Thanks to all of you who reviewed, fav'd, and subscribed!

It's funny; I've tried three separate times to add a missing question mark to the summary, and each time it disappears. Seriously, summary box, what's your beef with interrogative punctuation? XD Has anyone else experienced this problem?

On another note, I left the location of the fictional town up to the reader's imagination; I felt that different situations would be easier to identify with that way. For the sake of the story, however, I'm going off of the laws where I live. So, the legal drinking age for the characters is eighteen.

For anyone who wants to see the cover in more detail, follow the link to my deviantArt account on my profile.

Suggested Listening: 'Sugar, We're Going Down' - Fall Out Boy


Feel it in My Bones

~Sugar, We're Going Down ~

The world is an entirely different place when viewed from Mello's motorcycle. Between gripping his waist tightly to ensure that I did not become melded with the cars he was swerving between and the indistinct blurs that I was sure must be part of the downtown scene, it's an adrenaline-inducing experience.

Of course, if I were driving, we would probably be racking up just as many traffic violations.

The truth is, I may be the quieter person between the two of us, but my mind is no less deviant. Behind every plot and prank, there is always a person doing the technical work. While Mello liked putting the work into making intricate schemes and seeing them through, I just liked to blow shit up plain and simple.

I have no idea when it became known to us that our Kindergarten friendship would morph into something so Bonnie and Clyde. I suppose it was somewhere between putting gum in Linda's hair and making animal noises every time Miss Parker would get up to write on the chalkboard. It was in vain that our teachers would separate us; we would just wait until they sent us out in the hall or, as we got into middle school, detention to do our plotting.

Getting into trouble was our favourite pastime – and in some ways, I guess it still is.

For better or worse, we would always be partners in crime.

But I digress. The whole point I was trying to make – even as Mello nearly goes up on the sidewalk and runs over a pedestrian – is that I am just as reckless as he is when it comes to some things. We both feel the need for speed; I just satisfy mine with cars rather than motorcycles.

Due to how fast we were going, it was unknown to me when downtown melted back into the suburbs. This side of town was where the more well-to-do families lived. Perfectly manicured lawns and rows upon rows of hedges rose up to greet you like the epitome of perfection. Each house had a missus waiting at home for her husband's pay check while the hired help made a lovely meal and the spoiled brats of the house complained about something. Everything in the house would match (the plastic coverings on the couches down to every last speck of dust) and nothing would ever feel out of place. It was a place without care.

It was sickening, to say the least.

I wasn't so naïve as to believe the façade that these families put up, but that didn't mean it annoyed me any less. Of course, not every house on this side of town invested in the image, but it was the majority that counted.

Fortunately, the house we were headed to was from the minority population.

Our destination was far from being hard to spot; it was the biggest house in town. It was by no means an eye sore, however; it wasn't overly decadent or tacky in any way. It was surprisingly tasteful for a house of its size.

Mello zoomed through the neighbourhood without care; I would hazard a guess as to say that he was happy with the lack of obstacles. Most people were still making their way through downtown or already had their cars parked inside their garage which would make for a delightfully smooth ride through the neighbourhood in Mello's eyes.

As we went, the houses got larger in size and spread further apart. Up ahead we could see an old-style Victorian house squatted elegantly on the hill. Mello roared up the cobblestone drive leading up to said house and screeched to a stop in front of the three-car garage. Putting down the kick-stand, he waited for me to get off.

"And here we are!" The grin on his face was apparent in his tone of voice, despite that fact that I couldn't exactly see his face at the moment.

I hopped off and stuck my tongue out at him after taking off my helmet. "Just barely."

He smirked – big surprise. "What's a few close scrapes with death, I always say."

While I was still holding mine, his helmet was already hanging from the handlebars and after shaking out his hair to effectively bring it back to its full state (Mello spends too much time worrying about his hair, in my opinion), he reached out to take my helmet, as well.

"That frame of mind is going to come back to bite you in the ass one day," I said as I handed it over.

After everything was in order and the keys were safely out of the ignition and in Mello's pocket, we made our way up the walkway and to the steps. I shoved my hands into my jeans' pockets as we walked, my converses scuffing along the pavement.

I heard a snicker come from Mello as I reached out to ring the doorbell. That familiar chiming of bells rang out in the house, and I turned to look at Mello questioningly.

That crazy smirk that seemed to be making quite a number of appearances on his face lately was showing itself once again as he responded, "I suppose you're right, but I can't exactly blame it; my ass is delicious."

I didn't have much time to comment before I heard the door creak open next to us, and so I settled for quirking an eyebrow at him before turning to the new arrival.

"Hey, L." I grinned.

In front of us stood a hunched over man in his early twenties with thick, black hair sticking out in all directions. Just like me, he had his hands shoved into his pockets and – unlike me – he was standing on one foot while he scratched his ankle with the other. All-consuming, onyx eyes peered at us thoughtfully as he brought his thumb to his lips.

"Greetings, Matt." His eyes flicked over to my blond-haired hellion of a best friend. "Mello." He proceeded to nibble on the aforementioned thumb as he brought his second foot back to the ground. "I trust that you had a safe trip."

Ah, so he had noticed Mello's motorcycle parked in the driveway…

"Quite. The cars practically swerved out of the way to accommodate our passing," Mello answered with a satisfied little grin.

I could have sworn there was the beginning of a smile tugging at L's lips, but all evidence of the expression disappeared before I had the chance to give it any thought.

"The others are already sitting in the backyard. Come in – but please do take care to remove your footwear; Watari just washed the floors today." L accompanied his statement with a slight tilt of his head which was about as much of a welcoming gesture as we were going to get from him.

It was only after L mentioned the elderly man that I noticed Watari standing off to the side behind L with his usual warm, caring smile present on his face. The relationship L had with the man was entirely out of the ordinary in every sense of the words; Watari was his grandfather, and yet he acted more as his butler. The old man did everything around the house: cooking, cleaning, maintenance, accommodating of guests – you name it. L welcoming guests was a rare courtesy that he only ever granted to his closest companions.

And even then, we only got the normal guest treatment from L half the time – if that.

Mello had proceeded into the house as soon as the invitation was spoken – of course not heeding L's request. His heavy combat boots made loud thunks on the marble as he sauntered across the foyer.

Watari's expression didn't change the entire time, and still I couldn't help but grimace.

"May I take your coat?" Watari asked as Mello passed by him.

The blond stopped in his tracks and threw an award-winning smile over his shoulder. "Naw. I got this, Gramps." And then he continued on his way through the house and to the backyard.

I took care to remove my shoes, setting them off to the side where they wouldn't get in the way, and then made to follow Mello.

"Oh, Matt. I've been meaning to ask you how that car of yours is doing," Watari spoke up just as I was about to pass under the archway.

I stopped and turned back, answering him with a shrug, "It's alright. I'm definitely going to have to replace some of the parts – not to mention it really needs a new coat of paint."

Ah… My car. A gorgeous cherry-red Chevy '69 Camaro. Sure, right now it didn't have a snow ball's chance in Hell of starting, and it was a bit more "rustic" – heavy emphasis on the rust – than it should be, but just the thought of driving it made all the work I had been putting into it worth it. And the fact that Mello always came over to watch me work on it was an added bonus.

Watari nodded, smiling once more. "Let me know when you require those parts, and I would be happy to help you acquire them."

Watari's real name was Quillsh Wammy; Watari was just his professional name that he preferred to go by most of the time. When he wasn't playing maid for L, he was down in the basement working on a new invention, making plans to build a new lavish orphanage, or designing a drop-in centre for the homeless. He was a great man, someone I definitely looked up to both as person and as an inventor.

"I… I couldn't do that. Thanks… really – but I'd feel bad if I got the parts without working for them."

The old man had taken an interest in my project ever since I'd first found the thing just sitting in a vacant lot behind the Dairy Queen downtown. I really had had no way to get it back to my house since it didn't run, and we really didn't have the money for a tow truck… But somehow, one day I woke up and saw that the car had magically appeared in my driveway. After asking around, I finally talked to Mello about it and I found out that he had asked Mr. Wammy to help get it there. Despite my best friend being an ass most of the time, he really could do nice things when he felt like it.

However, I just couldn't let Watari help me more than he already had. I know it was partly the philanthropist in him reaching out to me and also because he wanted to aid me because of my interest in mechanics… but I just didn't want the sympathy that came along with it. I'd had enough of that ever since…

"Alright. Then why don't you come and help me out with my project one time? Then we'd be even."

I shifted my feet uncomfortably. "I still wouldn't feel right about it… It wouldn't be much work for me, anyways. I like doing that stuff."

He rested a hand on my shoulder. "Matt, I insist." His tone most certainly left no room for discussion.

I looked down at my feet, fidgeting some more. Watari always had a way of making me feel like I was a kid again. "Yes, sir."

"Wonderful. I'll leave you to your party now," he said before turning and heading off to the basement.

I stood there for a moment, thinking about what just happened. I didn't have much time to ponder it, however, because a moment later I felt someone tap on my shoulder. Whirling around in surprise, I came face to face with L.

Since when did he get there…? He had to secretly be a ninja or something…

"The others will be starting to wonder what is keeping us. We should go out and join them soon."

He didn't even blink once the whole time he was speaking. I like L, but I have to admit that his quirks do freak me out a little…

"Yeah… We should," I replied awkwardly before continuing on my way.

Now that I knew that he was behind me, I listened hard to see if I could hear his footsteps.

…'Couldn't hear a thing.

I walked a little faster.

Just as I reached out to turn the door handle, the door swung open towards me. God knows how I did it, but I sidestepped quickly, saving myself from getting imported cherry wood to the face. I had a feeling that the door would have done more damage to me than I would have done to it.

And who else could it have been, but Mello – of course, looking entirely innocent and not like he just almost broke my nose unintentionally.

"Oh. There you are. I thought you had snuck off again and went down to the Bat Cave with Watari to work on crime-fighting gadgets or something equally as lame." He was looking particularly hubristic at the moment, and I almost didn't want to tell him that I had indeed been talking to Watari.

'Wouldn't want to inflate Mello's ego to an even bigger size than it already is by telling him that he was right about something…

So instead I shrugged. "Naw. 'Just got distracted by something."

He rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation. "As per usual. Everyone's been wondering where you are."

Since when does anyone notice if I'm there or not?

I guess I took too long to answer him, because the next thing I knew he had grabbed my hand – I'm not going to lie, it made me blush a little – and dragged me outside. Not even giving me a chance to look around, he immediately shoved me into a lawn chair before sitting down in the chair next to mine.

Before I could recover, I was assaulted by yet another blonde going by the name of Misa Amane.

Sitting on my lap, her arms around my neck in what could be more accurately described as a stranglehold than a hug, the petite aspiring model cooed just a little too close to my ear, "Oh, Matty! Misa-Misa missed you so much. Can you believe we're not going back to high school next year? It's, like, so surreal!"

… Is there just something about me that attracts loud, obnoxious blonds?

"Yeah… Totally surreal." I couldn't help but spare a moment of thought on how she could possibly know what that means. "And I missed you, too… But we saw each other not too long ago…"

Misa nuzzled into me, keeping up that annoying cooing that made me want to be sick. "But that was last week… And Misa hardly got to talk to you because Mell-Mell was taking up all of Matty's time."

… Mell-Mell? I'd have to remember that one for later…

"But I always hang out with Mello… How was then any different?"

And cue the super-mega-model pout of doom…

"Exactly!" She was looking at me now, amber eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "Matty's like Misa-Misa's boyfriend – except not because Misa loves Light-kun so much."

I blinked repeatedly at this new piece of information as she threw a simpering smile over her shoulder to her (admittedly unwilling) boyfriend, Light Yagami, who was sitting on the other side of the patio looking completely indifferent towards the fact that his girlfriend was currently straddling me and nuzzling the side of my face.

… Misa's just kind of a whore like that, to tell the truth.

A moment later I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked over to see that Mello had decided to invade our little, unwanted (on my half) cuddle session.

"Sorry to interrupt the love, guys," – he didn't look sorry in the slightest, as in fact his omnipresent smirk was larger than ever – "but we're in public, and your PDA is sickening enough to kill a small child."

Misa glared at him. "You are such a bitch."

I couldn't hold in my grin as he shot back, "You just realized this now?"

Thankfully, Mello's comment was enough to convince the blonde to disentangle herself from my person, and she quickly made her way over to Light and latched back onto him. I couldn't help but note the barely-concealed grimace on his face as he begrudgingly wrapped an arm around her.

Ah, the life of a parasitic multi-cellular organism and its ever-suffering host…

When I was positive that she was out of earshot, I turned to Mello. "Thanks, man. I thought she'd never let go…"

"Yeah – no problem. It's what friends are for, right?" He gave me a wink before hopping out of his chair and sauntering across the patio to where the cooler was situated.

I fought the blush that rose to my cheeks. It isn't legal for anyone to swing their hips that way…

After a moment of staring at my best friend's ass, I realized what I was doing and then proceeded to take another moment to realize that it was not socially acceptable, and then finally – of course taking more time than was necessary – I looked away. As usual, my internal struggle went by unnoticed by the other people around me.

Typical.

This was to be expected, however, as many of my friends were involved in their own personal struggles. Light was sweet-talking Misa into letting go of him by tempting her with the promise of drinks, L was by the food table shovelling anything that had a high sugar content onto his plate, Kiyomi was busy sending venomous looks in the direction of Misa and Light, Near was doing his very best to maintain his wall of misanthropy whilst building structures in the dirt with sticks – and somewhere in all of this I had caught myself checking out Mello as he was bent over grabbing a drink.

Lovely.

Since when had my life become so cliché?

I wasn't given much time to ponder this thought as two more guests had just stumbled in through the gate, laughing much louder than was necessary. Mello pulled away from the cooler holding his prize and looked over to the new arrivals with a grin.

"Halle! I was wondering when the hell you were gonna show up." Mello approached them and gave a girl with long, platinum-blonde hair a high five.

Halle gave him a smug smile as she wrapped an arm around her companion's shoulders. "Don't kid yourself. It isn't a party until we show up." Her friend – yet another blonde, might I add – smirked at this.

This caught L's attention, and he slouched over from his place by the snack table. Pulling a large lollipop out of his mouth with an audible pop, he blinked at the three of them owlishly. "Might I remind you, it is a barbeque to celebrate the end of the year – not a party."

Halle rolled her eyes. "Oh, pardon me. Seeing as there is alcohol," – she gestured to the drink in Mello's hand – "and soon to be music as well," – here she held up the stereo she was carrying in one hand – "it sure seems like a party to me."

L regarded her for a few more moments before raising his shoulders in a small shrug and turning to head back to his plate. Halle and her friend shared a triumphant grin.

The friend – who I by now had placed as Wedy Kenwood (a girl that had been in my Chem. 30 class) – split off from Halle and practically runway-walked across the lawn in high heels, before approaching the seat next to mine and plopping down unceremoniously.

I watched as she took off her gaudy, black sunglasses in one hand while she reached down to pull the back of her shoes off her heels before she kicked them off to where they landed halfway across the patio. Flicking her hair out of her eyes, she reached into her jacket pocket only to pull out a cigarette carton.

She plucked one out and put it to her lips, at the same time holding out the carton to me. She spoke around the cigarette, her eyebrow quirked. "'Want one?"

I grabbed one, nodding my thanks. They were Marlboros, after all; how could I refuse?

A moment later, I lit up using the Bic lighter she offered. Taking my first drag, I once more surveyed the scenery.

Over by the door, Mello and Halle had managed to get the stereo set up and were now bickering over which mix CD they should play first. It was apparent that Light had succeeded in convincing Misa to disengage herself from him as they were now over by the drink cooler. Light's persuasion could only go so far it seemed as Misa was still clinging to his arm – but I think he took that as progress. L was still working towards diabetes at an early age, while Near was–

Wait. Where did the sheep go?

"Hello, Matt. How do you like the festivities thus far?"

… Predictable Near.

I looked down at the white hair and coal-black eyes belonging to the boy sitting on the ground next to me and shrugged. "Alright, I suppose. You?"

"I am bored," he stated bluntly.

Nodding, I took another long drag. Wedy looked over at us, her lips curled into an amused smile.

"Now, now, boys. The fun hasn't even begun yet."

Just at that moment, music blared from the stereo and a chorus of howls rose up from the two blonds in charge of the music. If that wasn't enough to drag everyone's attention to their general direction, they certainly did a good job of maintaining it as they jumped right into close-quarters dancing, hands running all over each other as they moved to the fast beat.

I chalked up my rising irritation to the fact that they were making such whores of themselves.

From where I was standing, I saw the wink that Halle gave Mello as she slid in closer.

Yes. Definitely whores.

Next to me, Wedy stubbed out her cigarette and stood up. She offered me her hand, still smiling like she'd just found a hundred dollar bill lying on the sidewalk. "Care to dance, Red?"

I looked at Near and received nothing more than a blank expression, and so I stubbed out my cigarette as well and accepted her hand.

"Sure. Why not?"

Not that I could really dance as she would soon find out.

As it turns out, this didn't matter much to Wedy as she quickly took charge, and all I really had to do was follow along. Truthfully, I didn't really have to move much, letting Wedy pull as many fancy moves as she wished.

I think it was somewhere between the second or third song that I happened to look over and see Mello whispering something into Halle's ear to which she responded with a giggle. My lapse in attention caused me to bump Wedy's foot, and she smacked me lightly on the shoulder.

"Keep up!" she scolded.

I answered her distractedly, my mind elsewhere. "Y-yeah… 'Sorry."

Wedy rolled her eyes and started us at a faster pace, making sure I had to pay attention. Despite her best efforts, I couldn't help but let my eyes wander back over to them, only to see that they weren't there anymore. A quick sweep of the yard confirmed that they were no longer anywhere in the vicinity.

This is going to be a long night.