Back in the warmth of his home, Erik takes off his coat and boots and sits at the kitchen table to think the matter of familiarity with the small box over. He looks at the small key still in the palm of his hand and decides that maybe whatever is inside this box would give him the answers he wanted. So, using the ability of his mutation, Erik slips the small key into the keyhole of the box and wills it to turn. It clicks, but he doesn't immediately lift the lid to reveal the contents. He hesitates, thoughts racing in his head. "What if whatever is in this box doesn't give me the answers I want." He thinks, "What if the contents only give rise to more questions and complicate the situation" but he knew that there was no escape. He had to look inside as he couldn't guess what was in, even with his mutation. Slowly, Erik places both of his hands on the lid and lifts it. Inside is something that he couldn't begin to describe. It was somewhat big, about the size of half a piece of paper and of an element Erik didn't recognize. It looked as if it was missing something, maybe a part of it. That or it was a part of something else. The longer he looked at it the familiar it got, until he was able to determine that he's seen it before. The object was part of the strange helmet he wears in his nightmares. Unable to hold back the words on his tongue, Erik exclaimed "That helmet is real? But how, my subconscious made that up. It can't be real." But it was because it was right there in front of him, well a piece of it. "Why is it broken though?" He questioned. Just like he thought, the contents of Charles' box only raised more questions. Finally deciding to take a better look at the piece of helmet, Erik reaches into the box to pick it up. The second his skin touches the element, he feels as though his mind is no longer his own. The room around him became hazy and it felt like something was tugging on his mind. A feeling he could only relate to having forgotten something and trying so hard to remember it. And whatever it was, it came crashing fast. Erik could see himself with the man from his dreams, but the setting was different. Erik wasn't wearing the helmet and the man he associated with Charles wasn't in pain. They were standing in the backyard of a huge mansion looking at a satellite dish, no longer on that beach. "Do you mind if I…" said the man while moving his fingers, and Erik saw himself shake his head in disagreement before being taken to another time and place. It was as if this handsome man that Erik couldn't resist was in his head, projecting his memories to him. He saw his 12 years old self with his mother and the candles. His mother looked very proud of him. He was happy and so was she. It was Hanukah and it didn't matter that the war was raging outside. He was with his Mama and that's all that mattered. Then his head was his own again and he heard himself ask "What did you just do to me?" and heard the answer. "There's so much more to you than you know, not just pain and anger. There's good too. I felt it" said the man with moist eyes, "So come on, try again?" Erik could now see himself attempting to turn the satellite dish; he could feel the familiar rush of power that made him control the metal. With his arm extended out in front of him and tears in his eyes, Erik managed to turn the dish. As he saw himself do so, he also saw the man look at him and his beautiful blue eyes were shedding tears while he was smiling .He then proceeded to slap Erik on his back in a proud gesture.

Erik now felt as if he had awoken from a dream. The room was no longer hazy and no memories were tugging on his mind. But he had so many questions to ask. He didn't know how he knew this man or where he was in the memory projected to him through the piece of the helmet. He couldn't recall this memory at all before this incident and he wanted to know how an inanimate object could telepathically be in his head. Many questions and not a single answer. Standing up from his chair at the table, Erik put the helmet piece inside the box and locked it, leaving it in the kitchen. He walked to the window in his living room and looked out. It was snowing very heavily now and the London street outside his apartment was white, covered in snow that was still untouched. Erik looked at the angel statue, and sighed to himself, "Who are you?" He stood there for hours just watching the snow fall and pile up in the street. His head running laps around his every night nightmare, the projection he's just seen and that man. Erik had somehow convinced himself that the irresistible fellow he keeps hurting is Charles. Maybe it's because he can't keep him out of his head and that he's been in the projection that was connected to Charles through the box. No matter the reason, Erik was becoming obsessed with him. He wanted to know how he was connected to him and most importantly the meaning of the dream and the projection. There he was staring out the window, and day dreaming about Charles' eyes. His lips, his hair, his body, all of him. Erik had to admit something to himself, but he couldn't say out loud, even to himself. The thought was very straight out obvious, Erik loved Charles. Even though he's never him, he felt as if he knew him. Genuinely knew him, as if they've spent years together, talking and discussing matters. "How is this possible? How can I feel this way about you when I don't even know you?" Erik questioned as the faint glow of the sun could be seen setting behind the clouds. He shook his head and smiled to himself as he walked away from the window heading towards the fireplace. It was starting to snuff itself out, so he added a couple of logs before settling on the couch. After hours of watching TV and constant snacks, Erik fell asleep where he laid in the living room.

This night wasn't any different from the previous one. Erik saw the same nightmare, his helmet, the bullet, Charles crying out in pain as he falls to the beach, and his heart dropping to his knees. It was all the same except for one thing. This night, he couldn't help but think that maybe this nightmare actually happened and it's somehow trapped in his mind. His reason for this being that the man he saw in the telepathy show the helmet piece showed him looked like the man in his nightmare. And that man was someone that Charles knew. Him maybe. He felt worse now than he ever did after waking up from his nightmare. That was because he didn't want to hurt someone he cared for so deeply. With his head fuzzy and his thoughts uncontrolled, Erik turned off the TV that had been left on since he fell asleep on the couch and walked to his bedroom sleepily. In his room, he opened his closet and pulled out some comfortable clothes to sleep in. After undressing himself almost blindly in the night, he put them on. He got in his bed and pulled the cover over him. But as soon as he did that, the sleep left his eyes as was usual with the nightmares. He laid there waiting for sleep to overcome him and send him off, his mind free to wander. He saw Charles and himself in front of the mansion from the projection. They were ready to start a race. "I'm going to win this time," Charles said as Erik laughed. "Please, you never win. I'm much faster than you," said Erik smugly. "We'll see about that," challenged Charles. Smiling at him, Erik started the backwards count. "Three, Two, One. GO!" Both men shot forward at incredible speeds, both determined to win. The distance that Erik imagined wasn't long and the race was over quickly with Charles as the winner. Panting, Charles pointed out the obvious, "told you I was going to win."

"Fine, so you won. Do you want an award?" joked Erik.

"As a matter of fact, I do."

"And what will that be?" Erik said with a smile.

"You could give me a kiss," Charles suggested with a smile that lighted his eyes and made Erik swoon. Smiling back whole heartedly, Erik stepped closer to Charles and placed his hands on his waist. "Fine" He bent down to match Charles' height and made their lips meet. Charles returned Erik's kiss with just the same passion and tenderness. He didn't want it to end but was forced to do so to draw breath. When their lips parted, Erik looked directly into Charles' eyes and confessed his heart. "I love you," he whispered to the man he couldn't bear to part with. "I love you too," whispered Charles back.

Something at his window pulled Erik out of the most beautiful fantasy his travelling mind has so far come up with. Drawing back his warm blanket, Erik got up and saw that it was nothing but snow that fell from the roof above. So he lied back down and covered himself again and began to think about what his mind has just conjured. He thought of Charles' lips and what it would actually feel like to kiss him, if ever. He thought of meeting him, talking to him, and racing with him. Erik didn't know such a thing was possible but he missed Charles. He missed him like he's known him his whole life. With that thought on his mind, Erik drifted to a peaceful sleep devoid of nightmares.