It seemed like a dream, a sweet illusion, like those beautiful lies Evan made reality through each one of his performances. He was only 24, and he had already gained a significant amount of fame since his acting debut 4 years earlier. His angelic face, his blonde-golden hair, and his expressive blue eyes made every one of his roles unforgettable, even if most of them weren't leading ones.
With his beautiful face, as pretty as an angel in one of the most idyllic and ethereal paintings, it didn't take long for him to win the hearts of the current generation, which is why he often played romantic youth roles, and his pictures already appeared in magazines and advertisements as a model for various fashion brands. He had a natural magnetic charm. His enormous charisma was contagious, with his eternal smile and cheerfully sweet voice. And when he got into character... It was something out of this world. His fellow cast members doubted he had only been in the industry for a short time and had never studied at a professional acting school, because once he got into the role, they couldn't believe what they saw in him was a lie. He could interpret the purest emotions and the most heartbreaking sadness as if those feelings were truly his own.
Many said his natural gift for fully embracing each character he played was because of his background in psychology. Originally, Evan planned to study psychology and work as a therapist at a hospital or clinic. He wanted to be a child psychologist. Acting was simply a hobby he enjoyed, something he did in his free time and allowed him to place a mask over his face to feel safe in front of others.
He loved the stage; he really loved it, even when he began acting at the insistence of his best friends in middle school, when they asked him to join the drama club with them, hoping to help him make more friends. At first, it was just like an adventure, but once he was on that stage, he couldn't leave that captivating and heartbreaking spotlight. In that stage, he was free, with a mask made of lies over his face. He also joined the drama club in high school, and someone recruited him as an actor for his first film during his third semester of college.
Maybe it was partly because of his natural beauty that made him so successful, or maybe it was the innocent and charismatic image he presented in the spotlight as an always cheerful boy who filled everyone with his light.
But it was nothing more than a lie. His entire life was a lie.
Evan wasn't a charismatic and cheerful guy; he was a boy who grew up broken, hidden behind a mask in order to survive. He believed that nobody would ever love him until he met him last year, someone who completely changed his life.
His name was Liam Stone, a prodigy medicine student at Harvard. He was only 20 years old, and people had noticed him since childhood in national science competitions in robotics, which was curious, given that he ended up studying medicine to become a neurosurgeon and focus on medical research. And, like most of those who were called "geniuses" as children, his strength wasn't socializing. Or maybe he simply didn't care about putting on a mask to please others. Maybe he didn't care at all about other people's opinions.
That boy with black hair and green eyes truly came into his life to turn it upside down, mainly because they were so opposite and yet ended up being drawn to each other like magnets. A serious boy, focused solely on his studies and research, and a boy who shone as brightly as a star with charming charisma, who loved the theater and was a little dramatic. Who would have imagined that the actor with the face of an angel and that antisocial prodigy student would end up becoming lovers just six months after meeting by simple casualty?
With him, Evan felt small, even though he was 4 years older. But with him, he could be himself without having to pretend or wear a mask. With Liam, he felt free. And for the first time, he felt loved and happy.
It was too strange how they met, and even more how their interactions increased by pure coincidence until the feelings they both tried to hide grew so much that it was impossible to continue denying the connection that existed between them.
However, Evan's fame was rising, and he was in the spotlight of the media; so they preferred to keep their relationship a secret, telling only a few people. The media were constantly harassing anyone who worked in the entertainment industry, wanting to peer into the most intimate parts of other people's lives just for the fun of it. What would they do if they found out that the charming Evan Lloyd, who had stolen most of the girls' hearts, was in a relationship with another man? Even in modern times, the criticism and hatred persisted.
Liam, for his part, still didn't dare tell his group of friends, feeling a little embarrassed that many of them had been fans of the actor since before he even met that blonde boy, especially since they saw him in the film that made him a star and also stole the hearts of his friends. Besides, Liam sucked at social interactions. He still didn't understand how he managed to have so good friends who cared so much about him, when he was nothing more than a nerd, the typical weirdo you'd call a "lab rat" at school until his face started appearing on the covers of science magazines with headlines about the awards he'd won as a kid who loved robotics, and then he was called a "genius."
For both, life was good like that, with them living their days as busy as they could be, one with his rising career and the other with his studies, but sharing in private that closeness that only existed between them.
They were fine with that; life was good that way for both of them.
Even if there were times when they couldn't see each other for days and could only communicate through text messages, they were happy that way, keeping their relationship hidden from the world and living in the beautiful bubble they built within the four walls of each other's apartment.
They were fine with that. They were happy living that way.
Even if there were times when they couldn't see each other for days and could only talk through texts, they were okay with that. Keeping their relationship hidden from the media and living in a beautiful bubble that they built within the four walls of each other's apartments. Keeping their love as a precious secret.
It was okay that way. They were happy that way.
Until… One day, when Evan had a car crash and lost the memories of everything he had lived in the previous year, the year when he had met Liam. He lost every memory related to Liam, too.
.
.
.
Liam ran off the campus straight to the hospital as soon as Kyle, Evan's best friend, told him about the accident.
"He had a car crash leaving the studio," Kyle said. "They say it's not that serious, but the airbag didn't deploy properly, so he hit his head really hard. He faded out, and they're checking him right now."
Liam was incredibly afraid that Evan wouldn't wake up. His mind raced with catastrophic theories as he stared impatiently out the taxi window, each one worse than the last. When he finally arrived at the hospital, he paid the driver and ran as fast as his legs could carry him to the room Kyle had texted him.
He said he had just woken up, and everything went well. So, most likely there's no internal damage... and he's fine. He should be fine. He must be...
"Evan!" he shouted out as he opened the door with his chest filled with fear.
His eyes watered as he saw that angelic face with a bandage on his head, talking to his manager and his best friend, trying to calm them down, as if that accident had been nothing more than a minor fall and not something that could put his life in danger.
Liam felt like he could breathe again when he saw him sitting there, with no serious injuries visible.
He's okay. Evan is okay.
What a relief!
But the blond boy didn't seem to share his joy. His features morphed into a confused expression with an angry grimace. Liam didn't notice. For him, it was enough to see him safe. It was enough to see his beloved angel safe.
And he went to Evan to wrap his arms around him and hold tight that fragile body in a warm hug.
"I'm glad you're okay, Evan," he said with tears threatening to spill out of his eyes.
Kyle and Oliver, Evan's manager, were planning to get out of the room to leave the couple alone for a few moments. However…
"Who the fuck are you?" the blond boy asked, pushing Liam away in annoyance.
"Huh?"
"I'm going to call security to get you out of here. If you're a fan, at least respect the fact that I'm hospitalized and ask for your autograph another time."
"What are you talking about, Evan? This is a joke… right?"
Liam couldn't believe it, and neither could the other two men present.
"I don't know you. And I said only my manager and Kyle are allowed here. So please, Oliver, make this crazy guy leave, or I'll call security."
"But Evan… Are you sure?"
"Of course. First, I had a fucking car crash, and now a stalker shows up. What a shitty day."
Liam began analyzing the situation as quickly as he could. A car crash. Head trauma. Evan doesn't recognize him.
Don't tell me...
"You don't remember me?"
"Of course not. I don't know you."
With those words, his entire world fell apart.