Pierce searched the castle for Julius, but it was obvious the other boy did not want to be found or rather he didn't want to be found by Pierce. With his mind racing completely and his thoughts all over the place with confusion, Pierce was pulling at his hair trying to figure out everything. To find something that he completely struggled with was rare, but when it happened it nearly left him at a breaking point. He rubbed his face continuously in attempts to wipe away the stress, but it did nothing for him.

His mind was darting back between Julius and Hermione. Long before Julius had kissed him out of the blue, Pierce had established his feelings towards Hermione. There were many things he liked about the girl, from her brain to her looks. Those feelings hadn't automatically faded upon Julius kissing him. However, there were other feelings that had come to light with the kiss, because Pierce couldn't bring himself to deny the fact that he liked it.

He hadn't been aware of those feelings until Julius had taken the first step. Pierce always thought it was normally to admire attributes of the opposite sex, without declaring romantic feelings for the person. While he was willing to stand by that, the fact that the kiss had caused his lips to tingle and he enjoyed it, left him feeling even more confused.

Sitting tucked in a corner of a window seat, Pierce was finally able to find some form of comfort as he found Nancy sitting with a book open in her lap. She had parchment paper to the side as she was jotting several things down.

"Nancy!" He called out to her before running towards her.

"Hello Pierce!" She greeted him brightly, moving her legs to allow him to sit.

"Do you have a minute, I see that you're working but I really need your help right now. My mind is moving at a million-"

"Pierce, whoa, slow down!" Nancy told him lifting up her hands. "What is going on with you? Here, come here and sit."

Pierce walked over and sat down, resting his folded hands in his lap and staring ahead blankly.

"Pierce?" Nancy called his name softly. "What's wrong?"

"My life is the epitome of a mess right now." Pierce said. "I would have never thought all this would happen. This year has been one of the most confusing of my life. I've gone from having hardly any relationship with my parents to having a small one with my father. I've gone from living the life of a dull person to being entered in a Tournament that can surely kill me. I've liked this girl since I got to know her a bit, but all that has changed in a matter of seconds-"

"Wait a second. Are you talking about Hermione? You don't like her anymore? What happened?"

"I do like her, but everything happened!" Pierce dropped his face into his hands and muttered something.

"What?" She furrowed her brow, hoping he would speak up.

"I said Julius kissed me, that's what happened!" Pierce snapped in her direction, irritated that he had to repeat himself.

Nancy's eyes suddenly widened as she swallowed in shock. "Wh-what?"

"Yeah, that was my reaction too."

"But I thought he and Vanessa-"

"I thought that too. But I've had plenty of arguments with people before and none of them have ever ended with a kiss and it wasn't just a peck either."

"You don't sound very angry about it?" Nancy said in confusion.

"Why would I be angry about it? It's not like a total stranger came out of the blue and kissed me. Julius has been my best friend for years, I'm not angry with the kiss, I'm confused."

It was quiet for a moment.

"Did you...like it?" She asked.

"I...I....I didn't dislike it." Pierce finally answered her.

"Well, this is certainly a change of events, I guess that means you're not going to be running after Hermione now-"

"I didn't say I stopped liking Hermione." Pierce told her sharply. "I am simply saying that Julius kissed me, that I liked it, and now I'm conflicted as to what to do."

"Okay, have you spoken with Julius since it happened?"

"No, because I can't find him anywhere. It's like he's vanished from the castle entirely. But I know he's just avoiding me right now, we left off on weird terms."

"Well, Pierce, I think your best bet for now is to talk to Julius."

Pierce returned to the Ravenclaw Tower after Nancy was unable to help him. He arrived to the dorms, but Julius wasn't there still. Rather than doing anything else. Pierce sat on his bed across from Julius' and decided to remain there until the boy returned.

It was fairly late when Julius strolled in, however, as the two boys locked eyes with one another, Julius gave him a dirty look before attempting to leave the room.

"No, Julius, wait, please!" Pierce said jumping up and block the exit. "You and I, we really need to talk."

"No we don't, I don't have anything left to say to you.' Julius told him.

"Then will you just listen to me?" Pierce asked.

"No."

"But we need to talk about the...the kiss..."

"No we don't!" Julius snapped at him. "It never happened. I don't know what you're talking about. I'm with Vanessa and you want Hermione, that's it. That's all it'll ever be. Nothing happened between you and I!" Julius shoved him out of the way and stormed out of the dorms, leaving Pierce even more confused than before.

"Julius...wait...don't go....don't leave me." He called after him in a voice barely above a whisper but the boy didn't return.

Pierce couldn't find comfort in the person he turned to the most as Julius refused to speak or even acknowledge him in the dorms, in class or anywhere in the castle. Vanessa seemed highly confused but Pierce wasn't going to be the one to expose what had happened between him and her boyfriend. He didn't want to talk to Nancy about it, so he avoided her, and if Julius had been right about anything, without Julius, Pierce found himself completely alone.