First Friend

Mello POV

"Look at him! My my, he's the new one.."

"He? Ghosh, Dear Lord, I thought it was a girl walkin'!"

"Shhht! He'll hear you!"

Like I couldn't hear them. I wasn't deaf or anything, it was pretty obvious actually that they were talking about me. I did stick out of the crowd as a teen. But I was barely a teen...

"What's his name? Where's he going to stay?"

"Dunno, but I'd like to invite him..."

"Are you crazy? Don't you see? Look at his eyes! They're glazy, like a vampire's. He seems haunted.."

"Think he's gonna bite me?"

"I don't want to try, you know..."

I held back laughter. 'Vampire'? All right, that was the most stupid thing I'd ever heard! The word 'haunted' described me, though... Hell if I wasn't haunted at the age of ten. Just another orphan, yes, but from those ones with brains. And strong will to survive. That's why I managed to run away when my father...well...he was trying to suffocate my mother last time I checked. With her own pillow. She had no chance, poor woman... She always was submissive and my father was too aggressive while drunk, too powerful for her...

Well, I thought it was a good idea to leave, and to live, too. Easier said than done, as I soon realized. But somehow I managed it to the closest police station, I gave my name and my address, a vain attempt to save my mother and my life. But when they went and checked out, I was already an orphan. They hadn't make it in time...My father was arrested, of course, but my mother...

So I was entrusted to an orphanage, and after some weeks I ended up in Wammy's. I don't want to recall those weeks, excuse me...It was painful...

No, no, just kidding. Mr. Wammy was a nice person, but that's all I can say. Who can call someone who trusts a young boy to Roger nice and logical? Ah, Roger is something else. Stubborn, always stressed. I had a nice time teasing him to the limit. Poor guy...
But there I was. Me, alone in a huge institution, being stared at by some hundreds of eyes, being commented and judged by countless lips. I hated it to my bones; it made me sick to my stomach.

'Look at him...Poor little boy..."

I didn't need their pity. I only needed to be left alone, to be left to adjust to this new part of my life.

'Shut up, Cor." A new voice. Very calm, almost indifferent, but hiding a great strength behind it. It made a difference and automatically intrigued me. Those three words were enough to silence both that boy, Cor, and his companion, to my surprise. I slowly turned to face the guy that helped me.

I met with a pair of goggled eyes and a bush-like red mess of hair. I frowned a little and the...goggled creature smiled. He reminded me of a hyper-grown fly, those goggles were ridiculously huge for his head! The...fly gave me a small half smile and titled his head to the side to get a better view of me. He seemed to enjoy what he saw, 'cause his smile grew a little wider -if possible-!

"What's your name?" he asked me calmly, unfazed by the weird look he was getting by his mates.

"I'm- " . I shouldn't tell him my real name. Roger had insisted on that, telling me that Mr. Wammy had a hard time erasing my name and my family history from the Police's catalogues. Officially I hadn't ever existed.

"I'm Mello." It was by far the most ridiculous name that hit my mind. But it was a name, whatsoever, and I could live with it.

"Matt."

Ok, God didn't hate me. There was a much more ridiculous name than my chosen one!

"Nice to meet ya..." he continued and then added "You're the newcomer, right? If you have no room yet, you can stay with me. Roger will be fine with it; he thinks I'm an un-ti-so-ci-al being. He even tried to make me speak to the pedopsychologist of the institution once."

Didn't sound that weird to me. A red-head...with goggles on...buggy jeans and ...gloves, for God sake! Oh, no, nothing really strange about him. Just another ordinary boy.

"And?" I asked, nor really waiting for an answer. He was probably told to take unti-crazy pills or something like that.

Matt smiled again and slipped a black game boy out of his pocket, setting it on. "The pedopsychologist had to pay a visit to a psychiatric clinic for a while..." he muttered and started taping the keys with a rhythmical 'tap-tap'.

I let a smile curl my lips upwards. The guy was good and had a sense of humor. Good combination.

"So, are you staying with me?" he asked again without looking at me.

"See you in our room" I turned on my heels ignoring the stunned glares I was receiving from Matt's companions. He kept playing with the game boy. I got to see, though, before leaving, another of his half smiles directed to me.

"Matt, what the Hell was that?"

"Yeah, the guy is a psycho! What got you?"

"...tap-tap-tap...cling-cling...tap-tap..."

And that's how I got to meet Matt.

"I'll...get the bed next to the wall." I said, but my words fell on deaf ears. He was playing with his game boy again, leaving the rest of the world out. That pissed me off.

I waited for a good minute for any kind of response, but it was fruitless. I felt a vein popping on my forehead and I gritted my teeth. Was he ignoring me on purpose? Nobody -and I mean NOBODY- would ignore me!

"Matt, why the Hell did you invite me here if you lack the intention to talk to me?" I shouted at his direction. He didn't even flinch. So he was ignoring me, after all. I approached him and grabbed his game boy out of his hands. I threw it behind my back and heard it landing on the other side of the room, right on my bed.

Lucky thing...

"Look at me when I'm talking to you, damn it!" I yelled "Why the Hell did you tell me to stay here?" I searched for his eyes but they were covered by his goggles, so I reached my hand to reap them off.

"Don't." he calmly said and my hand froze seconds away from the frame. The reaction made me even angrier.

"Don't you dare order me again, dipshit." And with a strong motion his goggles were off and thrown on the floor. He instantly closed his eyes tightly.

"Gimme back my goggles..." he whispered.

"What's wrong with you?" I screamed and let him fall on his back. He covered his eyes with his palms. "You're nuts! You invite me here and then don't give a shit! You just wanted to show off to your little friends, right? You talked to the new comer, wow, how brave you must be to talk to such a 'vampire-like' guy like me! I'm the new attraction now, am I not?" I said sarcastically. Hell, I was pissed, I was hurt and I desperately needed something to crush. That or I was going to break my own hands. I knotted them tightly together, wishing I wasn't there. I longed to be home again, with my mother...

She had always cared about me, those very short ten years of my life. Even bitten up she had a spare hug for me, despite the broken arms and bleeding palms, swollen face and sore body. She always had the time to teach me how to pray, using the rosary. She always helped me, saved me from my father...

The world was cruel. He had deprived me of my mother, my only support. He took my home away and let me alone. And he got me into this madhouse of an institution where no one cared, not even my roommate.

I hadn't realized I was crying till I felt the tears. I sat up on my bed and curled my body in a small ball. How I wanted to wake up and be found at home again...

'My eyes are green, like my mother's used to be..." I heard a whisper from the other side of the room. I didn't turn. "My mother always told me my eyes were beautiful. She used to tell me I was a good boy and that she loved me, but one day she left and dad told me she wouldn't come back no matter how I wanted to...After that he was drunk, always, and was violent. He would hit me and tell me I was ugly. To him, I was a green eyed monster. One night he left too, and then a policeman came home and told me I had to follow him. And that's how I ended up here... But my eyes are still green..." His voice faded to a little hurt murmur.

"Your eyes can't change color when you want them to, stupid..." I said blankly but my mind trailed off at the sound of his voice. It seemed wrong that such a nice voice had to be stained with sadness.

I turned my head and faced him. He had his palms still on his face but I could tell he was hiding his tears. I stood up and picked his goggles from the floor, unharmed despite my rough behavior. They were tinted orange with a slight green frame.

"My mom gave the goggles to me. She told me once that if I wanted to change the world I had to start from the color. I thought orange was a funny color to paint the world with, and nobody would like it. Nobody would want to have orange hair, not even red like mine. The world seems so crazy with them on, you know. And despite what they think, people shine like nothing else would." He laughed a little, but it was forced. "I miss her..."

I sat on his bed and he noticed. "I told you to come here because you reminded me of myself when you first entered. You seemed alone and in need of a friend. I also needed a friend, but nobody wanted to befriend me...I seemed weird to them."

"I don't need friends." I stated, but it wasn't true and he knew.

"But I need one..." he said and uncovered his eyes. A bright pare of emerald colored eyes, fogged with tears.

"You lied to me..." I told him and saw his pained expression, but I cut him off before he could tell anything. "You told me your eyes are green. But your eyes are emerald."

In an instant, I didn't realize how, we were found hugging each other. He was sobbing, I was sobbing and it felt right to be like that. Our tears mended, our hair was a mess, but we held each other close. And I felt it: a thin bond, a shred of fate, still unsure, binding us together.

"Mello..." he called me and I looked down to meet his eyes. "We're friends now, aren't we?"

Were we? Could I be the friend he wanted to be supported by? Was I good enough to be his friend? I highly doubted that. But I would try. I'd be the best for him. Matt deserved the best, not just something good enough. He was alone in this world, hurt to his soul, lost in his misery...Just like me.

If I wanted to protect him from being hurt ever again, I had to be perfect. And I would...

"Mello..?" he questioned again, eyes full of tears again.

"Friends...? If not that then what, damn it?" I said seriously and then we both busted into a wild laughter.

That was it...That night I knew I had a friend. My first friend.
I had Matt. And it came so naturally to me.

To him.

To us. An us that added to our lives.

So easy...

Umm, ok, I think this chap's over...Let's go for the next one, shall we?

Please tell me what you think about it! I'm so stressed, I haven't written anything in a very long time! I'm starving for reviews!

xxx