away from the happy chaos of the festival. The two walked in silence until Amy reached a clearing. She walked to the edge of the clearing and stood at the foot of an overview, which looked down upon the festival. The view was picturesque, the atmosphere soft and comforting.
She glanced back at Ephram, unable to hide the tears in her eyes. Ephram sat down on a large boulder and motioned Amy to come sit next to him.
"So what happened," he prompted her gently, once she was seated nest to him.
"I got into a fight with Colin," she said staring at her feet. She glanced up at Ephram, judging his reaction. She halfway expected him to make a crack about what a jerk Colin was. She couldn't have blamed him if he had.
"I'm sorry," he said instead.
"What?" she asked, surprised.
"I said I'm sorry. I know you care about Colin and I'm sorry you had a fight with him. But, I mean, I'm sure you'll work things out. There's no need to beat yourself up about it."
"What makes you so sure we'll be able to work things out?"
"Well, from what I've heard. You and Colin have been together for a while. You're like Mr. and Mrs. Everwood. Couples like you and Colin don't just break up."
Amy wanted to agree with him, but surprised herself when she suddenly felt the urge to argue against what he was saying. "I'm not so sure . . . Things are changing. I don't understand it, but Colin and I are growing apart."
"When did that start to happen?"
Amy considered the question. When had she and Colin started to grow apart? She glanced up at Ephram and realized it was right about the time the Brown's had arrived in Everwood. That notice made her worry.
"I don't know. It's been happening for a while, I guess."
"Well, sometime's people do just grow apart. There's nothing you can do about it Amy. You just have to trust what's in your heart . . . or something like that," Ephram muttered, looking embarrassed by what he had just said.
Amy laughed lightly, "Yeah, I guess you're right." 'The only problem is, I have no idea what my heart is telling me' she thought, frustrated.
The two sat in companionable silence for a while when Amy suddenly looked up, "Ephram?" she said softly.
"Yeah?" he said, glancing up.
"How come you never told me about your Mom?"
Ephram looked startled for a second but quickly recovered, "I didn't think you'd appreciated hearing about my problems. Besides, I knew you'd hear about it eventually."
"Yeah," she whispered, not able to understand why it bothered her so much that Ephram hadn't felt comfortable sharing his problems with her.
"So, who told you?"
Amy looked up at Ephram, sadness in her eyes.
"Ah, so you saw my Dad's freak show today at the festival," he said, laughing bitterly.
"I'm sure you're Dad's just going through a lot. It must have been so hard on all of you."
"Yeah, well don't waste your pity on him. He doesn't deserve it," Ephram said coldly.
Amy wanted to asked Ephram why he had such harsh feelings towards his father, but didn't want to push him.
"Ephram?" she asked again suddenly.
He looked up at her in response.
"I . . ." Amy suddenly forgot what she had wanted to say. She couldn't seem to pull away from Ephram's hot gaze. His dark eyes looked like they were simmering. Amy's senses were screaming, and she knew she should look away, but she felt like she was stuck . . . powerless against the effect he was having on her.
Amy didn't know what made her do it. Maybe it was the fight with Colin, maybe it was learning about Ephram's mother, maybe it was just their growing friendship, or maybe it was just because of all the emotions surrounding them, but whatever the reason was, she did it. She leaned forward, closing the small gap between she and Ephram, and kissed him lightly on the mouth.
Even as Amy told herself not to, she felt herself deepening the kiss. She felt Ephram start to respond and move closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, and pulling her up against him. She snaked her arms around his neck and buried her hands in his unruly hair, loving the feel of it. She kissed him frantically, heat spreading quickly throughout her limbs.
God help her, she didn't want to stop. And that's when she did. She pulled back, a horrified expression on her face. Oh God, what had she done?
"Amy -" Ephram started.
"No, I'm sorry. I, I - I need to go." Amy jumped up and quickly started down the path, refusing to look back at Ephram when he called out to her again.
Once she was a fair way down the path, Amy let out a strangled sob. God, when did things become so confusing? Even as she told herself the kiss was a mistake, and it meant nothing, she couldn't control the rapid thundering of her heart and the shaking of her hands. Ephram's kiss had had a hell of an effect on her, whether she wanted to admit it of not.
'Listen to what your heart's telling you,' she thought to herself with an ironic smile, 'Fat chance'. She had no idea what her heart was telling her.
A/N: Well there ya go. I hope it was okay, please PLEASE review and let me know if this story is worth continuing. Also, thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story so far - those reviews were the main reason I decided to continue this. Well, I guess that's all from now - hope ya enjoyed it.