Don't Forget Me

Jon blinked before looking towards the notebooks and the photo album. He picked up the notebooks first, opening one and flipping through the pages, reading some of the conversations. He recognized his handwriting and it confused him quite a bit. Was all of this real or had she forged them? Then again, how could she forge them if he had never actually met her before - meaning that she wouldn't have been able to know his handwriting? God, this was so confusing.

Claire sighed softly as she got home and pulled out the key she had been given. Unlocking the door, she opened the door and made her way inside, closing and locking the door behind her. She made her way to her room, disliking the fact that she was stuck with knowing that Ethan hadn't cared about her enough to remember her - especially after she had begged to return to the town every day since she had left.

@ Lena Loves Votive
Marley sat there across from Jon and kept herself quiet, biting her tongue hard to keep herself from having tears streaming down her face. She watched his face, but she hadn't seen him in so long that she tried to avoid guessing his thoughts... She didn't want to misinterpret his thoughts and feel stupid. "Believe me now?!" She asked in a whisper that was all her voice would allow. "Please at least say something..."

Ethan waited patiently. When his mother brought out the old photo albums. He recognized himself from when he was seven, or eight. He also saw the girl that was undeniably Claire and his heart stopped. This couldn't be real. Him giving her a piggyback ride... A kiss on the cheek... A cake that said Ethan and Claire. His breathing stopped. He swore under his breath. How had he forgotten this?

Jon bit down on his lip as he heard her words before sighing softly and shaking his head. "I can't believe I forgot all this," he muttered softly before picking up the photo album and looking through it. The photos picked at his memories, but he couldn't pull them completely into focus. He just recognized himself and the girl sitting across from him. How had he forgotten so much of his life? There were pictures of the two on the weekend trips within multiple ages. The two asleep, curled up in each other's arms at around seven-years-old. The two playing a game at around nine. Even a picture of the two hugging each other the day that Marley had left.

Claire ran a hand through her hair as she sat down on her bed, soon leaning back to where she was laying down and looking up at the ceiling. The day had completely sucked and she wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball and fall asleep. It wasn't going to happen, though, it seemed, as the only thing that was in her mind was if Ethan's mother still had the photo albums and if she had shown them to Ethan. She hoped so. God, she hoped so.

Marley sighed a little in relief. She liked seeing him kind of scared and confused since he hasn't known all of this. She almost wanted to hug him too, but she knew that that might be too much. "But you still don't remember?" She asked. She figured he wouldn't, but at least this was a start... At least now he could befriend her again and she could work to bring his memories back.

Ethan knew that he had to go apologized. He had messed up... big time. He had to go make up for all that he had said to her. Unfortunately though, the photos didn't restore his memories... They jogged his memory and at least let him know who this girl was, but nothing was done to let him restore any of those captured moments... He groaned as he got into his car and drove down to her house. He was sure he was crazy when he knocked on her door...

Jon shook his head slightly before sighing a bit. "I get flashes, but nothing concrete," he murmured softly before running a hand through his hair and leaning back to stare up at the ceiling. He felt horrible, for everything that he had done and said to her throughout the day. He hadn't believed her, even though it was obvious now that he should have. "I'm sorry." He ran his hands over his face, rubbing at his face as if it would help him try to work everything out in his mind.

Claire blinked when she heard the knock before frowning slightly. Were her parents back already? Had they forgotten their keys or something? Sighing, she forced herself off her bed and made her way downstairs, heading towards the door and unlocking it, opening it before blinking a few times when she saw Ethan. "And, I thought I was the stalker," she grumbled, throwing his words back at him.

Marley watched him cautiously. It made her nervous to see him like this and she feared losing him even more. She hoped it didn't affect him and that he left... She didn't know what he would do if he left. It might just kill her heart - though maybe it would be easier that way... "No, there's nothing to be sorry about," she lied in a whisper. Then she glanced up at him. "If this is too weird for you and you want to go..." She trailed off. She couldn't tell him to leave; that would be like losing him all over again.

Ethan kind of rolled his eyes when Claire greeted him so unfairly. Leave it to her to victimize herself even more when he was here to apologize now. It hurt him. "Listen!" He said, rather coldly since she was getting on his nerves. "I believe you... And I'm sorry that I was such a jerk." He leaned against the threshold, cold in the rain that had started to come down in sheets.

Jon blinked at her words before letting out a soft chuckle and shaking his head. "You wanted so bad to prove to me that you were telling the truth, and now you're suggesting I leave if it's too weird?" he said, finding the words rather amusing and shaking his head again, this time with disbelief. "It was weird from the beginning. But, I'm not going to leave, since we really need to figure all of this out and figure out where to go from here." He felt like a royal moron for forgetting everything. How had he even managed to push away these memories, anyways?

Claire blinked before sighing quietly. Opening the door wider, she stepped aside. "Get inside before you get yourself sick," she said before leaning back against the wall. She crossed her arms over her chest, tilting her head back to look up at the ceiling. She felt awkward now, feeling slightly bad for throwing his words back at him. "Do you need a towel or something?"

Marley shrugged her shoulders. "Well what am I supposed to say?!" She asked quietly. "I don't want you to be weirded out and staying here just because of me." She sighed a little and bit her. Looking into his eyes, she noted that he was just as adorable and sexy as he always had been - more than she had remembered even. "I want to work things out too, though! I just don't want you miserable here... I know how you get when you're miserable!"

Ethan stepped into the house awkwardly. He didn't know what to make of being alone with her, and he wasn't sure what she thought about it either. "Sure, thanks..." He said when she offered him a towel. He shook his head slightly when she came back to him. "You're being to kind to me," he started. "All I've been is rude to you. Shouldn't you be throwing me out or something?" He asked.

Jon gave a slight roll of the eyes to her words, finding it rather amusing. "I'm not miserable," he said simply before leaning back and looking up at the ceiling, "I just wish I could remember everything. I must be one shithead of a best friend, huh?" He shook his head slightly, feeling rather ashamed at himself for forgetting her. He wished that he could even remember how she knew how he got when he was miserable, as she had stated. Just even the smallest memory would have sufficed.

Claire rolled her eyes slightly when she heard his question after giving him the towel. "You don't kick out somebody that matters to you," she said simply before glancing out the door, noticing the rain had gotten heavier. Sighing softly, she closed the door and looked towards him. "Besides, I'm not very good at being rude, anyways. I never have been." It just wasn't something she was good at; she supposed it was because her parents were rather nice and she just followed their examples.

Marley resisted the urge to shake her head feverishly as he said that he was a shithead of a friend... That was honestly how she was feeling right now since he had forgotten her, but she knew that wasn't really how she felt. She loved him...in a way that words couldn't express... Instead she shook her head in denial of his statement. "Not a shithead," she said, "well at least not always... When you didn't remember me, yeah that was kinda how I felt... But then I remember all of the times that we spent together and I forget that. I care about you and I know that you used to care about me too..."

Ethan sighed as he took the towel from her and heard her words. He felt kinda stupid being here when he couldn't remember her. It sucked... "Yeah, but whether you care about me or not, shouldn't you hate me? I've been such a dick to you..." He told her softly.

Jon gave a sigh to her words before nodding slightly. He honestly just wished he knew how and why he had forgotten everything. Maybe that would have made him feel like less of a shithead of a friend, even with her words. "At least we can try to fix it," he murmured softly, running a hand through his hair. He could only hope that they could fix it, after all; surely, there must have been a reason that they were best friends, after all, and there was no reason to push a past best friend away - even if he couldn't remember everything.

Claire rolled her eyes slightly before making her way to the couch and plopping down lazily on it. "Gee, you just think the worst, huh?" she asked before shaking her head slightly. "I want to hate you. You have no idea how much I want to hate you. But, I can't. Even if you have been a dick to me, you were my best friend at one point and that was all that really mattered to me."

Marley's heart was beating out of her chest when he was the one to suggest exactly what she was thinking... Maybe they could restore his memory... She wondered if they could and if they could how could it affect them? She felt like she wanted something more than best friends, but for now, she had to deal with whatever he was comfortable with when the time came. "Let's hope so!" She muttered quietly and glanced up to meet his gaze.

Ethan's eyebrows furrowed in straight confusion. They must've been pretty close for her not to be upset at any of this... It shook his head and he wondered what kind of friendship they had had to make her think like that.... "We were pretty close," he asked quietly, "weren't we?" He felt a pound of guilt on his chest. "How can you forgive me for forgetting that?"

Jon couldn't help but give a small smile once their gazes met. He wasn't sure why, but ignored it anyways. Maybe it was just that his memories were trying to return or something. Clearing his throat, he glanced away. "So, what all did we used to do, anyways?" he asked before leaning back on the couch, feeling slightly lazy at the moment, "Besides go camping every now and then, I mean."

Claire blinked at his words before grinning and holding two of her fingers up in a peace sign before crossing them. "The closest," she mused, letting her fingers show that they had been pretty much inseparable when they had been younger. "And, that's exactly why I can forgive you." She gave a shrug before she uncrossed her fingers and let her hands fall into her lap.

Marley giggled. Their eyes met and she blushed slightly. Well, that was more awkward than it used to be... When his eyes pulled away, she let out a breath. A smile came to her lips when she thought about all the memories that they had made together. "We did everything together!" She argued slightly. "I remember we used to have all of these sleepovers over here and I used to always get us in trouble for things... But you always took the blame..." Her lips trembled as she felt like crying again.

Ethan sighed slightly. He almost regretted coming here.... She was making him feel like shit for not remembering her, and not by anything that she was doing either. How was he supposed to forgive himself for forgetting her. She had... But he would constantly feel guilty for this... "Well... I don't understand it. What made me so special to you?"

Jon laughed softly to himself. That didn't sound like anything that he was like now; he would never take the blame for something that he hadn't done. Then again, maybe it had just been her that he would take the blame for. Who knew? He definitely didn't know, since he couldn't remember anything. He looked at her before frowning slightly, noticing the tell-tale sign of somebody about to cry. "What's wrong?"

Claire felt her cheeks heat up at his question and quickly looked away from him, forcing herself to stop blushing. When she calmed down, she gave a slight shrug. "Because you were the only person that I was actually close to," she muttered, though it was obvious that it wasn't the full truth. Of course it wasn't! She couldn't just tell him that it was because she had been in love with him ever since she understood what that was, now, could she?

Marley heard his question and managed a rather sad-looking smile. Her lips were still trembling and she wished she could just jump into his arms and feel safe again like when they were kids. She wiped a tear away from her cheek and shook her head. "Nothing. I just missed you... Gosh, I still miss you..." She admitted to him softly.

Ethan sighed a little. "I wish I knew what that meant..." He admitted softly. "I wish I knew what it meant to be close to you like that." His head dropped a little. He felt like shit that he had just seemed to forget about her like that while she still remembered him. He didn't know why. "I apparently wasn't a very good friend to you considering I didn't even remember you!" He remarked softly, cursing to himself about his mistakes.

Jon blinked a few times at hearing her words and noticing the tear. He was tempted to wipe the tear away himself, but she had done so on her own. Running a hand through his hair, he gave a quiet sigh before leaning back in the seat. He couldn't exactly tell her that he had missed her as well; after all, he couldn't quite rememer her. "I'm sorry," he murmured softly.

Claire bit down on her lower lip before looking at him. "You were the best friend to me," she murmured softly, looking down at her hands. "You made sure nobody bothered me. Like, that fight at the playground that I told you about earlier." She gave a slight shrug before she looked over at him and forced a smile to her face. "So, really, it's no big deal."

Marley shook her head. "No, I can't be making you upset about that... It's stupid for me to say that!" She said. It was true. She couldn't be upset when he had just forgotten her. No other boy would remember her either and she knew that. "I just wish that I wouldn't have left!" She admitted.

Ethan smiled a little as she mentioned all the good things that he had done for her. He frowned a little afterwards too because it made him feel suckish that he didn't remember any of it. A good friend would've remembered it, but it was nowhere in his memory. "What did we used to like to do together?" He asked self-consciously.

Jon blinked at her words before smiling slightly. "I wish that, too," he said quietly, almost naturally. "Maybe then, I wouldn't have forgotten everything." He gave a quiet sigh as he leaned back and shrugged a bit. "Let's not worry about it, though. I'm sure we'll find some way to jog my memory and for us to get my memories back."

Claire smiled slightly at his question and shrugged. "We used to have these sleepovers so that we could wake up early on Saturday mornings and watch cartoons," she mused quietly, "And, we'd go to the park a lot, just to chase the ducks and geese around. Sometimes, the geese would end up chasing us, though."

Marley looked up at Jon and her eyes were sparkling. Something about the way that he still spoke to her had her heartbeat raging and it reminded her of the guy that she was in love with from way back when. She chuckled slightly as she thought about one special time. "Do you remember fighting Michael Hurley?" She asked. "And giving him a black eye?" She was sure he would remember... Sure, they fought about her, but that was one of his few fights.

Ethan nodded when he actually felt like shaking his head. Having sleepovers? Sure, he thought about it with girls now, but not exactly in a "friendly" way... He couldn't imagine himself having sleepovers with a girl, but he believed her. "I remember chasing geese," he told her. "It's weird... It's just like you've vanished from the middle of my memories or something... Like I was trying to keep you out..."