"Near! Get back here, you little-" The rest of the shout was cut off by a loud crash.

"My CD's!" The voice of my best friend shrieked. "And I had those alphabetized! You'll pay for this, you albino runt!"

With a sigh, I pressed the doorbell, shifting my heavy backpack from one shoulder to another.

"One second!" she called. "Aha! Gotcha, you little rat!" The door opened, revealing Olivia, disheveled and slightly out of breath.

"Oh, good, Jay, you're here," she panted, ushering me inside. "I'm all set up downstairs. I'll meet you there; I just have to put Near back in his cage."

"What did he do this time?"

"He was chewing on my sheets, the little rodent."

"I wonder why he would do that? You always keep him so well fed…" I trailed off as a blush spread across Olivia's face.

"You forgot to feed him this morning, didn't you?" I chuckled, straightening my glasses as her blush intensified.

"Maybe…" she muttered.

"Someone was thinking about Aaron from math class again…"

"Shut up!" Olivia's face was now so red that it almost matched her hair. "It won't happen again…Will it, Near?" she asked, addressing the white-furred rat clenched firmly in her fist. The rat squeaked, dipping its head down as if in shame.

"I swear, he understands you sometimes," I shook my head as I headed for the basement.

"Well, rats are supposed to be smart, right?" Olivia called as I disappeared down the steps.

Downstairs, I dragged my sleeping bag out of its case, setting it on the floor next to Olivia's. A manga novel slipped out of the bag, landing on the sheets with a plop. I picked it up, immediately recognizing the cover.

"Death Note, Number Thirteen! I've been looking everywhere for this!" I muttered, hugging the novel to my chest. I placed the book in my backpack with the rest of the series, zipping the bag closed.

Olivia came pounding down the stairs, Near on her shoulder, her flaming hair back in its usual headband.

"I brought popcorn!" She called, plunking the bowl down on my sleeping bag.

"What about root beer?" I asked.

"Huh? What root beer?" Olivia lied.

"You always bring me a root beer when you bring down the popcorn."

"Since when did you like root beer?"

"Oh, I don't know….since first grade? I know you have it, now give it to me!"

"Hmmm…fine." She pulled a can out of her pocket. I immediately popped the tab, and took a deep swallow.

"Aaah…much better…" I sighed. Olivia chuckled.

"You really are addicted, aren't you? It's like Ryuk, only its not apples, its root beer."

"M-hm..." I took another sip.

"So, should we get started?" Olivia asked, pulling several DVDs from a nearby shelf.

"Definitely," I grinned as she popped a disk into the player.

The Death Note theme song started up, and Olivia unconsciously began to hum along.

"Olivia?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"…Oh. Sorry."

About halfway through the episode, the TV broke into static.

"Oh, come on," Olivia complained, getting up to check the DVD player. She fiddled with a few buttons, getting no response.

"Work, you stupid machine!" she growled, hitting the screen in her frustration.

I grabbed my backpack, about to open the zipper. "Well, we can always read the mangas-"

I was cut off by a shriek from Olivia, and I looked up to see an impossible sight. Olivia's hand. Was stuck. Inside. The TV screen.

"Help! I can't get it out!" she screamed, pulling on her arm. On her shoulder, Near squeaked in fright, running on top of Olivia's head and burying himself in her hair. I immediately rushed to my friend's side, grabbing her arm, and pulling with all my strength.

"Ow, ow, ow! I think it's going in deeper!" Olivia screeched, and suddenly her entire arm was stuck inside the screen.

"Aaah!" I yelled as my hand sunk into the monitor. There was suddenly a tremendous force pulling on my hand, dragging it deeper into the screen. Unprepared, I fell forward, hitting Olivia, and making us, Near, and my backpack fall into the TV.

"Ooof!" I grunted as I fell onto a hard surface. My glasses flew off of my face, turning my world into a blur. Blind, I felt around on the ground, my fingers finally brushing the familiar spectacles. Beside me, Olivia groaned as she shakily got to her feet. Near, still buried inside her hair, poked his head out, his nose twitching.

"Where are we?" I moaned as I stood, meeting Olivia's eye. We both jumped back in shock at the other's appearance.

"Jay, you look like you're twenty, or something!" Olivia stuttered.

"So do you!" I exclaimed as I brushed the dirt off of my blue jeans.

"It looks like we're in some kind of alley," I observed, surveying our surroundings with a keen eye.

"Jay…" Olivia hesitated. "What language are we speaking?"

I opened my mouth, about to answer, when I realized…I had no idea what language we were speaking.

"Whatever it is, it's not English," I muttered as I hefted my backpack off the ground. Hang on…My backpack feels a lot lighter…

Curious, I opened the zipper, taking note of the contents of the bag.

"What?" Olivia asked.

"I used to have the Death Note manga series in here…but now most of them are gone, and there's a bunch of other stuff inside."

"Death Note, Number Thirteen…I-pod….contact lenses…hotel card key…and…" Olivia pulled out a credit card.

"Awesome! I wonder how much is on this thing?" she smiled.

"Come on," I said, storing the card safely back in my backpack and slinging it over my shoulder. "Let's find out where we are."

Author's Note: Don't forget to review!