(AN: First story in a while o.o Sorry to everyone waiting on my other fics! I swear I'll finish them once this is done. Without further ado, hope you enjoy After Midnight)
After Midnight
Life is funny sometimes. People go through their normal, boring day and suddenly, something completely unexpected happens that changes their entire lives in less than 30 seconds. Call it fate, destiny, or luck but whatever it was, it definitely had it out for a certain Matt Jeevas. The red-head was walking to Gamestop to work yet another 8 hour shift, dressed in his usual striped shirt, navy pants, fur vest, Gamestop apron, and a pair of orange lens goggles that hardly ever came off his eyes. He worked his way through the crowded streets in New York City, passing hot dog stands and pretzel carts, pissed off drivers, musicians playing crappy music(because anything that isn't techno, trance, or pop punk is considered crappy), skyscrapers that seemed to almost touch the clouds, and tons of shops and restaurants.
But Matt wasn't taking any of this in. His mind was elsewhere, thinking if he'd have time to finish editing his newest song. He wasn't in a band or anything(though he did have a name for it). He did the vocals and used garage band for the instrumental stuff. He played with the idea of going professional, and had in fact received offers to, but ultimately decided against it. If he went pro, his hobby would become something he had to do, not something he wanted to do and that didn't sit well with him.
Had he been playing the slightest bit of attention to his surroundings, things would have probably turned out completely different. But no, Matt just kept walking through the noisy streets, finally reaching his destination, Gamestop. He put his hand on the door, yanked it open, and suddenly heard a loud thud, followed by an "Ow that hurt you asshole!" "W-What?" Matt said , finally coming out of his own little world.
He let go of the door, and behind it, holding his head and laying on the sidewalk was a blond of about 20, same as him. Leather pants, an open leather jacket, and a red rosary adorned the man in front of him. His hair was shoulder length, long for a guy but it suited him in a strange way. Matt had to admit, the guy was ridiculously attractive. And noticeably pissed the fuck off. Why was he so- "Oh." Matt said as it dawned on him. "Shit. I'm so sorry, are you alright?" "You hit me in the head with a damn door and ask me if I'm alright?!" the blond half shouted. Matt wasn't sure how to respond to that so he just… sort of stood there awkwardly with his mouth wide open. "Well don't just stand there gapping at me, dumbass. Help me the fuck up." The blond said in a clearly pissed as all hell tone. "R-Right." Matt stuttered, making his way over to the leather clad man and helping him to his feet.
The blond dusted himself off before turning his attention back to the redhead. "Watch where the fuck you're going next time." He half growled. "I know, and I'm sorry. I promise I'll make It up to you." Matt said fervently. "Fuck yes you will. Right now." "Right…now?" the redhead said hesitantly. "Damn straight." The blond replied shortly. Without any warning, he grabbed Matt's hand and proceeded to drag him off with him. "W-Wait! Where the hell are you taking me?!" the redhead protested. The guy didn't give a response, he just kept dragging Matt with him. He kept his eyes straight ahead, walking in a way that clearly stated that he was a man on a mission. Now that Matt thought back on it, he probably should have been a little more concerned. What if the guy was dragging him to a back alley so he could slice his throat open? This was New York City, after all. But for whatever reason, he wasn't worried. He wasn't entirely sure how he knew, but he knew the blond wasn't going to hurt him. Not that he wasn't very obviously capable of doing so.
Matt looked around curiously as they continued walking, noticing that they were going through a part of town that he wasn't entirely familiar with. On either side of the street were a ton of franchises; Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, every fast food place known to man, bakeries, deli shops, it was all there. They kept going until they were standing outside.. a Godiva shop? What the hell, Matt wondered to himself as he was pulled inside. The sound of a small bell could be heard as they went inside, Matt looking around curiously. All sorts of chocolate bars, truffles, gift boxes filled with a mix of various chocolates, teas and coffees all laid out on the shelf, and all made by Godiva.
Just as he was about to say something, a young man wearing a dress shirt, dress pants, and a Godiva apron emerged from the "employees only" door near the gift boxes. He looked maybe in his early twenties, about 5'6, and had black shaggy hair. "Can I help y-" he began before the man's eyes made their way to the blond. "Mello!" he exclaimed. "Long time no see. The usual?" "Matsuda." He said by way of response. "Since he's buying-" Mello said, pointing to the confused looking redhead next to him; "Make it double" he said with a smirk. The man behind the counter chuckled. "You're going to bankrupt your date like that." Mello let out a snort. "Dare? Hardly. The bastard hit me in the head with a door. Hes making it up to me." Matsuda shook his head and turned his attention to Matt. "Please excuse my friend here. I swear he's not… too too horrible once you get to know him." He said, laughing slightly. Mello shot him a glare and he just rolled his eyes and began to punch a few numbers into the cash register. "That'll be fifty seven eighty please."
Matt nearly went into apoplexy when he heard the cashier. There went his money for the new Kingdom Hearts game. He sighed and took out his debit card, handing it to Matsuda as he strummed his fingers nervously. The receipt printed, and the man went into the back for a moment, reappearing with two large boxes. Matt gapped at them. Who the hell could eat that much chocolate? Mello motioned for the redhead to grab the boxes and he groaned, hoisting them into his arms. Just as the two of them made their way towards the door, Matsuda called out to them. "Nice meeting you, Red!" "Yeah, nice meeting you too." He responded as they made their way out. A few smiles were exchanged, and the two left the shop.
"So, where to now boss?" Matt quipped. He felt himself relaxing around the blond a little. Enough to joke around a bit at least. The comment surprised Mello. Guess the kid had more backbone than he originally thought. For just a split second, the redhead could of sworn he saw the faintest hint of a smile cross the blonds face. Then again, his vision was sort of half blocked by boxes. "My place." Was Mello's response. Not exactly a people person Matt thought dryly. He nodded and followed him until they reached a moderate sized condo as Mello ushered him inside. "Put them on the table." The blond said crisply, directing him to the kitchen.
Matt sighed and placed the heavy boxes on the oak table, collapsing into a chair. He briefly glanced at his watch and about nearly had a panic attack. "Crap I'm late for work! I gotta go!" No sooner was he up and dashing out the door. "Hey, wa-" but Mello didn't even have time to finish his sentence. Damn could that kid run. 'Twinner?" said a voice from upstairs. A blond haired girl in her late teens in a gothic Lolita styled dress and heels made her way over to Mello. "Who was that?" "…I was so pissed off I forgot to get his name." Mello admitted. He vaguely wondered if he'd see the redhead again as he opened one of the boxes and stuffed a chocolate bar in his mouth.
Matt had never run so fast in his life. He was positive he must have broken some sort of world record. He sprinted into Gamestop and damn near killed himself getting to that time clock, finally punching in, 34 minutes late. He groaned and made his way out to the lobby to start cashiering, where his boss was sitting there waiting for him. Matt gulped. Sitting there was his boss, L Lawliet, in his usual white long sleeved shirt and blue jeans. He had never seen the man wear shoes, or socks for that matter. His black hair was disheveled as usual, and he was crouched down on the floor, eating a piece of strawberry shortcake.
"Matt. I believe that makes it the third time you were late this month." "I know, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I… well, it's a long story just please don't fire me L, I can't lose this job. I can't." "Cake?" "…What?" "Did you want a piece of cake?" L asked matter-of-factly, pointing to the rest of the strawberry shortcake behind the counter. "N-No, that's alright." Matt replied with a nervous laugh. And people think their boss was a bit on the odd side. They obviously hadn't met L. The man nodded in response to him. "See that it doesn't happen again." Was all he said before standing up, taking his cake, and heading into the back room.
The rest of Matt's day was uneventful. His shift went by fast enough, and before he knew it he was punching out and heading home. "What a day." Matt said to himself as he made his way back to his apartment. It was too bad he had screwed up any chances he had with Mello. That guy was… something else. No, he couldn't afford to think like that. He had other priorities, other people he needed to think about. "Besides, the guy had a bit of an attitude problem." Matt thought aloud, only to have passerby look at him like he was on heavy narcotics. He laughed it off and continued home, until he finally reached his apartment.
"Skye, I'm home!" He announced as he made his way in the door. Not too seconds later a pair of small hands wrapped around his waist. "Matt you're finally home!" The boy exclaimed. Skye was Matt's little brother. He had been caring for him ever since his parents died in a car accident two years ago. They didn't really talk about it much. It was just him and Skye. Well him, Skye, and their bipolar cat, Zelda. Matt chuckled at the thought. People always thought he was kidding until they met the crazy bitch themselves. She'd be purring and rubbing up against you one minute, and hissing at you and attempting to bite off one of your damn fingers the next. "How was work?" Skye asked, rousing Matt out of his thoughts. "No weirder than usual. You know L." Skye laughed at that. He had heard many stories about his brothers off manager. "How was school? Fun?" "Loads." The boy replied sarcastically. "Aw come on, you're twelve. These are some of the best times of your life!" Matt said with a laugh. "Yeah right." His older brother just shook his head and smiled. "So. What's for dinner?" the younger boy asked. "Depends. Whatcha makin'?" Matt said teasingly, the smaller red head sticking his tongue out in response.
In the end, they settled for takeout, and got Chinese. Matt helped Skye with his homework, kicked his butt in a few video games, and sent him off to bed. The two shared a room, as Matt could only afford a one bedroom apartment. After the boy fell asleep, Matt went into the living room to play Twilight Princess for a few hours, and then outside to have a smoke. He'd promised Skye he'd try to quit but that was easier said than done. After finishing half a pack or so, he went back inside and decided on finishing his latest song before he went to bed. All he really needed to do was some editing before he posted it on his tumblr. He turned the computer on and got to work. Matt spent about a half hour fine tuning everything before he was finally satisfied. He had actually finished the song a while ago, after he and his Ex, Nate, had broke it off. He settled on calling it "Toast and Bananas." (Admittedly he wasn't the best coming up with song titles), saved everything, made the tumblr post, and pushed play.
(So how'd I do guys? What'd you think of the characters and how I portrayed them? Yay? Nay? Let me know n.n And I did make a legit tumblr for Matt to go with this story! Links on my profile, as FF won't let me post it here The song posted is by Blink 182, no I am not actually talented enough to make my own songs, sorry xD You can feel free to ask Matt questions as well, if you're of a mind. Anyways, knowing my crazy schedule and random muse, I'll probably have the next one out in 2 weeks to a month ;.; Sorry for the wait. It should be worth it though! I hope. Reviews are adored!)
