Still startled from Dorian's sudden yell that sounded very much like a growl, I stared down at him as his face rested in hands with imprints of countless starry spirals that were not there before. I had to start bracing myself for more surprises like these.

   Not knowing what to do as colourless, gel-like substances–what I could only assume were tears snaking down Dorian's arms, I stood there with the hope that he would finally get it together and explain what he meant.

   The time that went on with him still in that position, however, was starting to get to me. Or rather my anger. Maybe he had a good reason for not telling me the truth. We'd come a long way, no doubt, but the Dorian I've been able to know during this time was secretive without a good reason.

   Even though the reason he just gave made absolutely no sense to me.

   It was enough for me to want to reach for him though. But the feeling of a hand on my shoulder diverted my attention before I could crack.

   Turning to see Rav beside was when I then remembered that Dorian and I were not alone all this while. The plethora of emotions–from shock, to fear, to horror, to pity– etched on Camila and Landon's faces was undeniable.

   I was not surprised to see Rav's stoicism. As horrible as I was supposed to believe Dorian to be right now, keeping something like this from his own brother was too far-fetched, even for me. Besides, it was Rav who hid Dorian from me after the camera explosion on the roof and tried to do so even now.

"Our parents have an important rule," Rav spoke up behind me. Of course Dorian told him that I knew of their relationship at some point before now. "And Dorian got to find out the consequences of breaking it the hard way. Before he became a freshman at Zavlon, Dorian, like me, was homeschooled. Starting Zavlon was going to be his first real long-term experience with other humans, so of course it was a huge deal. He'd had enough interactions with us to know how to behave, but that didn't make our parents any less unsettled. After helping him look as human as possible, they made Dorian vow that no matter what, he would never tell anyone who he really was."

   I tried to picture a younger Dorian being given a stern talking to by Mr and Mrs Hooda just before he left for school. He was probably more terrified than I was on my first day.

"I really made it a point not to break that vow," Rav and I looked downward with wide eyes at the sound of Dorian's voice, "That's why I kept to myself as often as I could. I didn't speak to anyone unless I was spoken to or had an important question. Although overtime I moved from being the quiet, weird, new kid, to the quiet, weird kid, that did not matter so long as no one found out. And it worked. Well, it was working until..."

   I took the long silence that followed as a sign to brace myself.

"I almost made it through the year with the vow intact. Almost." I noticed how his hands curled into tight fists while repeating that word. "Until Lacey Elliot happened.

   I tried to recall a familiar face associated with that name without success. Not that it came as a huge shock to me or anything. There were certain people in my classes whose names didn't come to mind on impulse.

"Long story short, she and I were paired up for this major end of the school year project and we became fast friends through that. Lacey was funny, smart and always seemed to know the best ways to have fun." The smile that followed his last sentence showed anything else but joy. "After spending weeks trying to convince Mum and Dad, I finally asked her out even though they'd said no everytime.

   I snorted at that. Dorian as a rebel? That has become the one thing I would pay a fortune to see.

"I didn't imagine things becoming better than they were when we started dating, but I was so glad to be wrong. I'd never experienced the things I felt with Lacey with anyone before and I believed I never would. Terrified of anything that could ruin what we had, I decided that it was time to tell her the truth about me. After all, she liked me when I was the weird, quiet kid, how different was that from the weird, quiet, alien kid?"

   I wasn't sure I wanted to know what happened next. And the sudden thick glaze of tears over Dorian grey-blue eyes–still needing time to wrap my head around that– didn't help at all.

"I was wrong." he rasped. "I'd never seen her so horrified. After telling the truth, she kicked me out and it took countless days of begging till she began talking to me again. Anyone with eyes would have noticed how much things between us changed though. Whenever we spent time together, Lacey behaved like I was forcing her to and I was starting to lose count of the number of times she'd flinched when I reached for her or even moved. I kept telling myself that her behaviour was understandable since news like this was a lot to take in, that she was going to come around eventually."

   Having no one to talk to about all this must have been hell for him. How was he able to keep this to himself for that long without anyone noticing?

"But when I walked in on her about to tell one of her friends one day, I knew I had to stop lying to myself. I needed to do something if I didn't want to be exposed. And I couldn't do it on my own."

   Realisation sunk in when Dorian looked over to his brother.

"He told me everything," Rav said. "And after convincing him that telling our parents was the best thing that could be done, that is exactly what he did with me never leaving his side."

   I couldn't believe my ears when Dorian– who'd taken over narrating once more– said that their parents did not bat an eye after finding out. Mr and Mrs Hooda simply told Dorian to invite Lacey over for dinner the following night.

   My jaw went slack.

"My parents are not murderers!" Rav shot me a defensive glare like he could read my thoughts. "Lacey's still alive, isn't she?"

   Could anyone really blame me for assuming the worst though?

   I made up my mind to maintain a passive face as Dorian carried on with the story. But what I found out eventually led my mission to an embarrassing fail.

"Dinner went incredibly well," he said, "To say I was amazed that she hit it off with our parents in no time would be an understatement. Lacey has an incredible personality, no doubt, but I did not expect things to turn out that way when she and I were not okay. But yeah, dinner was a huge success and after we kissed each other goodnight, Mum and Dad gave her a ride home. I slept like a baby that night."

   My brows furrowed when Rav placed a hand over Dorian's shoulder to say, "I can take over, you know. You don't have to continue with the next part."

   But Dorian shook his head, telling Rav that he was okay. The strain in that reply, however, betrayed him.

"When I got to school the next day, obviously, I went to her with the mindset that things were back to normal–better than normal actually. Now, I no longer had the weight of deceiving my parents burdening me and last night was more than enough proof to Lacey that despite me being alien, that did not make me any less normal.

   I would have thought Dorian was making up what he said next if this whole situation was far from a joke.

"When I approached her, it took me a minute of endless rambling before I realised she hadn't said a word in return. Then that's when I noticed the look in her eyes." one of his fists curled into a taut ball. "It was unlike the afraid or appalled stares I'd been receiving lately. She looked so... lost. Like I was a stranger who'd just walked up to her and started talking. And I soon found out why in the worst possible way–when she said, "Do I know you?"

   Camila beat me to it by letting out a huge gasp from behind Rav, Dorian and me.

   That didn't make my horror waver. I didn't show it yet though. I wanted him to confirm what I was–what we were all thinking.

   Rav did so on his behalf though, "Lacey wasn't pretending. She really didn't know who Dorian was. She'd forgotten him."

   With a heavy heart, I looked toward Dorian to find his gaze glued to the floor. I could only wonder how he felt when the truth finally hit him. All the moments and memories they shared, all gone like they had never happened. At least to Lacey anyway.

   But how?

   My eyes went big at the thought that popped in my head. "Dorian, I know you wouldn't ever intend to do so but... did you, by chance, somehow make her forget?"

   When alien sightings were first made decades ago, some of the witnesses claimed that the creatures they saw often had uncanny abilities, like enhanced speed, strength, one person even insisted he saw one move a tree with his mind. Though the former was eventually proven, there were no indications of any superhuman powers. That hasn't stopped the countless conspiracy theorists though. Inasmuch as I did not want to be associated in any way with those extremists, Dorian being able to hide his true form this whole time was pretty questionable. Questionable enough to believe he may be able to do other things...

"Of course not!" I flinched when his head shot up to snap at me. Yeah, I deserved that. I realised his eyes slanted a bit before he continued, "But i don't blame you for thinking that. Especially since... I did so too. But when I gave myself a chance to cool down and talk to Rav about it, I was ashamed for not noticing the obvious truth sooner. It was my parents. My mum and dad made Lacey forget everything."

   Oh. Oh. Of course.

   It made a lot of sense, considering how they were not only chill when Dorian told them everything but rather invited Lacey over. The Hooda name was a famous name for security-based tech. I wouldn't dare pry into their data wiping skills, their brain wiping skills. I wonder how they did it though. Did they slip something into her food? Or was it during the ride home?

   According to Dorian, Mr and Mrs Hooda didn't even bother denying it when he and Rav confronted them. On the contrary, that was when he got gobsmacked by their pent up rage. After multiple screaming versions 'what were you thinkings' and 'I'm so disappointed in yous', they ended with a warning that has stayed with him since.

   Dorian cleared his throat and looked straight at me. "They said that if I went near Lacey again, they wouldn't hesitate to repeat their actions. And that they would do the same thing to anyone else I told."

   YOU WOULD'VE FORGOTTEN ME!

   In an instant, the words he'd yelled at me earlier won't stop playing in my head, coming with a new sense of understanding. Dorian didn't lie because he wanted to. He did it for him and me. Him and selfish, nosy, prying me.

   How did I go from being justified to a total jerk this fast?

"Dorian..."

"It wasn't easy distancing myself from my other classmates." He sighed, silencing me, "but I knew that's what I had to do if I didn't want another Lacey situation. Eventually, I got used to it and Rav attending Zavlon the following year made it so much better. When this whole mind control thing went down, hiding the truth became torture once more. But Beth, with everything that happened between us, the agony that came with Lacey and I was nothing compared to simply the thought of you forgetting me. So yes, I lied and I'm so, so sorry I did. I just... I just..."

   While Dorian struggled with his next words, I got on my knees to sit beside him. He stopped trying once my hand first patted his back and rested there for a few seconds, before travelling downward to get a firm grasp of his hand.

"I'm sorry too, Dorian," I whispered.

   I assumed he wasn't going to respond when silence reigned between us after a while. But then I felt his other hand clasp over mine and his. A shiver I couldn't conceal raked down my spine as he brought the back of my hand to his warm lips.

A/N: Considering the series of cliffhangers I've been torturing you with in the latest updates, I think we can all agree you deserve this long chapter dear readers!

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