The half-open window lets in the first rays of sun. Slowly, they start to reach the bed and enlighten D.O.’s face. He frowns and opens his eyes in a very lazy way, when he sees a silhouette right next to him. That silhouette breathes, has hair, eyes and a mouth. Between dream and reality, D.O. tries to figure out where he is. He looks around and starts recognising the furniture. He leans his head forward and looks at the room one more time, finally realizing that he’s at home, sleeping in the attic. Intrigued with that silhouette, he decides to check it out once more. It was no other than Kai. He was surprised to see him so he screamed a loud “AH!” from the bottom of his lungs. Kai woke up suddenly, startled, jumping out of the bed.

“I’m so sorry!” said D.O., peeking from above.

Kai was rubbing his , trying to ease the pain. “What’s wrong?”

“I… Had a nightmare… Sorry” said D.O., blushing and hiding his face on the pillow.

“Really? What happened?” asked Kai, climbing back to the bed.

D.O. opened his eyes widely. Somehow he wasn’t able to control his feelings and he was afraid Kai would notice. “It’s nothing…” he said, hiding his face again. Seeing Kai half- was making his heart race.

“I hate nightmares… When I have them I can’t fall asleep for the next three days…” said Kai, with a scared expression.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine…” replied D.O., wishing they could change the topic of the conversation.

Kai observed D.O. for a while, trying to know if he was really okay or not. D.O. was shaking and hugging his pillow tightly.

“Are you okay? Are you upset because you slept with a guy instead of your girlfriend?” asked Kai, concerned.

D.O. looked at him confused. “What? What girlfriend?” he asked.

“… Amanda…” answered Kai, intrigued. “You’re dating, right?”

The image of a shy and innocent boy changed and D.O. turned serious in an instant. “Hum… Yeah…”

Kai noticed the hesitation on his voice. “Did you fight?”

“No, everything is fine” answered the older one.

“What’s wrong then?” asked Kai, worried.

“I’m having second thoughts…” answered D.O. with a low tone.

“Second thoughts?” asked the seeker, caught by surprise.

D.O. blushed again and buried his face on the pillow. “I… Might be in love with someone else…”

Kai opened his eyes widely, staring at D.O. For some reason, his heart started racing, almost jumping out of his mouth. “Someone else?” he asked shyly.

“Yeah… But I’m not sure… I’m probably just confused” a muffled voice answered, coming from the pillow.

“You two seemed so in love… I guess it happens to everyone…” said Kai, trying to calm D.O. down for a bit. “And who’s the lucky person you’re in love with?” he asked. He was not sure why he did that, but he wanted to know the truth so badly. D.O. looked into Kai’s eyes. Suddenly he blushed like a tomato. Kai laughed. Then he paused to observe D.O. “Don’t tell me it’s…” he paused again. That weird weight on his chest started to hurt him.

D.O. looked away embarrassed. “I never thought this would happen… Sorry… If you wish not to talk to me anymore I totally understand…” he said. Tears started rolling down his cheeks.

“Why would I do that?” asked Kai, confused. “I won’t reject your feelings…” he said.

D.O. wiped his tears and turned around to face Kai. “In that case, I’m in love with you…”

Kai said nothing. D.O.’s words were echoing in his head. Is this reality? Did he really say that? Embarrassed, D.O. turned around and hid himself under the sheets. After breathing slowly, Kai finally spoke. “Can I ask you why? Why do you feel that way about me when we barely know each other?”

A tiny voice answered. “I always loved you… But I rejected your feelings in the past. At that time I didn’t know about this, but after I lost you… Everything was clear to me…”

“Are you saying that we’ve met before?” asked Kai, confused.

“Yeah…” answered the short one. “That’s why when you look at me you feel like I hold half of you…”

Kai was shocked. He didn’t know what to say or think. “Does that mean I was in love with you before?” he asked, hesitantly. D.O. didn’t answer, he just nodded. “What happened to us?”

The elder one took a deep breath. When he was about to answer, the door opened suddenly.

“Wake up boys!” and old voice shouted. “Rise and shine, it’s time for you to buy me paint buckets! Come on, wake up lazy asses!”

D.O. peeked from under the sheets and saw his dad walking around the room opening every window. Kai was upset. When he was finally getting closer to the truth, the old man appeared. D.O. quickly got up and went to the shower.

“You look grumpy, did something happen?” asked D.O.’s father.

“No, nothing” answered Kai, with a blank expression.

The sun rose brightly in the sky. The boys were in the middle of Hogsmeade shopping. D.O. was focused while Kai was trying to start a conversation. Every time he had the chance, something else was stealing D.O.’s attention. Was he avoiding him? On their way back home, Kai stopped and started to talk.

“You must know what happened to me. Is that why yesterday you said you regret your decisions?” he asked, straightforward. “Is it just because you rejected my feelings or… Something else happened?”

“At that time I didn’t know what to do about it… I was freaking out. I met Amanda a few days before. My feelings got mixed and I didn’t know what to do…” answered D.O., looking at the ground.

“What happened?” asked Kai.

“We grew apart, like we’ve never met before. Like you meant nothing to me and I meant nothing to you…” answered D.O., breathing nervously. “I’m sorry, it’s something I don’t like to remember.”

“Why?” asked Kai, desperate to know the truth. “What happened in the meantime? Why can’t I remember such things?”

D.O. looked at him. His eyes were red from trying to keep the tears inside. “If I tell you now you’ll stop talking to me again… And I can’t lose you twice…”

“No, please! Tell me! I loved you before… And we met again… I don’t think I’m in love with you now, but… There must be a reason why I loved you the way I did…” said Kai. His heart was hurting.

D.O. clenched his fist, attempting to be brave enough to speak from his heart. “I’m the reason why you can’t remember certain things… The moments that are related to me, everything… I erased them from your memory…”

Kai froze. He couldn’t move a finger, he couldn’t say a word. He was just breathing and standing still.

“It’s okay if you want to leave. I thought this way you wouldn’t suffer, that you could move on with your life, happily. But then I realized I was stuck. You changed me so much, I’m a whole different person thanks to you. I didn’t notice how much I needed you until you were gone… And that’s when I knew what I did was wrong… And also that I was in love with you.”

Kai was listening quietly. Inside of his head there were a lot of questions. He selected one and asked. “What about Amanda?”

“I started dating her this summer. I thought I could live and move forward with her by my side. I like her a lot, but I like you more. That’s why I need to tell her… We have to break up. I finally realized my own feelings. I’m sorry I used her like this…” replied D.O., looking sadly at the ground.

“You need to understand this is a lot for me to handle right now…” said Kai. “I need some time to think…”

“Sure… You know where to find me, in case you need anything” said the elder one, taking the paint bucket from Kai and leaving.

D.O. returned home. He was looking down. His father noticed something was wrong.

“Where is your friend Kai?” he asked, worried.

“I don’t know, somewhere…” D.O. answered, soullessly.

“What happened?” asked the old man.

“I told him the truth” replied D.O.

“I see… Is he not going to return?” asked his father.

“His stuff is here, so he’ll come back sooner or later…” answered D.O.

“Hum… Then we need to know if he’s going to return because of his stuff or because of you…” said the old man.

Time passed. It was almost midnight. D.O. was worried. Kai could be lost or something. He went downstairs and waited at the entrance for a sign of his safety. The night was dark and silent. Where could Kai be? He decided to go out and look for him. D.O.’s father was watching him from behind, feeling his anxiety and his pain. He opened the door of the store and shivered by the cold of the night.

“My son went looking for you” he said.

“I know, I saw him” answered Kai. He was leaning against the wall, next to the main entrance, the whole time.

“Are you going to stay here while he’s out there looking for you?” asked the old man.

“I don’t know what to do…” answered Kai, looking at him. “D.O. erased all my memories, how am I supposed to feel about that?”

“My son never did something so stupid his entire life… To make him go crazy like that, you must be very important to him” said the D.O.’s father.

“I thought about that. But why would he do that? Going so far just because I was in love with him… I don’t think I know him… I’m scared” replied Kai. His eyes were sparkling from desire. He wanted to trust D.O., to get closer to him. But he was insecure.

“Love makes you do things you would never do in your normal state. For him to do something like that, he must treasure you a lot. I know my son. I understand if you don’t want to be with him, I understand if you choose someone else. But please, forgive him. You’re the only reason why he left in such a cold night like this one. He’s already paying for his wrong doings” said the old man, with a calm voice. “Something really bad happened to his brother in the past. Since that time, D.O. has a problem trusting people. If you don’t let his feelings reach to you, he might return to that dark phase. And I wonder if he’ll get out this time…”

Kai’s chest started to hurt again. His heart was racing. His legs started to move on their own and his mouth said words he didn’t command to say. “I’m going to look after him!” Then he left in the middle of the dark.

The lamps were barely illuminating the roads. It was freezing to death. Kai had to hurry and find D.O. He walked and walked, but nothing. Every time he heard some noise, it was just drunk people or stray cats wandering around. Kai was getting worried. Where was he? Maybe he was at home already. He decided to go back. After crossing a few roads, he heard someone crying. He rushed immediately. After turning around the corner, he saw a short guy crying from the bottom of his heart. He bent over him and hugged him.

“Please, don’t leave me! Don’t do this again!” shouted D.O.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here” replied Kai, holding him tightly.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to stand up for you! I’m sorry I was powerless to make a difference! I’m sorry you were alone all this time!” said D.O., crying even more. Kai understood he was not apologizing but talking about his brother, so he kept hugging him. “I’m sorry I was just a kid! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Kai let D.O. cry until he was breathless. For the first time, he saw how much pain D.O. was holding inside. He could understand now why he erased his memories. When someone gets attached, ends up caring about others. D.O. saw his brother suffering. That’s why he couldn’t handle the situation and used Obliviat on him.

“You’ve been through a lot… Let me take care of you now” whispered Kai into D.O.’s ears.

He helped D.O. standing up and then they went home. D.O.’s father was waiting for them with two hot cups of tea. He covered them with a blanket, said good night and left. Following the steam of the drinks, their eyes met. Kai’s chest wasn’t hurting anymore. D.O. wasn’t crying but smiling and his eyes weren’t red but in a shape of half a moon. The feeling was nice.

“I’m sorry about earlier…” said D.O., embarrassed.

“That’s okay. But promise me you won’t cry anymore” replied Kai. “You look hideous…” D.O. laughed. For the first time in years, he was laughing of pure happiness, like a little kid. “So tell me, how have we met? And how did we become friends?” asked the young seeker, smiling brightly. “I want to know everything about us!”

They spent the whole night talking about the past.

The next day, D.O.’s father went to the kitchen to make breakfast and was surprised to see the two boys sleeping there. He took two pans and started to make a lot of noise. “Wake up, lazy bastards! WAKE UP! There’s a lot to paint!”