Chapter 4

Silence swept through the room.

The girl previously hugging him pulled away ever-so-slightly, her blue eyes wide in a mixture of shock and disbelief. Len couldn't bring himself to say anything else, glancing around at the mixed looks of surprise, pain, and concern falling to rest on him.

"B-but Len-kun…" The girl with the green hair stepped a little closer, holding her hands out as if she were approaching a frightened animal. "We're your friends—your family..!"

The nurse sighed. "I was afraid of this."

The blonde-haired girl whipped her head around to fix the nurse with a piercing glare. "You were afraid of this? You mean you knew this might happen?!"

Again, the nurse sighed. Len cringed away, the girl's quickly rising voice reminding him of the headache throbbing in in his skull.

"Please lower your voice, Ms. Kagamine."

We have the same last name…? Len glanced up at the girl again, discomfort apparent in his taut shoulders, though his unease only added to the new pain slowly working its way through his body.

"But-!"

"Rin-chan wait; let her talk." The pink-haired girl stepped up to the blonde's side, resting her hand gently on her shoulder.

The nurse cleared her throat quietly, before taking a deep breath and speaking. "Mr. Kagamine suffered from severe head wounds—it's a miracle h escaped with a concussion. We worried that he may have more internal damage than we originally thought. I'm sorry to tell you this, but it appears that he has amnesia."

"Amnesia?" Len echoed quietly. He tilted his head to the side. That explained the emptiness; it explained why none of these people looked familiar.

"So you really don't remember us? You don't remember me?" The girl that had his last name was backing away from him slowly, as if he had struck her.

"I-I'm sorry," Len stammered, looking away again. "I don't."

The silence fell again, heavy and awkward. Len didn't know where it was okay to look, so he examined the too-clean sheets wrapped around his waist. His left leg was slightly elevated in a sling, a heavy cast around his thigh. His arms were also restricted, wrapped in casts and hung in slings around his neck, resting against his ribs. Through the loose material of the hospital gown he could see the extensive bandages wrapped around his ribs, suddenly understanding the pain that haunted his every breath. What happened to me…? He glanced back up into the bright cerulean eyes of the girl that shared his last name, but hesitated before words could escape his lips. She had backed into the other girl's embrace, the one with pink hair. The words died in his throat and he instead turned his gaze to the meticulously cleaned tile floor.

"You don't even remember my name, do you?" The blonde finally whispered softly, looking at him through eyes that said she already knew the answer to that question. Still without words, Len only shook his head. He felt hopeless—hopeless and lost.

"Maybe we should give him some time," the pink-haired girl sighed quietly, and everyone else in the room nodded, including the nurse.

"That's probably for the best," the hospital staff sighed as well. Len couldn't bring himself to look up again. He couldn't face the disappointment in their sad, sad eyes. He couldn't resist glancing up though as the door slammed open, despite the pain it caused his head.

"Where's Len? Why didn't anyone tell me he was awake sooner?!"

Instantly, the pink-haired girl and blue-haired boy jumped forward, attempting to hush the person and blocking him (it was definitely a man's voice, wasn't it? It sounded so familiar…) from Len's view. It didn't take long, however, for the newcomer to force his way through. Len's eyes widened as he took in the new person's appearance. He was tall and well-muscled, with long violet hair and dark, smoldering violet eyes. Eyes that locked with Len's the moment he broke the barrier made by the other two people.

"Gakupo…!" Len blurted out instantly, the name slipping from his lips before he even realized he may have recognized the man.

Again, silence washed over the room. Len couldn't tear his gaze from the astonished violet eyes of the man he had called 'Gakupo.'

"You remember him?" The blonde girl spluttered incredulously. "You don't remember me—but you remember him?!"

"I… I don't… I mean…" Len fumbled for words, his head beginning to throb more prominently.

"Remember me? Why wouldn't he?" The purple-haired man blinked his surprise away, but it still lingered in his tone.

The girl with green hair looked down. "He's been diagnosed with amnesia."

"He doesn't remember any of us," the girl with short brown hair spoke for the first time with an uncomfortable shrug of her shoulders, as if the situation was making her anxious.

"But he remembers you…" The blonde girl was looking down, her fists clenched tightly at her sides. "He remembers you…" Len could hear her voice trembling. The violet-eyed man either didn't notice or didn't care, meeting his gaze as he stepped forward carefully.

"You don't remember anything, Len-kun…?"

"N-no… I just…"

The nurse cut in, resting her hand on Len's shoulder in a comforting way. "It's not uncommon for small things to trigger peoples' memories, or for certain people to trigger more than others. For now, we're going to have to ask you all to step out for a moment while we run a few more tests on Mr. Kagamine."

'Gakupo' frowned. "But I just got here."

"We'll talk to you all individually in a few moments, so please return to the waiting room. Thank-you."

Len watched with wide eyes as another nurse came in to help usher his supposed "friends" out into the hallway. The violet-haired man hesitated, their eyes locking one last time before he tsked and turned to follow the others. Something constricted in the teen's chest—something sharp and sudden—and he gasped, reaching out towards the man. "Don't!"

He didn't know what it was, not really, but it hurt to watch him walk away. His mind was dark and bleak, and the emptiness scared him. The only thing cutting through the shroud around his absent memories was the violet-eyed man in front of him, and the thought of him walking away struck fear into the teen's very core.

"Don't go…"

"Are you sure Mr. Kagamine?" The nurse fixed Gakupo with an uncertain look, but Len nodded quickly.

"I don't want to be alone."

'Gakupo' flashed him a smirk. "You don't have to be." He assured him, allowing the door to close after the pink-haired girl. He moved to the bedside, pulling over one the chairs.

The nurse still looked skeptical, but didn't object. "His morphine is getting low," she observed. When it's out, push that button there so the doctor can come run some tests. These are Mr. Kagamine's very slim visiting hours, and if he remembers even the smallest thing about you, then it may help him to talk to you."

Len felt an unfamiliar flash of warmth cross his cheeks as the nurse left. "Oh…" he stared after her, uncertain how he felt about being alone with the man sitting at his bedside.

"Don't worry," he chuckled. "You can trust me, Len-kun. I promise."

The teen wasn't sure why, but looking into the smoldering depths of Gakupo's violet eyes, he believed him. "So…" He shifted uncomfortably. "You're Gakupo…?"

"The one and only," Gakupo chuckled. "And you're Len. Len Kagamine."

Len nodded. "I think I remembered that…" The pain from his head was spreading slowly through his veins. "Were…" the pain was beginning to make it hard to focus. "Were we close?" His brow furrowed as he tried to think.

Gakupo smirked. "You could say that." His voice seemed softer than before, like silk.

"O-Oh?" The teen stuttered as the man leaned closer.

"Yes," he murmured, reaching forward and brushing his fingertips across Len's cheek. The boy couldn't bring himself to pull away, drawn to the gesture like a moth to a flame. "I could… refresh your memory, if you'd like…"

The blue-eyed teen blinked. "Really?"

"Really," Gakupo confirmed, leaning closer still. Len felt his heart pounding his chest, his pain all but forgotten as he was pulled into Gaupo's alluring gaze. "Close your eyes."

"But…" But I could stare into yours forever… Why do my eyes need to be closed? With a shaky breath, Len obeyed, closing his eyes and bracing himself for whatever reminder he was about to get. There was a moment, a moment when he could have sworn that he felt Gakupo's warm breath mingling with his own, and for a moment, he wanted to close that gap so badly he couldn't breathe. And then the warmth was gone.

"Ah, Len-kun… You should have chosen someone else to almost remember."

The blonde's eyes fluttered open, and he blinked in confusion when he realized that Gakupo had leaned back in his chair, as if trying to put as much distance between them as he could. "Why is that?" Len's voice was a lilting, pained whisper. Gakupo's closeness had distracted him. Now that there was distance between them again he felt the pain even more vividly than before.

"Because in your condition, you're just begging for me to take advantage of you." His eyes were filled with mixed emotions. "Your arms are in slings, you can't run away or avoid me… And you're on heavy duty pain killers. If you remembered it would be one thing, but I can't risk scaring you off, Len-kun."

"My heavy duty pain killers are gone," he winced as he acknowledged the fact, flashing a quick glare at the empty IV drip.

"Then I should call the doctor." Gakupo stood, flashing the teen a more gentle smile. "Don't worry Len. I know this is scary, but everything is going to be okay. I promise."

Len didn't say anything as the violet-haired man turned and walked away. He could only stare blankly after him and hope that he was right as his pain returned full force and dragged him into unconsciousness.

*****Edited this chapter a little because a kind reviewer reminded me that I can't trust myself at 2 am, apparently, as at 2 am I thought it would be a good idea to let Gakupo make bad choices. Anyways, I want to be sure that people understand that Len doesn't remember Gakupo. He saw his eyes and a name jumped into his head, that's all; the reason being that Gakupo's eyes were the last thing he saw before his elevator-from-hell trip. Thanks to everyone that has reviewed, followed, and favorited this story! Without you guys I never would have picked it up again when I finally got my new laptop! Let me know what you think, if you'd like!