Mello didn't bother knocking. Why knock when he was highly determined to harm the occupant of the room? He gave the shabby green door a kick and it swung open. His rival sat on the carpet, clothing as white as his snowy hair, constructing an intricate building out of some wooden blocks.
Growling, Mello kicked into the pile of blocks, toppling them over the smaller boy, who stared at him blankly.
"Good afternoon, Mello."
Mello bent down and pushed Near backwards, smirking.
"You're thirteen!" he replied smarmily "You're too old to be playing with blocks!"
Near's reply was calm, as he walked over to the bed, where one of his many impossible (to everyone except himself) puzzles was laid out, and picked up a few pieces.
"You're fourteen. You're too young to take things so seriously, Mello."
The mention of his name only riled Mello more, and he followed Near towards the bed, determined that he would probably wring Near's throat if the boy didn't stop making him want to scream.
"How do you beat me at EVERYTHING! I tried my best in this test… But you do nothing and get full marks! You don't even bother or care! It's like you don't feel ANYTHING"
Near remained calm as Mello edged closer, which only served to annoy the blonde further. He only looked up when Mello sat right on the bed. He crossed his legs in front of the boy and studied him closely. How to break the calm white wall of his innocent, slient intelligence?
"Mello?" he questioned, sounding unfazed yet curious, but his eyes betrayed a glint of something? Was it fear? Mello looked at the smaller boy and smiled… if Near was afraid to feel emotion, he'd scare him alright. In a clumsy attempt to steal Near's smug demeanor, he made a leap towards the boy, crashing onto him haphazardly and scattering puzzle pieces. His stomach hit against Near's knees and their lips met in a soft kiss, much gentler than Mello had intended. It lasted only a few seconds before Mello drew back to observe the reaction. Near's face had, for once in an incredibly long time, gained a little colour, and he looked surprised, reaching up to touch his own lips as if Mello might have stolen them. Mello had undoubtedly taken Near's first kiss.
Mello smiled smugly. He was winning. He pushed the knees down out of the way and settled closer to Near's body, his arms either side of the younger boy's waist, and kissed him again, this time with the intended forcefulness. This was it. Near was kissing back, he had power over his rival, finally, he was winning, the anger was slowly draining from his body as he pushed all his force into the kiss. To his surprise, warm arms wrapped around his neck, and Near pulled Mello even closer to him. His heart skipped a beat… was Near enjoying this… too much?
He thought about breaking free, but something about Near's soft body pressed up against his own made it impossible to move, like when trying to move from a warm, comfy bed. And suddenly, with all the anger at Near gone his body was light with elation, and all there was left to concentrate on was the passionate kiss. Mello felt a strange feeling spreading across his stomach and chest, like a star shooting across the inside of his body.
'No' his brain cried 'NO NO NO'
He managed to drag himself away and leapt back to the end of Near's bed, leaving the pale boy's arms empty and his face confused. Near was silent; it wasn't as if he was struggling for words, more that he didn't seem to feel there was anything to say.
Mello could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Damn it. How had Near won again? Mello had tried to give Near a weakness but that weakness had reverberated straight back to him.
"Are you okay, Mello?" Near asked, his cheeks still a little pink.
Mello was now the silent one, his heart pounding so loud in his ears it seemed impossible that Near couldn't hear it. He swallowed and closed his eyes to avoid the pale stare.
"I… I won… I…" he trailed off. Near said nothing and Mello was forced to open his eyes, only to see Near looking at him strangely.
"Whatever do you mean, Mello?" his voice was calm and quiet, but his face was curious again.
What could Mello say? What did he mean? He thought he had been winning, but Near wasn't angry or hurt or confused…he was… happy. And to Near it would make no sense that that kiss had been intended as an attack on his emotions, a symbol of Mello's power.
The kiss had filled Mello with so many wayward emotions that he was now the confused one. He felt so stupid, his plan had completely backfired. He couldn't look the other boy in the eye for fear of blushing or even trying to do more to him. What had he been thinking? And why couldn't he stop thinking about doing it again?
Near spoke quietly, breaking Mello's self reflection. "I better pick up the pieces of my puzzle" As he went to do so, Mello grabbed his wrist and yanked him back. Even his innocence was aggravating, filling Mello with strange combinations of annoyance and lust spreading around his body, and making him shake from the excess emotion.
"You're… so…" he grabbed the front of Near's shirt "Why do you DO this? You never show any sign of emotion… you don't… you don't care about anything!"
Near spoke in his normal monotone. "I assure you, it's not deliberate." He turned his gaze away again.
Mello let go of the boy's shirt and let him drop back to the bed, stepping backwards off it.
"I hate you" he said, staring at the calm face obscured by white hair. He turned and stormed towards the door angrily.
"Mello…"
Mello turned to Near, who still wasn't looking directly at him "What?"
Near swallowed "It was a very nice kiss."
Mello walked out and slammed the door behind him, his body ablaze with wayward emotions.
Near had won again.
