Hehe. This one was suggested by Lunar1046 . Thank her for this.

Alex's POV:

I look at my clipboard, seeing what patients I had to see next. Surprisingly enough, I wasn't booked today. I guess everyone is having a healthy day. That's how science works, right?

Haha, wrong.

"Dr. Gaskarth?" one of the nurses asks from behind me.

"That would be me," I reply.

"Do you have time in your schedule for a patient? He has a serious case of pneumonia from what we've observed and needs a professional diagnosis."

"I'll be right there," I assure her with a smile. She gives me a look of relief before handing me a few papers on this patient I'd be seeing. His name is Jack Barakat, who is 28 years old. He doesn't have a history of getting serious diseases like this, so treatment should be a fairly simple process. All I need to do is ensure it is only pneumonia and not something more serious.

I start walking down the hallways toward his room as the name rings in my mind. I feel like I've heard it before. Maybe Rian has mentioned it or something. That had to be it. This Jack Barakat must be Rian's friend.

I open the wooden door, walking into the light colored room. I shut the door behind me before turning to see this patient. He had dark hair with a red stripe in it. It might look weird if it were on someone else, but it suited him. His nose was a little crooked, but, again, it suited his face. He had gorgeous brown eyes and from what I could observe, he was tall.

His eyes meet mine, causing me to clear my throat and stop staring at him. "You must be Jack Barakat. I'm Dr. Gaskarth and I'll be overseeing your sickness," I state professionally as I do for every patient. I set down the paperwork I was holding and turn around to see him staring at me in awe. Did I say something wrong? Was there something on my clothes?

"Alex?" he whispers. How the hell does he know my first name?

"Excuse me?"

"Alex, it's me. Jack Barakat," he says louder.

"I know, I see it on your files," I reply cautiously. I approach him, placing the stethoscope against his chest. "Take a deep breath," I instruct, which he does. He breathes halfway in before dissolving into a coughing fit, which is expected. "Okay, well, that's normal. Don't worry about that," I assure him.

"You don't understand," he says. "You still don't remember me after all these years?"

"What are you talking about?" I ask, getting the thermometer ready. I drag it across his forehead, seeing that he was sustaining a low fever. Also normal.

"They said you'd gain your memories back," he says sorrowfully.

"Mr. Barakat, I-"

"Jack. Please call me Jack."

"Jack, I'm sorry, I have no idea who you're talking about. Maybe you're thinking of a different person, which is likely. Sickness often causes people to-"

"Alexander William Gaskarth, 29 years old, born December 14th, 1987 in Essex. You moved to America when you were young, we met in middle school and became best friends. You were the kind of kid who wasn't ever happy with himself, but music was your getaway. You had an obsession with Green Day and I introduced you to blink-182. We'd play our guitars together and sometimes you would sing. I loved those times. You thought you couldn't write lyrics for shit, but I loved everything you wrote."

"Jack-"

"You got along with everyone, but we weren't necessarily popular at all. We met Rian and eventually met Zack during high school, and we decided to make a band. We were really good, but you doubted yourself. You didn't think what you wrote was good enough and we couldn't convince you, so we gave up the dream. We all went into separate life paths, but you and I stayed together. We got together as a band a few times, but now we haven't in years. Well, not since the accident."

"How do you know about the accident?"

"You remember?"

"I-," I stop myself. This is a complete stranger who somehow knows my life story. I remember everything he's saying, just not the person I had those memories with. Apparently that someone is this stranger?

"Alex, tell me what you know."

I sigh. "I know I got into a car accident and forgot a bunch of things, but everything came back to me. That's it."

"We were dating, Lex!" he blurts out. The nickname rolls off his tongue as if he'd said it a million times.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I snap, sick of this manipulation. "I'm finding you a new doctor." I storm out of the room before saying another word.

-=+=-

A week passed without the conversation with Jack leaving my mind. He had left the hospital days ago with antibiotics, but he'd be back today to ensure he'll be okay with the rest of his recovery on his own. If everything went right, he's not contagious anymore. Since the doctor who'd taken him was out today, I'd have to face him again.

I take a deep breath before entering the room where I'd seen him for the first time... or at least I think it was the first time... about a week ago. He looks at me with sad eyes, and something inside me breaks a little. I have a weird, overpowering urge to hug him, but it subsides almost as quickly as it occurred.

"Hello Mr. Barakat, how are you feeling?" I ask with as much confidence as I can muster.

"Better," he chokes out, flashing me a small smile. I nod, setting down his paperwork. I put the stethoscope to his chest, instructing him to breathe. He does it, coughing again, but that was to be expected. He could breathe with more ease and there was less phlegm to be heard in his cough this time. I take his temperature, relieved when a normal temperature appears on the little numbers.

"You seem to be all good, but I'm just going to take your pulse real quick and then do one more listen to your lungs, okay?" I ask, gaining a nod from him. I velcro the black band around his arm, pumping it up so it tightly hugs his skin. His pulse reads normal, so I release the pressure and remove it from his arm. I check his breathing one more time before deeming him ready to go.

"Okay, seems like you're free to go. Continue the antibiotics for three more days, and then you'll no longer need them. Keep it easy for another week, make sure you're eating and drinking enough water, and you'll be healthy in no time." He nods before standing up, leaving the room without another word. I shrug, trying to push him from my mind.

The rest of my day is just like every other day, the only problem being I couldn't stop thinking about Jack. Being around him felt familiar and it kills me because I don't know why. As I finish out my day, I drive to a place I hadn't gone in a long time- the lake.

I'd come here years ago to think, and I'd never let anyone go there with me. It was my space to sit alone and think, watching the sun set on the lake, making for a picturesque view. I park the car off the side of the road, walking a little toward the tree that I sat against. As I approach it, I see someone already sitting there. Narrowing my eyes in the darkening evening, I make out the figure that I'd been thinking about all day.

Jack.

It was at that moment everything came rushing back. I remember nights of taking him here, the only one I'd ever allow into my spot. I remember singing to him as the sun fell from the sky and feeling him curl into my side. I remember kissing his forehead just for him to lean up and attach our lips. I remember intertwining our fingers and just sitting in silence together under the night sky, twinkling with stars.

I remember the end of high school how he was the boy that went through it all with me. I graduated with him by my side after I'd been dating him for almost a year. We moved into an apartment together. He got a job and I went to college, so we couldn't hang out much. Our relationship worked, though. The accident happened three years ago, when I didn't remember him and he left to give me space.

My head dizzy, I stumble over beside him, sliding against the rough bark to sit with our shoulders touching. He jumps at first, but settles when he realizes it's me.

"Jack?" I whisper.

"Alex?" he replies.

"I remember...," I trail off, not sure what else to say. I turn to see his entire face light up, his body coming alive.

"You mean, you remember our relationship? Everything?" I nod, and before I really know what's happening, I have an urge to kiss him. So, I do. I wrap my hands around the back of his neck and pull his head to mine, latching our lips together for the first time in years. It felt so familiar, like I'd been doing this my entire life.

"Damn, I've missed you so much," Jack mumbles after we pull apart.

"My mind didn't realize it, but I missed you, too," I reply.

"I should probably tell you something," Jack says after a moment's hesitation.

"I'm all ears," I assure him.

"I'm... kinda homeless now. I think that's why I got sick so easily."

My breath catches in my throat. Jack is homeless? Maybe if I hadn't forgotten him, he'd still have a home right now. Oh no, this is my fault. I feel my eyes start to sting, so I blink a few times and avert my gaze from him. He seems to sense my sadness, though, because he pulls me into his lap so my back is against his chest, wrapping his arms around my waist. He keeps his head nuzzled into my shoulder for a few moments before he speaks again.

"It's not your fault. You couldn't remember, and that wasn't your fault. Besides, if I hadn't gotten sick, I wouldn't have my Alex back," he rambles in an attempt to make me feel better, which is successful.

"Your Alex?" I tease.

"That is, if you'd want to be mine again. I understand if not, I mean-"

"Yes, you idiot, of course," I interrupt, turning in his lap to kiss him again. I know in his mind it has been three years, but for me it feels like I'd never really lost him in the first place. "You're staying with me now, okay?"

"Alex-"

"Sorry, that wasn't a question. Come on, let's go home," I insist, climbing out of his lap onto my feet, extending a hand to him.

"I never thought I'd hear those words out of your mouth again," Jack sighs, smiling at me. He slips his hand into mine and lets me pull him to his feet, kissing me after I do so. We walk to my car, just catching up on the way home. When we walk in, it's obvious he has been here before. He goes straight down the hall to my... oh wait, our... bedroom, looking in the closet I never go into.

"So that's what all those clothes are! Rian kept telling me not to get rid of them, and now I see why. It was in case I remembered you," I exclaim.

"Depend on good ol' Rian to make the good choices," Jack replies, pulling on more comfortable clothes. I do the same, climbing into bed where he was already lying down. He seemed nervous, so I took initiative to cuddle into him, sliding an arm around him comfortingly. He holds me against him, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

"Jack?" I ask into the silence.

"Yes?"

"We should start our band."

"Wait, what?"

"You said I discouraged you all. I've been writing a lot recently and was hoping I could start up a band, but now I see I already had one all along. I think we should go for it."

"I'd love to do that, we just have to ask the other two."

"We'll do that tomorrow."

"Okay," he says. I feel him smile against my forehead. "Thank you," he mumbles.

"For what?"

"Taking me back."

"Thank you for waiting for me," I reply. "I love you, Jack."

"I love you too, Lex."