Summary: After a fire, Miheal Keehl is left orphaned with half his face scarred. That and his bad temper keep everybody away and he was perfectly fine with that. But what will he do when he is suddenly roommates with a red-head who doesn't seem the least bit scared? Why? 'Cause Matt's blind, that's why.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
Warnings: Well, mild or excessive cussing, I guess since we're dealing with Mello here. And some shounen ai here in the future. Keeping the rating at T for the mean time, but may change. AU from the series and sometimes I make them OOC, sorry for that. But since everything here is different from the series, I have an excuse. XD
Reviews and criticisms are greatly appreciated. Enjoy.
Light in Stripes
After a tragic fire, Miheal Keehl was left orphaned with half his face and a good portion of his body charred. The incident claimed his parents and his younger sister.
He was fourteen at the time, and with only two years before he was legal enough to live on his own, he was taken in by Roger Ruvie, an old family friend, one of the few the Keehls had kept.
Roger Ruvie owned an apartment complex and had given the boy one of the two-bedroom apartments he had. He knew the boy wanted privacy.
He had not let Miheal pay for his rent originally, since the old man knew the boy had barely an idea how to fend for himself. Miheal was stubborn but Roger had insisted, so they came upon an agreement.
Miheal had no distant relatives since his parents were both the only child in their respective families. So being the legal guardian of Miheal, Roger had agreed to let him pay for his rent only after the legal age and after he had a secure source of income.
Roger had originally planned for Miheal to continue his schooling, but the boy insisted that he could manage without school and that there was the nearby library if he ever needed the intellectual stimulant.
For the two years, Miheal made it through with some help from Roger. The old man had taught him the ways to living on your own, but most of what Miheal knew, he got from own experience. He had worked odd jobs at first, those that had not much muscle work needed. The Keehls were from the upper middle class of the society so the boy had been well cared for and had no experience whatsoever on how to work.
Roger taught him what he knew and had trained him on some occasions.
For two years, Miheal had been a waiter, janitor, tutor, salesperson, cashier and a lot of other mundane jobs that had enough pay for him to save a little and to not rely on Roger for food. Some could say he had a rough childhood, barely getting by and all.
Miheal was not the friendly type, especially after the incident. He had been a bit anti-social due to what the fire did to him. The scars were a constant reminder of what he had lost and what he had never come to attain. His personality had changed for the worst, Roger noted as the man continued to care for the boy from a distance; he knew Miheal didn't want pity.
A scarred face coupled with a very bad temper was what made Miheal Keehl almost unapproachable to most people and barely tolerable by Roger.
It was such a pity, really, to have such a great mind be ruined by a trifle thing as fire. But when you had lost everything, you would not be so different from the boy and perhaps, you could understand him and his ways.
Two years had passed and Miheal Keehl had formed some kind of pattern in his daily living. Waking up, going to work or finding one, going home, a visit to Roger or going straight home to clean up and lollygag. Some days, he even had time to watch T.V. or listen to the radio, most of his free time, though, he preferred to write.
Who would have expected that his comfortable routine would be broken by a carefree red-head who had little to no idea of how to live in the real world?
Miheal Keehl hated being bothered so he immediately lashed out as soon as the lanky built red-head collided with him on his way to his apartment.
"The fuck! Watch where you're going, bastard!" He glared at whoever had bumped into him. His azure eyes staring straight to the red-head's own dull blue ones.
The red-head smiled sheepishly at him, his eyes roaming a general direction where he thought the voice was coming from. "Sorry, dude. I would if I could, though."
Miheal's eyes narrowed, if his scarred face and temper didn't shove people scrambling away from him, his glare did. So he was more than a bit surprised when the teenager hadn't gone running yet. There was something in the other boy's eyes. That was when it struck him.
"Oh," he said, realizing what the boy had meant. The boy was blind. Miheal almost felt sorry, but he wasn't about to turn soft just because of some unseeing kid. "Nevermind," he muttered, his voice biting. He was about to turn when the red-head called to him.
"Um, hey, do you mind helping me a bit?"
Miheal rolled his eyes. Normally, he would just keep his head down, but since the boy couldn't see him, he didn't mind. "What?" He said impatiently.
The other teenager grinned. "Great, thanks. Do you know where apartment 108 is?"
Miheal's eyes narrowed, that was his apartment. "Yeah, that's my apartment. Why?"
"Oh, you must be Miheal then. I'm Mail, er Matt. Matt Jeevas. I'm going to be your roommate." Matt smiled, such luck bumping into his roommate. Now he didn't need to worry about getting lost while Nate settled things with the caretaker. He extended his hands.
