This is a story focusing more on what Lovino's going through, so as such I've made a few, small changes. I really do want to finish this story, and I plan to. I apologize if I take long breaks when updating, however. Same warnings as last chapter, RxR and I hope you enjoy!


Chapter 2. 'I met this girl named Ana,

She introduced herself today,

She seems so nice and kind,

She says she wants to stay.'


"What the hell is wrong with you? Are you pouting? Are you upset?" Lovino's grandfather, Romulus asked desperately that night. Lovino had locked himself up in his room, refusing to eat dinner.

"Just leave me alone, please..." Lovino pleaded. He was curled up on his bed, carefully watching the door and wondering what he would do if his grandfather managed to get in.

"You're setting a horrible example for Feli! I swear he's acting more mature than you by the day! Almost a week and a half without dinner, what are you trying to prove!?" Romulus growled angrily. With one more try at the door handle, he left.

Lovino sat there, contemplating what had just happened. There was no way he could leave his room now. He doubted his grandfather would forget all about this in the morning.

He curled into himself more, feeling incredibly alone. Of course his grandfather wouldn't understand. Of course he would only make things harder for him. Even now, he dreaded waking up tomorrow, for fear of what his grandfather would say or do next.

~oO0Oo~

"How's school going sweetie?"

Antonio was seated at the dinner table, beside his brother, Afonso. His mother had just sat down across from them and asked Antonio the question.

"Oh...it's good. Gil and Francis are still causing trouble, but we've been getting our work done." Antonio answered thoughtfully as he took a bite of their meal. Spaghetti- Antonio's favorite that just so happened not to be Spanish food.

His mother smiled, then turned to his brother. "And you? Afonso? How is school going for you?"

Afonso shrugged. "It's doing okay. I hate math, but I can pull through...I think."

Their mother smiled and glanced at the clock. "Your father sure is running late today. He must be held up at work." She murmured with a frown.

Antonio nodded, but his mind had wandered to the boy he'd been meeting at lunch. The boy who never ate and liked to read books. Antonio wanted to know more about him. "Hey...mom? How long can someone go without eating?" His gaze fixated on his mother curiously.

She looked surprised, and cocked her eyebrow questioningly. "Well, I think it's about three weeks..."

Antonio felt a strange pang in his stomach, like a sudden wave of worry and concern. He took a quick drink from his cup and grabbed his plate, getting up from the table. "I'm done. Thanks mom it was good." He said in a rush as he washed his plate and silverware, then ran up to his room. He kicked the door closed and was at his desk in seconds. He opened his browser and looked up "Symptoms like not eating"

Antonio spent almost an hour, looking through different websites and reading about a word that came up often. Anorexic.

~oO0Oo~

The next day Lovino walked miserably to his classes. What with his grandfather yelling at him the entire morning. Lovino swore he seemed less concerned about him for not eating and more concerned at the fact that he was wasting food.

He sat through his first class, ignoring the boy next to him that had tried to strike up a friendly conversation. He thought he heard the name "Matthew," but he couldn't bring himself to care. The more days that passed, the more detached he became. He could feel it, too. He used to be excited for lunch, even if all he did was read books. But now, he wanted nothing more than to sleep the entire day…or week.

When lunch rolled around, he did as was his regular routine. He grabbed his bag, which contained nothing more than his books for the afternoon and the book he was going to read while Antonio sat beside him.

He exited the building through the back doors and made his way down to the parking lot. While walking, his legs felt a little more wobbly than usual. He was planning to stop and rest, but a voice behind him made him jump.

"What's wrong with you?"

He quickly turned to see Antonio's friend, Gilbert. He was frowning at Lovino, looking him up and down. "Look, I'll walk with you to Antonio's ride. That's where you're going, right?" He asked as he casually took Lovino's bag from him and began walking ahead of him.

Lovino glowered. "I'm not weak, I can carry my own shit." He growled out.

"I'm sure you can. Must be why your pale face is flushed and why you're breathing pretty heavily." Gilbert said with a shrug.

Lovino followed behind him, eyeing Gilbert wearily. "What are you doing out here, by the way?" Lovino decidedly asked.

Gilbert shrugged. "Francis isn't here today, so I figured why not check and see what Antonio's up to? Of course, I already know he hangs out with you during lunch. You two seem peachy all of a sudden." He murmured as they approached Antonio's car. Antonio got out and ran up to meet them.

"Lovi! Are you okay? Maybe I should park closer..." He said as he placed a palm on Lovino's cheek.

Lovino's cheeks reddened even more and he tried to slap Antonio's hand away. "What- What the fuck do you think you're doing!? I'm fine. Just leave me alone." He grumbled, walking past Antonio and climbing into the passengers seat.

Antonio smiled despite himself, then turned to Gilbert. "Huh? Is that Lovi's bag?" He asked, noticing it slung over one shoulder on Gilbert.

"Oh- yeah, he looked like he was having trouble carrying it. It's not even that heavy. Maybe he's out of shape, I dunno." Gilbert shrugged as he handed Antonio the bag.

"I came to see what you are up to, but I can see that you need some space. I can also see that you're trying to put the moves on mr. hothead over there." Gilbert said amusedly.

Antonio felt a blush creep up the back of his neck. "Not exactly, I'm just worried."

"Sure. Call it what you like." And with that, Gilbert was making his way back up to the school.

After watching his friend go, Antonio got into his car as well. He was surprised when he found a very much asleep Lovino curled up into the seat next to him. Antonio figured that this was probably the only time he'd be able to take in all of Lovino's features.

He saw that Lovino had very faint, hardly-there freckles that littered his nose and parts of his cheeks. His eyelashes were long and fluttered as he breathed. Antonio could've remembered Lovino being darker, but now his skin seemed pale. Actually, now that Antonio thought about it, Lovino overall seemed frail and weak. His hair had also lost some sort of glow that it once had.

Antonio's gaze traveled down to his body and the word he had been researching so much about popped into his head. Lovino was indeed anorexic. His clothes seemed baggy and his stomach was getting flatter and flatter. It made Antonio wonder why no one else was taking notice. Obviously, Lovino was sick.

But Antonio wanted to know why. Why was Lovino doing this to himself? Was he really that insecure about himself? What happened to make him start this awful journey down a dangerous path?

Antonio glanced at the time, their lunch break was half over. Hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, Antonio began to pull out of the parking lot.

~oO0Oo~

A bumpy road awoke Lovino from his slumber. He stirred, stretching and yawning before sitting up in the passenger's seat and rubbing his eyes from sleep.

Then he recognized Antonio in the driver's seat. Then he didn't recognize where the hell they were.

"What the fuck!?" Lovino tried to shout, but it was slightly slurred with sleep.

Antonio smiled at Lovino brightly. "Morning Lovi! Well, afternoon, actually." He said conversationally as he drove.

Lovino looked around him, nothing but forest. "Antonio….where the fuck are we going?" He growled angrily.

"It's a surprise~" Antonio answered excitedly.

"But- But school-"

"School is always there, Lovi. Besides, I didn't have the heart to wake you." Antonio interrupted him.

Finding no reason to argue further, Lovino sat back and watched the trees whip by. They were on a dirt road, heading out to the forest. Sounds like something from a horror movie. Images of Antonio pulling over, grabbing an axe and chasing Lovino flashed through his head. He shifted uncomfortably.

"Um...you're not planning on killing me, are you?"

Antonio glanced at him with wide eyes. "What!? Of course not!" He actually chuckled. "You're so silly, Lovi. No, sorry to disappoint, but I'm not a murderer."

Lovino huffed, crossing his arms and sulking. This should scare him, it should make him demand Antonio to turn around and take him back to the school. But instead, Lovino felt better, like he could actually breathe.

He wasn't paying attention when Antonio had pulled over. Perking, Lovino looked at his surroundings once more. There was still enough trees that provided a nice shade. As Antonio got out of the car, the sound of rushing water filled Lovino's ears. He looked at Antonio and followed his lead in getting out of the car too. Beside the road was a nice riverbank that had patches of grass, sand and rocks. A semi-large rock sat at the very edge of the river. Antonio motioned for Lovino to follow him.

"What- Antonio...where are we?" Lovino asked as Antonio led him to the rock. It was in the sun regretfully, but Lovino couldn't bring himself to mind.

"Just a place my parents used to bring my brother and I to. We used to fish here. We even camped out here once. Also, Gilbert, Francis and I like to come out here every once in a while to hang out." He answered thoughtfully, a content smile on his face.

They sat at the edge, their feet dangling over the side. The river here was slow and calm and Lovino watched as little bugs flew around the riverbed.

"...It's nice out here." Lovino murmured. He only wished he knew how they'd gotten here.

Antonio seemed happy to hear that, and he hummed in agreement. "Y'know, this part is kind of deep. Nice place to swim...you can swim, can't you?" He asked with a smirk.

Lovino's eyes narrowed and he scooted away. "Oh hell no. There's no way I'm getting in there. But to answer your stupid question, yes. I can." He said firmly.

Antonio sighed dramatically. "It was worth a shot." He murmured defeatedly as he leaned sideways until he dropped into the water with a splash that got Lovino wet.

"Wha- Antonio!" Lovino shouted accusingly, wiping water from his cheek.

Antonio popped back up, his hair flattened and his bangs in his eyes. He brought two hands to push his hair back and he grinned up at Lovino. "It's not that cold. You should jump in!" He said excitedly.

Lovino frowned, eyeing Antonio suspiciously. "...This is deep?" He asked.

Antonio nodded, beckoning Lovino. "Of course it is! Now c'mon!"

Lovino rolled his eyes but decided to listen to Antonio. He pushed himself off the edge of the rock and jumped into the river. He came back up seconds later and pushed his bangs from his eyes as Antonio had done.

"Okay, now what?" He asked, trying to frown, but Antonio could see his eyes shining brighter than before.

Instead of answering him, Antonio splashed him in the face, giggling as he did so.

Lovino wiped his eyes and was actually grinning. He splashed Antonio as revenge and Antonio laughed delightedly.

They continued doing so, laughing and shrieking happily as they did. Almost an hour passed and Lovino was sitting in the shallow part of the river, watching Antonio swim idly on his back.

"Your car's gonna get wet." Lovino commented as he brought his knees up to his chest.

Antonio swam towards him, a big smile on his face. "I don't mind. I got towels in the back too. Though, I don't think I thought to bring extra clothes..." He admitted, with a laugh.

Lovino smiled and sunk lower into the water. This was the first time in several months he's felt alive. He could feel his heart actually beating in his chest and his skin prickle when a small gust of wind hit it.

The two swam for a few more minutes until they decided they'd had enough. Lovino sat on the rock, drenched from head to toe. Antonio however, made his way up to his car, searching for the towels. Lovino was relieved to say the least when Antonio wrapped one around him and sat next to him on the rock. They were still dripping wet, but it felt nice. The sun was beating down on them, warming them up.

"We'll never get dry like this." Antonio said as he pulled his shirt over and off. He laid it down on the rock and began drying himself with the towel. "Why don't you do the same, Lovi?" He asked, looking at how soaked Lovino still was.

He shook his head, willing the blush away once he saw Antonio. "No. I'm good like this." He said and wrapped the towel more firmly around himself.

Antonio frowned. "Lovi, you might get sick. How about just the shirt? You can still wrap the towel around yourself." He suggested, smiling kindly at Lovino.

Lovino shifted slightly, narrowing his eyes. "Don't look." He told him firmly.

"Of course." Antonio complied, turning away. He heard the rustle of wet clothes. Then he heard Lovino cough and murmur, "Alright...you can look now."

Antonio turned back around, grinning at Lovino. Both of their shirts were drying in the sunlight, droplets of water were running down the rock and back into the river.

Antonio noticed a part of shoulder peeking out from Lovino's towel. His hair was still wet and it stuck to his neck and face as it dripped. His eyes were still bright, golden irises with flecks of green. His long eyelashes fluttered against his cheek as he blinked.

Antonio didn't want to ruin the moment, he really didn't. But there was a reason he brought Lovino all the way out here. Clearing his throat and effectively catching Lovino's attention, he began. "So...I, um… I was browsing the internet last night..." He murmured nervously.

Lovino scoffed. "Good for you." He shot back jokingly.

Antonio smiled, but resumed his solemn expression soon after. "Lovi… I want to know… Why do you feel the need to starve yourself?"

Lovino's reaction was immediate. His entire demeanor changed and he tensed, glaring at Antonio angrily. "I don't want to talk about it." He said through gritted teeth.

Antonio shook his head, inching closer. "Lovi, I looked it up last night. It's an illness, one that no one seems to be taking the time to help cure. Please, I want to help you." He pleaded, reaching out.

Lovino smacked his hand away, but remained where he sat, despite Antonio moving closer. "Fuck you Antonio, you planned all this!" He shouted.

"Only because I'm worried about you. I want to help. I don't want anything bad to happen to you, Lovi." Antonio said calmly, closing the distance between them and wrapping his arms around Lovino's lithe body.

"Stop...Antonio...s-stop..." Lovino said breathlessly, pushing Antonio away with no real force.

But Antonio didn't back down, he only held Lovino tighter. "I'm here for you Lovi. Even if you think you're alone, I'm here." He whispered into his hair.

A sob racked through Lovino's body. He felt his arms return the embrace, gripping Antonio desperately. Antonio began running his fingers though Lovino's hair, hoping to soothe him as he began to cry.

Antonio's chest clenched as Lovino cried hard, deep sobs that shook his entire body and tears that continued to drip on his shoulder. His sobs were loud so that they echoed through the forest, pretty much draining out the noise of rushing water from the river. Antonio didn't relax his hold in the slightest, he hushed Lovino gently and soothed him until the sobs turned into incessant sniffling.

The forest now seemed quieter without Lovino's sobs, but the air seemed lighter. Antonio knew Lovino sensed it as well. Finally, Lovino cleared his throat and kept his eyes downcast. "...I don't...I don't like...myself." He murmured quietly.

Antonio couldn't believe that someone as beautiful as Lovino would even think such a thing, but he kept quiet as Lovino continued. "I- I can't take it anymore. Do you know how it feels when people only recognize you as the 'bigger brother'? Feli is small, petite. Everybody compares me to him. Plus, every time I look into the mirror… I can't do it anymore, Antonio." He sobbed, burying his face in his hands.

He didn't know what came over him. His body acted on its own as he leaned closer, hooking his fingers under Lovino's chin and lifting it so he could look at him. He connected their lips in a gentle kiss. It tasted like salt from lovino's tears, but Antonio didn't mind. Especially when Lovino kissed back.