With the draught wearing off the next morning, Pierce found himself waking up in the Hospital Wing bed, feeling slightly drowsy but his headache was gone, much to his relief.  He sat up in the bed, and from what little he remembered from the day prior, he was surprised to see Julius asleep in a chair beside him. The boy looked incredibly uncomfortable as he was slouched over, his head resting on the small nightstand. However, Julius wasn't the only one there as Pierce looked up as he heard approaching footsteps. He saw Hermione coming in with a slightly timid stance as she approached him.

"You're awake." She said quietly, noting Julius still asleep in the chair. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling a lot better." He whispered to her. "I'm still not sure what entirely happened though, if I'm being perfectly honest."

"Well, you passed out. Outside." Hermione replied, very straight forward and to the point as usual making him smile. " But Madam Pomfrey said that it was because you were completely exhausted and malnourished at the time. She asked us when was the last time you've eaten or slept, and to be honest I couldn't answer that for her. I'm sorry, but Nancy-"

"Nancy?"

"Yes-"

"You spoke with Nancy?"

Hermione nodded her head. "She was the first to arrive to the Hospital Wing once word got out that you were in here. She claimed that you haven't eaten or slept in days." she said before sitting down at the end of the bed. "Is that true?"

Pierce peered down at his hands in guilt. "It's true." he sighed. "I just couldn't bring myself to do either. I didn't feel like eating, and my mind didn't feel like I should sleep. I couldn't get my mind straight."

"Because you and Julius were fighting." Hermione said.

"Yes." He admitted. "That's exactly why. Poor excuse I know but..but.."

"But he's your other half." Hermione finished for him.

Pierce glanced over in his best friend's direction, before rubbing his face with his hand.

"Have you ever had a moment where your mind has drawn a complete blank?' Pierce asked her. "Where you can sit and try to think for hours and hours, but nothing comes to mind?"

"Once or twice." Hermione smiled. "Is that what you are feeling?"

"No, that's what I was thinking before you said that." Pierce said. "Thank you, really. Finally things are clearing up in my head and it's all thanks to you."

"Oh..." She seemed surprised by his statement. "Well, you're very welcome."

He leaned forward and gave her a hug, but as he went back to sit down, he saw that Julius was wide awake and watching them. The hurt expression on the boy's face spoke volumes as he pushed himself up from the chair quickly.

"Julius, now wait just a second-" Pierce called after him Julius crossed the Hospital Wing room towards the exit.

However, Madam Pomfrey quickly made her way over as Pierce attempted to get out of bed.

"Oh no no no," the woman said. "You are to remain in bed until I give you the good to go."

"But-"

"Sit. Down." Madam Pomfrey said in a stern tone.

Pierce obediently sat down on the bed as Hermione frowned, watching as Pierce watched Julius leave the Hospital Wing.

"What was that about?" Hermione asked him.

"It's very long and complicated." Pierce sighed. "Trust me."

After Hermione left, Pierce begged Madam Pomfrey to let him go so that he could go find Julius and just talk to him. Although, he wasn't sure if the boy was going to listen to him at all after witnessing him hug Hermione. It seemed the world was stacked against making Pierce come across as a complete arse when really he just wanted everything to be okay with Julius. He didn't want the boy to be mad at him, he was the last person that Pierce wanted mad with him.

He searched the castle, high and low to find Julius and finally came upon him outside, sitting in the courtyard. He still looked terribly angry and Pierce found himself hesitating to approach him. However, he pushed his foolish thoughts aside and walked over, standing in front of Julius, to block all ways of the boy trying to escape.

"Get out of here, Pierce." Julius told him, looking to the ground. 'You don't have to tell me anything, alright? I get it."

"No, you don't. And if you don't shut up for one second, I'm going to push you over this wall!" Pierce threatened him. "Just listen to me, let me talk to you. You can't...you can't just kiss me and walk away, Julius. That wasn't fair at all. Then you proceed to ignore me for weeks! Weeks! Finally, I wake up in the Hospital Wing and you're there...you're the first person I see, but the moment you see Hermione, you run away from me. You didn't give me any sort of chance and that's not fair!"

Julius still wouldn't bring himself to look at him. "It doesn't matter, does it? Because it's you and Hermione, like I said, I get it.."

"No, you don't, you daft brained cow!" Pierce growled at him. "It's not me and Hermione, it never was. It was never going to happen, and you knew that...deep down you knew it! But as my friend you just stayed with me and supported me until it became too much for you. When in reality, you should have just been honest with me in the first place!"

"Be honest?! And tell you want, that I liked you more than a friend while you were running after Hermione? How would you think that would have went, Pierce? Hmm!" Julius glared at him.

"I don't know because it didn't happen. Instead you let it all bottle up inside until you kissed me and ran off like a cowardly puppy!"

"Cowardly puppy?" Julius stood up, shoving Pierce back. "You have some nerve, Holmes. I have watched you pine after a girl who doesn't share the same feelings for you . I've been here the entire time and you didn't even take notice until I kissed you."

"You're with Vanessa, how could I tell?"

"You should have known long before her...I...I...was planning on going with the Yule Ball with you, but then...then you went by yourself. Then Nancy came into the picture...what was I supposed to do?"

"We've always been honest with one another, why couldn't you just have done that?"

"Because I was scared!" Julius yelled at him. "Alright? Some of us are capable of feeling emotions, Pierce and I was feeling fearful, because I knew you were going to reject me-"

"You knew nothing! Just shut up!" Pierce told him. "Shut up for one minute and let me finish!"

"No, I'm not going to shut up and-"

Pierce threw his head back in frustration as Julius continued to argue with him. Finally becoming fed up with the whole situation, Pierce grabbed Julius roughly by the front of his shirt and pulled the boy into a kiss. It was Julius' turn to be caught off guard as Pierce's kiss had started off rough but became soft as Julius became relaxed. When Pierce finally pulled away, the two boys looked right at each other.

"If you had just let me finish, you would know that...I really liked it when you kissed me and I really like kissing you, Julius."