The next few days after his odd confession and Near's hug Matt once again found himself watching the other male. He didn't consider it stalking, just because he was watching his every move didn't mean he was too absorbed for it to be healthy. He wasn't sure if he expected some huge change to happen after spending a bit of time together, but the only change was that Near spoke to him and occasionally ate with him. He was fairly sure that Mello's presence had something to do with Near not getting too close.

By the third day he had given up on being subtle about the fact that he was watching and Mello easily picked up on it. Matt wasn't surprised Mello was his best his friend and equally interested in Near, but for entirely different reasons. "What's going on with you?" Mello half-growled as they left the classroom.

"What do you mean?" Matt knew playing innocent was useless, but he did so anyway.

"With you and the Sheep, you've been staring at him like a girl in love," Mello glared at him.

"I'm not in love with Near, he's just cooler than I thought," Matt defended himself. He knew he wasn't in love with Near, but there was some form of interest bubbling under the surface.

"Just watch out, don't let him infect you with his creepiness. You'll be over this stupid, whatever it is, in a few days" Mello stalked off and Matt was actually surprised it didn't blow up into some huge fight. Normally Mello would be more upset, but he clearly assumed Matt's interest would fade. Matt thought the opposite, he wanted to explore whatever his feelings for Near were.

He decided since he'd invited himself to Near's room he should return the favor, so when he plucked up the nerve he was going to invite Near over.

"Hey Near," Matt called to the albino when he found him in the hallway, "Can I ask you something?"

Near paused whatever he had been doing with his bunny and slowly turned to face Matt, he shuffled over to him and fixed his grey eyes on Matt, "Yes?"

Matt always found himself frozen when Near's grey eyes locked on him so it took him a few moments to ask, "Do you wanna come to my room to play some video games? Peach has been way too full of herself since she beat me in Mario kart so I want to put her in her place, um would you like to help?"

"Who is Peach?" Near's only reaction was the slightest quirk of a single eyebrow.

"Princess Peach, a character from the game," Matt quickly explained.

"And she's self aware? That's implausible," Near looked away from Matt for a moment and Matt couldn't begin to read the younger man's thoughts so he tried to backtrack.

"No, I'm just-" Matt released a breath, "I didn't mean literally." He couldn't figure out a great way to explain it to the socially inept Near so instead he simply asked again, "Would you like to come play video games?"

"I've never played a video game, this could be a good learning experience," Near responded not exactly answering the question. Matt was stuck on the fact that Near had never played a video game before.

"You've never played video games, ever?" Matt asked incredulously, having trouble understanding how the boy lived without games in his life. Video games were an integral part of his every day life, for Near to survive without them truly proved his genius.

"I don't own any and nobody has wanted to play with me," Near shrugged casually, the bunny flopping as he did so.

"Well now you have me," Matt replied resolutely and Near really did have him. Near had him wrapped up in ways he couldn't imagine and Matt found he didn't mind. Yes, Near definitely had Matt in every sense of the word.

"I suppose I do," Near mused absently. Returning to the present he finally answered Matt's original question, "Yes, I will come to Matt's room to play his games."

"Great, uh follow me," Matt started walking and glanced back just to check if Near was actually following. Near trailed him by a few steps moving at his usual odd shuffling pace, he made a mental note to ask Near about his physical health.

Without any preamble Matt threw his door open and flipped the lights on, silently thanking God that Mello wasn't around. He quickly grabbed a two controllers and turned on Mario kart. He wasn't sure how Near was going to do, but he didn't particularly care he was just happy to have him around.

Of course it only took the young genius a few tries to somehow become great at the game. Matt felt slightly put out at how easy it was for him, but one glance at his faint smile and Matt's anger melted away.

After Near managed to hit a few characters including Peach with red shells Matt grabbed Near into a one arm hug and cheered. He felt the other boy tense in his arms and quickly released him. Near didn't say anything he merely kept driving and soon the awkwardness Matt was feeling managed to melt away. He made a mental note not to surprise Near with affection or physical contact in general.

Matt's experience gave him the edge and he still managed to take home the trophy, with Near managing to snag third place overall. Luigi took second place and Matt quickly denoted him as Near's new rival. Peach was left back in fifth place giving Matt a small sense of achievement.

"Great job Near," Matt complimented the albino honestly.

"That was fun," Near said placing his controller down, his tone almost sounded like it had a slight question woven into it as if he wasn't quite sure it was fun. He politely added, "Thank you for allowing me to play with you."

"No problem," Matt rested a hand on his shoulder, once again feeling how small Near was and feeling the slight tense of the other's shoulder, "I enjoyed it, I like spending time with you Near."

"Thank you," Near repeated though he sounded slightly shy and Matt was reminded that Near didn't really have anyone to spend time with. The person he was closest to was Mello and they hated each other. Well Mello hated Near, he wasn't sure how Near felt about Mello.

"Near can I ask you a question?"Matt asked him before either of them moved from their positions on the floor.

Near nodded his head in acceptance so Matt asked, "How do you feel about Mello?"

"He's intelligent, but he has trouble with being too rash and not looking at things objectively," Near said talking about him in a slightly clinical way.

"No, I mean as a person how to do you feel about him?" Matt repeated the question.

"I believe I answered the question?" Near once again slipped into the questioning tone for a statement.

Matt decided to ask a slightly different questions, "Let me rephrase the question, do you like or dislike Mello?" Matt was actually really interested in seeing the other half of the rivalry. He'd lived with Mello long enough to understand his feelings on Near, but Near had never made his as clear.

"I don't have any particular love or hatred of Mello. I think it would be mutually beneficial if we could work together one day, but I won't allow him to beat me in the competition to become L's successor if only one of us can take the role," Near sounded thoughtful as if he was rolling the words around carefully.

"So you don't dislike Mello even though he flat out hates you?" Matt flinched as his rough phrasing, but he was surprised that Near could face such hatred without retaliating.

"I don't have any particular ill will towards him," Near shrugged, but added, "Still I prefer not to spend time with him because he's constantly angry at me."

Matt wasn't sure if he should tell Mello that Near didn't feel the same way as he did or if it was something he shouldn't share because Near told him in confidence. "Hopefully one day you'll get along,

"Maybe," Near said lightly before quickly saying goodbye.

"I'll see you tomorrow Near," Matt gave the smaller boy a smile which was met with a faint one. Matt found himself blushing slightly, thankfully Near missed while he turned to leave the room. His warm cheeks confirmed that his feelings were turning into a crush and definitely not fading away despite what Mello had been hoping.

A/N

Chapter 4 is complete. Matt knows he has a crush and he's at the very least formed some sort of friendship with Near. His main obstacles are going to be Mello and trying to decipher Near's feelings.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think.