Anime: Death Note Characters/pairing: Near X Mello, Matt Themes: Self harm, suidical attempts, depression, self loathing.
Plot summary: Everyone deals with stress in different ways, but no-one would expect this kind of release from a certain albino. Is he really as emotionless as he appears? Mello and Matt are determined to find out.
Chapter one: Discovery.
It was a cold evening, and the Wammy House was relatively quiet for once. It was roughly 7:30pm and no-one walked through the halls, no-one sat in the playrooms. Every child was either in the library, or in their bedrooms. An important test was coming up in the next week or two and no-one was more determined to come out top than the chocolate obsessed blonde who was flopped on his back on his bed, a piece of chocolate hanging out of his mouth as he skimmed through his notes. His cerulean eyes occasionally flicked to his red haired roommate, who was sat up with his body leaning against the wall beside his bed, a small handeld gaming system in his hands. His eyes were covered by the orange goggles that he seemingly always wore, but his gaze was clearly fixed on the he was either stuck or having trouble on a certain level, as he would swear at random moments and cuss at the screen. It wasn't long before Mello groaned and threw the closest thing to him - a heavy math book - at the gamer, resulting in a loud "HEY!" as the handheld was knocked out of his hands. "Jesus Mello, the fuck was that for?" The blond smirked and sat up, tossing the notes onto the bed beside him. "You were distracting me. Seriously, your game can't be that difficult. You've already completed it like three times already.." The redhead pouted up at his friend. "But I was trying something else... I didn't even get to save.." He picked up the handheld and sighed dramatically, gazing at it. Mello rolled his eyes and got to his feet, kicking an empty chocolate wrapper as he passed it on his way to the door. "Back in a sec. I need to restock." Without waiting for an answer, he swung open the door and headed out. Down a floor and to the left was the kitchen, and this wasn't the first time that he had snuck out after room check to get more chocolate from the cupboards. He almost made it to the kitchen, but he froze when he heard shuffling footsteps behind him. He kept silent, turning his head to see if Roger had spotted him, or if it was another kid he could bribe to keep quiet. However, what he saw made his gaze darken and his hands clench into fists.
He had forgotten that Near's room was on the bottom floor.
The small albino was seemingly heading back to his bedroom, a small metallic object in his pale hand. Mello thought nothing of it, apparently Near had not noticed him - but then he saw red. More specifically, the small scarlet stain that was slowly covering the albino's pajama sleeve.
And upon closer inspection, the blond realized that Near's face was not blank, as it normally was. In fact.. wait, that can't be right, was Near CRYING?
The chocolate temporarily forgotten, Mello's eyes remained fixed on the younger boy as he entered his room and shut the door, moving from his spot after hearing the small, distinct "click" of the door being locked. Mello couldn't believe what he had just seen, but as the images went repeatedly through his head, his frown deepened and his face paled.
Near was cutting himself.
Now he had to find out why.