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“What's going on over there?” Sitting alone in a small, quiet coffee shop, you noticed a large crowd of people forming just a few yards away. The more people that gathered, the noisier the shop became. For a while, you tried to ignore the crowd, but when the sound of people talking became louder than your own thoughts, you could ignore it no longer. Standing from your seat, half spilling your coffee in the process, you left the coffee shop and started towards the crowd. “I wonder if it's some sort of promotion.” Too curious to care if you seemed rude, you pushed your way to the very front of the group. Standing there was a tall, important looking figure. You weren't sure who he was, but he certainly seemed to be enjoying all of the attention.

The moment the man spotted you, his expression changed. “Ah, it's you.” Eyes locked on yours, he smiled in a cocky, self important way. “I didn't expect to see you here, but it's nice to see you again.”

Was he talking to you? No, he couldn't be. There was no reason for him to be addressing you. Maybe he was just using you as an excuse to get away from all the other people. That you could understand. Deciding to play along, for his sake, you offered a friendly smile. “Yeah, you too.”

“I has been quite some time since I saw you last, hasn't it?” Now completely ignoring everyone else around him, the man walked directly up to you. It was only now that you were completely sure that it was you he was talking to. Still, you weren't sure why he had picked you out of everyone else. “We should catch up.”

“Uh, sure. We could do that I guess.” You shrugged, feeling you had already committed to this ruse. “Why not?”

“Good.” Taking your hand, a bit too forcefully for your liking, he began leading you away from the crowd. “Follow me. Those people will disperse soon enough.”

Wondering if you had just made some sort of huge mistake, you released a pathetic sounding laugh. “It doesn't really look like I have much choice in the matter, so okay.” The farther away from the others you got, the more you started to worry. Why in the world had you agreed to let someone you didn't even know drag you around to who knew where?

Sensing your discomfort, the man glanced down at you, but didn't bother to stop walking.. He was still holding pretty tightly to your hand too. “Why are you making that face?”

“I'm just wondering how much longer you're going to drag me around.” Your words had come out sounding just a little bit harsher than you had meant for them to, so you tried to soften them with another smile. “That's all.”

Obviously confused, he stopped walking and just stared at you for several seconds. “What do you mean? I'm not dragging you around anywhere.” Finally, he let go of your hand and crossed his arms over his chest. “You only just agreed-.”

“Yeah, I know.” You cut him off. “I agreed to catch up with you and all, but what exactly are we catching up on?” Pressing your brows together, you studied his face. Maybe if you looked hard enough, he would start to look more familiar to you. You were sure you had seen those eyes before, but where? As popular as he seemed to be, it could have been on TV or on a magazine. Just knowing his eyes didn't mean that you actually knew him in person. “Do I know you?”

“I should think so.” Pride hurt, he raised his voice and announced his name in a commanding tone. “Jeremiah Gottwald.”

You were absolutely sure you had heard that name, but you still couldn't place him. “I mean, you look kind of familiar, but I don't remember ever meeting you before.” Then it hit you, maybe you shouldn't recognize him at all. Maybe it was Jeremiah that was confused. “Are you absolutely, one-hundred percent sure I am who you think I am.”

Jeremiah nodded firmly. “Positive.”

“Well if you're positive, then I guess something must be wrong with my head.” Giggling to yourself, you lightly tapped your knuckles against your head. “That doesn't surprise me though. As many times as I've hit my head, I'm bound to have some issues with my memory.”

Jeremiah wasn't laughing, in fact, he wasn't even smiling. The entire situation had put him in a bad mood and he wasn't trying to hide it. “This is not a laughing matter.”

“Really?” Even now, you were having a hard time taking the situation seriously. In your mind, this was a case of mistaken identity and nothing else. On the off chance that the two off you had met, you weren't sure why he was so upset that you'd forgotten about him. “I think it is, but okay.”

Jeremiah took a deep breathe in and placed a hand on either one of your shoulders. Narrowing his eyes on yours, he demanded all of your attention. Even if you wanted to look away from him, you couldn't. “You are certain you do not remember me.”

“Yup.” You nodded. “Maybe if you reminded me where we met or something like that it would help jog my memory.”

Jeremiah didn't even have to think about his answer making it very obvious that the entire meeting was still fresh in his mind. “At a party.”

“I go to a lot of parties, and I go to them often.” A lot was actually a massive understatement. He was going to have to be far more specific than that. “Which is probably another reason why my memory is so bad.” What you said may have sounded like a joke, but it was all too true. “Anyway, what kind of party was it? Was it a fancy party, or one of those backyard parties that are just kind of thrown together?”

“Neither. It was meant to be an “after school activity”. Everyone met for the sole purpose to play a singular game.” For a second he paused, as if trying to remember something. “The name of which escapes me.”

“That doesn't really sound like a party to me. I mean, not the kind of party I would want to go to anyway. Still it does sound kind of familiar.” You tried to comb through your memories yet again, but came up short. No matter how hard you tried, things remained a blur. “Sorry, I still have no idea what you're talking about.” Brushing his hands off of your shoulders, you turned on your heel and tried to leave. If you didn't remember who this person was by now, you doubted you ever would. “I'll see you around.”

Before you had even taken a step away from him, Jeremiah grabbed you once more and spun you around to face him. “Wait. There is one last thing I want to try.”

“I'd like to say no, but you look pretty desperate at this point. You're also holding me pretty tightly, so I don't think no is the answer you're looking for here.” Hoping this really would be his last attempt to joh your memory, you let out a loud sigh. “Be my guest.”

“Very well.” In the blink of an eye he had both of his arms tightly around you. His face was mere inches from yours, leaving no doubt in your mind what was about to happen. Before you could stop him, or even think to, Jeremiah captured your lips with his own. Everything about this felt familiar somehow. The butterflies in your stomach, the warmth of is his touch and the way his kiss stole your breath away. You knew this had all happened before, but when? Just when you decided to stop thinking and enjoy the kiss, Jeremiah ended it. “Did that ring a bell?”

“Nope. Not at all.” You started to shake your head, but stopped yourself. “On second thought, I do think I'm starting to remember something.” You were trying to at least act serious, but a crooked grin spread across your face, quickly giving you away. “Maybe if you kissed me again that would do the trick.”

A few moments ago, Jeremiah might have actually fallen for that. Now however, there was simply no way. “I've wasted enough of my time.” Trying to hide his bruised pride, Jeremiah puffed out his chest and lifted his nose into the air. “You will remember me. Think on my name and eventually it will come to you.” Jeremiah turned to leave, but immediately stopped when he heard you snickering. “What's so funny?”

Hand over your mouth in an attempt to quiet yourself, you spoke between giggles and snorts. “I've already forgotten your name.”