A/N: Yay! A new chapter! So, I didn't mean to switch POVs, it just kind of happened. Sorry. Hee.

Song: Ain't no Rest For the Wicked by Cage the Elephant

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, if I did Matt and Mello would not have died.

I walked down the street with a few people scattered here and there at dusk with no place particular in mind. I didn't have a permanent place to go back to, so I wandered looking for someplace to sleep tonight.

The year: 1987. The place: Alphabet City. Pan in on Matt, I thought. Just Matt, because I had lost my other self so now I am just Matt. Matt, described with a messy look, with matching red hair. Wearing a ragged long sleeved striped shirt with a not-so-warm vest after so much use and an old pair of blue jeans. Topped off with a random pair of goggles around his neck. Actually, the goggles weren't random. They have important meaning, one of which I cannot think of right now, but I will.

Oh screw it. They were random. Someone had dropped them in a dumpster and I figured, Hey, it snows in New York, right? Maybe they'll come in handy.

But the rest was alright. Hm, maybe I'm getting better at this. This filmmaker thing.

It'd probably be a lot easier if I had a movie camera instead of just writing screenplays in my head. But whatever, beggars can't be choosers. Oh God, I did not just say that. That's it; my life is completely and totally pathetic when I start speaking in clichés.

I shook it off and continued my suckish screenplay.

He walks down the street seemingly in another world, whilst really people watching. And with good reason. Has anyone seen Alphabet City? It's a bohemian paradise. You can catch almost anything happening. A tagger making a new masterpiece on an abandoned building's walls. Maybe not even an abandoned building if they're a protester. And there are a million of them around here, too.

And they always find something to protest about. Be it the government treating them unfairly, or their healthcare- or lack thereof- the protesters want something better. I'm sure we all do.

But at least most of us know that we're never gonna get anything better, or be anything greater than we were before. After a while in these horrid living conditions, you start to wonder why you're even here.

But by then, you can't go back to wherever you came from. It's just too late. Something's happened- maybe you don't have any money left, or any hope, which are two common things that people lose. Or maybe you got hooked on something here that you can't get wherever it is you came from. You could get hooked on anything here, believe me. You got your many types of drugs that lurk around any of the right places, and you got the sex. The sex you could get any night if you pay the right price.

Around here, people will do almost anything for money. Most of which is used to pay for drugs; because when you feel there's nothing left to you, when you've been rejected for a job for the millionth time, when the one person you cared about just up and leaves you taking whatever little amount of money you had with them, you need something to make you feel good again. Something that makes you feel truly alive.

I had cigarettes. I know, right? Out of everything I could get I chose something as small as nicotine. But they hold me over so I don't dwell on it. I could have one when I'm stressed or content, or whatever. I wasn't exactly complaining with them.

However, I don't really know what I'm supposed to be doing here. In this city full of people with talent- or at least they think they have it- dreaming of becoming great artists, or musicians and such.

Me, I've tried almost everything. Artist, musician, I even tried to find something worth protesting. I found that I just didn't really care. And now I'm trying filmmaker.

I was born and raised here and, frankly, I just wanted to get the hell out of here. But, alas, as I have mentioned before some people just can't escape.

I just don't have the cash, and I wasn't exactly that desperate to hitchhike somewhere else and hope for the best. I was content to just live another day. Sliding by in life was my specialty. When I was still in school I was intelligent enough to do nothing and still get decent grades, and that was fine with me. I knew that I would never be anything really great, people won't worship me in life, probably nobody would even care about the insignificant being called Mai- Matt.

Matt. That was who I was now. Sometimes I think to myself, could I really just forget the past? I already was going by a new name and I never really knew anybody before, so I couldn't spot a problem in my plan.

Although, I suppose nothing was really going to change in my life. Ever.

And even as I'm thinking that, I find myself surprised at the tinge of bitterness in that thought. I pushed it aside because me, Matt, was just trying to get by in life without any extra problems.

I realized a little late that maybe I shouldn't have been so deep in thought because I found myself being dragged into an alleyway and my face shoved up against a wall.

Figured that this would happen to me. It wasn't the first time, but I still got a bit anxious at the possible ending of this little encounter.

I could tell that whoever had grabbed me was much stronger than I was and my odds weren't good.

The deep, gruff voice that spoke in my ear wasn't exactly reassuring, either.

"Give me all of your money." It was clearly a command, and I just hated to disappoint him but knew if I didn't respond at all my odds would be even smaller of getting out of this alive.

So I told him, "Sorry, bud, but I don't have any." I knew that being a smartass in this situation wasn't exactly a good idea and made my odds that were already close to nonexistent, even closer to none, but I just couldn't help myself. It was just part of my nature.

"I don't believe you," the voice said in a- clearly- disbelieving tone.

"Well, I don't know whether to trust your judgment because you don't seem to be an Einstein, but I really have nothing." Oh there I go again. And this time my odds went exactly to none because he moved a hand to grip my neck at the end of my comment.

I gasped and said in a short breath, "Hey, man, I really don't have anything!"

I couldn't see him, but I though I heard a sneer in his voice when he briefly felt through my vest and said, "Oh yeah? Then what's this in your pocket?"

Fuck. My only pack of cigarettes that I had pick pocketed and had been rationing.

He pulled them out of my pocket, tucked them into his, and said, "Hm, I guess these'll do. You really don't seem to have any money. Too bad..." He added the last words in a mockingly sad tone. And I realized just a split second before he finished the sentence what would happen.

"…For you." He told me in a cold voice as he spun me around and punched me hard in the stomach.

I would have doubled over in the agony I was in, but he still had a good grip on my neck, which made it easier for him to hit me again in my face.

When he turned me around I saw that he was at least twice my scrawny size and weighed at least three times as much as I did. And much of that weight was probably muscle, I thought nervously to myself.

I groaned in pain and he punched me hard again in multiple places of my body several times before he dropped me and I slid down the wall. He gave a cold laugh and sauntered away into the night, because by that time it was.

I lay in the alley in so much pain and agony for what seemed like forever. I knew that I was bleeding from my mouth and nose and that it was probably everywhere by now. I also knew that I was going to have to suck it up and clean myself up by myself because people who had my scenario could be found everywhere around here and nobody ever stops to help them because they had their own troubles to worry about.

But I figured I could lie there with all the trash and debris for a few more minutes.

Bad idea. I figured that out when I seemed to have drifted into unconsciousness, which is never a good sign when you've just been beaten on. I opened my eyes, shocked to find out I had closed them and realized that I had to get up.

I struggled to my feet and found that the ground kept moving and I realized that it really wasn't a good sign. I managed to stagger out of the alleyway and down the sidewalk. It was then that I remembered I didn't have anywhere to go.

Fuck. This probably wasn't good. I had a hazy fog of a mind and something was tugging at the corner of it. Some…place…that I could probably use. It clicked then, the 24/7 free clinic! There was only one that I knew of and…it was about seventeen blocks from where I was…I think. I wasn't exactly sure where I was. I hadn't been going anywhere in particular earlier.

Needless to say I was extremely pissed. And in extreme agony- right in my ribs, and I hoped to death that I didn't break anything.

As I was staggering, hunched over, down the sidewalk in- what I hoped was- the right direction of the clinic I ran into somebody.

Fuck, I thought to myself. If it was somebody like that guy I had just seen I knew I was absolutely done for. Get my grave ready.

I looked up still squinting from the pain in my face, and saw the most beautiful guy I had ever seen, with help from the almost full moon and stars.

He looked absolutely godly, but at the same time, like he could kick my ass. Which I really hoped he wouldn't do. He had golden blonde hair that came to his chin and was wearing what seemed like leather pants and a red jacket over something I couldn't see. He had the hood pulled up, but I could see ice blue eyes…that were glaring at me.

I winced and thought, Well, if I'm going to be killed now, at least I have seen this unearthly perfection before I died.

I tried to stand up straight and back away from him, and he just continued to glare at me.

A few moments passed and he seemed to be having a discussion with himself in his head, for he slightly changed facial expressions several times. It was hard to tell, but I could catch his face changing. It was a gift, I know.

My worry about dying tonight in this harsh place was slowly decreasing as we stood there in the moonlight.

Finally he said something. He looked me over and said in a cold voice, "You look like shit."

I gave a short, dark laugh- which I found out to hurt a lot more than it should have- and replied, "Thanks for the compliment."

He took a deep breath- to reassure himself, this I'm sure of- waited a few more moments, looked toward the heavens and muttered to himself, "Oh, why do I feel like I'm going to regret this?" Then he looked back at me sighed, and said, "Come with me." It was a command, I was sure of it, but I just had to say something.

"Wait a minute. You're telling me to just go with you? I don't know who the hell you are and you look like you could kick my ass without a second thought. I don't think so." And it was completely true. He didn't exactly look like Mother Teresa, and I wasn't about to just go and walk to my death when I might have a chance of living a little longer.

He gave me an exasperated sigh and said, "You don't need to know who I am. I'll take you to the clinic. Don't ask me why, because I don't really know myself. I suggest you take this offer up because I am not so far gone that I wouldn't be able to walk away right now and let you suffer by yourself in the middle of the night."

Well, it was a good offer, I couldn't deny that fact. So I lifted my right hand from my side held it out and told him formally, "Hello. I'm Matt. Nice to meet you."

He didn't take me hand but made a face at me and said, "Fine. I'm Mello."

With that he let me lean on him slightly and we started walking in the real direction of the clinic. Turns out I was going the wrong way the entire time. Figures.

xXxXxXx

A/N: Yes! I am so psyched for this story! And this would've been updated sooner but I had to get off the computer before 2 am last night because I had to take a Regents today. And I think I did AMAZING! To celebrate I will write another chapter tonight! …after I go to my friend's birthday party. But I SWEAR that another chap will be up by tomorrow!

For you guys to all celebrate you should totally review!! Even if you just write a one-word review, I will still love you forever and ever!!