I've only had one friend who had a concussion while I was present. I was so shocked when I found out they had lost their memory. We were ice skating and they fell down backwards and landed straight on their head. We took them to the hospital and later found that their memory was gone, they couldn't even remember their family and their friends. They had completely forgotten how to play the guitar and the hardest part was telling their parents that their child had forgotten them.
Memories are funny, aren't they? Who knew how important they were for making bonds? I guess that's why the world says that people have two deaths. When your body dies and when someone says your name or recounts a memory of you for the last time.
"Trying to forget someone you love is like trying to remember someone you never met"
- PureloveQuotes.com
KEITH
It took some convincing but after Keith showed you that you were together, you agreed to go to your apartment. Ms Smith heard about your incident and offered to stay with you while Keith continued to work. Although she was getting old, she patted your worried cries of her staying with you. And when I mean by 'patting your worries away' I mean she stubbornly poked you with her cane until you gave up laughing.
Keith helped you up the stairs with his arms around your shoulder and offering his body as support while you climbed to the fourth floor. "Watch out for that step." Keith gently moved you away from an ordinary looking floorboard. You stopped climbing and looked at the board.
"I know that board," you whispered. Keith smiled.
"When I first met you, I pulled you out of the way and told you to never put your foot there."
"Because Ms Smith had an accident there and had to go to the hospital!" You gasped.
"Yes!" Keith eagerly jerked forward but stopped and slowly reeled back, biting his lip.
"Keith?" You asked, " Are you okay?"
"Yeah..." He answered. "I'm fine."
You looked at him suspiciously as he kept helping you up the stairs. Ms Smith opened the door as Keith helped you to the couch. The elderly woman hobbled over with her cane and took a seat next to you.
"I haven't seen you in a long time. I never thought our reunion would start like this," she chuckled. You tried to laugh as you awkwardly sat on the couch with your downstairs neighbour. Keith was in the kitchen boiling some water and setting out cups.
"Did um... How long was I with Keith?" You asked.
"Oh... I would say about nearly a year. You had been a lovely couple. A stubborn couple but a good one. That was... Until about a few months ago," She sighed.
"... What happened a few months ago?" You asked. Ms Smith looked at you while you waited for her to answer. Your lips were slightly apart while you patiently waited. She put a hand on top of yours and looked at you seriously.
"I will let you and Keith sort that one out. This is your relationship with this young man and as much as I hate to say this, you are not my daughter. I would have loved you to be mine but... it looks like another woman had the honour of giving birth to you."
You nodded as Keith offered you and Ms Smith a warm beverage. Your hands touched for a full second. His fingers brushed against yours slowly, almost reminiscing the feel of your skin. You felt chills shiver down your spine. You didn't feel cold until Keith pulled away from you even though your cup steamed with warmth.
You took a sip of the drink and opened your eyes widely. "How did you know I like it like this?" You gasped. Keith chuckled sadly and gave you a half-hearted smile from the kitchen. "Oh... yeah-right..." you sighed.
Ms Smith chuckled. "Looks like helping (y/n) fall in love you again won't be so hard." You blushed and tried to hide your face into your drink but a flash of blue popped in front of your face.
"GAH!" You nearly spilt your drink as the blue dog jumped onto the couch and snuggled on your lap. "Keith? What happened to this dog? How did it teleport?!" You exclaimed. Keith laughed and walked over to you and sat down on the floor.
"His name is Cosmo and we adopted him a few weeks ago. He kept you company... While I was working." Keith looked down on the floor, combing his fingers in Cosmo's fur. You looked at Keith's solemn face and turned to Ms Smith who tilted her head down slightly.
"Um... What's wrong with that?" You asked.
"I... started working a lot harder than usual a few months ago. You started to get lonely and impatient. We didn't talk about it because I always came late and when we tried to, I always pushed you away because... I was scared to tell you what I was doing," Keith answered.
"I think that's my cue to leave. Keith, sit on the couch next to your girlfriend," Ms Smith slowly stood up and gave you one last look, "Remember (y/n), you chose him for a reason; trust him."
You slowly nodded your head and watched Ms Smith walk out. The first seconds were awkward at first. You could tell Keith was keeping his distance. He didn't hug you, kiss you and whatever he did, he did at a distance making sure you were okay. He rested his elbow on the couch's arm and looked away, almost painfully. You were a little hurt by this but Ms Smith's words really resonated with you.
"Keith?" You turned to your boyfriend and he gave you his full attention. "In the hospital, you didn't stop hugging me or crying. I felt really weird when you did that but I kind of liked it. Why are you stopping now?" You asked.
Keith turned away and took a deep breath. "This is my fault."
"How could this be your fault?" You asked.
"You overdosed yourself with pills because of me. When I was working, I would keep who I was a secret to protect you but that ended up hurting you and causing more damage than I wanted. You're in this mess because of me. I don't deserve you, if you don't want to be with me then that's fine. I... Understand if you don't want to be with me."
You started to tear as Keith leant against his knees, bowing his face on the ground. You put your drink on the ground and reached out to gently place your hand on his shoulder, rubbing circles into his jacket. You scooched over, ignoring the slightly annoyed Cosmo, and hugged Keith. He started to cry, holding onto your waist desperately.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I love you so much and I wish this never happened to you." Keith gasped as tears streamed down the sides of his face.
You held him tighter, closing your eyes. "I don't remember you too well. This place doesn't look that familiar but... I'm starting to remember. I can... I can feel us and it's really hard to describe it but... It also sounds like this was partly my fault. I forgive you Keith... and... I love you too."
HUNK
You were in the passenger seat of the car as Hunk drove you home from the hospital. The houses that you passed by were kind of familiar. You peeked around the window curiously, only flicking your eyes as your body remained still.
Hunk stopped at one particular house. It was a lot larger than the others and as soon as you parked in the driveway, five people rushed outside. You jerked at the number of people swarming outside and stuck your hand out to grip Hunk's arm. Hunk cracked a smile. He squeezed your hand gently before getting out the car to open your door.
You gulped when the door opened next to you. The woman, who appeared to be your mother, pulled you out of the car and started to suffocate with you a death grip of a hug. You gagged at the initial strain but the grip softened as you heard her cry softly.
You were incredibly overwhelmed by the mixed reactions from your presumed family. Your mother was weeping, your father was hugging both you and your mother, effectively sandwiching you and your brothers were comforting Hunk, looking remorseful and angry. But soon, you were in the middle of a family hug with everyone glad that you were back, except for one person.
Out of a small hole that cracked through the arms of your family, you saw Hunk slowly walking away. "Wait!" Your family was a little shocked at your exclamation and stepped back. "Hunk!" You called out.
Hunk turned around with his hands shoved in his pocket. "Yes?" He answered.
"Where are you going?" You asked.
"I'm just taking a walk, you need to remember your family," he answered. You gave him a look and walked over to him, holding his hand.
"But I want to remember you as well." You gave him a small smile but it didn't much to Hunk. You eventually dragged him over to your family where they made small introductions.
"(y/n), I'm your mother Helena. This is your father and these are your older brothers: Tim, James and Luke." She pointed to a middle-aged man and the other boys, two of whom looked like young adults. The last one, Luke, looked a lot younger though.
"You look annoying," You said, staring at Luke. All the boys laughed except for Luke who looked like he was conflicted with humour and hurt. Your mother, however, was aghast.
"Well, I don't know if (y/n) will be able to work a car again but she sure as hell will get us laughing like she always used to," your mother chuckled.
"John!" Your mother gasped.
"What are you talking about dad, I remember everything about car mechanics," you scoffed.
"You forget almost everything but you remember every single detail about car maintenance?" James sighed.
"Mm-hmm," you hummed. "Who knows, I might remember so good that I'll run the shop on my own with all of you underneath me." Your father chuckled while the brothers groaned.
"Well, why don't we drive to the garage and find out?" Your father suggested.
You smirked to your brothers and re-gripped Hunk's hand with a grin. "Yeah, why don't we?"
LANCE
"I'll get you a glass of water." You nodded and let Lance leave you alone. The silence was a little awkward. You had lived in this house for nearly all your life and remembered everything perfectly but you didn't remember a thing about this guy. I mean, you had been dating this guy? He's really skinny, you thought you would be into someone a bit musclier. Your first thought your mother had tried to set you up with a really big attempt but... everything was sincere.
You looked around your bedroom and noticed that your closet had changed. Curiosity got the better of you and you started exploring the changes. Somehow, you managed to change your hoodie into what looked like Lance's and found a hidden box. You knelt down and brought it into view as you fiddled with a lock that kept the small chest closed.
"Babe? Wher- Oh..." Lance chuckled and found you in the closet. "Looks like you found it." You looked out of the closet to Lance who was setting the glass of water on the dresser.
"What is this?" You asked.
"It's my treasure box, let me get the key," Lance answered. Lance offered you a hand up and moved the glass to the table dresser before getting the key. You got comfortable on the bed and set up the pillows so that you and Lance could get settle down better. "Okay." Lance walked in with a golden key and unlocked the padlock, allowing you to peer into the contents.
"Is this... A photo album?" You asked.
"I... took photos of nearly every date that we had and other moments that I got to take a photo of," Lance admitted. Lance nervously rubbed the back of his neck while you smiled at the closed photo album. Lance nodded and helped you remove the box.
The album itself was pretty cool. A thick grey cover which had a small photo preview. It was a photo of you and Lance in a pool but Lance was having more than you. He was taking a selfie while you were getting splashed by someone off camera. You giggled and turned the first page.
The first page was taken with a modest photo of you and Lance in what looked like a cabin. You titled your head and saw that there were two beds in the room. "Did our families going camping?" You asked.
"No." Lance shuffled on the bed, moving closer to you to hold the edge of the album. "On our first date, I took you hiking and we slept overnight in a small cabin. We played Emperor-Scum, Snumbers and any card game we could think of." Lance answered.
"It was... Just the two of us?" You gulped.
"Yeah..?" Lance looked at you while you started to play with the edge of the album. "We didn't do anything if that's what you're asking," Lance laughed.
"We haven't done anything in the past year... Have we?" You gulped. Your cheeks were dusted with bright pink and they were getting redder and redder by the second. Lance burst out laughing even harder. You were left in humiliation until Lance sat up to hug you and kissed you on the cheek.
"Nah babe, we didn't do anything. You weren't comfortable with it so I backed off." Lance looked over to your burnt face and chuckled. He gently lifted his hand and stroked your red face with the back of his knuckles. "Man, I knew you were hot but not this hot," Lance gave you a cocky wink and smirk which sent you over the edge.
"Lance!" You laughed.
"What?" He asked innocently.
"You're such a flirt!" You whined.
"I know, it's probably what made you fall in love with me," he grinned. You smiled but then it started to fade away. Lance frowned. "Babe? What's wrong?" He asked.
"I... I'll never remember what made me fall in love with you in the first place..." you whispered. Your hand started to fall off the album but Lance slowly wrapped his hand around your palm to intertwine his fingers with yours. You started to cry, clinging onto Lance's hand. Lance wrapped his arms around you as you crawled into his embrace, sobbing into his shirt. "I'm not going to remember."
"No. You're going to remember," Lance whispered.
"What if I don't?" You cried.
"You will. Just like how you're going to remember how to climb, how to teach maths... How much you hate cooking dinner."
"I can cook?" You gasped. Lance laughed. You giggled at the feeling of Lance's chest jerking up and down as he laughed.
"Yeah, you wanted to get better so you taught yourself how to cook. You're amazing (y/n)," Lance smiled.
"I'm not amazing now since I can't remember anything," you sighed.
"Hey," Lance lifted your chin up so that he could see you at eye level, "You're not going to talk about yourself like that. You are amazing. That's why I fell in love with you. And you are going remember how you fell in love with me. Okay?"
You were speechless. Was this why you fell in love with him? You couldn't really pinpoint what it was but you felt something. It was something warm. Your heart wasn't flustering like normal crushes. It was a warm yet fluttering feeling. This was it.
You engulfed Lance in a hug tightly and took a small gasp into his shoulder. "Babe? Are you all right?" Lance asked.
"Thank you," you whispered. "I love you."
Lance smiled and kissed you atop your forehead. "I love you too (y/n)."
SHIRO
You felt like a child led by an adult when you walked inside the public library. Shiro held your hand gently while you squeezed them nervously. An elder woman beamed at your arrival and gasped joyfully.
"(y/n)! It's been so long since I saw you! Oh my goodness, I thought something had happened to you." The woman walked over from the front desk and started to hug you. You looked over to Shiro in a panicked expression as he gently pried the woman off to explain what had happened in the past 72 hours.
Her expression rose and fell as the story progressed. You tried to stay calm despite the drama. When you first saw this man, he was running over to you madly and tried to touch you. You didn't know if he really was someone that you loved or some psycho killer claiming to be your boyfriend!
You quickly dropped your hand from Shiro and tried to scooch away as you started to plan your escape from the bookshelf window. The woman slowly turned to you with a sorrowful frown. "Oh my goodness, (y/n) dear. I am so sorry what happened. I suppose you don't remember me, do you?" She asked.
You shook your head. The woman sighed but pulled herself upright with a smile. "My name is Ms Jonnes. I am the head librarian here. You started working for me when you were younger. You loved reading and started to babysit when you were fourteen. In fact, the children you took care of started to like you so much that you are a godmother to the eldest of them."
You widened your eyes and looked to Shiro who had a smile plastered to his face. "Her name is Michelle and she gave us the nickname Space Mum and Space Dad."
"Space..." you whispered. "I like space."
"Yeah you studied engineering a few years ago... It's also where you met me."
"No, I like being alone. Was I... An introvert?" You asked.
Shiro burst into laughter earning a hard slap and hush from Ms Jonnes. "Yeah, you loved being alone and your favourite plush toy was Pingu."
You gulped and started to wonder if he really was your boyfriend or a serial killer about to strike. You were about to make another tangent but Ms Jones pulled you further into the library. Maybe she was the serial killer!
Everyone in the library was quiet reading their books or studying on their desk but the noise of children started to split silence in half, dashing it into pieces with screams and toys falling onto the ground. Five children were in the play area with one of them trying to tell them what to do.
"Space Mum would have made you sit in the sorry corner Michael!"
"Don't tell me what to do Michelle, you're not Space Mum!"
"Shush! I'm the oldest and Space Mum knows it!"
You stood in front of the small group of children with awe until they all hushed and saw you. Suddenly they all started running towards you, hugging your legs and screaming in giggling fits.
"Space Mum! Tell Michael that I am the oldest and he needs to do what I say!"
"No! Space Dad! Tell her that she's wrong!"
You started to feel overwhelmed until Shiro placed a hand on your shoulder. He gave you a small smile before gesturing back to the children. You bent down to the children's level and forced a smile on your face. "Uh, Michelle. You are the oldest but that also means... You have to be a good follower as well..."
"WHAT?!" Michelle exclaimed.
"Uhhh! It's not that you don't have to not be the leader! It's just that... You need to be a good example... Yeah! If you want to tell them what to do, you have to do it as well. Like cleaning up! If you want other people to do it, you have to do it as well with... You follow and you lead them... through example..."
"Space Dad, did you kiss her again? She's stuttering," Michelle said.
Your cheeks started burning up as you stood up straight abruptly. Shiro chuckled, intertwining his fingers with yours. You started to feel a little nervous from the gesture but the warmth his gentle hold on your small hand and smile that he was giving you made your knees buckle "I-I stutter after you kiss me?" You trembled.
"You stuttered after I do a lot of things. Like holding your hand and kissing you," Shiro smiled.
You began to blush madly as Michelle started to squeal. "Kiss her! Kiss her!" Michelle begged.
Shiro looked at you for permission. You bit your lip and looked at the children who were waiting in anticipation. Shiro turned his face and looked at you in the eye. "If you don't want to do it, you don't have to," Shiro whispered.
You took a deep breath and looked up to Shiro, the man who had taken you to a special place from your past and the person who everyone knew as the one who loved you. After one gulp you slowly nodded your head.
Shiro slowly cupped your face and gently pressed his lips against yours, lightly pressing against them. Michelle squealed while the rest of them looked away in disgust. You jerked at her sudden increase in volume but Shiro wrapped his arm around your waist and held your waist firmly as you relaxed.
Slowly you both parted a little out of breath. Shiro smiled at you lovingly, almost tearing up. You tilted your head to the side in curiosity. "You really are beautiful," he whispered. He gently caressed your cheek before pecking it gently. "Like a lily."
MATT
"Gorgeous, it's me, Matt I'm your boyfriend." Matt retreated back as you stared at him blankly.
"Uh... I really think you've got the wrong person. I don't have a boyfriend, I can't remember ever meeting you. Have we met before?" You asked. Matt had to turn away, it took everything in him not to break down and cry right in front of you. "Um... Are you okay? I'm sorry if something's happened, can I help?"
Matt took in a shaky breath before looking back at you with swollen eyes. "You- We were in a relationship. But you had an accident and... It looks like you can't remember me."
"I was dating you" You gasped.
"Is... Is that bad?" Matt asked.
"No, it's just... Wow, you look way too good to be my boyfriend. Are you sure you're not some celebrity that came in to make sure I'm okay?" You laughed. Matt cracked a smile.
"No, I was really your boyfriend. In fact, I used to call you Gorgeous as a nickname because you are really beautiful." Matt shuffled on his feet and looked at you. You were blushing madly with a sheepish smile, unable to stare at one place for more than two seconds.
"So uh... What's your name?" You asked.
"Matthew Holt, "Matt answered, "your boyfriend."
...
Matt drove you home to a small house on a corner street. You flinched as you drove down the road outside your house. Matt noticed this and gently grasped your hand. You tried to ease yourself, relaxing into Matt's gentle circles on the back of your hand.
"Are you alright?" Matt asked.
"Uh... Yeah... I'm fine," you whispered. Matt gave you one last look as he parked the car in the garage. You climbed out to get the bag but Matt beat you to it and shouldered the backpack with a smile.
"I got it, don't worry."
You gave him a small smile as well but couldn't help but feel like a captured princess. You were happy to have him help you but it was also slightly offensive.
"Okay, but next time can I please get my own bag?" You asked.
"Sure," Matt answered.
You followed Matt inside the house. He placed your bag in the bedroom and walked out to find you looking in the living room. The small house was modest having the kitchen and living room connected with only the different floors to separate them. You sat on the couch and looked around in awe.
"Hey," Matt said, "Do you want me to get you a glass of water?"
You looked to Matt and nodded your head. "Sure."
Matt immediately walking to the kitchen and fetched you a glass of water while you looked around, trying to remember anything about this place. Nothing ever seemed to come to mind. All the memories that you felt inside your mind were fragmented and scattered across reality, it frustrated you.
"Here you go." Matt offered you the glass of water and sat down on the couch with you while you sipped the liquid.
"What was I like?" You asked.
"As a person?" Matt asked.
"Yeah, I remember some things about you. Did you like games or something digital?" You asked.
"Something like that. I was a technician and engineer at the same time. Think of me as the ultimate mechanic geek," Matt chuckled.
You giggled in fashion. "But seriously, what was I like? I remember growing up really headstrong and weird."
"Well, you were pretty headstrong. When I worked you always wanted to help and when G-tech came and tried to take your shop-"
"They did WHAT?!" You screamed. Matt grimaced, quickly turning away. He clenched his teeth, blowing out his cheeks in frustration and regret. You watched his reaction in suspense. "Matt. What. Happened?" You demanded.
Matt sighed, reluctantly turning to face you. "You're not going to like what you're about to hear," Matt said grimly.
At first, after hearing about G-tech, you started to fume, thinking about every possible way to legally and illegally take them off the grid but then you started to break down in tears. The events that had happened, the problems that you and Matt had. Your mother, your father, the team and your relationship with Matt. All in one day, it was straining your mind into two different directions.
"Wai-wait! Stop!" You gasped.
"(y/n)? What is it?" Matt asked.
You growled and stared at the couch. "I... I can't keep going. I want to remember everything but I just can't! It's so frustrating!" You cried.
Matt carefully approached you, embracing you. "I know you can't remember. But I'll love you just the same," he whispered. "It doesn't matter that you can't remember anything about us, even though it does hurt," he laughed, "But I love you and nothing is going to change that."
"You should teach me how to make motivational speeches, "You laughed.
Matt laughed even harder. "I learned from you, (y/n)."