"I don't know what to say. I don't know how to ask if you're okay."

While Zero was left miserable in the hallways, Kaname was slamming his door shut behind him.

He sunk down against the door with one knee bent and the other leg extended outwards. He sighed heavily and placed his hand on his face. 'It wasn't supposed to be like this' he thought to himself.

It wasn't supposed to end, period.

Kaname sighed again deeply as he ran his fingers through his originally combed hair. He thought about the words that Zero said and he knew Zero was right about one thing. He was a pureblood vampire and Zero was a hunter. The person that he loves hunted his kind. They both came from two separate worlds. It should concern Kaname, but it didn't. It didn't mean anything to Kaname because he truly loves Zero.

When Kaname first saw him at the hospital, he looked like an empty shell. No emotions showed in those lilac eyes, but anger directed towards his family. Kaname knew that Zero lost his family because of a vampire attack, so he decided to not get involved with the silver haired boy for the sake of his emotions. But when he saw Zero clawing mercilessly at his neck and his punctures, Kaname could not leave him alone. When he witnessed Zero's breakdown and helped him through it, Kaname felt strangely closer to the him. Like he wanted to protect the small boy. Little did he know, Zero was stronger than he thought. And Kaname admired the him for that sense of strength.

He realized he liked Zero when he first left home a few years ago for boarding school. When he left, he felt lonely. This would be expected since he was a kid who was leaving his sanctuary for the first time. He tried to justify his actions by trying to convince himself that it was his parents that he missed, not Zero.

However, even he knew that wasn't the case.

Before Zero entered his life, he always played alone. He never had the warmth of a friend because his parents forbade it. They said the outside world was too dangerous for someone of his status. So when Zero came, Kaname was happy. He wasn't alone anymore. He could smile and laugh with ease, which was hard for him to do in the first place. Sure, he felt lonely studying away from his parents, but he felt empty without Zero. When he was with the silver haired boy, he felt like he was in a constant state of euphoria. Day after day, he felt his feelings grow stronger. He missed Zero dearly and wondered about his state. Is he healthy? Is he okay? Did he have another breakdown? Did he turn into a vampire...? Kaname strongly hoped not.

But now that feeling emptiness came creeping back. His chest hurt. It felt like it was closing up and painfully tightening around his heart. He swallowed audibly, hoping to get rid of the knot forming in his throat.

"... What's wrong with you," Kaname asked himself with a sorrowful chuckle. He clenched his jaw and then roughly punched the door behind him with a tight fist. It didn't hurt him, of course, because all the pain he felt at that moment was travelling towards his heart. And all of his thoughts were pointing towards Zero.

He thought that Zero felt what he felt.

He thought that Zero loved him as much as he loved Zero.

He thought that they could be happy together.

But that was the problem; he thought too much and assumed these notions. These "thoughts" were never confirmed, and Kaname began to realize that it was his mistake. It was his fault for assuming too much. It was his fault for hoping that one day he and Zero will be together.

Kaname stood up from his position on the floor and heavily landed himself on the couch. He looked over to his bed with a distant look. His mind traveled back to the time he took Zero's first time. He remembered Zero's lithe body and flushed face. He remembered the soft noises he made. He remembered the way Zero desperately repeated Kaname's name.

At that memory, his heart ached painfully. He couldn't believe that after all of this Zero was willing to forget everything. Kaname stared up at the ceiling and let his mind take over. For the rest of the night he tortured himself with memories of Zero even though it hurt him. At one point he blamed himself.

That night he fell asleep on the couch.

When Kaname is heavily asleep, Zero is still awake in his own room. He can't sleep, and even if he wanted to, the guilt and regret won't allow him to have the pleasure to rest.

It's now 3AM and his eyes are burning with pain. Anyone who sees his red rimmed eyes can see that he's been crying for hours. However, what they wouldn't know is that he's been thinking about Kaname the entire time. Zero swallows deeply and lets out a shuddered sigh. He didn't want to hurt Kaname. That's the thought he repeated in his mind ever since the fight.

Yeah, he was the one who caused the fight. He was the one who said to forget about everything, but now he doesn't know. He doesn't know how to react to Kaname, not anymore at least. When they were younger, Zero valued their friendship and respected Kaname. Maybe a part of him right now wants to maintain that friendship, but then the other part of him is scared. He doesn't want to fall even more in love with Kaname than he is right now because he fears abandonment. He denied his feelings for Kaname because he was scared of being hurt. He's afraid that when he gives his heart to Kaname, Kaname might leave him, or worse, die. Zero thinks back to his family's death and the feelings he experienced waking up at the hospital.

His eyes close and he feels his face burning up once again. Tears are threatening to fall.

He doesn't want to go through that feeling again. The feeling of being left alone. Of losing someone dear to him.

'But that's a part of life, Zero.' A voice inside his head tells him. 'You're going to get hurt, and that's okay. It's just a matter of picking yourself up and becoming even stronger after you've been put down.'

Zero shudders a sigh at that thought. His mind becomes blank for a moment and then a thought occurs.

'Can you picture a life permanently without Kaname?'

The obvious answer is, yes. He can live a life without Kaname. He did it for 10 years and he can do it for longer. He can breathe, eat, and live without Kaname.

But the thing is, he doesn't want to. He doesn't want to live without Kaname because he doesn't want to lose someone who guided him through the darkest moment in his life.

Zero comes to the conclusion that he wants Kaname in his life even if he does get hurt in the end.

He thinks to himself, 'I'm tired of being selfish, and only caring about me getting hurt in the end.' The image of Kaname's painful expression from earlier pops up in his mind. He hurt the person he wants to be with, and he needs to fix that.

Zero leaves his room in a haste and heads over to where the person he cares about the most is.