"Hey, I'm gonna go get in line for lunch."

"Sure."

Matt headed for the lunch line with Near. Mello turned and headed for their normal table. L followed him. A and B trailed after.

Matt joined them and sat down his tray. "Are you guys ever gonna get lunch here? It's actually not bad, they made pizza today."

"I'll buy their food once it's cake," L answered, pulling his lunch out of his backpack.

"Why aren't we eating in Wammy's room?" Near asked sullenly. "It's loud out here."

"Yeah," Mello said. "But Mr. Wammy can't let a group of children eat in his classroom every day of the week, idiot."

"I suppose it would be unprofessional for both him and us."

Mello glared at him. Sometimes, L thought it was a miracle that the two of them could even stand in the same room.

"So," Mello asked. "Did you get back your grade on the test?" He and Near had most of their classes together.

"Which one?"

"Any."

"I scored a ninety five on the math test and a one hundred on science."

"I got a ninety seven," Mello said smugly, and bit into his chocolate bar in a way that seemed to say, take that."

"You guys are super lame," Matt rolled his eyes and pulled out his portable gaming system.

"You're super lame," Mello rolled his eyes back and ruffled Matt's hair.

"Hey!"

"You're all super lame," B sighed, and pulled out his lunch. It was a strawberry jam and strawberry jam sandwich, with extremely thin bread and thickly spread jelly. He took a large bite.

Matt looked up and burst into laughter. "Dude, it's all over your face!"

B made a vampire-like hiss and bared his teeth, then pulled a jar of jam out of his bag and started to put more on his sandwich. He paused to get out a napkin and wipe the jam away.

L sighed and took another bite of his cake. It was strawberry. B always made a point to bring a jam flavor that matched up with L's choice of cake- he was strangely good at guessing. It couldn't be that hard, though, L brought strawberry most of the time.

"Hey, L!"

L glanced up to see Touta Matsuda grinning at him. "You studied for the test in AP Law and Gov, right? I totally forgot!"

"Of course you did."

"Think I could borrow your notes?"

"Sure. Why not." L reached into his bag and drew out the spare notes he'd printed out in preparation for this moment. Matsuda thanked him and raced to his table.

"Okay, dude, it looks like you just chewed out someone's throat."

"Maybe I did," B said ominously, and chomped into his sandwich.

"Blood jam. That should be a thing."

"Totally."

"Those games are rotting your head," Near said. Matt scowled at him.

"They so aren't!" Mello jumped in. "He has a great head!"

"Of course you would think so."

A, per usual, said nothing. L glanced over at them. He wasn't sure if he'd ever seen A eat, and they hadn't spoken all day.

"By the way," B set down his sandwich. "First play of the semester, cast list is out."

"That's great," Mello said with all the enthusiasm of, well, himself.

"It's Jekyll and Hyde. We're doing Jekyll and Hyde, the musical. Robert Louis Stevenson was such a genius!"

"I'm sure you've told us fifty times," Matt went back to his game.

"Anyway, the cast list came out, and guess who got the lead role?"

Mello sighed. "You."

"Me!"

"Are you playing Jekyll or Hyde?" Near asked.

"Both!"

B grinned, nearly bouncing in his seat, and turned to A, who tilted their head and smiled at him.

"Hey guys!"

L took another bite of cake. Naomi Misora had come, just like every day. "L, did you study for Law and Gov?"

"Yeah, but Matsuda already took my spare notes."

"Course he did." Naomi sat down. "Go ahead, quiz me."

"I'm eating."

"I'll quiz you!" B volunteered. "Did I tell you I got cast as Jekyll and Hyde?!"

"Oh, well," Naomi turned pink. "That's- that's great, B."

"Isn't it?! Thank you! Do you want some jam? I have extra."

Naomi's face reddened. "Maybe next time. You know what, I'll get Raye to quiz me. He's got a B, and that's pretty good in an AP. Maybe next time."

"Oh. Okay."

Naomi stood and left.

Mello cackled. "I think she likes you, L."

"Does she?" B frowned thoughtfully.

"Uh, I'm sure she likes you too."

"She totally doesn't. Man, if only she was in Drama, I bet she'd be great, and then she could play the female lead and we'd have to stage kiss-"

"And she'd fall in love with you?"

"It could happen!"

"Not when you have blood jam all over your face."

"Crap!" B reached up and started to wipe his mouth furiously on his sleeve. "Why didn't you say anything?!"

"I did, I said it looked like you chewed someone's throat out."

"Ungh!"

A's head was suddenly knocked forward, nearly onto the table. They straightened and turned to glare at the culprit. It was Hitoshi Demegawa, of course.

"Sorry," he said, not sounding sorry at all, and turned to walk up the four stairs to that raised section of the cafeteria, with it's two blessed tables, where the rulers of the Obata High School sat. Everyone's eyes couldn't help but follow him.

There was Kiyomi Takada, pretty and smart, and next to her, Teru Mikami, the quiet genius. Sitting across from them was the beautiful, blushing Misa Amane. She was magnificent. She was glorious. L was fairly sure Mr. Gelus and Ms. Rem were both madly in love with her. He was fairly sure he was madly in love with her. Everyone was madly in love with Misa Amane.

And she was hanging off the shoulder of the only person she claimed to be madly in love with-

Light Yagami. God of the school.

He sat, leaning back in his chair, running a perfect hand through his perfect auburn hair, the light glinting off his perfect teeth as he laughed. If Misa was pretty, he was beautiful. He was radiant.

Someone repeated the joke and Light laughed again, possibly even harder, before standing up and shouting it across the room to Matsuda, who laughed back. Light waved him over and Matsuda jumped up, gladly abandoning his table to rush over and join them. Aizawa and Mogi stared after him in mute acceptance.

B whimpered. "I wanna sit there."

"We all wanna sit there, but it's not gonna happen."

"Maybe if we got here early?"

"How?"

"I don't know, somehow."

"Then they'd make us move."

"Maybe if I dress up as Light I can slip in and no one will notice. I think I have his voice down."

Mello stared at B. "In what universe would that work?"

"It could work!"

"I bet the only reason people like Light is because his dad's a teacher," Matt said. "And everyone likes Mr. Yagami, because he's awesome."

"It's not that," L shook his head. "I mean, you've seen him, right?"

"That's hella gay."

"Shut up! You're one to talk."

"L," B said, already changing the subject. "You have to lend me twenty bucks."

"Why?"

"So I can buy a wig! Duh."

"Why do you need a wig?"

"For my Light costume!"

"You aren't making a Light costume."

"Awww! Okay, well can you convince Naomi to join Drama?! She'll listen to you!"

"No she won't."

"She will so!"

"Stop arguing with me."

"Will you at least give me a bite of your cake?"

"No." L shoved some cake in his mouth defiantly. B reached over and slid the plate over.

"I'm gonna eat your cake."

"No! It's my cake!"

"With my hands!"

"You monster!" L grabbed at the plate. B lifted it up over his head and laughed maniacally.

"My cake!"

"No, it's mine! Give it back!"

"Say you'll convince Naomi to join Drama!"

"No!"

"Say it, or the cake gets it!"

L sighed. "I promise I'll try to convince Naomi Misora to join Drama by next year."

"Fair enough." B lowered the cake, plucked off the strawberry, and returned it to L.

"Hey, my strawberry!"

B swallowed. "It's my strawberry now."

"Ungh!" L scowled at him and took a bite of cake. At least his cake understood him.

Mello unwrapped another chocolate bar. "Hey, Light, I mean, L, I mean, Light, I mean- Light's coming over."

"What?!"

"Yeah, he's totally staring at you."

"That's hella gay," Matt repeated.

"How close is he?!" L demanded.

"He's getting closer- closer- close- wait, he stopped to fix his hair- now he's moving again-"

"Is Misa with him?"

"No."

"Man!"

"She'd never screw you."

"But she definitely screwed Mr. Gelus. I'm positive."

"Yeah, but you're… nngh."

"What does that mean?" B reached over to try and take L's fork, L slammed his hand down on his and looked at him furiously. "Don't even try it."

"Remember that time I dressed up as you for a whole week and everyone thought you were vandalizing the school? I will do that again."

"You say that every day."

"And every day, I convince you to give me a bite of cake. I have a system, Lawliet."

L groaned and slid his cake towards him. "Blackmail," he said as B took the fork and dug in.

"Maybe if I dress up as you I could get Misora to fall in love with me?"

"No. Please, no."

"Light's getting closer."

L froze. He could feel Light approaching him. What was he doing here?

"Hey!"

L turned around, trying to hide his shock. "Oh, hello, uh, Light."

"It's L, right?" Light grinned charmingly, and L nearly fell over onto A. "We have Trig together."

"That's right, we do."

"Fantastic! I always like checking my answers on the homework with someone else, think we could meet at the library after school?"

"You want to check your answers? With me?"

"Yeah. Normally I do it with Mikami, but he's going home early. So, after school?"

"Uh."

"Great! See you then!" Light smiled his disarmingly perfect smile again, this time at the whole table, and then turned and left.

"You have a date," Near said, and frowned at his lunch. "I should have brought Lunchables."

"Gross."

"That's hella gay!" Matt said for the third time, breaking out into hysterical laughter.

"It isn't a date!" L said, folding his arms.

B did the same. "Guys, I totally have a date with Light Yagami!" he said, in a spot-on impression of L.

"Don't do that! And give me my cake back!" L snatched back his plate and fork, and shovelled cake into his mouth. "It's not a date. He has a girlfriend. He kind of has two girlfriends."

"Yeah, and Mikami."

"He's not dating Mikami." L frowned. Actually, he wouldn't be surprised if everyone sitting at Light's table was in love with him.

Mello shrugged. "Hey, you're probably right. But I'm still gonna make fun of you."

L sighed loudly. "Course you are."

"What're you wearing?"

"This."

"Come on, man! Give us something juicy!"

L finished off his cake. "I'm gonna leave now."

"L!"

He packed up his bag, then headed for the door. He had his test in Law and Government next period.