A/N
Hiya! Sorry for the wait, I actually got stuck a couple times during this chapter. But it's finally here! Big thanks to Keeralie Starflight for reviewing, following, AND favoriting, and also thanks to IAmWings for following and favoriting~! You guys rock! Enjoy~!
Part One: The Kids from Yesterday
Chapter Two: Rejection
Fill in the blanks, pencil on paper
Disposable
Throw away lines
Intentional but unbelievable
-To Live and Let Go, All Time Low
At 1:53 AM in Medicover Pipera Bucuresti hospital, the only that offered her a room, Corina Ionesco gave birth to healthy fraternal twin babies. One boy, who she named Mail Andrei Jeevas, and one girl, Abigail Costela Jeevas. Their father, Andrei Jeevas, was Corina Ionesco's boyfriend. At the time his children were born, he was at the bar with another woman. When Corina found out a year later about his affair, she decided to leave. Angry and heartbroken, she left Bucharest, Romania with her daughter, leaving her only her son behind for Andrei to take care of.
While I, Abigail, grew up in Washington with my mother, Mail grew up in Bucharest with Andrei. Andrei, as you can probably guess, was a deadbeat and a drunk gambler. As a result, Mail grew up in constant poverty. One year before he found me in America, L and Watari were working on a case near Bucharest. They found Mail rifling through a garbage for food and L gave him a lollipop, just like he did with me. One thing led to another, and Mail Jeevas became Matt, the third smartest kid at Wammy's House, an orphanage and secret institution that trained children to succeed L as the world's greatest detective.
This was explained to me during the flight to Winchester, England. The rest of it was spent enduring odd looks from L's lap. I had crawled there from my seat after the plane took off, already not too fond of flying. He had been surprised, but held me in his comfortingly awkward embrace and played with my hair while Watari explained Mail's history to me.
"Abigail-chan," He murmured to me in his soothing monotone about an hour before we arrived at Wammy's House. "When you arrive at Wammy's House, you will no longer be allowed to be called by your name. No one but Mail will know your true name, and you must never reveal yours or Mail's true name to anyone. This is to ensure your safety as you train to succeed me, do you understand?"
I nodded to signal that I understood, and he continued.
"As your name begins with an A, your situation will be tricky. Wammy's House was once home to a man named A. He died due to a tragic accident. The standard protocol is to assign a name and letter that matches the first letter of your true name. Many will dislike the fact that you are the first person to inherit the letter A since the death of the man who owned it before you. However, I have faith that you can handle the pressure. If your peers do not accept you because of something so petty as a letter assigned as your name, please know that I believe in you."
I merely peered at him, unsure of what to say. I was surprised. Not only was this the most the seventeen year old detective had ever said to me, but it was the most meaningful words anyone had ever directed towards me at the time. I think he understood, because he gave me a small smile before pulling me onto his lap again and continuing.
"You are always another part of something, aren't you?" He asked me. "Another Jeevas, another A, another successor… Always another. What do you think? Does Another suit you?"
I thought about it for a moment. It made sense to me, and personally I was thrilled that L had named me himself, so I smiled and nodded at him.
"Excellent," He said as Watari pulled into the driveway of an old looking building at the top of a grassy hill. It was surrounded by an expanse of land, and gated off by the community by an ornate wrought iron fence.
"Abigail, A2, Another, welcome to Wammy's House."
It was Watari who walked me up the steps and down the halls to the office of Roger Ruvie, as L had to leave soon. Along the way, Watari caught a young boy, who was walking down the same hallway in the opposite direction, by the shoulder.
"Mello," He said gently. "Please tell Matt to come to Mr. Ruvie's office. It is very important that he comes soon."
The boy nodded, looking me over scornfully, like he was questioning why I should be in his presence. I only narrowed my eyes at him, annoyed by his gaze. Why should I have to prove myself to him? What made him so special?
"Mello, now please." Watari urged gently.
"Yeah, alright." The blond boy said before giving me a dirty look and walking off. In return, I stuck my tongue out at him behind his back, making Watari chuckle.
That was it. My first interaction with Mihael Keehl. Not exactly love at first sight.
We made our way into Rodger's office and Watari explained my situation. Promptly after doing so, he claimed he had work to do, and swiftly exited. I was pleased when he stopped to pat my head.
"Damn old man," Mr. Ruvie grumbled. His accent was thick, and sounded like it came from northern England, like Leeds or Liverpool. "Always leaving me with these kids, he is. Right then, take a seat, your brother will be here soon."
I nodded mutely and sat to wait for my brother.
The wait was long and tedious. I wasn't sure what to expect, so naturally I began to fantasize. In my mind, Matt was tall, and incredibly good looking. He was kind and fair to all, and would always protect me and be there for me when I was in need of him. Almost like a prince.
What I got was completely different.
When the door handle clicked, snapping me out of my daydreams, a short red haired boy wearing goggles with his nose stuck in a Gameboy entered, the blond boy from earlier on his heels. I simply stared at him.
"Mello, you're not allowed in here at this time." Mr. Ruvie said, glaring at the blond.
"Aw, c'mon, Roger, don't be like that! Matt said I could stay, didn't you, Matt!" The blond pointed to Matt.
"Sure," He replied offhandedly, not looking up from the Gameboy. "I don't care, whatever."
"See?" Mello smirked, proud of himself.
"I'm sorry Matt, but Mello can't be here at this time." Mr. Ruvie replied, sounding irritated. It seemed to me like he didn't care for children much. Then again, this idiot was irritating me as well.
"Well, he's just going to tell me everything anyways, aren't you?"
"Yeah, sure." Matt replied, still paying absolutely no attention to the conversation and furiously pressing the buttons on his Gameboy.
"See? There you have it. No matter what happens, I'm gonna know. "
I wanted to slap the smirk off of this boy's face. I wanted to yell at him. I wanted him to leave.
I held my silence. Why I did, I don't exactly know. I suppose I was just a quiet kid.
Mr. Ruvie looked as agitated as I felt. His eye twitched, and his jaw was clenched. "You'll have to wait then."
Mello didn't like that. He glared, taking a bite out of the chocolate bar he'd produced from his back pocket. Then, huffing angrily, he stomped out the door and slammed it behind him.
Mr. Ruvie watched him go with a sigh. "You kids take the mickey outta me, you do. Matt, get your nose outta that damn thing, you'll ruin your eyesight."
Matt huffed then paused the game and stuffed the device in his back pocket, looking up for the first time since entering. "What do you need? Who's she?" He pointed to me suspiciously, and though it was only to ask my identity, the fact that he acknowledged me took away all the anger the blond boy brought on. I stood and ran over to him, hugging him tightly.
"Brother!" I said softly, happily. My first moment of feeling true, pure happiness was over in seconds. Matt pushed me off of him, hard enough to send me stumbling, but soft enough so I wouldn't fall. I think I would have been more offended if he didn't look more surprised than angry.
"What the heck?!" He exclaimed. "I'm not your brother!"
"Actually, she is." Mr. Ruvie said. "This is Abigail Jeevas, your twin sister. While she's here she'll go by Another, or A2."
Silence. I couldn't tell how he was taking the news. I was never able to read Matt's emotions clearly. I still to this day blame the goggles he always wore. Don't ask why.
"Um" Matt spoke after a while. "So what do you want me to do?"
"I don't care. That's up to you two. Go talk or something." Mr. Ruvie looked like he'd had enough of children today, so Matt and I walked out of his office silently and made our way to the common room.
Mello was waving Matt over from across the room, and the latter turned to me.
"Listen, I don't think it's the best idea for us to hang out right now, okay? You should probably get settled in and do your own thing." He said bluntly.
I raised my eyebrows, surprised. "B-but-"
"Look, Mello and I have our own thing going, and it'll be weird if you just join in." He patted my shoulder awkwardly. "You lived your whole life without me, and you turned out okay. I think you'll be fine."
I opened my mouth to say something, but Matt was already across the room with Mello, leaving me standing there, ready to cry.
'Please know that I believe in you.'
L's voice echoed in my head, and I sniffled and wiped my eyes, sitting down next to a toy box and trying my hardest not to burst into tears in front of everyone.
Suddenly, a plush bunny was being held in front of my face by a small white hand. I looked up to see a little boy that just looked like a little pillar of white. White face, white hair, white pajamas. I must have looked surprised, because he said in a calm voice,
"You looked upset, so I thought this would make you feel better."
Hesitantly, I reached out and took the rabbit and held it close, rubbing it's long, soft ears between my fingers. Honestly, it did make me feel a little better.
Obviously satisfied with my reaction, the boy sat nearby and dumped a puzzle onto the floor, then swiftly began to fill in the pieces. I watched him in wonder, memorizing the look of the pieces and where he put them.
Eyeing me carefully when he was done, he dumped the puzzle again, then motioned me over.
"You try." He said.
I crawled over, carefully setting the bunny down beside me as I quickly filled in the pieces of the puzzle. I wasn't as fast as the boy, but apparently I did pretty well because he looked at me in wonder.
"How did you do that?" He asked curiously.
I shrugged modestly. "I just remembered where you put the pieces."
He suddenly smiled at me, catching me off guard again. "That's really cool. I'm Near."
"Another," I smiled back at him, happy to have found someone who was nice to me.
Still, deep down, I wish it had been my brother who was smiling at me and letting me help him with a puzzle.
A/N Well, that's all! What did you think? Tell me in the little review box below~! Thanks for reading~~~
-C
