Chapter 1
Near woke up as usual to the sounds of kids hurriedly running down the hall to breakfast. They laughed, giggled and seemed to create as much noise as possible. He groaned at the sound of another day starting. He hoped that this morning everyone would sleep in. 'Fat chance of that happening,' he thought. So, he climbed out of bed to meet the cold floor of his bedroom. The carpet sank beneath his feet and the cold air struck his poor frail body. He sneaked over to the dresser and pulled off his clean white t-shirt. He reached in and grabbed out a new button-up white shirt. He grabbed white bagging pants out of the bottom drawer and slipped them on along with his shirt. The clothing felt smooth and chilled against the child's porcelain skin. He glanced over at his favorite toy. A large robot with a red helmet, his name was Megatron, or at least that was what he was called on the box, and he reached over for it and pulled it close to his chest. The figure was the very thing that he would fight for, maybe. He walked over to the door and turned the knob and walked out into the hallway. A kid rushed past him and nearly knocked him over. The boy kept running. Near walked on as he usually did and he did it without protest because he was just so much smaller than the rest. He just sighed and moved forward. He walked down the hall and past a familiar room. It was Mello and Matt's room. Thoughts of swirlies, being beaten up and countless other verbal and physical abuses rushed through the little albino's head. He shivered on the inside at the thought. He walked by with caution, scared at any moment that Mello would walk out his door and get him. He walked quickly by the door. Down the hall he could smell bacon and eggs. His stomach growled and he longed for food. When he finally reached the cafeteria he was hit with a burst of loud conversation. He walked over to the side to get his food. He grabbed his tray filled with eggs, two pieces of bacon and some warm milk. He walked over to his table. It was filled with unwanted company. He sat down at the end of the table as far away from the others as possible. He heard two voices come in through the door and his normally quiet posture and vacant eyes stiffened as he listened to the loud footsteps and the voices search for him. Probably in the first time in his life Near was scared.
Matt and Mello burst in through the doors of the dining hall. As if on cue, Mello starts to push and move kids out of his way to get to the food. Matt wasn't really paying any attention; all he did was move loyally behind his best friend. Mello reached the food and grabbed a tray for himself and Matt, who was standing close behind, grabbed the one Mello was trying to give him but not before almost running right into him. Matt reluctantly put away his game into his pocket to go look for a seat. They walked as a pair and started to look for seats. Something caught Mello's eye, something white and fluffy and it was going to be so much fun to mess with.