people tend to stay with what's familiar to them. people like what they already know and are comfortable with. all in all, they like familiarity.
this is not the case of us. we step out of the comfort levels, risk our lives, and in doing so, we're slowly drifting away. Mello has his own group, trying to capture kira, as well as near. L has left us only with his legacy. and then there's me. Mello's hardly-mentioned sidekick and best friend. That's our background story, let's skip to the present.
I was in mello's rec room with my SP, re-playing my legend of zelda game for about the third time. Mello dragged his feet on his way in like always, but it sounded different this time. more depressed, lifeless, and straight up sad. I pressed the start button and paused the game.
he stood in the doorway, leaning on the door frame. half of mello's face was covered by a make-shift bandage made from white, blood-stained cotton fabric. I stared in shock as my best friend reached up and wiped a drop of blood dripping from the cloth on his face.
i threw my game onto the couch beside me and stood up. Mello focused his gaze on the floor and said nothing. He held in his outstretched hand a detonator with the switch flipped.
"you used that? what where you THINKING you DUMBASS?!?!?! those were only planted in case of EMERGENCY and were to be used if you weren't in the building!!!!" I yelled.
Mello gaze continued to be affixed on the floor. i mumbled swears under my breath and looked away. there was about a moments pause before mello reacted. he slowly reached upwards and began to untie his bandage.
i looked over to catch the last glimpse of the fabric before it left his face. there was burnt and peeling skin on his face, along with disformed scab-like blisters almost everywhere. the white and red bandage slipped out of mello's hand and fell to the floor.
i stared in disbelief at the sight of his newly scarred face. Mello's face had no emotion what-so-ever.
Mello sighed deeply and dragged himself over to the couch. he flopped down, almost instinctively stuffing his face into the throw pillows, but cringing as it touched and burned at his wounds.
as mello began to relax, i did as well and sank into the armchair on the other side of the room. i didn't bother going to get my game, saving princess zelda from ganondorf again could wait.
"matt..." mello said.
"yeah mello?" i replied.
"we really fucked up this one... i don't know how, but an agent found out my name and said it out loud in front of a group of other agents... i had to pull the switch, i know i could've killed myself, but it was a risk i was willing to take. i had to keep that secret..." Mello said almost mournfully.
I had nothing i could say to him. all i knew was that my best friend would never be the same again.
