I was walking down the hall, passing all the children and smiling.

"Hey Matt where's Mello today?" Linda asked, starting to walk next to me. "I don't know, I think he's probably in the room going through his chocolate stash."

You see I wasn't like Mello, I was nice to all the kids here so all the kids were nice to me. It was different when Mello was around though, all the kids feared him. The only one who didn't show it was Near. I only showed nervousness around him sometimes, but I was a little scared of him at times.

Speaking of which, where was Near?

"Hey Linda where is Near? Has anyone seen him?"

"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen him all day. Maybe he's in his room?"

"Maybe...Uh Hey Linda I have to go, see ya later?" I asked a bit upset and cautious.

"Sure Matt, tell me if you see Near, ok?" I nodded my head and started walking a little faster towards Near's room.

Once I got there I noticed his door was cracked open and there were thumping sounds coming from inside.

I carefully pushed the door open a little bit and saw Near lying on the ground, and Mello towering over him. Near shirt was ripped and there were bruises littering his torso.

But what really got me was that he could see the pain on his face. No matter how many times or how hard he was hit he never showed his pain.

"What the hell are you doing!" I yelled barging into the room.

They both turned to look at me and Mello smirked, while Near looked a bit confused.

I'm teaching this bitch a lesson, wanna join?" He asked, his smirk becoming even more sadistic looking.

Near whimpered, a sound that completely broke me on the inside.

I lunged forward, my fist making quick contact with Mello's face. I started to punch him repeatedly, not caring what happened to him.

He fell to the ground so I started to kick him. I kept beating on him till he was completely past conciousness.

I turned around towards Near and picked him up. I carried him into my room and layed him on my bed. Going to the bathroom, I came back with the First-Aid Kit.

I patched him up to the best of my ability, using my full focus.

"Why?" I heard a quiet voice ask.

I looked up at him, finally noticing the complete confusion on his face.

"I won't let him hurt you anymore Near, I can't" Near looked down a small blush adorning his face.

"Near I need to tell you something." I waited till I had his full focus and took a deep breath.

"Near I-I love you, I have since I heard you speak to me the first time. And I just wanted you to know that." I slowly looked back at him and noticed his blush was full-blown now.

"I-I love y-you too Matt." He said, a cute stutter in his voice.

I slowly leaned forward, kissing him as softly as I could. It slowly turned passionate and I pulled away.

We leaned our foreheads together, our breathing in sync.

"Mello won't touch you anymore Near, your mine now." He smiled a small smile and kissed my cheek.

"I'm yours Matt, always."

We layed down together, me holding him and his head on my chest. I knew we could make through anything together. Because we love each other.