A few plot bunnies have been biting at my toes. I had to give in to an least one of them! So here's the result of that! I promise I'll try to update my other story If You'll Stay soon. Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own.

Warning: This will end up as a slash fic in future chapters.

Chapter One: Mello's Roommate

I thumbed through a well used dictionary idly as I listened to Rodger speak monotonously. "You will meet your roommate Matt eventually. After all, you will share a room together without altercation." There was a brief moment of silence as he looked expectantly at me in warning, taking in my leather jacket and dangerously low slung, shredded jean trousers. He cleared his throat, uncomfortable at the level gaze I focused on him as I looked up from the dictionary's untidy notes scrawled in the margins.

"If that's all," I hinted coldly.

"Yes, yes, I'll be heading out now. I'm needed elsewhere." He muttered, hastening to collect his coat and leave. "Welcome to Wammy's, Mello."

The door was left ajar as his footsteps scurried away hastily. I knew that even for a thirteen year old, my glare could frighten the majority of adults and children alike. I returned the dictionary to the shelf of books I had found it in. The titles piqued my interest as they ranged quite thoroughly into some intensive categories of study. Perhaps my roommate- Matt -and I would be able to get along well after all. I eyed the messy room with lazy, uninterested eyes before I strode through the doorway, intent on exploring the establishment. The younger students all gaped at me, a few daring to whisper excitedly to their friends. I shot them a glare, and they all scattered with cries of terror. The students my age simply pretended to not see me and firmly avoided my angry gaze as they shuffled away unhappily. I rolled my eyes, stalking away from the crowded hallway. Maybe I could find the library. The thought of being isolated in books sounded promising. As I continued walking, I easily caused every student to not interact with me. If the rumor mill could work its magic, then by the following week, no one should try befriending me. I turned a corner only to come to a stop as I examined the situation with an unimpressed tightening of my lips as I scowled.

A group of three boys were maliciously circling a boy with the reddest hair I've ever seen. They taunted him as they eagerly shoved him about to the others. Geniuses, I sneered, This school was supposed to be above common idiots. I watched as the apparent leader began trapping the boy with his body, firmly locking a leg around the boy's legs and yanking the boy's fire engine red hair to keep him immobile and submissive.

The boy cried out as his arm was painfully wrenched behind his back to secure that he couldn't escape. The gang snickered as their leader began whispering in the trembling boy's ear, gleeful promises of pain. The boy released a surprised noise as he was suddenly roughly shoved to the floor, his captured feet twisting as he fell.

My foot flew towards the bully's sneering face. The bully flew into the wall as I stepped out of the shadows. The group all stopped jeering and grew quiet as they froze, uneasy with my presence.

"Oh!" The boy was in a heap of tangled limbs on the floor as he turned to stare up at me. His eyes were wide underneath those goggles of his. He offered a strained smile as he ducked his head shyly and murmured a shaky "Thanks."

I offered a curt nod in his direction as I pushed my blonde hair out of my face. My eyes were focused on the gang of fearful boys silently watching me.

"The fuck you bothering him for?" I asked cooly, stepping forward to stand in front of the boy on the ground. I was eager to induce a conflict. I could take them all easily in a fight, and I was itching to go at them. The tension and stress from moving to Whammy's wasn't overwhelming, but a good fight was still promising to relieve some of that stress.

The group exchanged anxious looks as they waited for their leader to respond; their leader stood slowly and spit out a glob of blood before replying. "Matt's the dumbest kid here. He's ruining this place. He needs to be taught a lesson." The cogs whirled in my head as I realize this boy was my roommate, Matt. I took in the pitiful boy on the ground and mentally compared him to the profile I had been building. My eyes narrowed as something didn't add up quite right but I shoved those thoughts away for now. The leader stepped forward, his eyes narrowed in challenge as the other two grunted in agreement.

I scoffed, unimpressed. Then I flicked my lighter open and lit my cigarette, inhaling deeply before releasing a cloud of smoke in his face. I ignored his spluttering coughs as I spoke calmly. "Listen, this kid is my roommate now. So keep the fuck away from him. You'd have to be completely incompetent to fuck with him again. I don't care how dumb you think he is, you lowly piece of shit. But if you cross him again, you'll be dealing with me." I gave him a sharp grin as I dropped the nonchalant tone, "And next time, you're going to take a nice little trip to the hospital. If I see your ugly mugs anytime soon, I'll smash your faces in." I promised darkly. I inhaled my fag again before blowing out. "Now scram."

The guys scuffled away, nearly tripping over themselves as they tried to gain distance between me and them and still look casually unruffled at the same time.

Silence soon swept over the hallway as they diappearred. I sucked in one last breath of nicotine before using the wall to extinguish it. I shoved it in my pocket before walking over to stand above the kid. He was still on the ground, his eyes wide as he stared up at me. I stared down at him for a moment before grabbing his shoulders and hauling his skinny ass off the floor.

"What's your name?" I asked him after he just stood there in quiet awe, despite already knowing the answer.

His cheeks flushed pink as he dropped his eyes to the floor. He glanced back at me then dropped his gaze again as he whispered, "Matt."

"Mello." I stated simply before walking away. As I predicted, he began following me. His clumsy footsteps shadowed my brisk stride. The kids we passed all scuffled to the side of the hallway to clear a path for us as I scowled at them. One look at my leather clad body and fierce glare was all the motivation they needed. As we approached the room, I shot a glance over my shoulder as his footsteps hesitated. He was nervously clutching at the long sleeve of his oversized striped shirt and staring at his bare feet. I sighed.

"Well, come on." I said patiently, holding the door open for him. He slowly shuffled inside, his head darting around to examine the room. Looking to see if his things were still there and intact, I realized as his shoulders slumped in relief. He was bemusingly easy to read, even with those dorky goggles over his eyes. I locked the door behind me, not quite confident yet that the entire school heard to stay away.

I lit up my cigarette again as he anxiously stood in the middle of the room, his fingers twitching against the hem of his shirt. "Do you want a smoke?" I asked, offering my pack in his direction. He glanced at them before looking at me and them he slowly took one with shaking fingers. As I stepped forward with the lighter ready, he flinched. I ignored that and merely cupped his hands to steady them and lit his cigarette. I pulled away and put the lighter back in my trouser pockets, steadily inhaling delicious smoke. I waited to observe him before stating my mind. He expertly took a breath of his fag and didn't splutter or wheeze; he'd smoked before, and I felt amusement that this kid at least had some amount of rebellion in him even though he seemed to be younger than myself.

"So," I drawled casually, "Why are you hiding the fact that you're very intelligent?"

He froze.

My lips stretched into a grin of a cat who ate the canary. As expected, he avoided my gaze intently as he smoked silently and shook his head unconsciously.

"Not that I really care what you do, but why?" I carried on, amused as he tensed up further. "Are you afraid of what will happenbif you reveal you're smart? This is a school for geniuses. What's with the secrecy then? Did you have a bad beginning at this school?" He furiously devoured his cigarette in a trembling silence of nerves. "Were you afraid of being outcasted?" His eyes slid shut in a pained grimace. It was only a fraction of a moment, but my pride swelled as I hit the bullseye. I slumped on my bed, reclining happily. "Seems like that plan worked so well. Too well. Now you're bullied for being dumb, correct? Now you're in a situation you're not sure how to get out of, right?" He shakily sat on his bed, his lips desperately sucking the life out of his cigarette. I pulled out my ashtray from my bedside drawer and let my stump be smushed into ash as I killed it. "So, Matt," I smirked gleefully as he startled at my casual use of his name so suddenly. "Wanna hear my solution?"

He reached with an unsteady hand to kill his stump of a cigarette on my ashtray. It was the first motion he made willingly that went towards my direction. Small progress but still progress. He licked his dry lips and nodded mutely, his empty hands now once again fumbling with his shirt.

"You need me." I told him bluntly, propping my head up on my hand, which now rested on an elevated knee. "You're painfully shy and insecure," I carried on, not pausing when he recoiled at my words. "You need to do as well as you can do. You need to forget about pleasing anyone but yourself. You need to say 'fuck you' to everyone else. But since you can't, I will for you. You need to stick with me. And I'll let everyone know that if they wanna mess with you, they're automatically messing with me. Understand, yeah?"

The boy was quiet and pale. Then, "Why?"

"Why?" My eyebrows shot up. "We're roommates now. We protect each other and all that heartfelt shit. Any more questions?"

He was quiet once more before shaking his head.

"Good. 'Cause I'd like to fucking fall asleep now. G'night, Matt." I pulled up the covers and turned facing towards the wall. I shut my eyes and slowed my breathing.

A few minutes later, the lights were turned out. I smiled triumphantly as Matt whispered a "Good night, Mello" in reply. Then, as I heard his blanket's rustling stop, he murmured a drowsy, "Thank you, Mello." I closed my eyes happily.

I was going to break this kid out of his shell. Come heaven or hell, this was my roommate now. He was all I had left in the world now. So I'll make him view me as his world now too. I heard him softly snoring in the background, unaware of the plans I was paving for him.

"Why?" He had asked. I knew what his pathetically feeble defenses hid. I could see straight into his heart. He needed my protection. He needed my friendship. He was losing himself and needed help finding himself. He needed me. Once I had his acceptance, his intelligence would be at my disposal. Also, having a tosser of a roommate would have been terrible; so I'll take it for granted that I got stuck with someone I can manipulate into someone I'll be able to tolerate being around.

So I hoped you enjoyed the start of this story! Updates will be slow, due to the fact that I want to prioritize my other story, If You'll Stay, first, but I'll try to squeeze in updates whenever I can. Thanks for reading! ^-^