(Matt's POV)
I stared at the bathroom mirror, my brilliant green eyes masked behind the orange-tinted goggles I had worn ever since I had first come to the Wammy's orphanage. My flaming red hair was falling just in front of my eyes, and my hands were nervous and shaking as I took a long drag on my cigarette. Immediately, my nerves calmed. Tonight, I had decided, was going to be the night I admitted my feelings to my best friend, Mello. Naturally, I was terrified he would reject me. But there was a small, unspoken little light in the back that always whispered 'and what if he doesn't?' whenever a shadow of doubt crept into my mind. I had been in love with Mello for months now, and keeping my feelings bottled up inside was becoming unbearable. Taking another long drag on my cancer stick, I mustered up enough courage to leave the bathroom.
My heart was pounding in my chest and I felt sick. Mello was, like always, leaning over a textbook, his eyes soaking up all the information he could before he turned the page. I slowly made my way behind him, resting a hand on the bcd of the chair he was sitting at, and cleared my throat softly.
"The hell?" He snapped before twisting in his chair and striking me across my face. Tears welled up in my eyes, mostly from the pain, but also from shock. Mello never hit me. Never! I was the only person he was actually civil with! When he realized it was me, however, his face softened and he looked honestly sorry, "Matty. Oh god, I'm sorry Matty." He only used my pet name when we were talking about something serious, like our parents deaths or whatnot. Not matter how soft his tone had become, it was too late. I tore my goggles down and let the fresh tears spill over my eyelids as I turned away and I darted off down the hallway.
I didn't really care if I ran into anyone, I was just glad to get away. Mello hit me. Mello hit me. Damn it. I know it wasn't personal… So why does it hurt so much? When I reached the end of the hallway, I dug around in my pocket for my DS, and upon finding it, I flicked it on and was immediately absorbed in the pixelated figured that were moving in coordination to my mindless mashing of the buttons beneath my fingertips. Soon enough, the tears disappeared from my eyes and the only thing on my mind was getting Link to beat the final boss and free Zelda.
When I felt a hand gentle brush my shoulder, I jumped a little. Pausing the game, I looked up to see Mello kneeling in front of me, 'sorry' written all over his expression. His blonde hair was falling over his shoulders lightly and he was biting his lip nervously.
"Look, Matty…" He began, his voice surprisingly uneven, "I'm really, honestly sorry I hit you. I'm just stressed for that test we have coming up and I just can't lose to Near again and-" I cut him off.
"Mello. It's fine. I'm not hurt," I lied only to keep him from being any more stressed, "I just have a lot on my mind, that's all." I forced a weak smile, but he saw right through it, because his lips curved into a crooked half-glare.
"Matt. What's wrong? C'mon, you can tell me anything," He smiled what I hoped was an honest smile. He was really cute when he smiled. I closed my DS and stuffed it back in my pocket before taking a deep breath. My entire face turned red as I decided to speak:
"Well, Mello, you see, it's just that . . ." I hesitated, and I could tell Mello was getting annoyed, so I blurted out what I had to say, "I kind of sorta really, really like you." With that I buried my face in my knees, biting my lip so hard I was afraid it would bleed. I expected Mello to storm off in anger or embarrassment. Instead, while embarrassed years slipped out of my eyes again, the blonde boy wrapped his arms around me, whispering my name comfortingly as I cried, my face still pink.
"Damn, Matt," his voice was biting. God, I didn't need this. I don't think I can handle rejection. Not now, at least. But what Mello said next surprised me, "Why didn't you tell me sooner? I…" I looked up into his baby blue eyes to see him blushing, "I kind of sorta really really like you, too." I felt tempted to pull my goggles up around my eyes again- without them, Mello could see every emotion that flickered in my emerald green eyes, but I resisted the urge and decided to take in everything around me the way it was.
"Really?" I managed to stammer. Mello bit his lip and nodded slightly. Without meaning to, a wide grin spread across my face. My best friend smiled back, his eyes glistening. Next thing I knew, we were both leaning close to one another, and I could feel his warm breath passing in front of my lips. And then . . . our lips connected. His lips under mine hesitated, but then I felt him open his mouth and our lips moved together for a few seconds. Soon, I was aware of how far back in my mouth my tongue was resting. Before I could do anything about it, however, Mello removed his lips from him. That was my first kiss and, presumably, Mello's too.
"That was . . . amazing," I breathed, still holding Mello's body close to mine.
"No," Mello argued, "That-" he kissed me on one cheek, "was-" then the other, "perfect." He pressed his lips to mine again, and I kissed him back hungrily.
He was right. This was perfection.
~End~