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Marc was a little concerned when Nathaniel suddenly stopped showing up at school for a couple days. Whenever he asked Alix if Nathaniel was alright, she just looked away with a tense stance and said it wasn't her business to tell. Which only made Marc grow more worried.
Was he hurt? He couldn't think of any akuma attack that could've caused an injury in the last week. Maybe it was something else? It was strange he hadn't texted Marc about it, then. He and Nathaniel were such good friends, the artist usually texted him frequently.
Marc hoped to himself that he was fine as he walked into the locker room that morning. He glanced up, seeing his friend at his locker. Relief filled his brain as he rushed over.
"Nath!"
The redhead yelped, using his locker door as a shield between him and the quickly approaching writer.
"You're okay!" Marc smiled, "I was worried since you haven't been at school the past couple of days. Is everything alright?"
Nathaniel stumbled over his words, shrinking further into himself and hiding more. Marc leaned forward, a little confused. Usually, Nathaniel would be joking with him by now.
The artist peeked out a little, nervously looking up through his bangs as he mumbled, "Sorry, can you not call me that? I only let close friends call me that, and I don't... know you."
Marc couldn't comprehend what was just said. Of course, Nathaniel knew Marc! They'd been working on the comic for the past couple of months! He even got Marc akumatized, which gave the writer hanahaki and-
He froze in place as he remembered the most popular cure to that illness.
It was such a relief when the government made hanahaki surgeries cheap due to how often it was contracted. With this new development, it’d be easy to get rid of the disease, even if it cost you your memories of the person you loved.
Horror flooded his entire body, the realization hitting him like a freight train. Nathaniel silently closed his locker, sneaking around the boy, who was staring at the ground in shock. The artist didn't take a second look back, running out of the room and away from Marc.
He didn't even try following him. What was the point when Nathaniel didn't remember him?
The thought fully settled in his mind and Marc collapsed to the floor.
Nathaniel was in love with him. Or he used to. Now, he had absolutely no memories of him.
It hurt. It hurt so much knowing all the good times he had with him was just... gone now. Even without liking him romantically, Nathaniel was still one of Marc's best friends.
Alix couldn't bring herself to go comfort him, simply standing by the doorway, watching as Marc cried to himself on the ground.
---
Nathaniel stepped back into his room after school, still a little unnerved by that random boy who had tried to talk to him. This would be his first time back here ever he woke up from the surgery, which was supposedly for Hanahaki if Alix was to be believed. With her somber expression when she told him, he didn't doubt her.
He looked over at his shelf, pausing upon noticing a set of comics. Why didn't he recognize those? They seemed important, especially since they looked like they had been constantly read over and over again. Having memories of a crush erased wouldn't affect his rememberance of a comic series, would it?
Nathaniel picked one up, sucking in a breath upon noticing his OC on the front cover. His eyes trailed down to the names.
Marc Anciel & Nathaniel Kurtzberg
"I had a partner?" He mumbled, not remembering anything about having a published comic, especially one with multiple issues. "Who...?"
It all clicked for him in that moment.
That boy earlier that day must've been...
Nathaniel silently placed the comic back on the shelf, turning away from it.
...Maybe it's better if he avoids whoever 'Marc Anciel' is. If he ended up getting the surgery, it meant that Marc didn't return his feelings.
Nathaniel wondered why he fell in love in the first place. But he guessed it didn't really matter.
There was no point in dwelling on it if it ended in heartbreak in the end.