A/N: Okay peoples, I've always had this theory that A is actually a girl, not a boy. I don't know why; I just see him as more of a girl when I think of his character. I've never read the BB murder book, so no one can say I'm wrong about thinking A is a girl until someone hands me a copy of that supposedly awesome book. 'Kay? Kay. :)
This is set in Wammy's House, when both A and Beyond Birthday (who is mentally stable at this point in time) were around thirteen and students at the orphanage. Enjoy!
Summary: She had always been a cheerful, talented girl; insistently confident, yet only at the right time. Caring and gentle, yet assertive and to the point- A had always been on top of her grades too, which baffles me to no end. She never turned in her school work late, studied constantly, yet always had time her hands to do whatever her heart desired. The girl was undoubtedly perfect, and in the end, that itself is what drove A to her bloody demise.
Pale white knuckles rapped gently on the surface of an Oakwood door. The pale man who had stood in front of A's dorm room shuffled his bare feet impatiently, waiting for a response from the room's inside. After a few moments, a muffled feminine voice whispered through the wooden barrier, "Just a second, 'Kay?"
An irritated grumble escaped the ruby-eyed fellow. In attempt to make the time of waiting go faster, he sifted a hand through his inky black locks. Only moment later, a solid thunk sounded as a chestnut haired girl unlocked the door between them. Her face seemed pale and her runny nose was cherry red. The girl's eyes were rimmed scarlet as Beyond frowned at the person before him.
He spoke, "A, you look terrible. Your allergies are worse than ever this spring."
The young girl nodded and gazed at her sock clad feet as she said in an unwell voice, "Pretty sure it isn't allergies this time, actually. I think I have the cold or some virus," she looked up at her lanky companion, "Beyond, would you mind taking some notes for me in the classes we share? I don't think I'm up for school today."
BB's eyes widened in surprise at the short girl's words. A always went to class, no matter what condition she was in. Said teenager even tried attending class one time when she had the Chicken Pox. As soon as A's teacher saw her red speckled skin, she was sent right to the nurse's office. Beyond frowned at the girl, yet agreed with her decision to stay in bed. He'd rather let her rest and heal than force herself to exert energy she didn't have. A small smile graced B's lips as he told A, "Of course I will. It's what you've always done for me, right?"
A barely visible smile formed on the petite girl's cracked lips as she whispered to the boy, "Yeah." A moved towards the handle of door in attempt to shut it, but her male friend stopped it with his foot.
His frown had deepened, worry visible on his features, "Promise me you'll get better soon, A. Don't push yourself, okay?" The girl gave a slight nod, but diverted her eyes from his gaze. She closed the barrier between them as quickly as possible. The girl couldn't put up with her best friend's words of concern any longer. A tiny, curled hand reached up to reddened eyes to bat away flowing tears.
Beyond Birthday's POV
I clobbered down the narrow staircase, a few textbooks and binders in hand. A mass of jumbled thoughts ran through my head.
'Something's wrong with A. She hasn't been her usual happy self lately.' I shook my head, trying to dismiss all tentative thoughts. It's time for class. At the pace my classes move, there's no time to get lost in one's mind. My vision is directed to the tiled floor. I watched as sets of shoe-clad feet rushed down the halls. First period, English Class (which is A's favorite, by the way) is at the end of this short hallway. I rounded the corner and found myself face to face with the door to English. I made my way to the back right corner of the classroom, where my old metal desk sat. The desk beside mine won't be occupied today.
I sat down in the sleek chair attached to my working space, and put my head on the top of the desk, releasing a large breath. Getting through the day without A would be tough.
Ms. Brunner stood in front of our classroom, and began taking roll. She announced the very first name on her list, but her voice was answered only by silence.
"A? Are you here?" The curly-haired woman asked. I decided to speak up in her place.
I started rather awkwardly, "Umm, A said she's not feeling well. She won't be attending class today." A worried face adorned Ms. Brunner's features. Honestly, I didn't really blame my teacher. She knew just as well I did that A wasn't one to back down to something like a stomach ache.
The woman questioned, "Has she seen the school nurse?" I shook my head to answer her question. She pressed further, "Are you sure she's all right?"
I shifted my position wearily and looked down at my desk. Tentatively, I responded, ". . .I'm really not sure." After saying this, I only felt worse about what A could've been doing, alone, right now.
A's POV
I'm in the bathroom attached to my room right now, curled up on the cold tiled floor. Salty liquid is dripping from my eyes continuously, and at this point, I could honestly care less. It feels as if time has stopped just so I can cry away my forever lingering worries. What will happen when L dies? What if I'm not as good a detective as L is? What will the other students think of me when I become the next L and they don't? The list went on and on.
The pressure of responsibility was literally killing me. Everyone expected so much from me. They all wanted me to do my best, but what if that isn't enough? A wracked sob escaped my throat.
'Look at yourself!' my conscience said to me, 'You're ridiculous! The simple thought of succeeding L makes you shiver. You're so pathetic!'
I nodded and whispered, "I know I'm pathetic. . .but what if I don't want to become L?" Sniffling, I reach to the roll of toilet paper beside me and rip off a few squares, blowing my already irritated nose.
'What if you don't want to become L? There's no reason to even be in this orphanage if you have no desire become L!' The pace of salty water running down my cheeks began to pick up, 'I can't believe you skipped class for something this stupid!' I slammed both hands over my ears, trying my hardest to block out the voice of judgment in my mind, I thought to myself, 'If I try hard enough, I know it will go away. It always does eventually. . .'
Beyond's POV
After around four hours of note taking and swapping classes, it was time for lunch. All students here at Wammy's House are supposed to eat in the cafeteria, but a lot of us don't follow that rule. Sometimes I just liked to pick up my tray of food and eat in my room. Other times I went to A's room and chomped on a snack there. I'm not too sure what I'm going to do today. It depends on if A shows up in the cafeteria. I might just eat alone, or maybe I'll visit her. I'm not sure what to do and I'm so bored. . .
I stumbled into the cafeteria and saw only a few people inside at the moment. Well, I guess that should be expected since lunch only started two minutes ago. I saw only three students in cafeteria, all of them boys. The trio of young children seemed to be around the same age. One of them had long yellow-blond hair; the boy to the right of him being a red head with shiny goggles over his eyes. Next to him sat a tiny boy with snow white skin and matching hair. The blonde and the red head seemed to be arguing about something. I walked over to the food counter, where a cafeteria worker handed me a disposable Styrofoam tray with a ham sandwich, a bottle of water, and a small salad on it. Is it just me, or do they feed us like we're all on a diet?
Being that no one else is here yet, I walked over to the small table where the trio of children sat. The ginger and blond still seemed to be caught in a heated debate.
As I drew closer, I could see that the boy with sunshine-colored hair also had blue eyes. Those features fit him well. He turned to his red-headed friend and moaned, "You're so lazy, Matt! All you ever do is play video games!" The smaller boy simply shrugged, continuing to mash the buttons on his Gameboy.
After a few moments, he looked up from the blue device and said calmly to the scowling blond, "And all you ever do is eat chocolate." At that point, the larger boy was fuming.
Now only a foot from the table, I asked, "Umm, I'm not sure if this is a good time, but have you seen A?" The fair-haired boy shot him a scowl.
He turned his attention from the boy beside him to me, "Wait, you mean that person who's name is number one on the house list?" That comment brought a small smile to my lips. Yes, my A is and always has been number one when it comes to grades.
"Yeah, that's the one. Have you seen her?" Both boys shook their heads simultaneously.
As I turned to leave, the blue eyed boy asked me, "Wait, you look familiar! What's your name?" I raised my eyebrow at the boy. I seemed to be getting that a lot lately, though I never know why.
"Beyond; Beyond Birthday," I told him. His eyes nearly doubled in size.
"Hey, you're number two in the house! I can't believe you're ranked higher than me!" The boy pouted and crossed his arms. I just shrugged at him.
I decided to be polite and ask his name, "And you name is?"
He grinned widely and said, "I'm Mello! That won't be my name for long though, 'cause I'm gonna be the next L!" He pointed to the boy playing video games, "That's Matt, and sheep boy's name is Near. I'm number four, Near's three, and Matt's fifth. My number right now doesn't matter though, 'cause I'm gonna beat everyone here! I promise!" I smirked at the boy's triumphant attitude. There's not much of a chance that he'll beat me or A, but it's cute to see kids like him confident in chasing after their dreams.
I smile and tell the boy that calls himself Mello, though I know that's not his real name, "You have fun doing that, kid." I smile in his direction. I can tell the boy's throwing a hissy fit over me calling him "kid" even though my eyes aren't even on him.
Without looking back, I walked back up to the lunch counter. I'm getting the feeling that A's not coming down to eat any time soon, so I'll just pick up some food for her. I looked at the lunch lady and asked, "Can I get another tray of food? My friend's sick and can't come down here to eat." With an irritated grunt and a disturbing glare I often call "the hairy eyeball", the greasy lunch lady handed me another tray with the same food contents on it as my own. I swam through the large crowd of students filing into the cafeteria and stopped for a moment in the hall.
'I hope A's okay, I haven't checked on her this morning,' I think to myself, biting my bottom lip, 'Maybe I should have stayed with her. You know, just to make sure she's resting.' I shook my head immediately at the thought of that. There's a lot going on with school right now, certainly too much to be skipping class just for the hell of it.
'That's enough thinking. It's time to go see A.' With that thought, I started down the hallway to find the small girl's room.
A/N: Okay, so that's the first chapter. It was probably a bit boring, but some drama will start building up in the next chapter. I plan on making this fic three chapters long with fairly quick updates, so stay tuned. :)
I hope BB was in character. I know he's supposed to be a psychotic murder, but this is BEFORE he snapped and started killing people. In fact, my version of why he became a psychopath will be featured in this fic (probably in the last chapter).
Review please! Even just one word of praise or criticism is appreciated! :D