Roles Reversed

Chapter 2

Matt:

I was never one who voraciously worked out everyday, nor have I ever stepped outside for more than five minutes. So, I was quite surprised when I managed to catch Linda before she could burst in the Commons, where the other orphans usually hung out. Linda gave me an upset look when I cornered her.

"Why did you come after me?" She whined. "You're supposed to be with Matt. Not me." She batted her eyelashes. "Unless you changed your mind about me..."

I was about to reply, "I am Matt," but then I realized that I was in Mello's body, and therefore I must act like Mello. Unfortunately, I wasn't used to cussing and talking snidely and stuff life that. "Hell no," I said, once again surprising myself when my voice didn't waver. "I just came here to inform you that if anyone knows about what just happened, I will shoot your little fucking head off." Wow. Where'd that come from?

Linda furrowed her eyebrows. "Your voice sounds different."

There goes the chance that people may not notice that our voices had changed. "Linda, how old am I?" I said slowly, as if I were speaking to a child.

"Fifteen," Linda said, equally slowly.

"And what--" I started to say, but she interrupted.

"Oh! I get it!" She grinned at me cheekily. "Mello-chan is going through puberty! I understand." She paused to frown at me disappointedly. "But, even though I'm ecstatic, you and Matt are a little too young to be going that far. Why don't you slow down a bit? Have you even gone on a date yet?"

"Of course!" I snapped, lying through my teeth. Anything to get this girl to shut up and promise that she won't blab. "Now, tell me, are you going to keep this a secret?"

"I will..." Linda said thoughtfully. "...but only if you and Matt go on a date. A real one this time." She smirked at me. "Or else the whole House will know, including L, about the little incident."

I could have just set her straight, really, I could have. But there was that small part of me that wanted to go along with her plan, a small part of me that was insane. I wasn't sure if the part had been there my whole life and I'd never really brought it out, or if it was just because I was in Mello's body. Whatever it was, something possessed me to open my mouth and say, "All right, then." Because the competitive part of Mello was probably affecting my brain.

"Now, go back to Matty!" Linda pushed me. "Oh, and you really should not stick to those goggles. For some weird reason, they only look good on Matt."

I knew the real Mello would have given her a black eye, but I just wanted to lie down and sleep and realize this whole incident was a dream. So I left her alone, walking grudgingly back to my room. Hopefully, Mello was still passed out.

Oh. Mello.

I almost forgot about him.

When I entered our room, I made sure the gun was out of reach. My prayers had been answered(maybe this rosary does work) and Mello, still in my body, was still passed out. I surpressed the urge to panic and run around screaming, because I was Matt, and I was the mellow one.

"Damn Night," I muttered under my breath. The room was still tinted orange and I was trying to enjoy my last time with my goggles on. Oh, god, I don't think I'd be able to make it for more than a day without 'em...

Wait. Who's to say that me and Mello are going to stay switched forever? If Night did this-- "--then she can undo it!" I snapped my fingers, just because I thought it looked cool.

"Matt, you're talking to yourself again," Mello slurred. I felt him curl up into a ball beside me. I turned to him. His eyes were still half-lidded, trying to focus. "Ugh. I had this weird dream." He sat up.

"If this is, then we must be dreaming the same thing," I said under my breath crossly.

Mello heard and looked up. A few seconds passed as he tried to process what I was seeing. Then, he walked over to me, and--

--poke.

"What was that?" I rubbed my forehead where his pointer finger had pressed on.

"Hm." Mello looked thoughtful, the complete opposite of what he'd been earlier. "I'm gonna kill Night," I heard him mutter when he turned to our mirror. I watched as he examined himself, touching the red hair, my cheeks. "You look ridiculous with those on," he told me as a matter-of-factly. "Gimme."

Ruefully, I slipped off my goggles and tossed them to him. He caught them neatly and put them over his eyes. "Hm. Not bad."

And I knew that a silent agreement had been made. Then again, I always agreed to silent agreements because I was Mello's sidekick, partner in crime, whatever. But this was a special case. He was asking--ordering--me to play along with this. I knew he'd ask me of that the moment I saw mischievous glint in those eyes. And he knew that I knew that I'd say yes, so he's probably gone ahead and thought up of a scheme already.

Mello turned away from the mirror, facing me. It was very creepy seeing my own body in front of me. It made me feel like a spirit that had wondered out of its life form.

Hmph. We've switched bodies and he's still ordering me around. Why can't the dog ever get what he wants?

"Sit down," he said. "We're going to talk."

And my fate was sealed.