There he is. Mr. Top Student. I broke off a piece of chocolate with my teeth, emitting a loud snap that echoed through the empty room. Where the hell was Matt? Ever since he met that girl, he's completely neglected me. My lip twitched as I shoved myself off the wall. Near placed a piece of his puzzle down as I stepped by.
"Mello..."
I froze. Saying nothing, I brought my feet together behind him.
"I can tell simply by the way you are walking that you have no desire to speak to me..." he twirled his hair innocently, shadowing his expressionless eyes.
"Well aren't you smart," I smirked to myself but didn't step forward.
"But..." he continued, pulling his hair out straight, "I can also tell from the look in your eyes, that you are lonely."
"And how can you tell that?" I finally turned around and looked down at his small body innocently sitting atop the floor.
"They are the same as mine."
"..."
My smile faded. The pain I was feeling... could it possibly be Near felt it all the time? I clenched the fabric over my heart.
"I'm sorry to hear that." I stated flatly.
"Thank you."
"..."
Why is he being so nice to me?
"Near... why are you speaking to me?" He turned up with a small smile, and a smug stare.
"Our rivalry is actually quite one sided, Mello." I gave him an angry frown, ignoring the heat in my cheeks. I ended up falling to the ground and shoving him over, pulling his puzzle in front of me.
"Well, I don't want to talk to you. You're better than me! At everything!" It hurt to admit this, and I ended up chucking his puzzle at the wall behind us. Near watched with emotionless eyes and a small smile.
"Thank you."
"...!!"
At that, I was pissed.
"You are aware Mello, that there's one thing we've never competed at."
"..."
It took me a minute, but I understood what he meant.
"We could try right now," I said with a sly smile.
"I assume you've had more practice than I," Near admitted. This made me angry too, because I had so much trouble admitting him being better than me, but he had no trouble at all. I grabbed his small shoulders in my hands and pulled him forward, taking his lips into mine. His surprised eyes were nothing short of cute, and his closing them with that blush did nothing to help with how crazy I felt suddenly.
When we broke apart, his breathing was a bit faster and his tongue was hanging lightly from his mouth. I licked my lips as he opened his eyes slowly.
"I think I'm better," I stated flatly, jumping to my feet. I couldn't let him see my face at that moment; he might read my eyes and find out that last statement was a lie. I fastened my pace, the anger bubbling up and my fists clenching beside me, and ran out of the room.
Near stood up with a small smile and fading blush, and went to retrieve his puzzle.
"Hmm, tastes like chocolate..." He sat down again and touched his bottom lip with his fingers.