Aimless
Ephram
It must be something in their genetic code. That's the only explanation for Colin and Laynie. The only explanation for the way Ephram's stomach starts to turn whenever he sees either one of them. Actually, the tingling he feels around Laynie sets his mind at ease because before she arrived, he only felt like that around Colin.
So it must be something about the two of them. Because the fact that it might just be limited to Colin is not something Ephram really wants to think about.
What is it with the Hart kids anyway? For months all Ephram heard about was Golden Boy Colin and how everyone loved him and he could do no wrong. No one cared to mention that Colin had a wicked sense of humor, one that survived the massive head trauma and years of Amy's nattering.
But Laynie's got that same dark streak that makes Ephram feel like he's back home. He knew girls like her in New York. They were his friends. They were the girls that made the boring classes fun and knew all the best hole-in-wall Thai restaurants, comic book stores and record places. And it's true; sometimes it really is nice to hang out with a girl.
Ephram thinks it's strange how he didn't feel any real connection to the Dark Side until the Hart kids turned up on his proverbial doorstep.
He laughs at Colin's wicked sense of humor. He laughs at Laynie and her dorky hat. Their smiles make him feel all warm inside, like he's been sneaking something out of the liquor cabinet instead of hanging out with these All-American (but not so much really) kids in this All-American town.
Laynie's not a substitute for Colin. Ephram knows this, but he still wonders if kissing the brother would be just like kissing the sister.
Laynie
Before the door even shuts in his face Laynie knows she hasn't broken Ephram's heart. That honor belongs to Amy Abbott and it's just a matter of time before it happens.
Laynie doesn't have The Sight but she's always been able to see beyond the obvious. It comes from being a little bit on the outside of things. Colin's always been the golden child; she was relegated to tag-a-long as soon as she was born. Laynie watches the world go by and notices every minute detail.
She notices that Ephram still has hope for life in Everwood, a very important distinction -- he doesn't even have a ready-packed bag. She notices that Amy makes everyone nervous and that Bright's anxious for reasons all his own.
Colin's different. He used to make people light up for no reason at all. Now he's quieter, more cautious and in turn everyone's quiet and cautious around him. Laynie notices how Colin frowns slightly when he gets away with things now -- whether it's left over idolization or newfound pity, Colin chafes against it all.
Except Colin seems to be fine around Ephram. Bright, Amy, even Laynie herself don't have quite the same effect on him.
But Amy and Colin will break each other's hearts again. Amy will break Ephram's and Laynie will still be on the sidelines watching it all happen like some horribly beautiful train wreck.
Colin
He thought Amy might explode from sheer joy when she found out he was "off Post-Its". Oh no, he still has the Post-Its. Dozens of them even, because even if he can't remember who was President during the Great Depression, he can still remember how to count.
He doesn't have the heart to tell Amy that he still has the Post-Its scattered around his room or for that all the flimsy pieces of brightly colored paper, Ephram is his most prized Post-It of all.
Without words Ephram reminds him that it's fine not to know things. Fine to try garlic on his pizza or to watch reality tv even when he had apparently hated it before the accident. Ephram thinks it's fine that Colin wants to walk out of class half the time, mostly because Ephram wants to cut as well.
Being with Amy is all about expectations. She expects more from him than the therapists do. Colin is still trying to figure out what natural law made them automatically a couple as soon as his brain started registering more activity than the average toaster oven. He doesn't have the heart or the strength to scream out "Why?" at every turn like he wants.
Then again, Amy doesn't have the strength or the heart to turn away from him either.
Laynie cried bunnies (a phrase that Colin still has to ask her about mostly because Ephram keeps ragging her about it) when he woke up and remembered her. Since then she's been on the same wavelength as Ephram, in more ways than one. Colin should've seen it coming but then he's always been a little bit dense about certain things.
Colin's pretty sure that Laynie wasn't this interesting before the accident. From the pictures he's seen she was in the same group as Amy and Bright. He's pretty sure that Laynie's brand of cynicism wouldn't sit well with that crowd. Colin likes it, it makes him laugh. He keeps telling her that she needs to go work for the Daily Show (news he can watch without having to know what happened over the past six months). She just blushes, punches his good shoulder, and tells him to get bent.
Colin tells Ephram that he should think about working on the Daily Show too. When Ephram punches Colin's good shoulder and tells him to get bent, Colin's the one that blushes.