Chapter 4

We spent some time together walking

spent some time just talking

about who we were

~ Nothing Like You And I - The Perishers

I was up before the sun the next morning. After pacing around the house about a hundred times, I finally gave up and decided to get dressed. Not paying much attention to my wardrobe, I ended up wearing the first things I touched. Only when I was halfway down the road did I realise that I had forgotten to brush my hair. Internally cursing myself, I tried to tame the thick black mane and make it look less like something had exploded in it.

Just my luck to end up looking like an idiot...

He hadn't given me a proper time the day before, but I'd guessed it had to be sometime in the early morning. I found that I was right when I got there. He was seated under the willow, one leg hitched up and deep in thought - the way he always seemed to be. I stood there on the stone path watching him for a bit. He must have sensed it though, for he immediately looked up.

"Hey," I said, with a wave of my hand.

"Hey."

He patted the space beside him. As I walked over to join him, the thought that this was the first time I'd be sitting close beside him crossed my mind. I ignored it however, and plopped myself down next to him.

"I'm here," I stated rather unnecessarily.

"Yeah, I noticed," he replied.

An involuntary smile almost crossed my lips at the stupidity of my statement. But I pushed it down.

"Wild night?" he enquired eyeing my hair.

The colour rushed to my cheeks as I attempted to smooth it down.

"Hardly."

"Oh come on, you can tell me. Was it a party or-wait! Was it something...else?" he asked with knowing smirk.

"It wasn't anything! I just...forgot to brush my hair," I mumbled the last part.

"Whatever you say, love."

I fidgeted uncomfortably, wanting to get to the point.

"So...what was it, you wanted to talk to me about yesterday?"

His light mood vanished instantly and his face became stoic once more.

"Like I said, this may all sound a bit weird. I don't even know why I'm telling this to you. But I honestly don't know what else to do."

I waited for him to go on. He took a deep breath before continuing.

"Have you ever felt like you don't belong here?"

It took me a moment to respond.

"Yeah. I mean, I guess its natural to feel like that once in awhile..." I trailed off. He shook his head.

"No, no. I didn't mean that. Have you felt like you really didn't belong? Like you're not supposed to be here at all?"

"Um..."

He ran a hand through his hair.

"That's how I feel. I keep feeling like there's something not right. Like I've forgotten something important that I'm supposed to remember. Only, I have no fucking clue what it is!

"I can remember everything about my life and yet...its like something's missing. And no one even realises that something's wrong. But then I keep thinking about the day we met..."

"What about it?" I asked bewildered.

"I told you my name. And you looked like you'd seen a ghost. I could see that you recognised it somehow but how could that be when we've never even met before? Because, trust me, I would've remembered if we'd met before."

He stopped and cleared his throat before turning to look at me. It was extremely disconcerting to have those eyes stare into mine so intently and even more so, up close.

"I know that you know something. Tell me what it is."

Unable to hold his gaze, I looked down at my clenched hands resting on my lap. My mind was reeling. I remembered that first day too. His name...Ofcourse it unnerved me. How could it not? And how is it that no one else has noticed? Yet, he didn't seem to be lying. The desperation in his eyes...the frustration, it was all real. So now the question was: What was I supposed to tell him? I didn't have the slightest clue what any of this meant.

Just as I was pondering this, his hand reached out and touched mine. I looked up sharply.

"Reyna," that was all he said. But I knew then, that I was going to have to tell him what I knew.

"You-you honestly don't know?" I asked wearily.

He withdrew his hand and ran a hand through his hair once more in clear frustration.

"What exactly am I supposed to have known?"

That you have the name of a fictional character. Oh and that you're the spitting image of him as well.

"Look, no one's ever asked you about your name?"

Someone must have...

"Well, no. I don't...I don't usually give my real name out to people..." he said, looking sheepish.

"Why not?"

"Because, its stupid, that's why. Its a fucking star for god's sake! And not to mention the ridiculous puns that come with it."

"Okay, but-your friends...your family...they've never said anything? No one at school?"

"The company I keep don't usually care about this sort of thing..."

I raised an eyebrow at that.

"The lads and I have nothing in common except for the whole motorcycle thing. And the girls...well, lets just say it isn't my name they're interested in."

Ah...

"Your family then? What about school records? Surely, someone must have known?" I pressed.

"My parents, never said anything about it. And as for records...well, I have an alias."

"What?" I spluttered.

"An alias. You know, another name. I usually go by that one," he stated simply.

Could this get any more complicated?

"But then-why did you tell ME this name?" I asked.

He looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I don't know..."

I took another deep breath. This whole thing was getting weirder and weirder by the minute. By this point, I was close to admitting that he really was...who he said he was. How on earth it happened, and how it had escaped the notice of anyone else, I had no idea. But there was no other explanation and so, I knew I had to accept it.

"Alright, okay, you want to know why I freaked out when you mentioned your name..."

He waited for me to go on.

"You were right. I did recognise it. Because, well, because you're famous!"

He raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Famous? How?"

"You're in a book! And you really should've known this by now! Its not exactly hard to come by...Its all over the internet. You have used the internet haven't you?"

He shot me a look that clearly said: 'What do you take me for?'

"What kind of book is it?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"Its a fiction book. A story. But so much more than that...It's the kind of story everyone knows and no one would ever forget... It was even made into movies a couple years ago. God, I can't believe you don't know! You must've been living under a rock or something..."

"And, I'm in it?" he asked, ignoring the last part.

"Yes!"

"Will you tell me? This story?"

And so I did.

By the time I'd finished, he was staring into space with a inscrutable expression.

"So, you're saying I go to prison and then I die, in the book?"

I shrugged.

"Pretty much. But you were innocent. No one wanted you to die, believe me. It was horrible, the way you were taken from the world..."

It was true. It was terribly cruel how little time he got to spend with his godson. And how he had died without having his name cleared, in the hands of his own cousin nonetheless. It had been one of the most heartbreaking character deaths in all the books I've ever read.

"I...I don't know how to feel about all this," he rubbed his eyes as he spoke. "It feels real, and yet it doesn't. But its a bleeding story! How is it supposed to be-?Am I even real at this point?"

"I honestly don't know, Sirius," It was the first time I'd addressed him by his name and as crazy as this entire thing was, at that moment I felt certain that it was every bit as real as it seemed impossible.

And maybe it was an omen of sorts, or just plain coincidence, because right then, it started raining.

I jumped up to my feet instantly as did he.

"Shit! We better get out of here."

We half-ran down the path, looking for some kind of shelter. I knew we were surrounded by trees and I didn't particularly fancy being electrocuted on top of everything that had happened today. I was pretty sure Sirius felt the same for he had temporarily put his worries aside, his eyes darting everywhere at once as he scanned the area.

Suddenly, he came to an abrupt stop in front of me causing me to run into him. I was almost knocked backwards when a hand caught my own, steadying me.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

He looked at with a strange expression and gestured to a small cafe up ahead. We ran towards it, bursting through the doors in a jumble of noise. I was bent over, trying to catch my breath when I felt eyes on me. I reluctantly looked up at the scene.

The cafe seemed to be filled with elderly people of all sorts. They were eyeing us with blatant disapproval on their faces, some muttering darkly among themselves. I distinctly heard a "Young people these days!" followed by tutting. Many of them looked startled by our noisy entrance and there were a few who had obviously knocked over their food. The woman at the counter glared at us, looking extremely put out.

I chanced a glance at Sirius only to find him looking back at me. As if on cue, we burst out laughing. I couldn't remember the last time I'd laughed so hard and it briefly reminded me of old times when life was easier and I'd had a fully-functioning family. When we'd finally stopped laughing, I realised that our hands were still joined. He seemed to notice it at the same time, for he released it immediately.

Wordlessly, we walked over to sat the nearest table and sat down. There was a moment of silence.

"That was pretty funny, wasn't it?" he asked finally, looking up.

I grinned at him.

"Definitely."

The waitress came over then, to take our orders. She appeared to be in her late twenties, and was obviously checking Sirius out. His T-shirt had soaked through in the rain and clung to his body covered only partially by the leather jacket he was wearing.

"And what would you like to have?" she asked in a breathless voice. He seemed to enjoy it though for he turned towards her and flipped some of the hair out of his eyes.

"A hot chocolate, extra sugar. I like 'em sweet," he said, winking at her.

She then turned to me, looking much less enthused.

"Um, I'll just have tea."

She walked away, swinging her hips more than was necessary.

"Pathetic," I snorted.

"You can't blame her for trying. Its not her fault I'm irresistible. Especially in the current state."

"Modest, aren't you?"

"Just telling the truth, love."

I rolled my eyes.

"And you're one to talk about modesty. You're just as soaked as I am and your shirt is white."

I glanced down at myself and realised he was right. It was practically see through.

Fuck!

I shuffled closer to the table in an effort to hide myself better.

"I think I saw a few blokes in the corner drooling. Dentures were almost falling out..."

"Shut up," I mumbled.

He laughed at my obvious irritation. Our drinks arrived just then. Sirius and the waitress flirted a bit more before she finally left.

"So...what now?" he asked in much more serious tone after she was gone. I knew he was referring to what we'd been talking about earlier in the park.

"I dunno," I said, sweeping my wet hair to one side. "You're here now, aren't you?"

"Yes, but I need to find out why, don't I? And how come I don't remember anything?"

I thought about it.

"I suppose you could try and get your memories back. Maybe that would clear things up?"

"Hmm...I suppose that might work," he said, scratching his chin. "You'll help me right?" he asked unsure of my answer.

What did choice did I have? Well, that isn't necessarily true. He wasn't forcing me, was he? But I really did want to help. I was as intrigued by this situation as he was. Besides, it was the right thing to do, wasn't it? We had an odd sort of bond. We knew each others' secrets didn't we? I, more than him, but still...We had become friends, in our own weird way.

"Sure. What are friends for?" I answered with a smile.

AN: So the cat's outta the bag now! She knows, he knows! But there's still more to come. This chapter might not be as well written as the previous ones and I'd like to apologise for that. Exams are really getting to me... I might go back and edit it someday though.

Also, I'm sure you've noticed things are starting to move slightly in the romance direction. But I'm afraid, its not gonna happen anytime soon folks. Next chapter might not be up for awhile. My exams are in 2 days and weekends will be full with revision and whatnot. So expect updates anywhere between a week to 10 days...

Thanks to awkwardHanna, 42-Worlds-Apart, OffTheDeepEndx and GingerSnap91 for their favourites/follows. A million thanks to Faded Stripe for your continued support and reviews. And thanks to all my silent readers as well. Please review everyone! Till next time!

~Bekah.