"So, Cora. You don't remember anything about yourself?"

You startle at Chris's voice and nod. "I don't remember anything beyond this morning after I woke up."

"Where did you wake up at? Surely if you were home, it would help jog some memories."

You can see all the boys watching you out of the corner of their eyes, waiting for a response. Even Peter seems interested as he moves his piece a few paces. The only one not paying much attention is Karika, who stares intensely at the board.

"Um..." Discomfort rises in your chest and you shift in the comfortable chair. "You're right. I know I wasn't home."

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine," Oliver offers, not looking up from the board as his fists clench in his lap. His cheeks are slightly pink as he says this, his words quiet. "Karika couldn't at first, either."

Your gaze switches to the only other girl in the room. Oliver's face grows redder as Karika closes her eyes and exhales, meeting Oliver's eyes. He looks away immediately, apologizing quietly, ears red like fire.

"You?" You ask, waiting for an answer. It seems as though everyone is holding their breath.

Karika turns to you and places her hands in her lap, both of them clutching to the denim around her legs.

"Yeah," she says, looking up at you, her gaze unwavering. "I woke up one morning with no recollection of anything that happened to me." The words were so monotone, as if she'd said them before over and over. How many people did she have to explain it to? "Luckily, I had my dad around me and a few days later, I got everything back, but the amnesia changed me forever." She hesitates, watching you with something like a warning in her eyes. Her next words are careful, filled with purpose. "Don't let this change you."

You stare at her, confused and unsure of what to say.

She turns back to the board and rolls the dice, not saying anything more. A shudder washes through your system as the guys stare at you two.

"What are the odds?" Chris says, staring at Karika with an intensity he hasn't shown until now. It captivates you and you find yourself staring at him. Suddenly, he breaks his seriousness and a smile breaks through, his eyes squinting. "Such a coincidence that you two had the same thing happen, and of all things, she came here to you."

He rests his head on his hands. "So interesting."

Karika grimaces. "Go back to your story, Chris, before I banish you from the group."

In mock fear, Chris sits upright and places a hand on his chest, mouth dropping open. "You would never! What do you take me as, trash?"

He laughs but Karika says nothing else as she moves her piece.

"How much do I owe you, Peter?" she says flatly, her stare more like a glare toward him.

He grins and says, "Double what it says on the board."

"What?" She says, focusing on him again. "You're lying. I'm done playing the game. You guys can have at it. Feel free to take my spot, Cora. I'll be in the kitchen."

She stands up, the mood shifting in the room once again, the boys watching her leave with different emotions on their faces. You feel this pull to follow her, to comfort her, as if you're wanting to repay her for her kindness earlier. Maybe you should.

"Why are you so mean to her?" Oliver quips, giving Peter a little shove after a moment's hesitation. He sounds angry.

Peter laughs as Chris delves into his notebook, sitting back on his side of the couch.

"Because she's easy to mess with."

Oliver grinds his teeth, his face flushing again. He's super easy to read, but that isn't always a bad thing.

"One day she's going to realize what a jerk you are and she's going to change her mind about you."

Peter laughs out loud. "And then what? She'll fall for you?" He scoffs. "You're too quiet and wimpy for her."

Oliver shoves him again, nearly making him topple off the couch as Peter gives a curt laugh, eyes flitting to your face. Why does he keep looking at you? "I'm not into her like that, and you know it."

"What do you think of those two?"

Chris's voice startles you and you turn to see him leaning toward you. He'd quietly scooted to the other side of the couch to where he's sitting next to you, smiling in your face before turning back to the guys, continuing to lean into your personal space. He's so close, it makes your heart skip. Freckles darker than his already bronze skin litter the bridge of his nose and his cheekbones.

"They always fight. Max would be the one to smooth it over with his jokes, but, sadly, that role falls onto me when he's away." He pouts comically and sighs. "But alas, I actually like to watch them bicker and can't be bothered to stop them."

He turns to you and smiles.

"I think you'd like Max. If he ever comes back, that is. Everyone likes him."

"Where is he?" You ask, trying to push the thought of a guy being this close to you away. "What do you mean if he ever comes back? Is he in danger?"

Chris grins and sits back a tiny bit. "You're so sweet, caring for people you don't know. It's a good trait, to be honest." He pauses, watching the other two continue to bicker harmlessly. "We don't know what Max does. He's super talented with computers and is really smart, but aside from that, he doesn't tell us anything else. We just know he travels a lot with his family."

Chris suddenly stands up and clears his throat. "Girls, girls, you're both pretty. Peter, you should apologize to Karika for being so mean, and Oliver, maybe you should go console her because that's what you do best. I'll fill Cora in with everything that's going on around here since it seems there's nothing to talk about today."

The boys both pout visibly, Peter automatically going back to his phone. "I didn't do anything wrong and therefore there's nothing to apologize for."

Oliver opens his mouth to snap at him when Chris holds up his hand, silencing them. "I'm pulling rank and telling you both to shut up or I'll stick you in a different corner of the room in time-out."

Peter scoffs. "We don't have ranks."

"Yes, well I just created them. I'm the king, Karika's the queen, Max is the jester, Oliver is the gardener, and Peter, you're the accountant."

"Sounds reasonable," Peter says, standing too and slipping his phone in his pants pocket. "Since I take care of all the expensive things, anyway."

Peter's rich?

"But I think you're more the jester, Chris, and Max is like the security guard."

With that, Peter walks away, glancing once more at you, eyebrows knit, and calls over his shoulder, "Text me when the next meeting will be. I'm needed at work."

Chris exhales in disbelief. "It's a Saturday. You don't want to hang out with your friends?"

"Never said you were my friends. We were simply thrown together by Karika's father. Adios."

With that, he exits the storage room.

"And then there were three," Chris says.

"I'm going to check on Karika," Oliver says, standing. He turns to you and gives a pained smile, pink cheeks appearing once more as he avoids eye contact. "It was nice to meet you, Cora. I look forward to getting to know you." He makes a sound at the end of that statement, aware of what he just uttered. "I—I mean, I'll—you'll—we'll—" He rubs his face with his hand. "I hope you come to the next meeting. It was nice to see you."

He hurries out the door, shaking his head and clenching his fists.

"Make that two," Chris says. He holds out an elbow as if he's waiting for you to take it. "Want to go for a walk? I can fill you in on everything you just walked into so you'll be caught up."

You nod and stand. What other nonsense could happen today? Chris seems trustworthy, even though you just met him, but if Karika, the girl who saved your butt, trusts him, then why can't you?

You wrap your fingers around his arm and nod again. "Sure. The more knowledge I have, the higher chance I can remember something, right?" You exhale. "And that's even if I belong in this town."

Chris grins at you and begins to lead you out of the storage room. Oliver and Karika are on the opposite side of the kitchen, Karika sitting on the counter and Oliver talking to her gently and quietly. Her face is hard and her arms are crossed. She sees you walking across the way and her eyes lock on you, something like pity filling them as you exit with Chris. Before you can speak, you're outside and you're bathed in sunlight. Squinting your eyes, you follow Chris out of the alleyway and around the corner.

"So you can't remember anything?" Chris asks out of nowhere.

"Um... yeah. Nothing past this morning."

"Interesting..." he says, drifting off into thought. He quickly bounces back. "Well. I'm sure you have questions. Let me give you a little info beforehand. I'll start with myself," he says with a grin. "I'm Chris. I'm a writer and have written twelve books, all in the fantasy genre, but have yet to make it big and am getting by on minimum-wage working at a local grocery store in town. Also totally single if you're interested—" your heart skips at this as you're taken off-guard, "—but if not, it's whatever, no hard feelings, and I have an older brother and younger sister and am a disappointment to my parents because I dropped out of college. To be fair, it was a harsh environment for me and I didn't think I could make a difference there."

"You want to make a difference?" you ask, looking around. Nothing seems familiar or sparks a memory.

He nods. "I think everyone does, in some way. I just hope mine is through my writing because there's not much else I can do. Go figure, right? But if it turns out there's a different way for me to change lives, I'd have to get really good at that thing..." He shakes his head. "I'm getting off-topic."

We turn into a coffee shop where he leads you into a line. "I don't like coffee, but I do like the food here. Do you know if you like coffee?"

You shake your head and he shrugs. "I'll just get you what I get and you can tell me if you like it."

You both sit down in a booth at the back, a croissant sandwich in both of your hands with a free cup of water. You slide in to the one against the wall, the thought of having your back to the room off-putting.

"It okay if I sit on the same side as you?" Chris asks with a sheepish smile. You nod and scoot over as he thanks you.

"So I'll talk about Oliver next. Karika calls him Ollie. Has since the day she met him a year ago. He doesn't have a crush on her or anything, but it's fun to tease him about it. He's a musician. More successful than me in the arts area, but he's so quiet and doesn't like doing live performances because he's so shy, but does them anyway. But you should see that boy sing. It's like he's a completely different person on that stage. He just recently started opening up more to us. He was closer to Karika's dad than any of us in the group. Or, at least, that's what it seemed like from where I stood."

Chris takes a bite of his sandwich before continuing. You take a bite too, not realizing how hungry you really were. You haven't eaten since... Well, honestly, you don't know when the last time you ate was.

"Peter's a rich snob who invents random things and who opened his own company at twenty-three. Karika's dad was obsessed with it and those two began working on plans for a new invention or something. Peter was also going to help her dad and Max with making the little shop into a cyber-cafe or something. I think that's what it's called. Anyway, Karika's dad passed away and plans fell through, but Peter insists on coming to the group anyway out of respect for her dad."

He takes another bite of his sandwich.

"Karika, as you know, is tough as nails and almost scary, and I think that's why Peter isn't interested in her in a romantic way. He needs someone to protect, someone who will let him. Eh, that, or someone who gets under his skin. Either way, she isn't what he's interested in. She lost her mom when she was eight and then her dad when she turned twenty-two. Apparently, since losing her memory, she's drastically changed. She's told me about things that she used to think and do before it happened and how much it changed after she lost it."

"Does she remember why or how it happened?" You ask between bites, taking another sip of water. You really are hungry. Most of your sandwich is gone.

Chris shakes his head. "That's the only part of her memory she hasn't been able to get back. She told me once that there's this point of her life that's super fuzzy and she thinks that's the moment she lost it. Her car was found totaled somewhere in the woods near us, so she just assumes she got into a really bad car crash."

You smile, a small chuckle escaping. "Just like in Fifty First Dates."

You furrow your brow and slow your chewing. You can remember one of your favorite moves, but you can't recall what you're doing in this town?

Well, at least you know what your favorite movie is.

Chris studies you. "Is that your favorite movie?"

You nod. "I think so. It seems like I remember small things randomly. Or, well, that's what's been happening since this morning. I can't explain it."

You feel your phone buzz. Pulling it out, you see you've got a message, but it powers off entirely. You forgot it had been at low power.

Holding in a groan, you exhale.

"You need a charger?" Chris asks, digging in his deep pockets and producing a white chord. He looks beneath the lip of the table and plugs it in, the USB fitting into a slot under it.

"Whoa," you say, looking. There are several plugs and USB ports next to it.

"Yeah. A lot of places have tables like these now. It's really useful."

You plug in your phone and place it on the table, waiting for it to turn back on as the battery image pops up, telling you it's charging.

"So what is this "group" you guys are all in?"

Chris chuckles. "Well, it's more like a hangout or a meeting about discussing important things. I'd like to say we've become friends, but we're too polite to be actual friends. Karika's dad, Frank, he created this little group for whatever we needed. Whatever we talked about, though, wouldn't leave the building. We all share a lot of memories in this place. This one time my depression was really bad and the guys talked to me in the middle of the night at this place because I couldn't take it anymore. They really lifted me up."

You choke on your water. What do you say to that? He'd said it so casually.

He laughs. "Don't worry about me. Sorry I brought that up. I just feel like I need to talk about it so you know what's going on if I start to act like a completely different person. It helps to talk about the things going on inside of you, and if you're going to be a part of this group, then I think you should know."

You stare at him, your head reeling. What do you say to something like that?

Chris shifts uncomfortably. "Sorry."

"No, that's okay," you blurt. "I just... I..."

"You're at a loss for words. That's okay. I kind of sprung that on you." He scratches at his arms, a nervous tick. "Anyway, Frank died in an accident at work. He works with heavy, uh... machinery." A shadow falls over his face for a moment, but he's back to himself quickly. "But he's in a better place, and I believe that, for the most part. God was his number one."

He finishes off his sandwich and you crinkle your wrapper into a ball, placing it away from you.

"Ummmm, the only person I haven't really talked about is Max, and there's really nothing else to say about him. He's a mysterious guy and he's obsessed with secrets," he laughs bitterly. "His own and everyone else's. But he's a good guy. A really good one."

"I think that's everything," he says with a smile, looking back at me. "Do you know where you're going to stay tonight?"

You shake your head. You haven't even thought about that. It's been a crazy day and it isn't even noon, yet.

He nods. "Well, I'm sure any of us would have our doors open for you, but you might want to stay with Karika, considering the rest of us are guys," he grins, winking. Your face grows hot at this and he laughs. "I'm kidding. But seriously, it's probably best to stay with the only other girl in the group rather than any of us guys. We're all interested in women, so it'd be difficult to... uh..." He scratches at his head nervously. "Yeah. Just. Yeah. Stay with Karika." He laughs, this one different than the others. You breathe slowly, trying to control your heart rate and force your face to cool down. "If she doesn't let you, I'll Kar-ick-a her butt," he jokes, laughing awkwardly. "That sounded better in my head."

You smile, letting out your own nervous chuckle out. You can't help but smile at him. He's so cute.

You stiffen at the thought, your face reddening again.

"So... what do you want to do? We can walk around and try to spark your memories if you're from around here. But, of course, it might not work if you've just kind of moved here or stumbled upon this town. What do you think?"

"Um..." You shake your head trying to clear your thoughts. "I guess we can walk around. It doesn't seem like it'll be too hot today."

"No, it shouldn't be," he says, standing up to throw away his and your trash. You thank him as he comes back and you scoot out of the booth. "Let's go walking, then. Don't really want to go back to that mess at the shop. Karika probably won't even open it up today because she most likely doesn't feel like it. Her family's rich, so she's able to take however many days off. She only keeps the shop open in remembrance of her dad."

You nod as both of you leave the small cafe. Once you're on the sidewalk, he holds out his elbow once again for you to take with a smile. His curly brown hair falls in his face and his smile reaches his eyes.

"Shall we continue our journey, princess?"

You smile and nod as he leads the way. You two don't talk much as you walk, your eyes taking in everything. It's as if you're seeing out through different eyes and it's easy to be around someone like Chris, someone who will make you smile with a look. Maybe you weren't looking for love... but perhaps it'll fall into your lap if you take it all in stride. This morning was weird and scary, but as of right now, everything seems normal, and if Karika's testimony lines up to yours in any way, you'll get your memory back in a few days. Everything will be okay.

Butyou don't know if you can hold on to that optimistic thought.