Everyday Amnesia

0.6

"Ash? Ash?! Oh god."

He groans, eyes blinking open. Five faces are crowding his personal space. Michael, still looking as sick as ever, Calum, Luke, and two other boys he didn't know. One of the boys looked familiar though, ad he realizes this was the boy who crashed into him at the skatepark.

"How long have I been out?" He asks groggily. Obviously not very long, he still has his memory of the day. Michael sits on the edge of his hospital bed. Oh, he's in the hospital. Come to think of it, he can feel bandages around his head and he's pretty sure he has some stitches. Somewhere.

"Two hours," Michael answers.

"I'm sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going I swear I didn't mean-"

"It's okay," Ashton cuts off the rambling boy. "Really."

  "I'm Alex Gaskarth, he's Jack Barakat," Alex points to the other boy who grins at him. Ashton returns the gesture but his face really hurts.

  "Ashton Irwin," He nods. Michael groans and lies down beside him. Ashton cuddles into his side, feeling the scorching heat of his skin. He frowns.

  "How are you allowed out of bed?"

  "Special circumstances," Michael replies, returning the cuddle. The other boys sat down in the uncomfortable plastic chairs. "Are you gonna sue him?"

Ashton's eyes widen as Michael nods in Alex's direction. He squirms in his chair and sinks down lower. Ashton laughs. "I'm not suing him."

They sit for a while, talking about nothing important. A nurse comes in, changes Ashton's badages, checks his blood pressure and whatever, before saying he could go. Hannah comes in and scolds Ashton for about fifteen minutes before she leaves to check him out.

"Bye Mikey," He says, hugging his best friend. Michael nuzzles his head into the crook of his neck, and Ashton giggles when his unruly hair tickles his chin. "I love you."

"I love you too. Stay safe," Michael says, kissing his cheek.

  "Are you guys dating?" Alex asks. Calum snorts and Luke shoots him a look. Ashton's cheeks go red and he shakes his head.

  "Nah," Michael says casually. "Just best mates."

  "Besides," Calum continues. "If Ash and Mike were dating, where would that leave Luke?"

  "Oh my god," Luke says, cheeks burning. "Get out, get out, get out."

   Calum backs up when Luke pelts him with Skittles, most likely from the vending machine outside. He opens the door and runs out, slamming it behind him. Luke scowls and throws out the empty package in the trash bin.

Hannah returns shortly after and looks pointedly at Ashton, who raises his his hands and points at Luke. She puts her hands on her hips.

"I want you to clean up this mess you've made," Hannah demands, narrowing her eyes. Luke nods and obediently starts picking up Skittles off the floor. Ashton laughs and says goodbye to Jack and Alex after receiving their numbers. He says goodbye to Luke before walking out with Hannah.

"Bye Cal," Ashton says to Calum, who's sitting in the hall. They exit the hospital and climb into Hannah's car, immediately turning on the radio.

"And now for the results of our contest. The winner is Luke Hemmings with his original song: Amnesia!"

"I drove by all the places we used to hang out getting wasted.

  I thought about our last kiss, how it felt, the way you tasted.

  And even though your friends tell me you're doing fine.

  It hurts to know you're happy, yeah it hurts that you moved on.

  It's hard to hear your name when I haven't seen you in so long.

  Sometimes I start to wonder, was it just a lie?

  If what we had was real, how could you be fine?

  Cause I'm not fine at all.

  I remember the day you told me you were leaving.

  I remember the make up running down your face.

  And the dreams you left behind you didn't need them.

  Like every single wish we ever made.

  I wish that I could wake up with amnesia.

  And forget about the stupid little things.

  Like the way it felt to fall asleep next to you,

  And the memories I never can escape.

  Cause I'm not fine at all.

   "So, Luke. What inspired you to write this song?"

  "Well, it was actually inspired by a friend from back in year seven. We were really close, but it was like he forgot everything the next day. So we always made jokes about how he woke up with amnesia all the time. And then I moved away. When I moved back again, I saw him, but he didn't remember me. I wrote this song a few days ago." Luke says.

  "What was his name?"

  "Ashton."

Ashton's jaw drops and he shuts off the radio. He slumps in his seat. Hannah looks at him with sympathy as she pulls into the driveway. He sprints up the stairs and pulls out his journal, quickly scribbling down an entry. He doesn't mention Luke at all. Ashton finds Luke's number and dials it.

"Hello?"

  "Fuck you," Ashton snarls before hanging up. He takes Luke's number and flushes it down the toilet, before taking a bottle of whiteout and covering up anything to do with Luke in his journal. He's going to forget him.

Ashton goes downstairs and tells Hannah not to ever bring up Luke again, nor let him inside this house if he ever figures out where Ashton lives. He could just ask Calum, or maybe even Michael. He has to tell Michael to never bring him up either.

Ashton jumps onto his bed and sighs, burying his head under his pillow. He didn't go down when Hannah called him for dinner. He didn't want to eat. He just wanted to sleep.

And forget everything.

   He's standing in the cemetery, in a familiar spot. Hannah is there, weeping. He's pretty sure he's seen this before. The woman with the beetle brooch is here too. He recognizes it. He's been here before, he remembers.

Calum's there too, hood up, sobbing in his hands. Ashton is confused, he can't see who's in the grave. He manages to edge over to it, peers inside. It's a coffin, ebony black. The headstone is there, but he can't read it, flowers are stacked in front of the words.

Ashton kneels beside the grave and reaches down. Nobody stops him. Nobody even knows he's there. With trembling, pale hands, he grasps the edge of the lid and carefully eases it open. He sees the body, chokes on his own spit. He leans away and vomits.

It's Michael.