Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note (though sometimes I wish I did)
"Always and Forever": Chp 1
"Are you coming or what?"
"No. I think I'm going to stay inside today"
"Psh, suit yourself"
A little blonde boy raced out of Wammy's Orphanage and into a yard full of laughing and playing kids. The young red-head who stood behind turned at the door and walked back inside.
The inside of the orphanage was quieter during the day; especially during the warmer months. It was also cooler. There was no sun beaming down making everything warmer and the windows let in a gentle and refreshing breeze which was certainly welcome.
Only a few children remained indoors during the summer days. Everyone else took advantage of the beautiful sunny weather and unleashed their excess energy with kick ball games and games of hide and seek. Matt, a little red-haired boy, loved staying inside. Not only did he love the peace, but he loved the silence required to concentrate on his video games.
Matt sat on the ground in one of the playrooms, quietly ticking away on the buttons of his handheld game. Another child was in the room with him, but he was minding his own business on the other side of the room. Matt thought the child was a bit peculiar by the way he kept solving the same blank puzzle and emptying it out only to do it over. It was boring; nothing like his video game where something new happens every time he finishes one of its puzzles.
He sat underneath one of the open windows, enjoying the coolness it let into the room. However, it also let the shouts and laughter of the children playing outside in. It was not as quiet as he thought it would be, so he stood up and left the room, not once taking his eyes off of his game. He used one hand to push his little blue and silver goggles out of his green eyes as he made his way to the boy's bedroom.
Matt hopped up onto his bed and nearly fell off when he heard a small, but audible squeak.
'That doesn't sound like any toy' he thought to himself.
The red-head pulled back the sheets on his unmade bed and uncovered a small, curly-haired young girl. She was shyly curled up in a tight ball on his bed, clutching the other half of the sheets in her little hands. Her small, thin body tensed up once her hiding spot was revealed. Her position reminded him a lot of a turtle.
Matt simply stared at her until she decided to peek out from the ball. He did not question why she was there or what she was hiding from. He was more interested in what she was doing. Was she playing a prank? Was she planning to steal something from one of the boys?
The girl shyly peeked out and swiftly hid again once she caught his gaze. Matt decided he no longer cared; she was not doing much anyway. He sat back on the bed beside her and continued to play.
The girl was utterly baffled by his actions. Why did he ignore her? Why did he not just kick her out? Or at least question her? It was his bed after all and she was a girl; she was not allowed in the boys' room. She knew this fact, yet she was there anyway. It was the only place she could go and the other girls could not find her.
She picked up the blanket that Matt snatched off of her and pulled it back over herself again.
"I'm hiding..." the girl said after a few minutes of nothing but the sound of the game's button clicking.
However, the clicking did not stop.
"From what?" Matt asked.
"Them...The other girls..."
"Why?"
The girl was quiet for a bit.
"...They make fun of me...They're always laughing..."
She did not know why, but she had a strong feeling that she could trust this boy. Like he would not judge her or tease her like the other orphans did. He made her feel safe, but she was not sure how or why. She has not seen him around before.
'Maybe he is one of the new kids...' she thought to herself.
Matt stopped playing for a bit and faced the ball of blankets.
"My name is Matt. What's yours?"
"...I'm Cassidy..." she said.
The warmth and confidence in her voice was rising and he noticed it, however small it was, it was there. He smiled just a bit and tugged at the sheets.
"Could you come out from under there? I feel like I'm having a conversation with my bed"
Cassidy contemplated this for a while, then decided it was safe enough to come out. She pulled the sheets back, but only enough to reveal her head. She had long dark curly hair, a few freckles on her rosy cheeks, and thick, black glasses resting on her cute little nose in front of her big violet eyes. The glasses were fairly low, so she pushed them up, only to have them slide back down again.
Matt looked her over quietly and tried to figure out why she was getting picked on. She looked a bit weak in his opinion, so that was probably why the others often took advantage of her. But what he did not know yet was that Cassidy was fortieth in line to succeed L, which made some of the arrogant children (mostly the other girls) ahead of her act as if she was lesser than them. They bossed her around, laughed when she tried to speak, and roughed her up a bit or made things tougher for her when she tried to defend herself.
He stared at her without saying anything, which made Cassidy feel even more insecure than she already was.
Suddenly, a loud voice echoed in the hallway, causing the two orphans to jump up in surprise.
"Hey, Matt! We need one more guy for our kick ball game! Are you in or out?"
The blonde boy was back again and he had a huge red ball in his arms. He froze once he saw Cassidy and stared, making her feel even more uncomfortable. Matt may not have said anything about her being in there, but she was unsure about this new kid. She pulled the blanket over herself again to hide, but it was too late. He already saw her and she knew it.
"It's Cassidy" he said with a smirk. "I almost didn't recognize you without all the tears and crying"
Matt frowned. It looked like the girls were not the only ones who picked on her.
"What are you doing in the boy's room, Cassidy?" he taunted. "Isn't it for boys?"
"I could ask you the very same thing!" Cassidy snapped back from under the covers.
She knew how to defend herself; she just hated confrontation. But if the situation called for it, Cassidy rose to the occasion.
The boy's smirk instantly turned into a scowl. He threw the ball aside in anger and violently pulled at the sheets.
"Get out from under there, four eyes!" he growled.
Cassidy kept a tight grip on her soft shield, desperate to stay hidden.
"Leave her alone, Mello. She's not doing anything wrong" Matt said.
"Yes she is" Mello answered, still pulling the sheets. "She's not supposed to be in here. She's a girl! And I outrank her, so she's supposed to do what I tell her to! She has to listen to me or I'm telling Roger she's in here!"
Cassidy then released her grip on the sheets, causing Mello to fall backwards onto the ground and become buried under the blankets. She sat up on her little knees and clutched a small clawed pink bear plush to her chest.
"I don't care about stupid ranks! Go ahead! Tell Roger!" she cried. "You better leave me alone, or I'll...I'll..."
"Or you'll what?" he sneered, sitting up on the floor. "Cry on me?"
Cassidy growled, bashed Mello in the head with her bear, and ran out of the room, sobbing.
Mello scoffed and stood up.
"Like that hurt. What a wimp"
Matt frowned. He felt sorry for Cassidy.
"So are we going to play kick ball or what?"
"I'll pass" Matt answered.
Mello mumbled to himself, picked up his red ball, and left.
Matt continued to sit in silence and thought to himself. He knew that was not the last he has seen of Cassidy.
A/N: Hello, all! I've taken a little break from writing my Final Fantasy fanfiction to write this up, but I should be back updating it really soon. I worked very hard on this, so I hope everybody likes it! Please review!