Keep reviewing, my wonderful and lovely readers! *moved*
ChocolateSunshine500: Thanks for the support! And lol Oz is just like that. He's a rather determined person. Just wait and see what plans I have for him in the future... *plotting laugh*
Aizawa Li Syaoran Vessalius: Thank you! And have you read/watched both Cardcaptor Sakura and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles? They're epic!
daciela: I'll try and update as much as possible! And you will find out... ;)
ILoveXB: Aw, thanks! And OH MY GOSH YOU WOULD DO ART FOR THIS? *runs around room like a toddler who consumed too much sugar* OF COURSE YOU CAN! MUST YOU ASK? I FEEL HONORED. HONORED. HONORED. *clears throat and straightens clothes* Anyways. Thanks for the compliments! I like fanfiction that has characters actually IC; to me it makes more sense that way. And that lack of mushiness...you might see that occasionally in further chapters when it's in context. XD
Noise of Echo: ARE YOU READERS PSYCHIC? *headdesks upon seeing that yet another reader has predicted something that would happen in next chapter* *restrains self* Thanks for the compliment!
Beatrixmalf: Ooo an Indonesian reader! Greetings! I'll try and update often, but I can't guarantee anything. (Your English is good!)
"Congratulations on being discharged!" Sharon exclaimed happily, jamming a bouquet of flowers into Alice's arms. "Congratulations! Congratulations!"
Alice managed a weak smile as she shifted the bunch of flowers in her arms. "Thanks..." Sharon's enthusiasm was just...a little intimidating.
The doctor had cleared Alice's leaving the hospital after removing the bandages from her head. "Just be careful," he told her while she marveled at how free her head felt without the bindings. "Your brain is fine, but it won't be if you get hit by something again. And try not to think too hard about anything. It's best to keep your mind in a calm state and not overexert it."
Her arms, legs and torso were still healing, but the wounds weren't extensive enough for her to need a wheelchair. "Are you sure you don't want to stay for a few more days?" Oz asked worriedly as they were walking out of the hospital and to the parking lot. "I mean, are you sure you're feeling okay? I don't want you to push yourself to hard and get inju-"
"I'm fine," Alice assured. She paused for a moment, wondering how she had even gotten all of those cuts and bruises on her in the first place. Then, she repeated, "Perfectly fine."
It was a sunny day, so much so that the sun seemed to have evaporated any clouds that existed. She clutched the bouquet, which held nothing but daisies, closer to her chest.
It had been impossible to sleep the night before. After Oz had left, simply allowing the subject of their relationship float in the air, Alice could do nothing but stare up at the bland ceiling and wonder.
She thought…and thought…about nothing specific, really. When she finally got sick of the dark blankness in her head, she turned on the lights and flipped through the photo album. It was filled with pictures of her abusing Oz while he kept the same, happy expression on his face.
It was only the last few pages of the existing pictures that consisted of a clearly romantic relationship. Pictures taken side-by-side, and just a few kissing photos. On the cheeks, though. Those were enough to make her blush slightly in the darkness.
As the threesome headed to the parking lot, Alice stole a glance at Oz. She wondered what was going on in his head. She tried to imagine his emotions from when she couldn't even recognize him.
Although I can't feel it myself, she thought, it must have been very painful.
It wasn't fair for him; she knew that. But she had no idea what she could do to make things the least bit normal...
"Oz?" she said, watching as Sharon skipped ahead, humming to herself.
"Yeah?"
She hesitated for a moment before deciding that she really didn't have much to lose. "I was thinking. And maybe…"
Without even breaking stride, or turning to even read her expression, Oz said, "You're thinking about becoming my girlfriend, aren't you?"
Alice looked up in surprise. "How –?"
Oz looked over at her with a smile. "I have natural perception skills. They apply to everyone, especially you." He tucked his hands into his pockets, facing forward again. "No thanks. I don't want you to pity me."
"It's not pity! It's just –" She cut herself off. Was trying to revive their previous relationship really just pitying Oz? She shifted uncomfortably. She hadn't intended it to be like that...
"I appreciate it," he said. "I really do. But…I don't think either of us think it's best to base a relationship off of something that one of us doesn't even remember. Isn't that right?"
Alice stared down at the flowers. "I don't know," she answered honestly.
"I told you how what Sharon said was true, didn't I?" Oz pointed out. "That includes everything. Even the part where I said that I would make you fall in love with me again." He grinned in satisfaction. "When you become my girlfriend again, it'll be actual love."
Alice stared at him for a moment or to. "When" she became his girlfriend again...not "if". "You're making it sound so simple," she said.
He simply shrugged. "Nothing to it. If I've done it once, then it can't be as hard to do it a second time." He turned to her and tapped her nose. "Even if you don't have your memories anymore, you're still Alice."
But who is Alice? she asked herself.
"Oz! Alice!" Sharon hollered, waving her arms. She was standing next to a silver van, which had a dark-haired man sitting in the driver's seat. "Come on!"
When they caught up with her, the man had gotten out of the vehicle. "This is Gil," Sharon said. "He's my older brother!"
Brother...? Alice glanced from Sharon to Gil, and then back again. There was no resemblance at all!
Gil poked Alice's head. "Oi, are you sure that she can't remember anything?" he asked while Alice stared at him strangely. "She looks just as stupid as she did before..."
Alice blinked. "Who's this?" she asked Oz, pointing at Gil. "Why did he just call me stupid?"
Sharon reached up and smacked her brother across the head. "Don't worry, Alice!" she said brightly while Gil rubbed the back of his head. "He's always like this. You two had quite a relationship. I would say...mortal enemies?"
Oz nodded. "Pretty much. You two would argue every single day, like it was a routine or something." He chuckled. "It was actually pretty funny..."
"They were serious arguments, Oz," Gil growled. He looked at Alice, narrowing his eyes. "So I was right when I assumed that you were stupid. What kind of an idiot loses all of their memories?"
He was rewarded with yet another slap from Sharon. "This is a serious medical condition!" she snapped. "Now hurry up and drive us home!"
They all clambered into the van. "So...where exactly do I live?" Alice asked as she sat in the back seat next to Oz.
"Well, you used to live in some kind of dark neighborhood," Sharon explained. "But there was no way I was going to allow that to continue. So now you live with us."
Alice thought for a moment. "With you, as in...?"
"Me, Gil, and Oz!" Sharon turned around from the shotgun seat to speak to Alice face-to-face. "You see, Gil and my parents are off on a business trip for a few years and said that as long as we took care of the house and didn't do stupid things, we could invite friends over. And so, since Oz's parents are just as busy with work, we brought him to our house. And then when you appeared and I saw your house for the first time..."
Her eyes flashed, as if remembering something horrible. "I couldn't bear to see you live there!" Sharon wailed. "I just couldn't!"
"So we all live in one house?" Alice asked. "Like...like a fraternity home, only with girls?"
"Mm-hmm!" Sharon turned back around. "Every single day is an adventure in that house!"
Oz nodded in agreement. "There was this one time that you almost burned down the entire house, Alice!" he said, way too happy for the words exiting his mouth. "You tried to work the stove and then set the kitchen on fire!"
"Mom and Dad nearly killed me for burning the house," Gil muttered, clutching the steering wheel.
"Wait until you see your room again, Alice!" Sharon exclaimed, rapidly changing the subject. "You hated it so much before, but you'll definitely love it now! A fresh start with a new mind!"
Alice stood in the doorway of her "room", jaw crashing to the floor.
"So, how do you like it?" Sharon asked.
On the outer appearance, the house was perfectly normal. Two stories, white paint, blue roof. But...
"What's with the pink?" Alice questioned, her eyes wincing from just looking. The walls of the room were a bright, burning pink. The blankets on the bed were pink, the pillow was pink, the bookshelf was painted pink, and the carpet was - guess what? - pink. Everything was so pink that Alice wanted to leap from the window to save her brain, which was just about ready to implode.
Sharon leaped onto the bed, relishing in its comfort. "I designed it myself before you moved in!" she said. "So that we would have matching rooms?"
"I don't think this is very good for her eyes," Oz commented, placing a hand over Alice's eyes. "It's really...bright. Won't it scar her brain in its state right now?"
Sharon waved it off. "Nonsense! Alice survived with it before!"
I...survived...in this kind of room? Alice was glad that she couldn't see anything for now...
"Now, shoo, Oz," Sharon said. "I have some things I would like to discuss with Alice. Alone."
For a moment, there was no response. Then, Alice's eyes were again revealed to the awfulness of the hot pink room. "Alright," Oz said beside her. He then turned and, without another word, walked out, closing the door behind him.
"Come," Sharon said, patting the space on the bed beside her. "Sit with me, Alice."
Alice hesitated for a moment. She did not like the atmosphere. With her eyes covered a few moments before, she would never know what kind of glances that Oz and Sharon had exchanged. And Oz did sound uneasy when he left...
She stepped forward and sat.
"Alice," Sharon began, "would you like to know more about yourself?"
Alice glanced at her. Sharon's face gave away nothing. Alice looked down at her hands, holding each other in her lap. "I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"There's not really a reason for it. But..." She looked down at her arms, which were still bound with bandages. "Tell me, Sharon, where did they find me?"
"Hmm?"
Alice poked at a bandage. "Where did they find me, hurt like this, before sending me to the hospital?"
"Oz said that you were in a warehouse."
Alice kept her eyes focused on her arms. "Oz?"
Sharon moved beside her. "He was the one who found you. You didn't return home at the normal time. We - Gil and I - were sure that it was nothing. You always used to sneak out at night sometimes. You said it was like a therapy for you."
Sharon sighed. "But...Oz was really uneasy. He was panicking. I didn't know what was wrong with him. Out of all of us, Oz should've known best that you were out just on another walk that you decided to take on a whim. Something was bugging him. Without telling us, he left the house.
"That was when Gil and I started to worry. Oz didn't return or contact us...until later that night, when he called us and told us that you were in the hospital."
Alice stayed silent, allowing the information to sink in. "Why...was I in a warehouse?"
She felt, rather than saw, Sharon smile weakly beside her. "That...was why I was asking whether you wanted to know more about yourself."