The small boy firmly gripped the assortment of crayons in his chubby hands that were still sticky from his lunch. The sounds of children running and screaming rang throughout the small classroom and the young teacher attempted to wear them out before they would be put down for naps.
"Are you gonna use all of 'em?", a skinny, pale boy asked him. "I mean I got some more over here, if ya wanna use 'em too. And I really like that blue one you have." The skinny boy with scrapes on his knees and black hair going in every direction looked at his classmate, hopeful to get the crayon.
The shorter, thicker built boy with red eyes, deathly pale skin and caramel hair looked at him curiously. He gazed across the room, noticing all of the other screaming kids and decided that he liked this calmer classmate. As a sign of approval, he pulled up another chair to his desk and dropped all the crayons into a cup.
As the two boys sat there and colored, they kept to themselves and worked diligently on their pictures. It was the onyx-haired boy who spoke first.
"This is your first day in Kindergarten isn't it?"
The boy, with remnants of jelly on his face, looked up at the boy and nodded quickly, his eyes diverting back to his work.
The black haired child continued, "It's not all that bad, ya know?" He looked back at his own drawing, admiring the colors. "My name is Lawliet." He paused for a moment and scratched his head, "Well, that's my proper name, ya know the name my parents gave me but everyone calls me L."
The boy sitting next to him looked up and stared for a second, then gave a firm nod.
They sat in silence for a few more moments when L began speaking again.
"So…what's your name?"
The caramel haired boy dropped his crayon suddenly, surprised that L had initiated conversation again.
He lifted his head slowly, two large, crimson orbs staring at L.
"My name?" he spoke at almost a whisper.
L nodded his head in anticipation, black hair shaking about.
The boy turned toward the window covered in stickers and art projects and mumbled out, "Beyond…" he looked back at L with uncertainty in his eyes, "Beyond Birthday."
L simply grinned, "How cool! I really like that name…" he looked back at his drawing and smirked.
Unexpectedly, Beyond responded, "I hate it."
L furrowed his eyebrows, "Really? But I mean: no one has it! That's pretty cool! And—"
"—I hate it." Beyond quickly added in.
Even for a young child, it was easy to see that the name disturbed him and he didn't like it at all. L rearranged his posture, hugged his knees and stuck a thumb in his mouth.
"Then…how about I give you a new name…?" he smiled as he saw the boy perk up. He looked up into the air quizzically as he thought over names, when it appeared that an idea hit him like a freight train. "I got it!"
Beyond turned toward him; curiosity in his large eyes, as he sat, literally, on the edge of his seat.
"You see, you and me…we're not really like the rest of them," he pointed a finger at the rest of the class, "So we need to be friends and watch out for each other, ya?"
Beyond's lips twitched a little into what appeared to be a smile.
"So instead of Beyond, I am going to call you B. I'll be L and you'll be B, and we will always be good friends." The raven-haired boy patted his new friend on the back and went back to coloring.
The rest of their play time, they talked of trivial things. They talked about their families, where they came from, what foods they liked, and things like that. And the more they talked the more they grew to like each other.
"Five minutes 'til clean up!" the teacher yelled. In reality, this only made the children more riled up as they wanted not to waste a single moment of play time.
"Oh no! But I really need to finish this! It's for my mommy's birthday!" L whined, searching desperately for a new crayon. "B! Can you give me the green crayon please?" He stuck his hand out, not even looking up to the boy as he waited for it. After a moment, he looked up, "B?"
B sat across from him staring into the cup of crayons, utterly confused.
He repeated his question again, this time slower and much gentler, thinking he may have upset him.
"B? May you please pass me the green crayon? I really wanna finish this picture…"
B looked around frantically, and in desperation bit his lower lip.
"Uhm…uh…L?"
L tilted his head in curiosity.
Beyond looked down at the floor as his eyes grew moist, "P-promise not to make fun of me…b-but…" He looked up at L with tears gently rolling down his face, "I…I don't know what green is."
L tilted his head in further confusion, "What do ya mean?" He picked up the green crayon, "It's right here! See, this is green. So, ya see? It's no big deal, a lot of kids here still get confused on the colors—"
"—No L…you don't understand." He used the edge of his sleeve to wipe his eyes and nose. "I can't see what it is." His lips trembled a little as he confessed this secret to his friend. "I can only see red."
L raised his eyebrows, "Wow! That's incredible! I mean you—" Seeing that his words were affecting his friend, he stopped talking and went to hug B. "It'll be okay. We said we'd watch out for each other, right?" He smiled as B nodded, "So, I'll be sure to take care of you! Don't worry."
The teacher's booming voice chimed in, "Nap time!"
L looked at B, "Sleep next to me? I got a new mat, too!"
The children laid silent, sleeping, nothing to hear but the steady breathing; all were asleep but one. Beyond Birthday laid on his back, wide-awake and stared off into space.
I'm so glad I have a new friend. My first friend! Maybe I'll be okay after all.
Beyond Birthday was not worried about making friends at school but rather he was worried about losing them. He was not your average child, you see, he had a gift (if that is what you'd like to call it), rather an abnormality that separated him from the rest of the children -from the rest of the world actually. Yes it was true that he could only see red but furthermore, he knew exact moment a person would die, just by looking at them. And even at the young age of five, it was something that has made his short life hell.
Author's Note:
Well, hello! Tis I, the author! This is my second Beyond Birthday fanfiction and well, I like how it's turning out so far! And I hope you do too. SO explanation time! Yes, L and B are in kindergarten but just in this chapter, I plan for this story to be about 10-12 chapters (hopefully just ten! I like multiples of ten!) And each chapter should skip a few years to where I see necessary. I already have most of it planned out, so I hope ya stick with it to see where it goes! That's all I can think of for now…see you next chapter! Pleaseeee review! It makes me extra happy and will make my updates sooner!
****IMPORTANT NOTE: Beyond's physical appearance is never described—even in the LABB Murder Cases, he was always in a disguise as L, so I took that liberty to make him how I wanted him to be. Just thought you would like to know!