The next morning was gray, cold, and overall, depressing. It was the kind of angst morning that made emo kids want to slit their wrists, or maybe just end it all there. Me? Well…I was still in my euphoric mood from the day before. I was humming softly to myself while I got dressed, and I think I might have even skipped down the stairs to the dining hall. As I had suspected, there was no sign of Matt anywhere in the dining hall, and I sat in my usual spot beside Lawliet, and across from Near. Normally, there would be an argument of some sort between myself and Near, usually caused by the younger's attempt to piss me off. But this morning…I barely took notice of him. It was like all the things that normally bugged the hell out of me were practically non-existent. AND IT WAS NICE!! Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, was going to ruin my mood. It was amazing.

By the time I had come to the conclusion I was having the best orgasmic high of my life, I had found myself at Matt's door, and…

I GOT SCARED, DAMMIT!!

What the hell was expecting from me?! We were just going to be friends, right? Nothing more, nothing less…? My blissful disposition evanesced quickly, replacing it with utmost fear, and I felt my face loose its color. What the hell had I been so excited about? There was nothing special about him; he was just as amazing as Lawliet or Near, so why had I been so excited?

I turned away from the door in a huff, crossing my arms. "What's so great about him, Mihael?" I asked myself, scowling. "Yeah, he's nice, down-to-Earth, and severely charming, but so are half the people here! What makes him any different?"

"Maybe it's the fact that he's invited you over."

I jumped, spinning around to find Matt standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe. His goggles were slung haphazardly around his neck, and he had an unlit cigarette between his fingers. His green eyes watched me curiously. "Uh…" I straightened a bit, feeling my face turn pink. "How much of that did you hear?"

"All of it," he admitted, shrugging. I shrunk back a bit, embarrassed. He wasn't supposed to hear that. "But it's cool." He smiled, waving me inside. "I'm flattered, actually."

I giggled a bit, accepting his invitation and stepping inside. It was evident that he had cleaned up since the night before. There was still a pile of clothes on the left side of his bed (I knew it was his by the four laptops that peppered the bedspread), but otherwise, it was remotely clean. Needless to say, I was impressed.

Matt maneuvered passed me, and sat on his bed. He looked around for a moment, before moving three of his laptops to the floor, where they sat and hummed their electronic songs. Then he patted the bed. "Come, sit."

"I feel privileged," I admitted laughing as I sat beside him. "I mean, you moved your laptops for me."

"Well, you are my guest." He smiled and leaned in. "Just between us," he whispered, "They haven't quite realized that I'm cheating on them."

"Oh?" I cooed, playing along. "With whom?"

"With you," he said. And he was serious; I could tell when I looked him in the eye. He smiled softly at me, and I felt a tremor up my spine. I wanted to look away, and pick at the imaginary fuzz on my black shirt, but I couldn't. It was weird, but I just continued to stare at him, my face steadily deepening in color. His eyes were…hypnotizing, if you will. After a moment, he took my hand and kissed it again, breaking the spell and allowing me to look at my shirt, plucking at it nervously. I had never felt like this before. It was odd…and I liked it. I liked the feeling I got whenever Matt touched me, and how my heart began to race every time he said my name, how his voice and his laugh made me smile…I loved it all.

"…Ello. Mello? Hellooooooo?"

I blinked furiously, glancing at Matt, who looked concerned. "Huh? What?"

"I was asking you if you were okay. You got really quiet and fidgety; I thought I had done something to offend you."

I shook my head roughly, my pale blond tresses splaying out as I moved. "No, I'm fine!" I smiled. "I was just thinking, that's all."

"About what?"

I thought quickly, trying to come up with a decent lie. "What we should talk about." I turned in a potentially painful angle, glancing outside. "It's not raining, you want to talk outside?"

"But it's cold."

"Get a jacket!" I hopped off the bed. "I'll meet you in the entrance hall, okay?"

Matt blinked at me, but smiled and nodded. I bolted down the hallway to mine and L-chan's room, where I snatched my ebony, fur-trimmed jacket out of the closet, and slammed my matching boots on my feet before running down the stairs to find a patiently waiting Matt in the entrance hall. He urged me to catch my breath first, laughing a bit at my frantic clamor. Once I had managed to catch my breath, I looked him up and down. He was wearing his black and white striped shirt, his blue jeans, which were tucked into his boots, and a tan, furry jacket with no sleeves. I scrunched my nose at it, and he laughed. "Not the most fashionable jacket, I know, but it does the job." He took my hand before opening the door. "C'mon."

We stepped outside, and were greeted with a powerful gust of cold air; I squawked involuntarily as the burst mussed my hair, and matt laughed. The rush calmed, and the red head led me over to one of the large oak trees in the courtyard. It was gargantuan, and had been beaten up over the years (As if the random carvings couldn't tell you that much) by couples who had sat there before--wait, did I just call Matt and I a couple? Awe, fuck a duck and call it Christmas…

Yeah, I did just say that. Got a problem with it? No, I didn't think so.

The air was cool, and as we sat under the tree, I began to regret my idea of talking outside; the wind sent chills up my spine, and, as I hesitantly stared up at the charcoal colored clouds, I thought for sure that the sky was going to open up and deliver another onslaught of precipitation (Whether that meant, rain, hail, sleet or snow, I wasn't sure. As far as I was concerned, it could have been all of the above). Matt didn't seem the least bit phased by the declining temperature, despite the fact that his jacket had no sleeves. In fact, he seemed perfectly comfortable! …Stupid jerk off and his high body temperature. I tried to pretend that I was perfectly content, but the harder that I tried, the colder I got! I shivered a bit underneath the layer of fuzzy coat, the fur along the collar tickling my nose a bit as I wriggled deeper into the covering. I guess my random (thought un-noticeable) movement caught Matt's attention. He glanced over at me, tucking his unlit cigarette in his mouth as he pulled vermilion lighter from his pocket. "You cold?" he asked, lighting up as he took a quick drag.

I scowled a bit at the bad apple, curling a bit into my coat. "Maybe a little," I admitted, glancing off at the semi-covered mountain range. "What's it to you? And do you have to do that?"

Matt blinked, confused. "Do what?"

"…That…" I pointed at the cigarette, my nose scrunched up slightly as the smoke began to irritate my lungs.

The red head blinked at me for a moment, seemingly confused, before watching the smoke curl in an almost serpentine pattern to the sky. "What?" he asked, still evidently confused. "What's wrong?"

"First of all," I began, straightening. "It's unhealthy, and you're going to croak before your time. Second, it makes other people sick…" I scowled. "Like me." I swallowed hard, resisting the cough in my throat and blinking back the water in my eyes.

Matt stared at me, shocked, before looking at the cigarette. His brow furrowed, but he put the cigarette out and tossed it aside. "Alright, I won't smoke around you if it bothers you so much."

I blinked, but smiled and blushed slightly. "Thank you, Matt. It means a lot to me." I giggled. "My lungs thank you too."

"I'm sure they do." We laughed at the pure stupidity of the situation, looking the opposite direction than the other. After a few moments, our guffaws died down, and it was silent. Literally; the wind didn't even rustle the leaves above us. I sighed, and Matt turned to me slowly. "So…what are we going to talk about?"

I hummed to myself for a moment, and then shrugged. "To be honest…I have no idea." I fought a grin, only to snort and send Matt into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. I smiled, finding myself in that happy little state again. Matt was amazing--he had a smile that could send chills down your spine, and a laugh that sent warmth into the core of your being. Not to mention his gorgeous eyes, to-die-for hair, and remarkable charisma. Oops…did I say that out loud? SHIT!

It fell quiet again, and I began to stare at my feet. It was a little awkward, but I still felt good about Matt's company. I opened my mouth to say something, when there was a loud crack, followed by a burst that split the sky. I stared up at the veil, before blinking furiously as a drop hit me smack in the eye. I spluttered violently, rubbing at my eye. "What the--?!"

"Is it raining?" Matt asked, leaning forward a bit, only to be pelted in the face. "Oh, yes it is." Just as the words left his mouth, the rain began coming in sheets. I scrambled up off the ground with an involuntary squawk, while Matt yelped, nearly pinning me to the tree trunk under the boughs. Under the branches, the downpour missed us for the most part. I peeked up into the tree, barely able to see the heavens. "Well, that was unexpected," Matt hissed, looking evenly at me.

"Not completely," I admitted, my eyes locking with his emerald ones. "I considered it a possibility. I just didn't think it was very likely."

"Well, you were wrong." He looked up at the doors to the entrance hall. "…Do you want to wait until it dies down, or do you want to go in now?"

I peered through the torrent, biting my lower lip. "…I'd rather wait for it to lighten up…"

"All right, we'll wait."

If I thought the storm was going to ease up, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The storm got heavier, pelting the ground with bullets of water, making the once hard ground turn into a pile of mush, mine and Matt's boots becoming buried in the mess. I was slightly disgusted by the squelching sound our feet made with every move we made, making me cringe. "Maybe we should have gone inside when we had the chance."

"I'm starting to agree with you there, Mel-mel."

I scowled at him. "Mel-mel?"

"Yeah, I just made it up." Matt smiled. "Do you mind?"

"…Well…" I shifted, running my hands up and down my arms. "…I guess not."

"Sweet." The red head stared into the downpour, looking thoughtful. "…Shall we run for it?"

"Before we're eaten by the mud? Yes." with that decided, Matt and I bolted for the door as fast as our legs would allow(not taking into affect that the ground was like a suction cup on our boots, nearly pulling mine off my feet) to the entrance hall, slamming into the door and collapsing on top of each other on the floor. We were both soaked, the fur on my jacket becoming matted and uncomfortable. Matt shook his head, water spraying everything within a foot radius, before looking at me and bursting into hysterical laughter. "What?" I yelled, wringing my hair out over my shoulder. "What are you laughing at?"

"And I thought you looked like a girl before!" He sniggered, pointing childishly. "This is sooo black mail material!"

I glared at him before looking at my reflection in the shiny tile floor. My shoulder length tresses were plastered to my face, framing it, and drops of water were cascading down my cheeks, which had taken on a rosy hue. On top of that, the coat was poofed around my neck, making me look more slender and girly than I thought I looked. I pouted, tearing my soaked jacket off my shoulders, clearly frustrated. I stopped, hearing Matt laugh again. "Huh?"

He leaned forward, moving a strand of hair that ran down the middle of my face. "I said you looked like a girl…"

"I know."

"I didn't say I didn't like it." I froze, staring at him in slight shock. He smiled slightly, his eyes softening. Delicately, he pressed his lips to mine, his eyes slipping closed. I gasped slightly, not wholly sure what was happening, before I felt warmth hit the pit of my stomach, making me sigh and close my eyes. A burning sensation spread from my lips, reaching down my spine and into the tips of my fingers and toes before bouncing back to my heart, which palpitated happily. And, as quickly as it had began…

It was over. Just like that.

My lips began to tingle as Matt pulled away from me, and I felt this innate urge to grab Matt by his goggles and snog him into oblivion, and though my hands twitched to respond, they felt like lead, and I couldn't pick them up. Instead, I grinned a bit oddly, and giggled; Matt mimicked me, and he had to help me get up. Once I had managed to stand once more, his kissed me again, this time pulling me by my jaw; I couldn't help but smile. It felt nice, too nice to be wrong.

And yes, inside, I knew it was wrong.

It wasn't long before L-chan came down the stairs, spotting us dripping all over the floor and took us up to the room, muttering something along the lines of, "catch your deaths of cold god dammit…" as he shoved us in, tossing towels. "I'm going to get a hair dryer. Change into some dry clothes before you get sick." And he left us there, dripping and slightly embarrassed.

I glanced at my bed and saw two piles of clothes: one was a pair of blue sweatpants and a plain white, long sleeved shirt. The other pile was a pair of black sweatpants, and a long sleeved, maroon and white striped shirt. I grabbed the second pile, handing it slowly to Matt, who was grinning about something. I decided to ignore it, and turned back to my pile, peeling my soaked shirt off my skin.

"You know," Matt chuckled to himself. "If you wanted to see me naked, you just had to ask."

Blood shot to my face, turning my cheeks a brilliant shade of scarlet, and I spun around, clutching my shirt to my bare chest. "For your information," I hissed, attempting to ignore the fact that we were both shirtless. "This wasn't supposed to happen. Seeing you in your birthday suit is one of the last things on my mind, and if you had any sense of decency, you would never have brought it up in the first place. Capeesh?"

Matt blinked at me before scowling. He let out an irritated "humph" before turning away from me, shoving his shirt over his sopping wet hair. "Right," he said. "Just remind me next time that you have no sense of humor."

I let out an almost valley girl-ish squawk, beating him with my shirt and leaving a nice welt on his bare back. "Nudity is not a joke! Especially with the stunt you just pulled--"

"Stunt?!" Matt whirled around, his face inches from mine. "You call that a stunt?!"

"You kissed me!" I yelled, getting on my tip-toes to be on even level with him.

"As if you didn't like it! Otherwise I wouldn't be here right now!" He threw his soaked shirt on the floor. "If you don't like something, don't give mixed signals!" He snatched the sweatpants off the bed before stomping out of the room, pushing passed a rather confused looking Lawliet.

Lawliet blinked at me, a hairdryer in his left hand. "Mello, what just happened?"

I shook my head. I felt my throat tighten, and the backs of my eyes began to tingle. I stared at Matt's wadded up shirt in a sopping pile on the floor. I turned away, pulling my shirt on without a word. I felt like shit. I just ruined possibly the best thing ever, and I seriously doubted Matt would speak to me ever again. "Maybe he's right…" I whispered to myself, catching L's attention. "Maybe I have no sense of humor…"

"Is that what happened?" Lawliet asked, still somewhat confused as he plugged in the hairdryer.

"He made a joke about me wanting to see him in the nude, and I got flustered and took it seriously." I turned to Lawliet, barely feeling the tears that had began to drip down my face. "But who in their right mind jokes about that? Especially to someone they've only really known for a day?" I sighed in frustration, wiping away the tears furiously. "I mean…"

"maybe he was a bit out of line," Lawliet admitted, sitting me down and sitting behind me to dry my hair. "But you were too by yelling at him. I say you wait a while to give both of you time to cool off, and then go talk to him about it." He clicked on the hairdryer, sending a burst of heat over my head. "Besides," he yelled over the loud whirrrrr, "It's not like you hate him."

I sighed, letting L-chan dry my hair. I was starting to feel a little better, but I was also starting to see what Near meant.

Dammit, I hate it when that kid is right.