Mello pushed kids out of the way left and right to get to the bulletin board in the hall anxiously, the marks of their first midterm examination were posted. He grunted and shoved them out of the way he had to see how well he placed, he grinned confident at taking number one. He recalled the teacher's warning about it these midterms will be written at a level that first year university students write at, you must not go into these examinations over confident most of you will fail.
He got in front for the board shifting form foot to foot eagerly he found his result 98.9 percent his eyes widened in surprise and the crowd around him hushed looking at his mark, "He did so well." One female student whispered behind him, "I know I could only ever dream of doing that well." Another said behind him.
Mello however wasn't the happy sort of surprised, he shouted in anger and punched the wall before him, "Damn it all that isn't good enough!" he shouted as the wall cracked under hand. He stared back up at the list shaking in absolute rage, Near had beaten him by a full percent.
I'm going to find that stupid white sheep and make him pay, it's all his fault getting me riled up before the exam like that I couldn't focus at all that's why I did so horribly! He screeched in fury inside his head turning on his heel and tossing the other students in his path out of his way. He stormed outside fuming and looking around for Near.
It was dead silent outside all of the students indoors fighting one another to get a view of their marks or else in class.
"You're such an idiot you know that don't you! You're good for nothing you stupid moron. You're so stupid it's pathetic!" someone sobbed out, judging from the voice it was a girl, "You shouldn't exist you know that right? You should just die already! Why won't you die!" they shouted sounding more angry than upset though Mello still couldn't pinpoint the sound. Curious he began to walk around the playground trying to locate the yeller.
"You're ugly and stupid! Just die already! Why can't you die, it's because you're such a coward aren't you! You're a stupid pathetic coward and all you can do is cry!" the voice continued to sob, at this point Mello couldn't tell if it was a student harassing another student or a student harassing them self.
He rounded the play structure and saw Psyche sitting with her knees under her chin ripping apart papers before her sobbing as she did so. Big fat tears poured down the small fourteen year old's face as she picked up yet another stapled package next to her which Mello recognized as one of their tests and began to mercilessly shred the paper apart.
"You're so stupid you don't have a right to live." She scolded herself crumpling the paper in her hand and hurling it, it hit Mello and she glanced up at him. She stared at him for a full minute before recognition kicked in, he could tell by the way her eyes widened in absolute terror. She leapt up to her feet and pressed back against the play structure glancing side to side trying to determine the best means of escape.
Her face flushed bright red in embarrassment and she swiped furiously at her face to rid it of tears, "I-I-I'm so-so-sorry Me-Me-Mello." She stuttered and flinched covering her head. He simply blinked and stared at her confused, after a few moments she shifted her hands and glanced up at him wincing as if expecting a strike.
Mello blinked again, Psyche had always been a good student quiet and reserved she flew under his radar at least. He didn't like her nor did he hate her-in fact he seemed to know next to nothing about her just that she got bullied a lot before she came to Whammy's. He in fact remembered meeting her when she got picked up. He was sitting in the limousine with Near and Roger the two of them had been taken out to go shopping for clothing; it pulled to a stop in front of a public school. Roger exited to speak with the principal leaving the two boys to stare out the window.
Mello's eyes found a small girl in a plaid dress and pigtails crying as bullies pulled on her hair, the bullies gathered around her calling her names and taunting her jabbing their fingers into her-then suddenly they scattered as Roger and the principal approached her. They spoke to her for a while before bringing her back to the limousine.
She climbed in before Roger and politely introduced herself to be met with silence from both boys, she shrugged it off and crawled into the far corner farthest away from them all silently staring out the window herself. They had made another stop to pick up another child leaving the three children alone in the back of the limousine.
Near playing with an action figure in one hand and twirling hair around his other finger glanced up at her, "Why were they bullying you?" he asked her turning back to his toy, Mello glanced at the white haired boy suspiciously, Near didn't just randomly take interest in people.
"They weren't bullying me." She answered.
"Oh." Near answered still fiddling with the action figure, "I suppose I am mistaken-but you do not have to defend them. I understand your strategy in doing so but it's pointless now." He stated in his usual monotone voice.
She nodded her head, "Th-they didn't li-like that I was a-a girl." She stuttered fidgeting embarrassedly a blush spreading across her cheeks and ducking her head, "A-and the-they did-didn't like that I-I did better than them on tests." She sniffed and blinked furiously trying to hold back the tears, "They said girls shouldn't be smart… especially ugly girls like me."
"Hm…" was all Near said in response and Mello said nothing at all during the exchange.
Back to the present Psyche who stood trembling before him looking afraid, "Are you alright?" he blurted without really thinking about it.
She looked equally surprised and sniffled, "Yeah I'm just fine."
"No you're not." Mello replied, "If you were you wouldn't be crying, don't you have friends to go talk to or something about this?" he asked impatiently.
She bowed her head, "I-I don't want to burden them with my problems, I'm probably troublesome enough as is. And it's silly anyways." She insisted shaking her head.
He approached her and she jumped still skittish of him he crouched down to look at the tests she had with her, "It's these right that are bothering you." He observed picking them up, he expected from the fit she was throwing for the tests to be failures. But instead he was surprised to find they were all well into the nineties, the lowest were less than a handful of high eighties.
"C-can you not look at those." She said trying to take them back from him gently pulling on the edge of the papers.
"What were you crying about?" he demanded of her snatching the papers back and playfully turning them upside down and flipping through them a second time.
"I-I wasn't crying over those." She insisted stubbornly and tried to snatch them again from him, he handed them over to her and she snatched them and clasped them against her chest. "Just leave me alone." She added defensively.
"Well excuse me for trying to be nice!" Mello shouted at her in her face.
"I never asked for you to help me!" she shouted back at him her cheeks flushed bright red, eyebrows knit together and her light ash brown hair rising with her rage.
He stared down at the little girl surprised at her sudden outburst, she always seemed kind and gentle which he based off from how she answered questions frequently in class and how she was such an avid contributor. In fact some of the class liked to tease the small girl about the fact that she was banned from answering questions in some classes because she contributed so much. She took the teasing with a smile brushing it off with laughter, he took her for a bit of an idiot for doing that. He never expected her to talk back nor to talk back so harshly.
"I didn't think you'd have it in you." He blurted out loud and she stared at him confused, "I didn't think you'd have it in you to yell at me." He clarified.
"Sorry." She apologised glancing away embarrassedly from him, "I'm just really stressed out right now." She breathed out.
"Well I've got some time to hear you out." He stated, "Is there someone I need to hit?" he asked.
"If anyone deserves to be hit it's me." She replied and he glanced at her and she laughed nervously, "Just kidding, really just a joke. And like I said it's a really stupid thing… I can't believe I'm worrying about it."
Mello realised that he wasn't going to get anything out of her so he decided to think over what he did know about her, it must be connected to the tests he reasoned out because she was so upset over them. But the test scores were high… he mentally face palmed for not figuring it out faster it was the midterm.
"It's the midterm, that's what's bothering you." He stated and watched her tense but force a smile on her face.
"Nope that's not it silly~" she chirped trying to sound happy hugging her tests against her chest instead. She giggled, "But nice try."
Mello frowned he knew that he guessed right, her reaction was blatant proof, "How bad did you do?" he asked her.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She answered him with that stupid grin plastered on her face, he's seen it on Psyche's face before when she tripped and fell and people laughed she's stand up with that smile plastered on her face. When her friends would playfully tease her that was the way she's react.
He jammed his knuckles on either of her temples and began to twist them into the skin there, "Ow, ow, ow!" she cried out squirming in pain from the knuckle sandwich he was giving her.
"I'm not an idiot and if you don't tell me how bad you did I'll continue doing this to you." he threatened grounding his knuckles harder against the small little girl's skull to the point she was brought up onto her toes.
"I got a seventy one, a seventy one!" she squeaked out in pain and he realised her, she moved away from him rubbing her sore temples, she stared at him sourly, "That was really cruel Mello." She muttered.
He grinned, "I finally got a truthful answer out of you. So a seventy one…" he trailed off trying to think of the best way to comfort her, Why do I of all people have to comfort her I'm terrible at this sort of thing he thought to himself, "You know the class average was only a sixty one, so you got a full ten percent above the class average." He remarked.
She nodded her head sighing, "I know." She admitted, "I know that it's probably stupid of me to worry so much over this. It's just… I'm not pretty like the other girls. They're all so tall and thin, and they all look so nice and then there's me. I'm short and everyone thinks I'm a kid. And I'm no good at sports, you've seen me I trip over my own feet I constantly walk into walls and doors…. Grades are all I have going for me. Being smart is what makes… well it's what makes me."
She began to sniffle and her face flushed pink and her eyes became watery, "And if I'm not smart then I'm a nobody." Her shoulders began to rise and fall with every sniffle and Mello could tell that she was about to burst into another sobbing fit.
He reached out to her but was unsure whether or not he should touch her and what to do, "No wait please don't cry. Don't cry it's okay." He pleaded with her but all that happened was that Psyche burst into tears sobbing and crying, "You're not a nobody so please stop crying." He pleaded not sure of how to deal with a crying girl his hands waving in front of him trying to distract her.
A shadow suddenly loomed over the two of them, "Mello, bullying students again?" Roger scolded him frowning at him and looking unimpressed. Due to a misunderstanding of the situation by Roger the two were totted to his office, however through her tears Psyche managed to explain Mello's innocence.
Roger still however punished Mello by making him stay after class to clean the chalk boards. "You can stop following me around what are you a lost puppy?" Mello asked glancing over his shoulder to Psyche.
The fourteen year old girl flushed, and bowed her head, "I just felt really bad for getting you into trouble and I thought I should punish myself by staying with you until you finish." She said in a nervous rush.
He snorted, "Well then, why don't you come over and help me in that case?" he asked, and with that she suddenly leapt up to her feet and ran over to him snatching a rag out of the wash bucket. With a face of utter determination she began to clean the board next to him
He stared at her not expecting her to be so eager and quick to help, she glanced over to him, "Um… Mello… I can't reach the top of the board. I'm too short." She admitted flushing red and bowing her head. And a few seconds later he found himself cleaning the board with Psyche constantly apologising to him for her inability to help.
"I'm so sorry that I'm so useless and can't be of any assistance, I'm really sorry I'm such a bother-" she apologised before he cut her off.
"Are you always this harsh on yourself?" he asked her, she stopped apologising and he turned to look at her while she stared at him quiet and confused, "I heard you yelling at yourself, you were saying really cruel things."
"If I'm not hard on myself Mello who will be?" she answered him, "I thought you of all people would understand that. I see how frustrated you get with yourself when you're not proud enough with your marks and performance."
"There's being hard on yourself and being cruel Psyche." He responded.
She rubbed at her arm and realised a shaky sigh, "I think it's because of the bullying you know? I just got so used to cruel things being thrown at me and when there was no one else I just did it to myself."
He approached her and placed his hand on her head ruffling her hair, "You don't need to be bullied, you don't deserve it. You're a smart girl Psyche and hardworking, you put heart into your work it's admirable." He said and turned back to the board wiping the last of it clean.
"Mello?" Psyche asked, he grunted for her to continue, "When we're done here… we're going to go back to what we were before today right? You ignore me… I don't talk to you? That's what's going to happen right?" she asked him.
He paused, "I guess that's what supposed to happen." He answered and glanced at her from the corner of his eye, she nodded her head weakly frowning. "But I suppose it doesn't have to be that way, if you come talk to me in private I'll be more then glad to talk to you, you're sort of growing on me."
The small girl flushed bright red at his comment, "You're a likeable person Psyche."