“You're going to forget me, but it's okay. I will find you and make you remember me.”
“What if it doesn’t work? I don’t want to forget you, Peter.”
The thought faded as quickly as it had appeared, leaving Michelle dumbfounded as she continued to grab the soft, pillowy doughnuts for the charming boy in front of her. His boyish good looks were so different from her boyfriend’s. Glancing at the ticket, she noticed the name “Peter” printed on it and hesitated, clutching his doughnut.
Attributing her confusion to lack of sleep and the stress of starting new classes soon, Michelle handed the man his doughnut. He looked at her with a pained expression. “Is something wrong with the doughnut? You look like I shot your puppy,” she asked, feeling a strange familiarity as their eyes locked. The moment lingered until the bell above the door chimed, signaling another customer’s arrival.
She looked up and sighed with relief at the sight of the tall figure she had grown so close to. “What’s up, loser?” Michelle said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she watched him lean on the counter, waiting for her to finish. “Hope your day gets better, Peter,” she added quickly, handing him his doughnut before rushing to the older man at the counter for a big hug.
“I came home early from my trip; thought I’d drop by to see the sassy doughnut lady,” he said, wrapping her in a warm embrace that brought a chuckle from her as she tried to shake off the unease from her earlier encounter with that peculiar Peter guy. “You look beautiful today,” he added as they pulled apart.
Michelle raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips. “Kiss ass,” she teased, unable to hide the blush spreading across her dark cheeks as she met his deep blue gaze. “Sassy doughnut lady—nice one.” Her arms crossed over her chest as she watched the earlier customer slip out the door. “What are you doing tonight? I need a distraction, and it looks like I found the perfect one,” she said, smiling at the sparkle in his eyes.
He smiled back, running a hand through his short, slightly messy brown hair. “Well, I was thinking of taking my girlfriend out to a nice dinner and then seeing where the night takes us. You feel up to that?” he asked, his large hand resting on her notebook on the counter as his eyes scanned the drawings on the lined pages.
“Sorry, I’m off to a hot date with Ned,” Michelle joked as she stepped out from behind the counter and wrapped her arms around the man’s waist, mirroring his embrace. “Dinner sounds good, Richard,” she added, her gaze meeting his deep blue eyes. The conversation from her dream replayed clearly in her mind as their lips met in a soft, sweet kiss. “Sorry, Ned, study tomorrow?” she called back to him, glancing at the usual table where he sat.
“Hey, who was that kid who just came in? He looked really… uh, pained,” Richard said as he walked over to Ned's table, studying the papers their friend was hunched over.
‘I will make you remember me.’
Michelle dropped the cup she was holding, cursing under her breath as she grabbed a broom to clean up the mess. “I have no idea; he just seems like a kicked puppy when he comes in. We feel bad for him, but there’s only so much we can do, right? It’s not like we’re doing so great ourselves,” she explained, tidying up the broken porcelain while trying to push away the strange, distant voices in her head.
Richard sighed next to Ned, who glared at him fiercely. “Dude, I’m not your girl. Personal space!” Ned snapped, prompting Richard to chuckle as Michelle popped up to observe the pair bickering. For once, she wished she could find a boyfriend who got along with her best friend, Ned. Richard was a great guy, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that her heart truly belonged to someone else—someone just out of reach in her memory, leaving a gaping hole in her heart in their absence.
If only she knew who they were.
Until then, Michelle was perfectly content with her life as it was. She totally was, right? Granted she had these odd memories like flashbacks, but that was stress. There was no Peter Parker, there was only her loving boyfriend Richard. Sure life was… blah at times, but the reason she lived it out was not for her. No it was for the people that didn’t totally suck in her life. Like Ned, or Richard, even that weirdo Peter that came in everyday for doughnuts was growing on her. It may not be perfect but this was her life and she was going to embrace it.