Crack!

There were loud, thudding footsteps coming from every direction. They weren't coming at him, but it sure sounded like it. No body would find him.. he was well hidden in the cabinet under the sink... nobody would think to look there.

Good Lord he hoped that was true.

Clutching the red rosary beads in one hand and pushing the door open just ever so slightly with the other, the small boy peered out at the chaos that was his house that night.

Flash! Crack! Boom!

He saw the stranger man point a gun at daddy, who was clutching mommy in his arms, and then he heard the giant boom noise as the gun went off. Daddy's head started to drip blood as he fell back, and the boy quickly and quietly shut the door to his hiding place before they could find him.

BOOM!

The thirteen year old boy sat up with a start at the incredibly loud crack of thunder, his chest rising and lowering heavily. His head whipped to the side and turned frantically, searching for those men he didn't know with the guns who killed his parents. He was going to be next.. they'd come back for him to finish off what they had started.

"It was just a dream," he whispered, looking over at the white haired boy across the room. He was in the middle of a deep sleep, unabashed by the violent storm raging outside.

A dream that seemed to real to actually be just a dream.

Thunderstorms were like the anti-Christ inside Mello's eyes. A pathological fear of some sorts, I suppose you could call it. Lightning and thunder.. they reminded him of so much.. and yet it was all so much that he didn't want to remember, he didn't want to be forced to relive that night seven years ago whenever he shut his eyes. He just couldn't.

No matter how much he prayed to the Lord for that dream to stay away during a thunderstorm, it was never answered. This was a reoccurring thing for the teen, though only when it stormed hard enough. It tortured him to the point in which he thought he was going insane.

Mello almost jumped out of his skin when he heard the somewhat soft knock that consisted of a pattern of two, three, two, one. Only the blonde would know who it was then.

Tiptoeing quietly to the door, he placed his fingertips of the cool metal and twisted, revealing a redhead boy a year younger in front of him.

"M-M-M-Mello." Matt's voice shook and it was almost too easy to tell that he was quivering. He didn't have his goggles on, and Mello could see tear-stained cheeks in the darkness.

"Matt?!" his voice came out in a sharp whisper, taken aback at the sight of his best friend. He knew him... there wasn't any possible way that he could be this scared.. the rebellious, courageous Mail Jeevas...

"C-C-Can I s-s-sleep with y-you?" Matt was choking on the words as he fought back tears, arms securely tucked in front of his chest.

Still in slight shock, the thirteen year old's own fear was slowly forgotten, or pushed to the back of his mind to be more accurate. "Sure, Matt.. just be quiet. The albino is sleeping and I don't want Roger taking my chocolate again for waking him up." He shuddered at the thought.

The two boys walked side by side as they neared the blonde's bed, the red head fighting back the urge to cling to the other's arm as bolts flashed and booms rang throughout.

Mello was the first one in the bed, and he quickly scooted over to the side against the wall to make room for his friend. Matt climbed in almost instantly, cuddling under the covers and scooting extremely close to Mello.

Neither of them said a word and neither of them dared to close their eyes. All they did was listen to Near's breathing and the sound of rain knocking against the window and thunder ringing in their ears.

After the long silence, Mello sat up, turning to where his back was against the wall and to where he could look at Matt.

"Why are you so scared?"

This pause lasted for only a minute, consisting of the twelve year old sitting upright.

"I lost my mother, my father, and my two sisters in a tornado, Mello. There was lightning and there was thunder. Of course, the thundering noise of the tornado ripping apart my house drowned out their screams, but I could hear them perfectly that night," his green eyes glazed over, losing himself within the horror movie playing in his mind's eye.

"Mail! MAIL! STAY WHERE YOU ARE, DEAR MAIL!" a brunette woman screamed, her voice barely audible against the crashing sound of the wind and rain that made up the tornado.

"MOM?! DAD?! LUCILLE?! GENESIS?!" the eight year old boy screamed from the corner of his basement, tears streaming out of his bright green eyes. He could hear the noise, see the dubri, and yet he simply couldn't feel himself being pulled up into the air like the rest of the Jeevas family.

Several thoughts had skipped threw his head when he found out four people had died from that tornado, and he could only guess who the four were. The main thought, however, was 'Why am I the survivor? Why am I so goddamn special?'

"Matt?" Mello's sharp whisper brought the boy back into reality.

"Sorry." the redhead muttered, looking down at the sheets.

"I'd say I'm sorry, but that's the shittiest thing a person can say." Mello grumbled, obviously disgusted at the lack of response that he'd managed to muster up.

"Why are you so scared?" Matt asked, curiously coloring his tone and facial expression.

Mello put on the best mask he could manage. "Me? I'm not scared!" he retorted, but his face dwindled and his voice shook, giving him away.

His friend frowned, disappointed at the lie. Mello sighed, staring into his friend's green eyes.

"Thunderstorms consist of lightning and thunder, right? Gunshots sound like thunder, and the light up like lightning. You see, Matt, when my parents died.. this man came into our house. A burglar or something. He had a gun, and my parents tried to fight. I hid in a kitchen cabinet... and when I looked out, I saw my dad get murdered holding my mom's lifeless corpse." Mello struggled to keep his steady composure.

The two stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Sure, they were the best of friends and would die for each other if they had to, but they never shared information like this with one another. It wasn't Mello's style to say something that went against his badass image, and Matt just hated talking about it.

A crack of thunder interrupted the pause, and it sent both boys under the covers, shaking slightly.

It didn't take long for Mello to be able to feel Matt clinging to his arm, his head resting slightly on his shoulder. If this had just been a normal day, the redhead would have a broken nose, but this was obviously not a normal day.

A small sigh fell from the blonde's lips as he placed an arm around Matt's shoulders, causing him to snuggle closer. Mello's free hand held the same red rosary beads, clutching them until the shape was embedded within his hand.

Within a matter of extremely slow moments, the thunder and lightning stopped, the rain dulling out to a quiet drizzle. Neither boy moved, but their eyelids slowly shut as drowsiness began to dwell upon them.

"Mello?" Matt's soft whisper made a small smile appear on his lips.

"Yes, Matt?"

"Don't ever leave me here alone.. whatever you do. If you leave, promise me you'll take me with you."

Mello rolled his eyes inside his head, thinking about how much of an idiotic move that'd be if he left his best friend here if he ever left. Why would he ever leave, anyway? It wasn't like anything was going to make him leave. It was an easy thing to promise.

"I promise, no I swear on my life, that I never will Matt."

The only thing that soon followed was three human beings' deep breathing, indicating a nightmare free and content sleep. One redhead, one blonde, and one white haired.

Ironically, I was listening to Mr. Brightside while writing this.

AND DUN KILL ME D: I know I have three fics to update and I'm randomly putting this up... I'll get to those soon, I swear.

Review and such, though.