It took too long. Way too long, and we still had very little to show for it. The days passed, some aliens attacked, and we tried everything we could to get her to remember; we even tried to relive some of the more normal things, like the Sumo Slammers marathon to see if it would fit the place in her memory. Her progress with her emotions seemed to grow only to levels of anger, bitterness, and everything else that was negative. I seldomly see her smile, if you can count those thin, wiry stretches across her face as smiles in the first place. Maybe frustrated was the word to call my state of mind, my state of being, but depressed seemed like the better word for it. Yeah. I was depressed.

Admittedly, it wasn't like the pain of constantly coming into reach of Grandpa Max and losing him again, but it hurt just as bad. Gwen and Kevin often had to take the reigns during our memory-hunts, and we had all just about run out of ideas. Zeke had come to remember some things, and other things made sense to keep blocked out, but during the meditation sessions, Gwen had said there had been nothing she could find except a personal and conscious block. Which meant that Zeke just wasn't really trying, I guess...

This has even gotten in the way of me fighting aliens; I can barely keep my head up long enough to successfully avoided getting hurt. You'd think that the distraction would do me some good, that it would keep me occupied from feeling so distraught at this lack of progress, but no. It just sucks. We never tell Ze when we go out to fight, either. You could argue that a familiar fight would be just what she needs, but there were too many unknowns. What if a really heavy, really crippling memory triggers? The kind that keeps her from moving? It could jeopardize her life. And since she didn't have the scarf any more, could she even fight?

She may have forgotten us and how much we care about her, but that doesn't mean we'll just let her get hurt.

Most nights, I've found that I spend a lot of my time at Julie's, seeking her company and support. This night was no different, as I ditched my bike in her driveway and walked right up to the front door. She opened it before I could even knock, a sorrowful look in her brown eyes. I knew she didn't like seeing me this way; so broken and defeated. With Grandpa Max, I never let it bring me down this much. But that's because he taught me well, and he would be disappointed if I let him weigh me down. With Zeke, it was harder. I couldn't tell whether or not she cared, and while I wanted to believe that she did, all evidence suggested otherwise.

We sat on the couch again, staring at the blank TV in complete silence. This was how each visit started out, with Julie so patiently waiting and me so earnestly trying to denying everything negative I felt. I wanted to believe that Zeke would be back to normal, that I was just being impatient and that she would come around eventually. But it was so undeniably draining... Four days felt like four weeks, and each minute that the idea that nothing would change just made me exhausted in every sense of the word. I couldn't deny the fact that she had started to recognize a few street names, but we had driven along enough for it to just be the chance of her glancing out the window and seeing the same name again and again. Some things were more concrete, like the fact that she remembered a few things about each of us, but that didn't change much.

There was always the possibility that she had a reason for not choosing to remember, but could anything really justify it enough?

I rubbed my face with my hands, an audible groan grumbling out from the depths of my throat. Julie's worried gaze flickered to me and I just dismissed it with a thin smile. She was there to listen to me, as she had done multiple times already with a patient and open ear, but I just wanted to sit in this silence and try to breathe. I stared up at the eggshell white ceiling, following each groove with my eyes to find where they ended and where the next one began.

Back in the garage, Gwen was looking up other memory-triggering methods on her laptop, Kevin was working on his car, and Zeke was in the general vicinity. I think. At that point, I didn't care too much, I just wanted to think about anything else. Even the DNAliens were a better topic! However, I eventually decided to make use of Julie's company, leaning forward with my forearms resting against my knees. "It sucks," I simply said, my voice thick, "Like, what happened to Ze? I get that space travel when you're not control of anything, and don't know what's going on, or anything else, can be traumatic, but this absurd... She isn't a total amnesiac, so why can't she just remember already? And why won't she just actively try!? Is there a reason she won't tell us, or does she just not care? We're doing everything that we can to help her, and she's just sitting there like a damn potato!"

Sounds like frustration, huh?

"You know what?" I asked, finding that I was going down the same script as each time before, "I keep thinking that maybe it would've been better if she hadn't met us at all. Sure, she wasn't totally normal before she met us, but at least she could've stayed as normal as she wanted. The minute she came into contact with us was the minute that things really started to go bad for her... Right?"

I turned my attention to the girl beside me, knowing full well that that wasn't a question she could answer. Julie's brow was furrowed, her lips were pursed tightly, and yet her gaze remained soft. "I'm sorry, Ben.." she said, putting a comforting hand over my own tense grip, "I really am. I wish she could understand how much this means to you - to the others - but at this point in time, she just sounds like she's kind of a sociopath. It's not the easiest thing to try to "fix", even if she wasn't always like that to begin with."

"I know that..."

"Since this wasn't her to begin with," the raven continued, giving my knuckles a squeeze, "I think she'll eventually come around. You could even leave her alone, for both of your sakes', and wait for her that way. This isn't exactly the healthiest thing for a hero to be involved in, right?"

This made me laugh a little, shoulders shaking with the breath. I looked over to her with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Julie," I told her, "but you know I can't just do that.."
And she nodded.

We made small talk like this for a while when the doorbell suddenly rang. The two of us perked up, a bit confused by the arrival; I because I was curious, and Julie because she didn't seem to have been expecting company. She dismissed herself, coming around the arm of the couch and heading over to the door to unbolt it. There was a small catch in her breath that even I could hear, causing me to rise from the couch and lift my left arm to the center of my abdomen. Part of me was hoping that it was just a reaction because of the person who stood there, but that didn't mean I couldn't worry about it being a bad thing. I peeked my head around the corner and was surprised to see Zeke in the doorway. And as much as it hurt to realize, I wasn't happy to see her; even if there was a hopeful part of me that thought she came looking for me to tell me something.

Her mossy eyes were currently focused on a partially surprised Julie, the corners of her lips twitching into the small ghost of a smile. "Hi.. Julie..." she greeted a bit robotically. There was that hopeful flutter again, taking flight in the deepest reaches of my chest as she said Julie's name. We had only mentioned the tennis player, never showed pictures of her to the blonde, and yet she identified her by name. Maybe... Maybe I could have hope?

Julie nodded a bit, a rather pleased smile pulling across her face. "Hi, Ze," she returned, "What brings you here?"

That's when the blonde looked to me, nodding once before she gestured over her shoulder. "Kevin dropped me off here," Zeke explained, "They're heading to Mr. Smoothie's and wanted us to catch up to them. Didn't exactly bother to wait for us, either.."

A couple of days ago, I would've been glad to have a chance to get one-on-one and maybe explore deeper on my own. But now, hearing her say "us" only made me feel like a brick of lead, dragging my feet across the floor as I approached her. "Got it.." I responded, squeezing past Julie and through the doorway. I paused on the front steps, turning back to look at the raven and putting on my most convincing smile of the day. "Thanks for tonight," I was sure to say, receiving only a small, unsure nod in return.

I walked past Zeke and went for my bike first, kicking in the kickstand and hanging the helmet on the handlebars. The titanium boots clinked against the concrete of the walkway as the blonde started to move away from the door. While I expected to hear the front door close and bolt shut, it never happened. By the time I decided to lift my gaze, Julie was standing in front of a startled Zeke.

"What kind of friend are you, by the way?" she demanded with a terse tone, "You do understand your situation, right?"

"Julie.." I started to warn, bringing the kickstand back out again. Despite being a few feet away from them, the swelling hostility was not something I could've ignored even if I wanted to. Zeke had yet to say anything as she was still getting over her initial surprise, but the hesitation wouldn't last long.

Julie jabbed her finger into the other's chest sharply, causing her to take a step back. "Just look at you..." she continued, "I haven't seen you since BEFORE you disappeared, and Ben has told me all about the situation. I kept thinking that maybe he was just overreacting, that you actually were returning to normal and he was just too overwhelmed to tell, but looking at you now..." She paused, her expression turning sour and borderline disgusted. Brown eyes lifted to match the moss, Julie's fists clenching at her sides.

"Zeke..." the raven said, "Even I know that this isn't you, that you wouldn't just let your friends visibly struggle around you. For some people, they just can't help it, but you can and yet you're still letting it go like nothing. You're just-"

"I'm not completely blind," the blonde interrupted, a dark glint in her eyes, "Why do you even feel the need to tell me?"

SMACK.

The sound was sharp and solid, my jaw dropping down to my bicycle seat as I witnessed, almost in slow motion, the connection. Julie's arm had reeled back so fast, coming back around in the time it took one to blink. Zeke's head snapped to the side, her eyes widened considerably, and for a second, I was worried that a fight would break out. But... All that the blonde did was hold her cheek and stare at Julie in disbelief.

"You're just sad," Julie finished, "You're pitiful. If you can see it, then I'm disgusted that you're still not doing anything about it."

And Zeke said nothing.

~#~#~#~

We walked along in silence, meandering through the neighborhood as we made the trek to the usual Mr. Smoothie's. I pulled my bike along with me, unable to formulate a single sentence in my head. After Julie had smacked Zeke right across the face, the blonde had kept quiet, staring ahead as she walked. It would be a while until we got there by foot, and considering how patient Kevin could be sometimes, I considered getting on my bike and having Zeke stand on the back. But when I looked over, I decided against it. I wouldn't say it out loud, but that ruby red handprint that took residence on her left cheek was actually kind of impressive.. It had been a good hit, one that would be sore to the touch for a day or two afterwards.

I dug my nails into the rubber of the handle bar, casting a curious glance in the other's direction. My head had cleared with the resonating smacking sound, so now I wasn't as mentally heavy as I was before; that didn't mean the rest of me was lighter, mind you. It was dark outside, so I didn't really notice the sheen in her eyes until we passed a lamppost. Did it... Did it hurt..?

Clearing my throat, I turned my gaze away. "Don't worry so much, Ze," I told her, "Julie means well. I'm sure she didn't entirely want to hurt you." Even then, I was glad she had done something that seemed to have shocked the blonde, and that she said everything that I think needed to be said.. As horrible as that may sound.

"It doesn't hurt," was her curt response, her eyes remaining anchored ahead.

She didn't have any intention of looking over at me, which was fine.. I couldn't get a good read on her or what she was thinking, but it felt like I needed to ask a few of the questions that had pent up and reached the point of bursting out. They had always been there, yet there never seemed to be a good chance to ask them. That's not to say that now was the best time to ask either, it just felt more possible, you know? I lowered my gaze to the swinging bicycle helmet, sorting words into sentences and sentences into questions. When I lifted my eyes again, I was ready to ask but she seemed to have other plans.

"Listen, Ben.." the blonde started with, catching my attention almost instantly. There was a tone of awkwardness to the way she walked now, and there seemed to be only confusion laced into the parts of her face that I could see. "I think that it's about time that I've said that I'm so-"

My phone cut her off, both of our eyes widening at the sudden interruption. We came to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk as I pulled the phone from my pocket, flipping it open to see Gwen's name on the screen. Now, initially I had assumed that it was Kevin, and because of that I thought that maybe he was getting impatient. Since it was Gwen, that possibility seemed to jump from my mind. I was quick to answer, bringing it up to my ear just in time to ear something crash on the other end. "Gwen!?" I called urgently, my bike falling from my grip and onto the ground. "Gwen, what's going on?!"

"Ben!" she exclaimed in return, "Where are you?! We need you here! A Highbreed just attacked us out of nowhere!"

"A Highbreed!? Shit.. I'm on my way!"

I quickly hung up, ditching the device back into my pocket and activating the Omnitrix. The holographic projection of Swampfire popped up over the dial as I started to run backwards into the empty road, twisting through the alien selections I had until it came to rest on the one I wanted. "I'll be right back," I assured the blonde, whose eyes remained wide, "Just hang tight, okay?" She opened her mouth just as I slammed on the dial.