Mello and Near sat quietly in their dorm room, thinking over their secret class. Mello was sitting on his bed with his shoes still on, fiddling with a string on his blanket. Near sat on the floor with his back against the wall and was hunching just the tiniest bit. Finally, Near spoke. "So, what did you think of the class?"
"Which one?"
"You know which one."
Mello smiled down at Near. "Yeah, I know which one you're talking about, but what about the fact that you're apparently a genius at German but you don't want anybody to know?"
"It's not that I don't want anyone to know. I don't like talking in class. At my old school everyone was really mean to me when I got all the answers right. They called me names and told me I was weird. Here, I think I'll keep my mouth shut and let other people answer for a change."
Mello stared back up at the ceiling. He couldn't imagine knowing he was smarter than everyone else and not being able to say anything about it. "I'm sure you're a thousand times better of a person than all the people at your old school, Near. Besides, that sort of thing is encouraged here. I'm right all the time and everybody loves me."
The room fell silent again, almost awkwardly this time. Near didn't say anything in reply, instead he sat and scratched at the side of his head.
Matt took the opportunity to slam open the room of the dorm and walk in. To his credit, he took off his boots, but he kicked them at the wall so he didn't earn a lot of brownie points from Mello and Near. Instead of saying hello, he hopped up on Mello's bed, shoved his legs out of the way, and stretched out to take up as much room as possible for a fourteen-year-old boy. "So I was thinking, what's up with all the weird nicknames? I mean, you've got Near, and Princess-"
"Mello."
"-yeah, and what about that guy Crane, and then how come I'm just called Matt? I can't work out whether that means I'm special or the headmaster hates me."
Mello pulled his knees up to his chest to avoid contact with Matt's splayed body. "Probably means your real name is messed up enough."
"Watch it."
"Why is he here?" Near asked pointedly.
"Hey!" Matt said, sitting up and looking at Near with some annoyance.
"He's here because he wants to talk to us about his crackpot theory, and we need to work on our assignment. Then I expect he'll leave to go hang out with his much cooler friends. Hey, you can't light that in here! You'll set the whole building on fire!"
"Whoops, too late." Matt had lit up a cigarette and was now taking a long drag on it. "Sorry, it calms my nerves."
Mello's irritation built slowly but steadily. "We're just doing some homework, there's nothing to be nervous about."
Matt eyed Mello, who crouched even smaller. "Are you sure?" A soft smile spread across his face, unlike any expression Mello had seen him make so far. "Well, whatever. Why's that kid scratching his head so much?"
"Near," Mello said, "is scratching his head so much because he got beaten by one of his teachers on his first day and that included having his hair pulled on and some of it pulled out."
"I'd pull that hair too if I had the chance. It looks nice and soft. Hey Near, can I touch it?"
Near opened his mouth to reply shyly, but Mello spoke before he could get a word out. "OKAY! Why don't we get to work? If you all have your assignment outlines, I thought we could take a look at them and divide up the work."
"Okay, okay, no need to be so uptight." Matt pulled out his crumpled outline while Mello and Near found their binders. "This assignment is crazy. Listen to this: 'you have been tracking a man you suspect is a serial killer and his partner in crime for months. All the clues point to him, but suddenly his attitude changes and it is found that someone else has begun committing the same crimes. However, you can say with reasonable (90-100%) certainty that the original suspect is still involved. More detailed information is included within the following reports and you may do additional research as needed.' What the hell? What happened to Communication and Code?"
Mello rolled his eyes and set his outline on his bedside table. "Sounds to me like a transparent attempt for the police to get us to do their work for them. A room full of geniuses is guaranteed to find a good solution to the problem."
"But," Near said, looking up from a toy car he'd been rolling around himself, "Watari doesn't work for the police. L is the world's greatest detective. I think he can solve mysteries by himself." His part said, he continued to play with his car, humming quietly to himself.
"Well," Matt said, his voice grim, "maybe this is too hard for one person to solve by himself. Maybe L needs us."
"Can we do our work? We're obviously not going to get anything done as a team, so I'll make it easy." Mello scanned the assignment sheet to look for an easy way to divide it up. "I'll figure out how to prove the suspect is guilty, Near, you can figure out how to prove the second suspect is helping him, and Matt, why don't you do research on how to catch the third criminal? There, now we can all work by ourselves. If you don't mind, I'm going to get started." By the time he finished his face was hot.
"Um, Mello…"
"What do you want, Near?"
"I was hoping I could do the part where I figure out how to prove the suspect is guilty. I have a really good idea."
Mello swung his face down to glare at Near, who was looking up at him with a pleading expression. Cold green met innocent gray until Mello caved. "Fine, do whatever you want, I'm going to work now."
"Why don't we go for a walk?"
"What?" Mello and Near said in a moment of surprising simultaneity. Matt's suggestion came completely out of left field.
Matt coughed and threw his paper aside. "You two obviously have some issues you need to work through, and I as the normal kid am the perfect choice to help you work through them. Not really though. In all seriousness, I'm going for a walk because I need to clear my head and if either or both of you want to join me, feel free." He stood up and walked out of the room, leaving the door open. Mello and Near looked at each other, shrugged, and followed him.
The grounds at Wammy's weren't much to brag about, but there were a few secluded areas which were sometimes quite beautiful. In one spot, if one felt like climbing down the steep incline, a pond could be found at the base of several hills and a small waterfall. Mello didn't often make the trip down there, as he was easily bored and wanted to get back to his books, but Matt went often and found it peaceful. "Nice, isn't it?" he asked, pulling off his boots and dipping his feet in the water.
"It's wonderful," Near said.
At the same time, Mello said, "I've never understood what was so great about ponds and waterfalls. They're everywhere."
"I think you'll find, once you've spent enough time here, that there's something very special about the place. Near, you could sunbathe and get some colour on you. Princess, you could bring your books down here and study without having to put up with all the noise in the dorms. And on hot days like this," within seconds Matt had stripped down to his boxers, "you can go swimming." Without waiting for a reply from either of them, he leaped into the pond.
Near and Mello looked at each other again, not knowing what to do. Then Near smiled. "I want to swim." He too removed his oversized shirt and pants and joined Matt in the pool.
Mello declined the offer and sat back against one of the steeper hills. The grass tickled his cheeks and he listened to the sound of Near and Matt splashing around in the water. Days like this were rare, he reflected, when you had a few good friends who wanted to spend time with you but still let you do what you really wanted to, which in Mello's case was to lie against the grass and doze off.
He woke up to Matt picking him up with ease and tossing him into the water. Once he'd spluttered to the surface, he was enraged. "Matt, what the hell? My sweater is soaked!"
"And it might as well be! It's the middle of July, the least you could do is put on a t-shirt!"
Begrudgingly Mello joined the pair splashing in the water. He would never admit it later, but he actually had a lot of fun with them, even though when the sun started to go down he had to wring his sweater out the entire way back to the cafeteria. "I thought you would be annoying, Matt, but you're alright."
"A compliment at its finest." Matt lit up another in what seemed to be an endless string of cigarettes. "You don't need to play tsundere with me, Mello, I think you're amazing." Mello was almost certain Matt only said things like that to make him blush. "It's nice to see the two of you coming out of your shells, too. I have to admit, Near, when I first met you I thought you were going to be a stick in the mud but…"
Mello stopped paying attention to Matt's voice as they reached the cafeteria. He expected the boy to go join his entourage of giggling goons, but instead after he'd picked up some supper he joined Mello at his table. "That's an awful lot of dessert. How do you stay so skinny?"
Mello offered him a tiny smile. "I don't know. I just like chocolate and don't worry about any of that other stuff."
"Hunting a life full of pleasure, are we?" Matt asked. Mello didn't point out that his plate included two cheeseburgers and a pile of fries. "Where's your little buddy?"
"I think he was getting something to drink…" Mello looked around the cafeteria, watching out for the head of white hair that would indicate Near. "Oh, see, he's on his way."
Near held a tray which endearingly held a small salad, a grilled cheese sandwich, and a large glass of milk. Mello waved so he could see where they were sitting, but when Near started walking over to them, he fell. "Hey, what-" Mello said and stood up. "Oh look, Matt, one of your charming friends just tripped Near. Glad to see you spend your time with a solid bunch of people."
Matt swivelled in his seat. "Oh, it's him. Don't worry, that guy's a lot of bark and no bite. I'm sure he'll leave Near alone now that he's got his laugh – or not." As Matt had been speaking the boy who tripped Near had dragged him up by the arm and was now holding him while talking. Mello couldn't make out the words from the distance he was at. He would have, however, put money on them not being nice.
"Are you going to do something, Matt?"
"I… I don't know."
"That's cool." Mello stood up and marched over to where Near was being mercilessly taunted.
"Aren't you going to fight back? Or do you think you're above that? Do you want a hug to make you feel all better? Come on, let's kiss and make up." The boy embraced Near, caressing his back in a way that clearly made him uncomfortable – and in case the boy wasn't clear, his struggling gave it away. "Come on, don't be like that. Wouldn't you like to make some friends? Oh, it's you, what do you want?" he finally took notice of Mello.
"I want you to stop harassing my friend," Mello said in a calm voice that almost hid the anger that was making him shake.
"You know, princess, I'm only helping the guy out. He needs to make a few friends, get out of his shell… that's what your new pal Matt said."
"Matt, surprisingly, has methods that are a bit different than yours. Also, you don't get to call me that. Put him down."
"I don't think so, honey. Near wants to eat with us, don't you, Near?"
Mello was astonished that the boy knew Near's name, but he didn't take time to show his surprise. Instead, he jumped at the boy, not thinking about how much bigger he was, not thinking about how the boy had plenty of friends sitting around him, only thinking about getting Near away from him. His fist flew into the boy's face with a satisfying noise and a foot made contact with someone else's knee. Soon, though, he couldn't keep it up any longer and he was pulled off by someone much stronger than himself.
It was Matt.
"Let go of me, Matt," Mello demanded.
"That's not a good idea. You're outnumbered, and you were doing a great job might I add, but I know these guys and they could have taken you. They're not worth you getting your pretty faces messed up." Matt had Near safely under his other arm. "The rest of you," he said, raising his voice, "these two are my friends. If you keep bothering them, you won't be anymore. And honestly when the upper years start getting annoyed with you for acting like a bunch of smartasses when you're actually as dumb as a bunch of bricks, I don't think I'll feel like telling them to leave you alone. Mello, Near, let's go."
Mello half expected someone from the group to follow them, but it didn't happen. During the rest of their meal he occasionally saw one of them staring at him, but he took Matt's advice that they weren't worth it. And in the end, somewhere between when Near and Matt were teasing him about the enormous slice of chocolate cake on his tray and when the three of them fell asleep over their homework in Mello's dorm room, he forgot all about it.
