My mom wakes me up at six forty five, giving me about five minutes to get ready before we have to leave. All I have time to do is throw on some jeans and a black v neck and tie my shoes. Then I brush my teeth and throw my hair in a bun on the top of my head.  

I take an apple from the fruit bowl before we leave.

Once we're in the car, I feel my phone vibrate. I take it out of my pocket and look down.

'Have fun with Mr. Handsome today.' -Clarin

I shake my head, a grin on my face. Then I take another bite out of my apple.

'I don't even know him.'

'Well, for now. Soon enough, you'll remember.' -Clarin

That's right, the doctors said memories should start coming back in about a week.

I don't really know how long the drive actually is. When we finally get to Pearlen University, we park in the lot by the dorm rooms. I get out of the car, taking my apple with me, and follow my mom into the building.

Once inside, we have to get into an elevator. She presses the '4' button, and we go up to that level. I'm then lead down a hallway and to door 421.

My mom knocks on the door a few times then stands back to wait. I take another bite into my apple.

The for swings open and Owen stands before us, smiling. I let my arm holding my apple fall to my side. I had almost forgotten how good looking he is. But I remember that I'm chewing on a piece of apple and focus on that now.

"Come on in," he says, moving aside so I can enter.

"Thank you, Owen," my mom says.

"No problem," he replies, then he waves her goodbye and closes the door quietly.

I just kind of awkwardly stand in the center of the room, watching him. He notices me and raises his eyebrows. I lift the apple to my mouth and take a bite. Neither of us looks away.

"You can sit down," Owen says after a moment. "Make yourself at home."

I look at the black leather couch and nod before sitting myself on the left side of it. Then I take another bite of my apple.

I'm surprised when he sits down next to me on the couch. I look at him, eyes wide.

"What?" He asks, suppressing a smile.

"Nothing," I mumble, swallowing the last of the apple. "Where's your garbage?"

"Oh, I usually just chuck my trash on the floor," he says, looking at my finished apple core.

I look at the ground, eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"I'm kidding," he laughs. "It's over there, under the sink."

I follow his pointed finger to where the sink is. I pull open the cupboards and toss the apple core into the trash. I return to my spot on the couch.

Owen's on his phone, texting someone. I lean over, trying to find the contact. He looks over at me, one eyebrow raised.

"I was just... Uh..." I look back at his phone. The contact name is Daphne Lorry. "Who's Daphne?"

"My cousin," he says, continuing his message.

"Oh, that's good," I say, letting out a relieved breath.

"That's good?" He asks.

Ah, crap. Shouldn't have said that. Well, too late now.

"Yeah, do I ever get to meet her? How old is she?" I ask, feeling my cheeks turn pink.

"I'm sure you'll... Meet her... Sometime. She's fifteen," he says.

"What're you texting about?" I ask, looking at his screen once again.

He gives me a blank look and I move back to my original spot on the couch and look down at my clasped hands, cheeks bright red.

"She's got a boyfriend that I don't exactly approve of. I'm telling her to dump his sorry butt," Owen says, looking concentrated.

"Why? Did something happen?" I ask, tilting my head to the side.

"Yeah," he replies, looking up to meet my eyes. "He's barely sixteen and recently got his license. Being the idiot he is, he took her to Circle K in the middle of the night and got into a car accident."

I open my mouth in shock, shaking my head. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine. But she could've been worse. I hate that punk," Owen says, turning off his phone and putting it in his pocket.

"You're pretty protective over her, huh?" I ask, and a small smile finds its way onto my face.

"Yeah," he nods, looking into my eyes. "I'm pretty protective over anyone I care about."

I don't look away. I'm trapped in his gaze. I've never seen such bright green eyes. They're gorgeous. I wonder how many girls have looked into these and decided they love him.

I look away. What kind of stupid thought was that?

I let out a sigh, hands behind my knees.

"Hand me that remote, would you?" He asks, and I take it off the table beside me and put it in Owen's hand.

He presses a few buttons and turns on the TV to the game show channel. Deal or No Deal. The man trying to get the money decides to open the 23rd case. It contains the five dollar. He looks satisfied with his choice.

"Don't you have college classes?" I ask, raising my eyebrows and looking at Owen.

"Yes," he nods. "But I'm only taking two this semester and they're both in the evening and you'll be gone by then."

"Oh," I turn my attention back on the TV and see the man is being offered $135,500. He doesn't take it.

I feel Owen's burning gaze on me, and my cheeks get warm but I don't look away from the TV.

"Um... I've been told we were good friends," I say, still looking forward.

"Is that so?" He asks, sounding surprised.

"Mmhmm," I nod, and the man on the show chooses suitcase number 3. It contains $1,000. He seems once again pleased.

"Then yes, I guess we were good friends," he says, shaking his head, a small smile on his face.

"Are you being sarcastic?" I ask, looking at him now. "Do you hate me or something?"

"No," he shakes his head, smiling. "I just find that description of the two of us amusing. Was that from your sister?"

I nod, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Figures." He smiles, looking at the TV.

I drop the subject, though I'm still very confused about it. He's acting pretty strange now.

I don't realize I've been string at Owen for a while now, until he looks back, eyebrows raised.

"Can I help you?" He asks, looking amused.

"No," I say, my voice tight, and I look down at my hands. He laughs.

Someone opens the door and enters the dorm room. He's tall and muscular just as Owen is, but he has light blonde hair and grey eyes. His eyes widen when he sees me.

"Brinley," he smiles. "Haven't seen you for a while!"

He rushes over to me and grabs my hand to help me up. Then he pulls me into a tight hug. My eyes widen.

"Brinley, this is Joey," Owen says.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Joey says, releasing me. "What's up with the introduction? She knows Joey."

"Remember what I told you?" Owen raises his eyebrows pointedly.

"Ohhh..." He looks at me curiously now. "It's true?"

"Well duh, it's true! Why else would I tell you?" Owen shakes his head.

Joey suddenly takes a step back and bows over. My eyes widen in surprise. "I, miss Brinley, am Joey Harley. Pleasure to meet you. I'm Owen here's roommate and your best friend ever."

I stare at him, mouth hanging open slightly.

"Alright, Joey, that'll do. Go run along now," Owen says, rolling his eyes.

"Fine," Joey says, walking away. He looks back and glances at the two of us. "Now, don't have too much fun."

_|_|_

By two o'clock, I lay sprawled out in the middle of the floor, looking up at the ceiling where dozens of posters are hung. I'm amazed.

Owen walks over holding a bag of potato chips.

"Like them?" He asks.

I nod my head, looking over at him with a smile.

"You helped me put these up, actually," he says, looking up at the ceiling.

"I did?" I ask, watching him.

"Yep."

I focus my attention back on the posters. Coldplay. Led Zeppelin. Aerosmith. Rolling Stones. The Beatles. Guns 'N Roses. Linkin Park. Nirvana. Pink Floyd. Pearl Jam. The Killers. It amazes me looking up at the ceiling.

There's a knock at the door.

Owen goes over to answer it. I stay where I am, admiring the posters.

"Hey," he says, letting the person inside.

Red Hot Chili Peppers. Brandon Flowers. Eddie Veddar. Tom Petty. Stone Temple Pilots. The Verve.

"Did you kill her?"

Owen laughs. "No, she's looking at the posters."

I realize they're talking about me, and I look over. Clarin stands in the doorway, laughing at me. Owen smiles in amusement. I stand up and brush off my jeans. Then I walk over to the two of them.

"Time to head home," Clarin sighs. "Thanks, Owen."

"Anytime," he nods, still looking at me.

"Let's go, Brinley," Clarin says.

We exit the door and Owen closes it after us. Clarin and I walk through the hallway and ride the elevator down to the main floor. Then we make our way to her car.

Once we're both buckled in, she starts the car and pulls out of the parking lot.

I recall something Owen said to me earlier and my head whips towards Clarin.

"What?" She asks, glancing at me briefly.

"You were the one who told me that Owen and I were good friends, right?" I ask, tilting my head.

She hesitates. "Yeah."

"He seemed surprised when I told him that," I say, eyebrows furrowed.

She clears her throat. "That's because you're not good friends."

"Wait, what?" I ask, even more confused now.

"You're his girlfriend."