Near was called down to Roger's office late that night. It was a rainy July evening and the wind whipped through the open windows with the little rain the managed to canive itself through the screens. He got to the door and opened it. His eyes widened slightly at the sight beheld. There was Roger, talking to a girl wearing a black tank top, black sweatpants, and brown hair with one strip of it hanging down from her pony tail on the right side of her head. She wore mascara and eye liner around her eyes and five bangles on her right wrist, four silver and one black in the front.
"Near, I'm glad you could make it. This is Jessica, she'll be your new roomate." Jessica turned to face him with noncaring green eyes. She had been crying, he could tell by the way her eyes were puffy and slightly red when they met with his own charcoal pair. But around her neck he noticed a glimmer, a silver pentagram hung in a circle with a red gem in the center.
"Pleased to meet you Jessica. I'm Near." He nodded his head to her and she nodded back.
"The pleasure's mine." It didn't sound it. Roger spoke up again.
"Could you please escort her to your room? I'd appreciate it." Near nodded and Roger smiled. "Alright Jessica, you can just follow Near and he'll take you to your room."
Roger waved her off and Near began trudging back to his now shared room. He got bored on the way there, it was on the complete other side of the building, which was pretty large in the first place, so he tried to strike up conversation tired of hearing only footsteps.
"So why are you here?"
"Gee, let me think about this. I'm at at an orphanage because I got bored. My parents died in a car crash today and they had me signed up for Wammy's in case something happened to them. It wasn't my decision to make."
"I'm sorry for your loss. I was orphaned when I was born, my mother died after labor and my father, I'm not sure what happend to him." They continued to make their way down to the room when they were stopped by a blonde boy only a few inches taller then Jessica herself.
"So Near, did you finally get a hooker?"
"Do I look like a prostitute to you Blondie? By the way have you ever heard the term hair-cut before?" Mello smirked.
"What's your name brunette?" He asked leaning against the wall.
"Wouldn't that be every pedophile's dream. We gotta get going now so I'll just be seein' you around. Kay? Bye." He stepped in front of her as she began to walk away.
"Why're you hanging out with him anyway? He's a complete nerd."
"Do you really think I give a damn? I've got Roger on speed dial, he told me to call if there were any complications. All I have to do is press number eight, call, and you're toast." Mello moved out of the way in slight anger but lifted it quickly just to smirk again.
"My name's Mello. I take it you're that new girl huh?" Near answered him.
"Yes she is. This is Jessica and you'd do best to leave her alone. She's not in a very good mood." Mello hooked a finger underneath her chin to make her look him in the eye.
"Why is that, Jessica?"
"Because, Mello, I just lost my parents today. Now let go of me before I kick your tiny balls back up the sacrum!" As if on cue, thunder roared and lightening flashed to go along with her threat. "What do ya think about that?" A red haired boy, the same height as Mello, stepped in, but Jessica thought he was Mello's accomplice or something and was going to threaten him too but he spoke up before she could.
"Mello leave her alone." Mello did as instructed reluctantly. "God you can be so stupid sometimes. Hi, I'm Matt."
Matt held out his hand for her to shake, which he slowly recieved. "Hey Matt, I'm Jess. Thanks I thought the idiot would never leave me alone. Near and I were just trying to get to our room." Matt's eyes widened behind his goggles.
"So...you and Near are like, together?" She went stiff.
"Man are all the guys here total perverts?! We're room mates, Roger just set it up." Matt's face paled and he laughed nervously.
"Oh right, sorry my bad. I didn't know you were the new girl." She nodded and started walking down the hall again, Near scurrying behind her.
"How does everyone know I'm the new girl already?" Near twireld a bit of his snowy hair in his fingers while answering.
"This is an orphanage that is designing all of its occupants into replacements for L and, as you would say, top notch detectives."
"Great so I'm back in school already. Nothing better then that." With a sigh she noticed a white door. "Is that our room?" He nodded and produced the key from his pocket. He unlocked the door and Jessica was surprised to see that the room itself wasn't completely white. "Which side is yours?" He pointed to the right.
"It's that one over there. The one on the left is yours now." She nodded her thanks and threw her bag of belongings onto the mattress, then herself. She laid face down trying to soak everything in. The fact that her parents were gone forever, she was an orphan at thirteen, she lived in the school of genius, and there were a bunch of perverted scumbags thinking that she decided to hook up with Near.
"Jeez men can be total pigs. I guess that's what I get for wanting to make my own decisions and be free from the world." Jessica rolled over to her back with a lack of grace and groaned in agony. "Near, will you be my friend?" The question seemed nice enough on her part and sounded just as innocent.
"Of course."
She looked up at him with hopeful eyes glittering in the dim light.
"Really?" She got on her knees and folded her hands in her lap. "You will?" He looked up from his lego playset and through his white locks directly at her.
"You act as if I'm your first friend." She blushed a bit and averted her gaze to the brown comforter on her bed. "Oh, well, yes. I'll be your friend. I think Matt will want to get better aqquainted with you too. He's not that bad." She looked blankly into nothing for a moment before asking another question. Near had a feeling there would be quite a
few of them tonight, especially if she kept going from one mood to another like this.
"Tell me about Mello, what's he like?" Near's eyes widened and he stiffened a bit and thought of a reasonable description of Mello.
"Mello's the boss around here, at least he thinks he is. We're rivals and have been so ever since I got a higher score then him on an exam on evolution. He's a real "ladies' man" too, just a warning."
"So he is a player! I knew it. So what, is he all pissed off because you're smarter then him?"
"Yes, he's ranked second. We're in a competetion to see which of us will be L's new successor and it's been getting pretty rough." Jessica reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of red plaid pj pants and a halfway tank top.
"Do you mind?" He shook his head and continued to play with his toys as she got changed. "Okay it's all good." She confirmed that she had successfully changed into her nightwear. Near turned around and blushed slightly but it went unnoticed. "Why do you play with toys? They're for little kids, you don't look any older then me."
"They help me concentrate and focus." She blinked at him in confusion.
"Playing helps you focus. Makes about as much sense as anything else here." Hand on her hip, she knelt next to Near and picked up a green lego. "Never knew the magic of building blocks was so powerful. You? Well you had to of." She giggled and went back to the bed to pull out a book. Without even looking he questioned her.
"What are you reading?"
"Something about a dragon, and it's red."
"Who's the author?" Jessica held the first page of the book and looked at the cover.
"Uhh Thomas Harris. Title's Red Dragon." Near twisted his body and extended his hand for it. She glanced at it and looked him in the eye. "I don't have any cash."
"May I see the book?"
"Oh! I'm sorry! I'm so stupid. Here." She handed him the softcover book and pulled out a laptop from the large douffle bag. She typed quickly and flawlessly away at the keyboard then looked up at the screen. With a slight grin she began to type again and music started playing from the speakers.
"Jessica, this book has nothing to do with a red dragon. It's a prequel to the series involving Dr. Hannibal Lector."
"I told you I was stupid. You can read it if you want, I'm not very interested in it anyway." Near put the book next to him and continued playing with his toys. "Hey are there a lot of girls here?" He shook his head. "Oh, okay. Is there a mall?" Again, he shook his head. "Well what do you guys to around here aside from classes?"
"There's a stable in the back. You can take riding lessons if you want." With a yawn she shut off her laptop and pulled the covers over her exposed belly.
"I'll do that in the morning. Night Near."
"I'd advise you not to go to sleep." He suggested, tone void of emotion.
"Why? I'm tired and I need to go to sleep, at least to think that this is all a dream in the morning. Just this once."
"If you're going to be a detective you need to be able to stay up the entire night depending on the case you've taken and the consequences that would happen should you fall asleep or let your guard down. That and the fact that you've gone through a tragedy today and will most likely have nightmares."
"Near, my parents just died." Her voice cracked a bit and got softer. "I just need a little sleep. Okay? I'll never do it again after this, but I need it."
"Very well. Good night Jessica." She had difficulty sleeping that night, tossing and turning. Near had to wake her up once because she had screamed. "I am so sorry. Can you forgive me?" He nodded. "I don't think I can go back to sleep. Can I stay up with you?" Before he could answer there was a rapid pounding at the door. Near padded over to it and opened the beaten door. In came Mello and Matt.
"Near what's wrong? We heard screaming!" Matt asked showing concern.
"I had a nightmare. I'm sorry did I wake you guys up?" Jessica asked sheepishly.
"No we were playing video games." Matt said with a sincere smile. He sat next to her and put a reassuring arm over her shoulder. "You're okay though?" She smiled, blushing slightly from the new contact.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm actually gonna take a crack at staying up all night with Near." A smile spread on Matt's face, a smile that only Mello and Near knew the meaning of. Matt had gotten an idea.
"Hey Near, would it be cool if Mello and I stayed with you guys?"
"I see no problem with that. It'll give her an easier time adjusting." Jessica seemed to be the only one who noticed Mello's facial features and angered pupils. So she poked Matt's shoulder.
"Um, Matt? Mello's face is all red." Matt looked over at his room mate and laughed a bit.
"It's fine, he just doesn't get along with Near that well is all." Jessica got up from her position next to Matt and walked over to Mello.
"Dude, chill out. Everything'll be cool if you just relax for a minute. Can you do that?" His icy blue eyes flared into her hazel orbs. "If we're gonna have a staring contest I'm warning you I cheat very badly." She flashed a hand in front of his face, causing him to blink. "Ha! Two for flinching!" She punched his arms casually and put her elbow on his shoulder. "Please let go of that test score? At least for tonight. If you do then I'll never be a jerk to you again, I promise."
He looked her over and smirked. She rolled her eyes but smiled all the same. "Thank you Mells." She said sweetly. She sat cross legged on the edge of her bed, thinking of something they could talk about. "So what's this place like, Wammy's House?"
"It's an orphanage, but a little different. You see Jess, we're not able to be put up for adoption. We can't get out of here unless we get a career or..." Matt didn't continue, so Mello did.
"Or until L dies. Near and I are working against each other to be his successor."
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
L, they kept talking about L, and I wanted to know who he was.
"Tell me about this L character. Who is he? What does he do? Is he really that important that teenagers and children are fighting to be his successor?" Mello looked like he was at a loss of words, so did Matt, but Near...his back was turned to me so I couldn't tell what his explaining status was at. Then he spoke up in his soft voice.
"We're not exactly too familiar with L. We learned about him in homeroom on our first day here. He's a first rate detective, as I told you earlier, and he is extremely important." Then Mello spoke.
"We're not fighting, we just want the title of L. It's pretty big, but I think we should get to ask you questions now." I went pale, I know I did I could feel it. Since I'm Italian, I talk with my hands, and I made motions like crazy. So I gestured to him, then I rolled my hands around in the air, and well, you get the picture.
"Go ahead. Ask away. I'm ready for anything." As I had expected, Mello asked the first question.
"Why are you here? I mean where did you come from?" I exhaled, not really wanting to answer that question, especially since I had so many memories there, that and they probably had no idea where it was.
"I used to live in Leominster, Massachusetts. My parents thought I had some kind of "gift" if you would and signed me up here in case something happened to them."
"What gift is that?" He asked as if I was totally lying. What a loser!
"My brain is like a sponge, I absorb everything I hear, see, smell, taste, and touch. Cool huh?"
"What no sixth sense?" I was so going to gouge his eyes out and slit his throat when he was sleeping tomorrow, if they even sleep.
"Sadly enough, no. I'm a freak, just not that big of a freak that I pretend to have something I don't. However," This one had to make him wet his pants. My god it had to! "I used to practice my laughter quite often when I was alone. But no, nothing out of the ordinary. That it or you wanna see if I can channel Casper for you?"
He looked at me, unphased by my joke. He seriously didn't think I was telling the truth? Damn! Oh well, I guess I'd just have to get him later. Then Near questioned me, even though I was expecting Matt to be next.
"Doesn't Leominster have the reputation as the birthplace of John Chapman?" I nodded.
"Yeah. There's a bunch of memorials and junk in his honor." Near went back to the blocks, but changed his mind and instead produced a pack of cards from a drawer. I thought they were just regular playing cards, but instead he brought out a set of tarot cards. Matt must've caught me staring because he asked me if I knew how to use them.
"I don't have a lot of experience with them, my mom was suppose to teach me how, but I can give it a shot. I remembered how to set it up, and that you were suppose to ask the tarot a question. Near let me use them so I put them in the order and since Matt wanted to learn how to use them I let him ask a question first.
"Do I have to be dramatic about it or just ask the question?"
"Do whatever yuo want." So after they were all in place Matt asked the question.
"Spirits of the cards, will I ever have a love life?" When I flipped the first of the four cards I had used, the image was that of the Empress. "What does she mean?"
"That's the Empress. She represents mothering, nurturing, nature, and the senses." I flipped the second card and the result showed us the Hanged Man. "He's letting go, reversal, suspension, and sacrifice."
"What sort of reversal?" Near asked me.
"Like a change of mind, seeing from a new angle, things like that." Then he got the upside down card of the Lovers. "It's upside down so I don't think that relation ship would work out well. It's the Lovers." Then the last card was a stunning show of the Hermit. "Gee, Mello, know any hermits around here?" Matt blushed a bit but pushed it aside.
"So are these things tellin' me I'm gay?"
"Well, I don't know. They could be but there's another explaination too. I mean you find the girl of your dreams, she starts making you look at things differently, the relationship doesn't turn out so well so you break up, and you turn into Mello." Then I grinned at the blonde playboy. "Isn't that nice?" I giggled and let him roll his eyes in annoyance.
"You want your cards read Near?" He shook his head, continuing to stare at the cards. "Mello?" He shrugged.
"Maybe later. I don't feel like it now." We kept entertaining each other with nonsense topics and the three of them taught me the Wammy Ways, including the rules, scheduals, activities, and so on. Before we knew it we had to get ready for class. I didn't want to go yet, I was having such a good time. I still can't believe myself, I went from totally mad at Mello to putting his hair in pig tails because it was long enough.
"Altight, me and Matt gotta go get ready for class now so we'll see you in a few." I nodded as they walked out the door when Matt called out.
"Near! Don't forget to help Jess with her alias okay?"
"You have my word." I looked confused, what exactly did he mean by alias? "Do you have any nick-names aside from Jess?" I thought about it, my parents and relatives called me Jess and Jesse but that was still far too blose to my real name, so I shook my head.
"What's the first letter of your middle name?" I giggled a bit at the strong coincidence.
"L." I answered. "L for Lynn." He was quiet for a moment until coming up with a splendid name and giving me the details of how he had come up with it too.
"If you say "J" and "L" fast enough it sounds like jail. How about that?" I fell to my knees next to him and hugged my personal teddy bear.
"I think I just fell in love with you Near. That's so cool!" So we got dressed, me in a pair of skinny dark blue jeans and a white short sleeved shirt and Near in his pajama resembling clothes. I walked into the class room not as Jessica, not as Jess, but as Jail.
AN: Thank you SO much for reading this story! Personally I'm not a fan of OC's but this one I couldn't refuse! I own nothing except Jessica and her many, many moods, I chose her previous hometown as Leominster because my cousin lives there. Review if you think I should seriously continue, I love this story so far. It's my second favorite next to my other story, The Taste of Blood. The pairing in that one is Kagome and Beyond Birthday in the crossover section of Death Note and InuYasha. : ) So yeah, love it? Hate it? Rate it by reviewing please!
