Don't Forget Me

Jon smiled a bit and nodded. "Alright, I'll be right back, then," he said before he made his way to the small cafe-like area that the bowling alley had set up. Silently, he replayed the way Marley's eyes had fluttered and he couldn't help but to smile slightly, wondering if it had been in a flirtatious way or just randomly. Of course, he more so hoped it was flirtatious, but he wouldn't get his hopes up about it. Besides, it was best to focus on trying to get his memories back, rather than trying to get with her - despite how much he actually wanted to be with her by now. Even that was surprising, because he usually only tried to get with girls who put themselves out there and Marley was nothing like that.

Claire blinked before looking at him and smiling slightly. "Well, if a monster jumps out of the screen at me, I'll make sure to let him know that," she teased quietly, though her attention was suddenly more so on him than the movie, since he had moved closer to her. She almost wanted to let herself be completely scared so that she could curl up in his arms and feel safe and protected. Her more stubborn side of her didn't want to allow this just yet, though, it seemed.

Marley sat at the little machine to enter their names in and blushed a dark, deep red. She couldn't believe that she had actually just tried to flirt with Jon.... Of course, if she still remembered how he was, it was a frugal attempt since he usually had only went after girls that seriously put out... Still, she couldn't help it since she had always had such a crush on him before and now he was being so sweet with her, but it was a different sweetness since he couldn't act like her beat friend currently. She smiled and thought it could work to her advantage maybe...

Ethan smiled down at Claire and their faces were awfully close. He had a feeling to move in and just kiss her already, but he was quite sure she wouldn't approve. He was supposed to be trying to get his memories back, not just trying to get with her as something more than that... Surely, she wasn't thinking anything like that, so he couldn't either. "You're stubborn," he remarked with a smile.

Once the food was done and he had the drink in hand, he made his way back with everything. Setting them on the nearby table, he grinned at her, seeing her setting the names up. "You ready to bowl?" he asked, arching an eyebrow in slight curiosity. With a smirk, he tilted his head to the side slightly. "We should even make a bet out of it. That would be fun, wouldn't it?" The very thought of it seemed to make things all the more interesting already.

Claire smiled slightly and looked up at him, a slight blush tainting her features as she realized how close their faces were to each other. "Well, I have to be stubborn," she muttered softly, her attention staying on him, "After all, I'm best friends with you. It's only right that I would be the stubborn one."

Marley smiled when she heard Jon's calm voice come back, and she liked it way too much. It was like she was enveloped in the warmth of it and it just made her want to hug him and never let him go. "I'm ready!" She said, giving him a salute teasingly. Then she thought about his bet offer and looked at him curiously. "We could..." She said nervously. "And what exactly would we be betting on?!"

Ethan smiled and pulled back slightly so that he wasn't so tempted to do anything as testy as kissing her. He shrugged slightly at her words and just chuckled. "So if you're the stubborn one," he started sideways glancing at the tv, "what does that make me?!" He challenged.

Jon chuckled a bit before he shrugged, arching an eyebrow. "I don't know," he said. Maybe he should have thought that one through a bit more. "What would you want to bet on?" Always best to leave it to the female since they could think of some pretty crazy things. Of course, he knew he could come up with crazy things as well, but his ideas were usually more embarrassing when it came to bets.

Claire forced away a pout that threatened to surface when she noticed that the distance between them had grown again. Soon shrugging, she smiled. "You'd be the guy. Meaning that you have moments when you're stubborn and you have moments when you're a pushover," she mused in a teasing tone before she turned her attention back to the movie, jumping at another scary part that came right when she had looked at the television.

Marley was stubborn and she crossed her arms in such a way. "No way..." She said softly. "I'm not making the bets. It was your idea, so you choose!" She knew what she wished she could bet him, that he might kiss her or something, but she wasn't going to tell him that. It was better if he was to pick something so at least it wouldn't be so awkward as such... He was probably much better at coming up with things than she was.

Ethan chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Are you sure we were friends before?!" He teased. "I have never been a pushover!" Maybe he had been for her in the past, but he had apparently changed his image since then... He was the player who broke girls' hearts; he never let them take his. "Awww!" He teased when she jumped at the movie and wrapped his arm around her - partially teasingly but also because he still wanted to touch her.

Jon laughed a bit and grinned. "How about we each choose what happens if we win?" he asked with an arched eyebrow. In his opinion, it seemed fair, though he wasn't sure if it would seem like that for her. "If I win, then you have to go to the movie theatre with me on Friday night." In his own way, it would be more of a date in his mind, though he didn't want to outright say that in case it made things awkward.

Claire was surprised to feel his arm around her, having jumped at the sudden touch - which would have been completely natural for anybody watching a scary movie, or so she hoped. When she realized it was Ethan, she offered a slight smile. "You were a pushover," she muttered, soon leaning against him as she enjoyed the comfort he provided.

Marley nodded her head at his suggestion and then blushed at what he was asking for his own bet winner. "Sounds appropriate..." She said softly, blushing quite a bit. Honestly, she wished he had won at this point, because he had made it sound quite like a date and she wished for it like that... "And if I win, you have to take me back to the old amusement park that we spent whole summers at!" She giggled. Either one would work as a date for her.

Ethan liked the feeling of having his arm around her and he tightened it slightly, bringing her body closer to his. "And how exactly was I a pushover?!" He asked. He was still in disbelief that he could be any sort of pushover since he was used to now being the confident popular one who didn't take no for an answer.

Jon grinned at her words and nodded a bit. "Sounds like a plan to me," he said, though he more so hoped that he would win. After all, going to the amusement park would probably just make her feel like they were back to old times. She'd probably even mention childhood memories that he couldn't remember. Or going there could just make her realize that they should only be friends, anyways, which was opposite of what he wanted. Still, if he won, he could always take her to the amusement park some other time.

Claire felt her cheeks heat up when she was brought closer to him, though she forced herself to keep her attention on the movie. "Well, if I asked you to do something and said 'pretty please,' you'd do it. Or if you had some kind of sweet food and I didn't and I pulled a puppy dog pout, you'd give me some of the food," she mused with a slight smile. She knew he probably wouldn't remember any of that, but she did. As long as one of them remembered everything, it was alright.

Marley smiled and nodded his head. Part of her really wanted to make sure that she lost - even though she probably would anyways - because she always did like the intimacy of being in the dark at a movie theatre for a first date. That was where Jon had once kissed her, and she had started loving him, because it was just something that you did when you went to the movie theatre, they supposed... But they were still only friends. "Come on, let's play - I wanna beat you!" She teased, even though it weren't true.

Ethan chuckled a little and shook his head. "Sure you aren't confusing me with someone else?!" He teased, though he knew it was probably true.. That was how he had treated one of his first girlfriends, before he found out she was cheating on him, and he turned himself into the heartbreak that he was. "Sounds kinda shocking to me," he laughed. He kissed her forehead, hoping it would be understood that he was attracted to her, but not so much that she would be scared away since they were still on the basis of "friends."

Jon arched an eyebrow before chuckling quietly and nodded. "Alright," he mused before shrugging a bit. "Ladies first." Gesturing to the alley, he grinned rather broadly. He was rather excited about this bet and despite not really being certain that going to the amusement park would be a good idea if Marley won, he didn't really care. For some reason, he just wanted to be with her. "If you mess up the first time and if you need help, I'll help you." At least that if he helped her, he'd get to be closer to her.

Claire felt her cheeks heat up at the feeling of him kissing her forehead. Looking up at him, she hoped that he wouldn't notice the blush before she quickly turned her attention to the movie. "I know I'm not confusing you with anybody else," she assured with a small smile. "How could anybody confuse you with somebody else?" Her blush was still evident, but at this point, she didn't really care. Though she was sure it didn't mean anything to him, the gesture had meant quite a bit to her.

Marley heard his suggestion to helping her and and blushed a deep red on her cheeks. Even so, she liked the suggestion, especially when he was making her go first! When she grabbed the bowling ball, she weighed it in her hands, sort of the same way that she was weighing her options of looking like an idiot or letting him help her... She knew which one she wanted. "How about you just help me now, before I mess up?" She asked, smiling self-consciously.

Ethan quickly noticed Claire's blush after he kissed her forehead. He smiled to himself lightly, not going to bring it up right away, but then he really wanted to... His thumb went up to her cheek, caressing over the area where the blush was. "You're blushing," he said stupidly - since she would be aware of this. It was kind of cute seeing her blush for only a kiss on the forehead and it got him really thinking about kissing her. "It's cute," he said softly.

Jon grinned at her request before nodding a bit. Really, he was glad that she didn't seem to mind the idea - it even made him all happier. Placing an arm around her shoulders, he led her up to the lane before looking at her. "Let's hope you're a fast learner," he teased. Of course, he was just joking - he actually preferred for her to be a slow learner so that he could be closer to her for a longer period of time. Moving over to where he was slightly behind her, he placed his hands over hers, his arms practically wrapped around her in a way, before he started going through the motions of showing her how to bowl.

Claire's blush only darkened as she looked up at him. His actions and words had her breathless, if she was being honest, and she was practically at a loss for words. After a few moments of staring up at him, she was only able to manage to say, "I'm not blushing." The words came out in a pretty lame manner, but she didn't care. She was too focused on his thumb on her cheek and his words repeating in her mind over and over.

Marley felt like she was on top of the world as she felt his arms go around her. She heard his teasing about being a fast learner, but she was determined to be the exact opposite... She couldn't explain it, but she wanted to stay close to him. She liked feeling his warmth, and as he started to show her, she actually pressed her body close against his. Hopefully he didn't notice, but even if he did, she couldn't deny that she liked him.

Ethan smirked as he saw Claire in a sort of daze. He liked the effect that he had on girls - and there was something especially different about Claire that made it all the better. When she denied blushing, he shook his head. "Say what you want," he teasing, still caressing her cheek, "but the cheeks don't lie." For extra effect he leaned forward, kissing both of her cheekbones over which the color was glittering.

Jon couldn't help but to smirk slightly when he noticed that she had pressed herself closer to himself. Surely, that wasn't his imagination. Lowering his lips to her ear, he whispered, "And you lift the ball." Making sure that his breath hit her ear, he pulled her arm up with his own along with the ball, "Then swing it back to give it extra momentum." His breath was still hitting her ear as he went through the motion. "And, when you bring it back to the front, you let it go."

Claire felt her cheeks darken even more as she stared at him, not quite understanding why he was doing these things or how he could affect her so much. She wasn't one to get so flustered when she received attention from other guys, but something about Ethan had her completely at a loss for words. "If you say so," she muttered softly, unable to really say anything else. She didn't care how lame she sounded at this point, to be honest.

Marley shivered slightly as she felt his warm breath hitting her ear. She closed her eyes for a moment, taking in the feeling that she had only ever imagined with him. It felt so good and she wished it wouldn't end. When he led her through the movement, she sighed that it was over so soon. "Well, that's pretty easy," she remarked, unaware of what to say beside that... She had never imagined being so close to him.

Ethan smiled at her darkening cheeks and at that moment he was quite tempted to kiss her. He resisted, but he did slide slowly closer to her, smirking as he did so. It felt good to be so near to her - and he didn't understand it. "How close were we?" He asked softly, out of the blue. Were they just friends? Or were they more than friends? The way he was feeling, he really wished it was the second... But maybe that was just his boy hormones.

Jon smiled slightly, though he still didn't release her, wanting the feeling to linger for a few moments longer. "Of course it's easy," he murmured softly, "If you want, I could just show you again. You know, just in case you've forgotten within the length of a few moments." It was obvious that he didn't want to let go of her, nor did he want to be away from her. He wondered if she noticed it, though.

Claire closed her eyes as she listened to his question, soon just leaning her head back against the couch. Opening her eyes, she stared up at the ceiling, letting herself get lost in her memories. "You were my first kiss," she admitted softly, "We never actually got together, though, because, just a few days after the kiss, I found out that I had to move away." She frowned slightly at the memory and shook her head.

Marley blushed slightly with his face so close to hers. He was so...so kissable and amazing, but she couldn't. They were only supposed to be friends... "I - I think I have," she said still. She was too greedy to lose his touch just yet. "Will you show it to me a few more times?" She giggled. She couldn't tell if this was one sided, or if they were both flirting.

Ethan heard her words and frowned hard. That was probably why he had forgotten... He had blocked her out in order to suppress his feelings for her. He leaned his head back on the couch like her and wished he could remember it. "Were you mine?" He asked softly. "I bet it wasn't that special... You've probably kissed bunches of boys now, haven't you?"

Jon grinned at her words before nodding slightly. "Of course," he murmured quietly, "I'll even let you take my turns so that I can show you as many times as you want." Honestly, he was thankful that she had supposedly 'forgotten,' though he was sure that she wanted his touch just as much as he wanted to touch her. He kept that thought to himself, though.

Claire sighed softly and shook her head. "I always avoided guys when I left," she said simply before she shrugged a bit, "I mean, don't get me wrong, there were some nice guys who tried to talk to me, but I just wasn't interested in any of them." Why would she be when she had fallen so hard for him?

Marley couldn't hold back a giggle at all and she blushed as she giggled, knowing it was probably a dead giveaway that she wanted to flirt with him. "Aw, thank you, Jon!" She said with a weak smile as she leaned into him - her knees feeling rather weak too. "You're too sweet to me." She giggled. Had she been more confident, she would have turned and given him a thankful kiss on the cheek, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

Ethan frowned softly as his eyebrows furrowed together. What was she saying? Did it actually imply what he thought it implied? He grabbed her hand then, sighing. Here goes nothing. "Why weren't you interested?" He asked her softly, turning her chin so that she had to look at him. That was why he was so attracted to her... Did he love her at one point too?