The Once Future King
Part One: The Boyhood
Chapter XII: Stepping into the future...
By: Evelmys
Rating: PG13 Ish... maybe R ish...
--
It was lunchtime when Greg finally met back up with Lily. They did after all have the same lunch period together.
"So?" snapped Greg near desperate to know.
"Doesn't look good," said Lily quite sadly. "It says he was taken to an institution which practices an extreme form of hypnotherapy."
"Hypnotherapy?" repeated Greg not liking the sound of it one little bit.
"Yeah," answered Lily quite sadly. "It says here he was seen by a Doctor Asia Silverstone, who administered mind resistance medications to Nick and started to reprogram his thought processes. Greg, I think the reason why Nick didn't visit you, is because, he doesn't even know you exist. I think Judge Stokes had you completely removed from his memories."
Greg sat there whiter than even the faintest of ghosts. It did make perfect sense to why Nick wouldn't have seen him. To why Nick took one of those flaky girls, the two of them always laughed and joked about. It all made perfectly good sense.
"Is there any way to reverse what is done?" asked Greg solemnly.
"Well," she tugged her shirt collar. "With these extreme forms Greg, no one really knows. It does say that when memories are surprised and supplemented with new false memories is activated, the mind can sometimes tell and when a conflicting thought pattern occur. Many people who have had this condition have reported experiencing sharp incurable headaches. But, that appears to be the only thing medical there. "
"If he were to see me again, wouldn't that jog his memory?"
"I don't know. I don't think so Greg. If the memories are replaced by fake ones, then he might need to know you as a completely different person. He will never recollect you as who you are again. Not without the headaches."
It wasn't what Greg wanted to hear. He wanted to know that there was a chance for them. Damn it, he wanted to know if there was even the slightest possibility for both of them to becoming a couple again. Unfortunately, that hope was quickly fading from his heart and soul.
"There are instances when the thoughts are so strong, that it can be nearly impossible to make them go away completely. In that case I think if he wants to he might be able to force himself to remember."
"It's too late," cried Greg. "He doesn't want to remember anything else. He's perfectly content."
That night was the last entry in his journal that related anything to Nicholas Stokes. That night was the last time he would ever refer to himself as Gregory Stokes. He would now go through the world as Gregory Sanders, a name for which he somehow felt some connection.
--
It was two weeks until the day of his graduation from high school. Nick was downstairs with Adrianna in his lap. Greg saw him a little and noticed how his eyes shut and his hands braced his head from the pain within. He was definitely remembering him, but unable to make the connection. Secretly, he wanted him to fight it and see him. That was now just in his dreams. The Nick he knew was never coming back to him. He was gone forever and Greg knew and understood that.
At school Lily waited there with letters from colleges in her hand all addressed to Greg Sanders (The name he had filled out on the applications.). He took the thirty or so envelopes from her hands and sat down at the cafeteria tables. He took a deep breath before opening every letter.
Harvard: Declined
Yale: Declined
Princeton: Accepted
Duke: Accepted
Stanford: Accepted
Oklahoma University: Accepted
Oklahoma State University: Accepted
University of North Texas: Accepted
Texas Tech: Accepted
Texas A&M: Accepted
University of Texas at Austin: Accepted
University of California at Los Angeles: Accepted
University of California at Berkley: Accepted
Purdue University: Accepted
University of Southern California: Accepted
Oxford: Declined
Cambridge University: Accepted
Baylor University: Accepted
Kansas State University: Accepted
Michigan State University: Accepted
New York University: Accepted
North Carolina State University: Accepted
Ohio University: Accepted
Rice University: Accepted
He was very pleased to see he had been widely accepted to several schools of interest. One by one, he sifted through them one by one eliminating those, which didn't have exactly what he wanted. He quickly eliminated all the Texas schools. Now that he and Nick were no longer he and Nick, there was nothing keeping him from leaving the state. One by one, the school's narrowed until he had reached his decision. So, it was decided Greg Sanders was going to attend Stanford University in the fall.
There were only three more days left of high school and Greg like the rest of the seniors spent a good amount of time watching films about stupid unimportant things as they mostly doodled on their paper and built masterful paper airplanes they later intended to set fire to.
"So," Lily plopped down with a silly grin ear to ear. "Sanders, have you decided where you are going to school?"
"Yeah," he answered rather attentively. "I will be going to Stanford University in the fall to study Chemistry. Where are you going?"
"UNT, nothing special," she always did make herself out to be less than what she was. It always bothered Greg, but he never did or said anything about it.
"Why do you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Make yourself out to be less than what you are?"
"Because, I'm not as good as you Greg. I mean, you got a four-point-seven GPA on a four-point scale. The only reason why you weren't accepted into Harvard and Yale is because you didn't go to some fancy preparatory school like your ex-boyfriend. Greg, I'm not selling myself short. I know you think I am, but I'm not. I'm just average Greg."
There was no more point in arguing with Lily Knotweed. If she was anything, she was definitely stubborn and hard of head.
--
He popped his head in the living room and saw Nick sitting there with Adrianna. He was always with Adrianna smiling and laughing at the dumbest things. Greg hated it. He hated that Bill had made him out to be so shallow. His hands roamed her body and he enjoyed it. Waiting, Greg took a seat in the living room and casually watched Nick there. He loved Nick and just because Nick couldn't remember that love, it still didn't remove the presence of the love he felt.
Within five minutes of him sitting there, Nick was leaning back with his hands on his head and had popped three aspirin in the mouth. "Fuck," he griped. "What's wrong with me?"
Silently, Greg wanted Nick not to back down. He wanted Nick to push through the pain to see the love he still felt for him. But, he didn't and Greg left, alone for his graduation.
Graduation day was upon him and not a single Stokes was in the audience when Greg walked across the stage. Bill would hear nothing of anyone coming. He could though see the desire in Jillian's eyes to come along. She didn't though, because he realized Bill was behind it. Her hands were tied and Greg knew it.
He just hoping that at least someone that he loved was going to be there to see him get the most coveted award he had received thus far. Nonetheless, he walked across that stage and accepted his diploma with pride in his eyes.
To Be Continued...