Recollect

A/N: So this fic is a bunch of my ideas rolled into one. It might not make sense right away, but that's how I intended it to be; this is going to be a fic with more than one chapter, of course. So hang in there with me.

Disclaimer: I own Liana.

Chapter 1: Starting New

She looked between her dad and he other mysterious man. They were yelling; about what, she didn't know. She was standing too far away to even hear a murmur of what they were saying. The man was starting to get mad. He reached into his jacket, pulling something out. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. Her dad turned to her, worry in his eyes. He was yelling something. She didn't quite catch it because all she saw was the gun. The man was yelling something, too. But all she heard was the gun being fired and before she knew it, she fell backward, hitting the ground as everything went black.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Nothing looked familiar; it all seemed to be a distant dream. Everything seemed to be fogged in, locked away somewhere, just like the doctor said it would be. Maybe it was stupid of her to try to do this, look around what was told to be her room, trying to recollect the memories that she had obviously lost. It was no use, though. Everything looked foreign, none of the items represented anything and no memories came rushing back. "Damn it," she silently cursed to herself.

"Hey, sweetie."

Rory turned around to se her dad standing in the door frame. "Hey," she sighed.

"Any luck?" he asked as he came to sit next to her on the bed.

"Nope. None whatsoever." She fell back against the bed and brought her arm up to cover her eyes.

He mimicked her. "Don't worry. With time, it'll all come back. That's what the doctor said."

"That's the thing," she started without looking at him, "I don't want the 'with time' part. I want to remember now," she pouted.

He slightly chuckled, pulling her into a light hug. "Sorry, but that's the way it is."

She groaned out loud. "I know."

"Now come on," he grabbed her hand and pulled her up, "you got to finish packing."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she mumbled under her breath as her dad left the room, shutting the door quietly. She looked around the room once more, trying to figure out why there were so many books.

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She forgot why her dad chose to move here - New York. Something about having a new start in some place new… She really didn't remember, but at least it was kind of true. She liked the fact that no one expected her to be the girl that she was before she had lost her memory. No trying to please everyone, no trying to remember all that they told her right away. It did feel a little wrong having to leave all of her friends and everyone she knew behind, but she had told herself that it was better this way. Yes, definitely better. She was still getting used to being called "Rory".

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Rory looked into her full-length mirror, smoothing out the invisible lines in her waitress uniform. She thought that she looked ridiculous, but all the other waitresses wore them, as well, the waiters wearing something similar of pants and a shirt, so she wouldn't feel too stupid. She gave one last look and walked out of her new room.

"Hey. Ready for your first day?" Chris asked, looking up from the newspaper he was reading.

She took in a deep breath and let it out. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"All right. Good luck!" he called as she walked out the door.

"Bye!" She began to walk the three blocks to her work, taking time to make each step; she didn't have to be in for another half an hour.

When she finally stepped in the door, she was greeted with the strangely familiar smells of a diner. She shook the feeling off as one of the other waitresses walked up to her.

"Hey. You the new girl?"

"Um…yeah."

"Great," she grabbed Rory's hand and dragged her behind the counter. "Here is your order pad, your pen, and your working apron." She turned around and started to walk away, only to turn back to Rory, adding as an afterthought, "I'm Liana, by the way."

Rory nodded her head and responded kindly, "Rory."

Liana gave a smile then winked. "Something tells me that you're going to like it here." She turned back around and disappeared into the kitchen.

"I hope I do," she whispered to herself, then plastered on her best smile when she saw a customer come in. "Here we go."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

He walked through the door of the diner he had come accustomed to coming to in the past year. Without even bothering to wait for someone to seat him, he walked towards the back of the diner, sitting in the seat he always had; he didn't even notice the girl that was following him.

"Excuse me?" he heard the feminine voice say.

He didn't even bother to look up. "I'll have some coffee and the special for today." With a wave of his hand, he pulled out the book he was carrying and started to read. She had a look of frustration on her face as she walked over to the counter put the order in.

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"God!" Rory exclaimed when she reached the counter.

Liana looked up. "What?"

"That guy over there," she pointed to where he was, "he was completely rude and barely acknowledged me."

"Oh," Liana began to nod in understanding. "He's always like that. He's actually kind of sweet if you can get him to talk to you about something other than coffee or sandwiches."

Rory paused a moment, appearing to consider this. "Who is he?"

"He's-"

"Order's up!" the chef interrupted.

Rory gave a 'thanks' and grabbed the plate, heading over to the guy with a new determination.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

She stood a couple steps away from him, watching intently as he read line to line. When she finally approached him, she set the plate and cup down in front of him and waited for him to say something. When he didn't, she cleared her throat. Still no reaction. "Your food's ready," she lamely offered. He nodded without looking up. She waited for a couple more seconds then gave a sigh. She took a couple steps away and called to the back, "Liana, I need to get some fresh air!"

"Alright, Rory," she called back.

Only then did the guy look up at Rory's back, escaping through the door.

So what did you think? Please review and give me any ideas you may have or criticisms. Thank you!