Calling it a 'head ache' would be too sparing. The splitting and piercing thunderbolts darting through his head were too painful to refer to them as just a headache. Jason groaned and re-closed his eyes, his hand flying up to grab the side of his head. Ever since he woke up he'd been having this headache and although it had gotten less after the doctors gave him something, it was still hurting the hell out of him.

He knew someone had walked in by the sounds of a foot hitting the floor, but he kept his eyes closed and put his hands back in his lap, mentally trying to push the pain away. Truth to be told—headache aside—he felt amazing. Seeing his parents and secondly his best friends was wonderful. He of course hadn't known that he missed them until he actually saw them, but it didn't matter. They were sitting right outside his room and knowing that was enough to ease his mind.

The doctors told him to not worry about anything and not think about complicated stuff. He wondered what they meant by that. Perhaps they meant the accident, in that case, he was fine. He couldn't remember it and didn't feel the need to remember it anyway—he wasn't going to plough his brains for the memory. All he cared about was recovering fast and going back to the dorms and Ryan and Chaz.

At the sound of someone sitting down and a muffled whimper, Jason opened his eyes.

She was beautiful, extraordinary. Her long, dark hair was pulled together in a quick ponytail and she wore jeans and a faded grey shirt, one which tightly hugged her curves in all the right places. He forced himself to look away from her breasts as he travelled his gaze up the tanned skin of her neck to her plump, pink lips and her adorable little nose. She was smiling widely. Her eyes were watery but still big and brown and welcoming; just like he remembered them to be. The faint scent of strawberries surrounded her and he couldn't help but whiff the air, excitement and confusion setting in his stomach.

It was her.

"Alexia?" he rasped. A dozen of emotions surged through his body but he ignored them, needing to hear her confirmation.

She was now crying soundlessly, looking up at the ceiling before she muttered, "I've missed you."

Jason nodded frantically. Yeah, he'd definitely missed her too. Carefully, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Was that okay? Was he allowed to do that?

Alexia smiled widely and brushed away her tears with her other hand, returning the squeeze. "I've missed you so much, Jase." Her voice trembled but she obviously tried to keep it together. Jason nodded again, "I missed you too."

And he had. As if she'd never been away, his body reacted to her presence like it never had to anyone else's. It was almost like he needed her touch, like he needed to be around her. It was weird, he hadn't felt this way in years.

"How are you feeling? Do you need anything? Should I call the doctors?" Concern crossed her face and she cautiously cupped his cheek, "Am I hurting you? Tell me if I am."

Jason closed his eyes again and shook his head, easing into the touch. His cheek burned in a good way, he didn't want her to pull her hand away.

"I've been here every day. I've prayed for you every single moment. I knew you'd wake up. I knew you could do it." She whispered, pressing a long kiss on his forehead. Jason smiled and opened his eyes, lazily looking at her. "Every day, huh? How'd you do that? It's not like LA is around the corner." How did she manage to come visit him every day if she lived in Los Angeles? Jason didn't get it.

"What? What are you talking about?" Alexia frowned, and he immediately felt the need to straighten out her eyebrows with his finger. She pulled her hand away and he quickly grabbed it. He didn't want to let her go, this was all too surreal.

"LA." He summed, "You live in LA. I'm just asking how you could come here every day if you live there. Are you staying at a hotel or something?"

Alexia paled and shook her head. "I don't live in LA. I live here, in New York."

Jason knit his eyebrows together. He knew he had a rough blow to the head, but he wasn't stupid. He was certain that Alexia lived in Los Angeles, hell, her departure was practically burned in his mind!

"I'm not stupid." He hissed, "Don't play games with me, Alexia. You live in LA."

"What the hell are you talking about, Jason?" she snapped. Though they both appeared worked up, neither of them pulled their hands out of the tight hold. They needed to feel each other's touch, Jason knew she felt the same. It didn't matter how long they'd been apart, Jason knew her better than anyone.

"Los Angeles!" he cried out, "You live in fucking Los Angeles! You didn't think I'd forget the way we parted, right?"

It was Alexia's turn to look confused. "What way?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. To her credit, she did truly look puzzled.

Jason squeezed her hand again, this time in impatience. He didn't like talking about it and reliving it wasn't high on his list, but if somehow she'd forgotten about it then he would remind her. Albeit it was weird. How can she forget about that? It was only the saddest day of his life.

"Don't you remember?" he tried, "Us fucking all day and night in my bed and then Stefano and Dominic came in, pulling you away before we could even say good bye?" she looked shocked, so Jason continued speaking, "And because you weren't allowed to talk to me you sent me that letter which said 'I love you'? Very smooth, by the way."

Alexia looked even paler than first, her eyes widening with every word he said. He didn't get it. What the hell was her problem? If anything, he should be the one who's speechless and shocked!

"Jason," she breathed, pulling her hand out of his. She gently caressed his cheek but her eyes stood afraid, "Why are you talking about that?"

"What do you mean 'why are you talking about that?', what else would I fucking talk about?" by now, he was beyond pissed. She didn't expect everything to be all nice and dandy now that she showed up again after three years, right? Only because she apparently supported him through his comatose weeks doesn't mean that he'd forgotten about their past. "Isn't it logical that I'd bring up the last time I fucking saw you?"

Her fingers stopped moving against his cheek and frankly, Jason didn't want her to stop. But, he was getting worked up and he could already feel piercing twinges in his mind, although he tried to pay them no attention.

"That's not the last time you saw me." She stressed.

Jason raised his eyebrows. "Like I said, I'm not stupid. Yes, that is the last time I saw you."

"No it's not."

"Yes it fucking is, Alexia! Don't fight me on this!" his mouth felt weird from all the talking. The doctors said he was fortunate to even remember how to talk, they thought they'd have to learn him everything from scratch.

"Fuck." She hissed inwardly, her eyes watering again. Jason took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He wasn't trying to get her upset, seriously. He couldn't help but get angry thinking or talking about the subject.

In three years, no one had brought it up. Ryan and Chaz were careful and tiptoed around when it came to ex-girlfriends and heartbreak. They knew he wasn't keen on remembering.

"Look," he sighed, "I'm not trying to upset you." He grabbed her hand again, puffing out a deep breath. "It's just that I get very worked up when I think about it. We never got the chance to end things in a good way." He thought about that for a short moment before he added, "Not that I would've ended it if things were different."

"Fuck." She spat again, not looking at him. Jason frowned and tried to meet her gaze, but she tried her hardest to not meet his eyes.

She was crying again.

He didn't get it.

Why was she crying again? Surely the shock of seeing him awake was over by now. Were the memories too painful for her? Maybe she didn't want to be reminded.

"Babe." She had a tight-lipped smile, "Are you really sure about all of this? Is that really the last time you saw me?"

Jason raised his eyebrows, surprised that she even called him that. Wasn't the whole purpose of her moving to LA her getting married to some slick, lucky bastard?

"Yeah," he croaked out, "I'm 100 % sure. We were seniors in high school when you left. I'm in college now, this is my third year."

He never thought he'd say it, but he missed college. He missed the boring lectures and annoying students. He missed having sex every day, although his mind quickly dismissed that thought once he glanced at Alexia again.

God, she was so beautiful. More than she used to be. He couldn't decipher the longing he felt when it clicked that they'd been apart for three years; how did he even survive? It seemed easy when she was away, but having her here now, holding his hand and crying, turned that all upside down.

Inaudibly, Alexia muttered, "Why?"

"Why what?" Jason's voice was stern and hard. He was disorganized, more than when he'd just woken up.

"I can't believe this is happening." She blubbered, not meeting his eyes. Jason just didn't get what the actual fuck she was ranting on about and he let out a growl. "What are you talking about, Alexia?"

She glanced at him and he held her stare.

Then, she wept again.

"Never mind." He stated angrily, but he still widened his arms and wrapped them around her shaking and bawling little figure, doing his best to calm her down.

She cried until the door clapped open and revealed Jason's doctor and another muscled man he'd never seen before.

"How are you feeling, Jason?" Doctor Malone had a professional smile on his lips and acted like he didn't see sobbing Alexia in his arms. She tried to pull away, but Jason tightened his arms around her and pressed his lips on her forehead. He knew that calmed her down.

"Shh, you don't have to leave because of the doctor. He'll leave us after he's done checking up on me." He kept his voice soothing and softly drew patterns on her back. Doctor Malone gave him a slight nod.

"I feel fine, doctor. Just a little headache."

"Great." Doctor Malone did a little check up and then turned around, exiting his room after he threw a fast, "Don't get yourself worked up!" his way. This left Jason, Alexia, and the unknown suit-wearing male.

Jason stared at the man defiantly, who had his eyes plastered on Alexia. Alexia ignored his gaze and took a deep breath as she forced a smile. "I'm sorry. I'm emotional."

Jason shrugged and snickered. "It's fine, I'd be the same." He didn't want to imagine seeing her in his place.

Alexia's lips parted and shock took over her face but she quickly recovered and shook her head. "I'm crazy." She whispered to herself. Jason had heard it but decided to ignore it. Whatever internal battle she had with herself was for her to fix.

The man finally spoke up. "Alexia."

Alexia didn't look up. "Damian." She spat his name with such venom and loathing that even Jason couldn't help but feel surprised. Alexia was a nice girl and although she definitely could be a bitch sometimes, Jason knew she would never act like one if she didn't have a reason.

Wait, Damian?

Why did that name ring a bell?

"It's time to go home, love." He slickly lipped. Alexia cringed and Jason rubbed her arms. He wasn't ready to let her go yet.

Besides... Love?

Damian Albarran.

And then he remembered. Damian Albarran was Alexia's fiancé. The one she moved away for.

The one she left Jason for.

Jason clenched his jaw and closed his eyes in irritation. He knew that Damian thought he'd done nothing wrong, but he didn't know the shit Jason had went through after Alexia left. To be fair, if he turned out to be a good man, Jason would maybe accept it. Maybe.

"I'm not leaving yet." She shot back. Jason kept his eyes closed as he felt her fingers tracing the tattoos on his arm.

"You don't have a choice." Damian sneered back. Jason's eyes immediately opened and he looked at Damian with as much hatred as he could. He didn't like the way he spoke to Alexia. No one should be allowed to do that.

Alexia sighed and tried to pry herself out of Jason's hold, but Jason kept on clinging to her. "Don't go." He knew it sounded like begging, but deep inside he really was begging. He didn't want her to go.

He just got her back.

Alexia shook her head and took him by surprise by chastely kissing his lips. "I won't leave you. I'll be by your side through whatever, I promised you. It's just going to take a minute, okay?"

Jason numbly nodded, his heartbeat accelerating.

She kissed him. Her fiancé was in the damn room!

She kissed him.

Man, that felt good.

Alexia kissed him.

When he noticed the heart monitor speeding up its beeps, Jason calmed himself down and morphed himself back underneath the sheets, impatiently waiting for Alexia to return.

-

"You're too loud. Shut up, he'll wake up!"

"He's my best friend!"

"That doesn't make up for the fact that he's just woken up out of a coma and you're too freaking loud."

"Idiots! Shut up!"

Jason sighed exasperatedly and tiredly opened his eyes, softly chuckling at the sight of the three people in his room. They'd stopped midst their tracks with wide eyes. "I was awake anyway." He shrugged.

Ryan, Chaz and the unknown blonde all puffed out breaths of relief. He'd seen the blonde around multiple times and she even introduced herself to him as Chloe, but Jason still couldn't comprehend why she was so close to the boys and directly—to him. He already knew he suffered a bit from memory loss, that was clear when the girl, Chloe, was surprised about him not knowing her. He wondered how he met her, she didn't exactly seem like the kind of person he'd hang out with.

Doctor Malone told him that although he had some memory loss, he'd get it back gradually—faster if the memories got triggered. That is, if he were lucky. The doctor also opted the chance that he may never get his memories back, and to be quite honest, Jason didn't mind. It didn't look like he'd missed much of it anyway, otherwise they would've mentioned it.

His body along with his head hurt. His arms, his legs, his chest... everything hurt. He still didn't know anything about the accident and what precisely happened, but doctor Malone kept repeating how important it was for him to rest and not worry, so his mom wouldn't tell him anything.

Again, he was fine. If it was important, someone would've told him eventually.

"How are you feeling today?" Chloe raised her eyebrows in concern. She talked to him like she'd known him for a long while and it made Jason uncomfortable because he couldn't remember.

"I'm okay." He responded, and then he realized she said today. On cue, he turned around and looked at the window, which was brightly lit by the sun.

It was morning?

He must've fallen asleep.

Alexia.

Where was she? She promised to come back. She promised to not leave him. He didn't know why—after all, he survived three years without her—but he somehow felt like he needed her here.

"What time is it?" he asked, motioning for Chaz to come over and help him. Chaz quickly ran over to his side and cloaked his arms underneath Jason's armpits so he could pull him up. Carefully, he sat him up straight.

"You good?"

"Yeah, thanks Chaz."

There was a silence.

"What time is it?" Jason asked again. Ryan glanced at his watch before muttering, "Eleven, why?"

Jason frowned.

"Did any of you see Alexia by any chance?"

All three of them got the same consternation on their faces as they looked at each other in alarm before turning back to look at Jason. Jason set his jaw, his eyebrows furrowing in annoyance. He may be injured and incapable of a lot of things, but he wasn't stupid, and this was irking the shit out of him.

"No." Ryan spoke up. "She left yesterday evening and she didn't come back."

"She didn't come back?"

"No."

Ouch. That hurt. Jason knew she owed him nothing, but it still stung. She told him she'd stick by his side—whatever the things she said yesterday meant—and that she'd be just a minute. It hit him where he lived knowing that she left him. Again.

They probably felt his uneasiness because they all grabbed a chair and sat next to his bed as they started babbling about random things. Jason didn't really listen until Chaz said something that grabbed his attention.

"So, like, me and Chloe were just sleeping when we heard her sc—"

"You and Chloe were sleeping? As in, together?" Jason looked at them in surprise. Much like himself, Chaz was quite the charmer and wasn't keen on keeping one girl around. Maybe he heard it wrong.

"Yeah," Chaz smirked.

Chloe scowled. "We weren't sleeping together! We were just sleeping, together. As in, in the same bed, but not in each other's holes."

Chaz and Ryan broke out into fits of laughter. Jason didn't understand. "Don't tell me you were sleeping in the same bed 'just as friends', you have no idea how many time I've used that excuse."

Ryan hiccupped and shook his head, still laughing. "God no. They are definitely not 'just friends'. If you knew about the crazy sex these two have going on, you'd go mad. Actually, now that I think of it, you walked in on them once. You couldn't stop laughing."

Jason grinned. "I did?"

"Yeah, you couldn't wait to tell me what you'd heard." Ryan sneakily looked at Chloe, who rolled her eyes in embarrassment. Jason tried to keep the smile on his face, "So you and Chaz are together?" he looked at Chloe.

She nodded, beaming.

Jason questioningly looked at Chaz, and much to his amazement, Chaz didn't mouth anything like 'she's crazy' or look disgusted. Opposed to that, he looked proud and happy.

"They are definitely together." Ryan chuckled. Chloe groaned loudly and shoved his shoulder. Ryan shoved her side in return, playfully. That's when horror struck Chaz' face as he snapped, "Ryan! Be fucking careful man, the baby!"

Ryan defensively held his hands up. "I was being careful, chill!"

Chaz sighed and shook his head. Chloe smiled meekly, "I'm fine, babe. It didn't hurt. Ryan was very careful, you know that. No need to panic."

"Fine."

However, this wasn't all 'fine' to Jason. First of all, he felt left out. They were sitting there, laughing and reminiscing about things he couldn't seem to remember. They had a close bond, he could already tell, and he just couldn't figure out whether he was a part of their trio or not. On top of that, Chaz had said 'baby'.

Baby.

Chloe wasn't pregnant, was she?

"Wow, wow, wow. Baby? You're not telling me you knocked her up, huh?" Jason glared at Chaz wide-eyed. Chaz shrugged and nodded. "It was an accident."

Atta boy. Now Jason understood why Chloe was still around. She and Chaz had sex one time, she got pregnant, and now they were stuck with her. That explains everything.

"You're getting an abortion?" he looked at Chloe. Her mouth slowly gaped into a round O, her brows downing on her eyes. "No." she hissed sternly, "We're keeping her."

Jason looked at Chaz again. Damn it, Chaz. Why do you always get yourself into difficult situations like these? Jason felt like it was his job to help Chaz out here.

"Why?" he turned his attention back on Chloe. "Obviously Chaz doesn't want to keep the baby. Otherwise he wouldn't call it an accident."

Chloe's lips parted again but she didn't say a word. Instead, she pushed her chair backwards and stomped out of the room.

Jason grinned. "One less problem."

The boys weren't laughing. Chaz stood up angrily. "I didn't fucking mean it like that!" and with those words, he waltzed out of the room, probably going after Chloe.

Jason and Ryan were left stunned.

"Maybe he's not hating the idea of having a baby." He thought out loud. Ryan's eyes darted to Jason's and Ryan sighed. "He's not. He's absolutely loving it, Jason, just like Chloe. He loves Chloe."

"What?"

"Exactly what I said. He loves Chloe. They've been dating for almost six months, Jason. That shit you just pulled was rude."

Jason felt guilty, but he wasn't about to show it. How the fuck was he supposed to know that Chaz was serious about her? He'd never been serious about a girl before!

Yeah. That was before your accident. Now everything has changed.

"Six months?"

"Five, almost six, yes."

"Damn." He croaked out warily, "Have I lost that much of my memories?"

Ryan awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "A little more, I'm afraid."

"What?" Jason widened his eyes, reeling with panic. More than five, six months? That would mean he'd lost half a year! Maybe more! "How much, Ryan?"

"Jase... it's really not important."

"How much?" He urged, unable to hide his hysteria. He knew he'd lost some memories, he thought it'd be two, three weeks. A month tops. Not more than six. How many important things had he forgotten?

Maybe that's what Alexia meant when she said they'd seen each other after she left three years ago. Fucking hell, he couldn't possibly forget about a new encounter with Alexia, could he? Shit.

"I'd say six or seven months." Ryan didn't look at him.

"Fuck me..." Jason closed his eyes, trying to get rid of his panic. Six months. Six months of his life were now unknown. He'd forgotten six freaking months. What happened in those months? Did he knock someone up as well? He didn't get a girlfriend, did he? Had he failed classes? Did his parents catch him stoned? Six months?

"What month is it, Ryan?"

"May."

May? Jason slowly felt how his brains slipped into insanity. The last memory he had was in October. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but to him it was just a normal week of college, fucking and his best friends. Nothing out of the ordinary. May. This would mean Christmas, his birthday and spring break had all passed.

His birthday. Was he twenty two now? How could he forget about spring break? Did he, Ryan and Chaz at least go somewhere interesting?

"Where did we go on spring break?" he questioned, his eyes still closed. Piercing bolts of utmost pain started to arrow through his head, but he tried to ignore it. Keyword; tried.

"You went to Mexico, we stayed."

"Why would I go on my own?" Jason's mind was working at full speed, trying to grasp a memory, but nothing came to vision. He desperately squeezed his eyes and raked his memories, but not a single trace of Mexico came up.

He couldn't remember a thing.

"You weren't alone." Ryan explained, "It's not important."

"Yes, it is!" Jason cried out, covering his face with his hands. It was like all of the oxygen got sucked out of the room and he drew in a sharp breath, his head fogging with desperate attempts at lost memories. The missiles coupling his brains started to get worse and worse. His entire head was throbbing and he felt his stomach twinge. He was going to get sick.

"I'll get the nurse." Ryan's voice was faint and seemed far away. Jason didn't care anyway.

He wanted to know what he lost—other than the massive chunk out of his brain.

-

a/n: HI babes! It's been long, I know, but I'm honestly very busy and I'm trying really hard! Anyway, I'm having a dilemma (kind of). I love Animal and I don't think I will ever not enjoy writing (y'all don't even know, I've written over 12 chapters in advance!!) but I'm genuinely not happy with the amount of votes and comments (and reads). I'm sorry I know this sounds pretty annoying but I used to get more recognition so PLEASE, if you don't like the story anymore let me know WHY so I can try and maybe fix it up a bit. 

I work really really hard and I'm not asking for much! It's just disappointing from time to time. 

Anyway, there are still a view loyal readers out there that vote on every chapter and I'm very grateful for you guys! 

I personally really like the chapters I've written so far (the ones that are not published) and I'm confident y'all will like them too. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

KISS, M