Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, or anything else. Unfortunately.

We were at some stupid awards ceremony when it happened. Again. Fucking Near got first place again, and I was expected to watch him not care that he was twice as smart as me without trying half as hard. Even when he wasn't at his best, he was better than me.

Matt and I—and him— were backstage. The top three got trophies and had to speak to the crowd. Oh, yeah. Such a great idea. 'Oh, here Mello, second again. You almost beat him this time.' I hated those teachers nearly as much as I hated Near.

Matt stroked my arm reassuringly, calming me down slightly, but I didn't stop glaring at Near. I never did.

"Please applaud for out third highest-ranked student, Matt—"

They wouldn't recognize us here. They're recognizing our accomplishments, but they never recognized us.

"—and the hard work he's put in."

"Bullshit," I muttered to him, catching his smile and throwing back one of my own. I saw him disappear through the curtain as a light applause came from the audience of fellow students, police, and other law enforcement agencies. They were determining the next L out of us three.

Fuckers. He deserves better, and you know it.

As I was trying not to growl at them, I heard him chuckle lightly, nervously, into the microphone as he started his half-assed speech. I helped him 'write' it last night. He had no desire to be L, unlike me, and didn't want to do any of the work.

He stopped talking, and there was the same light applause as before. I clenched my fists. First, I lost to Near. I was, unfortunately, used to that. But when someone fucks with matt? I lose it. I fucking lose it.

I had to keep my cool, though. If I didn't, they wouldn't respect me as L, and Near would win. I couldn't let that happen.

"And now, I'd like to introduce Mello, currently ranked second—"

I walked onto the stage without waiting for him to finish his introduction. I got more applause than Matt did, but it was still depressing. I took the small, silver trophy with my code name engraved into it, then walked up to the podium, giving my well-thought out, well-rehearsed speech.

Those fuckers applauded, and I walked over to Matt on the other side of the stage, waiting for this whole thing to be over, like me. He smiled at me, but I was still too angry to smile back meaningfully.

"Now, our best prospect, and the best choice for you, ranked first during his entire time at Wammy's, Near!"

The crowd applauded wildly, and I ground my teeth in anger. I didn't even have any chocolate to eat, to calm me down. So, they thought Near was better than both matt and I? I'd show them just how wrong they were.

"I would like to give sincere thanks to everybody present. Obviously, I have proven that I am the best prospect successor to the L nam—"

They didn't get to hear the rest of his speech. Fuckers should thank me. That was the moment I lost what was left of my self-control. I threw my pitifully small, annoyingly not-gold trophy at him, miniscule compared to his. Fucking overcompensator.

I heard startled gasps from the crown as it hit him in the head, hopefully breaking his weak little skull. The best part, however, was the way he sickeningly hit the ground with that thud!, lump, and the screams from the audience that came with it.

"Mello! I am sick of your obscene, grossly inappropriate behavior! You are unfit to—"

And Matt handed me his trophy, which I gladly threw at Roger. Maybe he'd get a concussion, and forget all about this. In any case, I was sick of his constant bitching me out.

Matt grinned at me again, brushing the hair out of my eyes before leaning in to kiss me.

God, I loved the way this boy read my mind.

A/N: I had fun writing this one. Though I should be writing the other stories I've been working on, this just wouldn't get out of my head. Review? (: