After that last scene, Mello and I grew inseperable. He got my back, and I got his. Well, at least in school, because I was still getting beaten up by Aunt's boyfriend again. He always punched me as a welcome back gift in my torso. You know how it feels when you run into a tree, hit your chest, and how it takes the breath out of you? Well, that's how it feels like when he punched me. And as the time passed, it only grew worse. And what is the worst of all of the things? That the beatings would never stop. Not now, after he and Aunt decided to get married. It had been the worst day of my life to find out that the man who abused me was going to stay in my life forever.

I waved goodbye to Mello, as I continued to walk away from him. School was over for the day, and Mello couldn't hang out because he had studying to do. My heart sank at that. I didn't want to go back to that abusive man. I didn't even want to remember his name in fear that he would appear before me,though I knew that it was virtually impossible. I was in the nice side of town, buying clothes and groceries for us. Even if I did hate the Succesor's program and L, I have to admit, it is convinient for us. At least, the ones in the top 20 have more privilages than anyone in the entire school. Even more than the teachers, too. Wammy's gave us some type of an.. what's the proper word to call it.. an allowance. It went like this: anyone below the top 20 would only get 10 dollars per below top 50 would get 5 dollars. But, those in the top twenty would get 50 dollars per month,and those in the top 5 would get a 100 dollars per month.

So, this is why so many people enter the program, even if they hate can be so despicable sometimes, don't you think? Well, at least we still get the money. And money equals more food, clothes and most importantly, games. And more chocolate for Mello, too. There was a mystery with him these days. One day, more chocolate started appearing on top of his pile. And it only grew even more bigger day after day. Not that Mello complained, though. If someone wanted to give him free chocolate for nothing in return, then let them. It wasn't a bad thing for him, though it somehow made Matt beam with happiness every time he consumed one of his chocolate bars. When Mello asked him what was up with him,Matt just brushed it off, and went back to his video games.

If only he knew how much time and effort Matty spent looking for that one brand of chocolate that he wanted. She could spend hours looking for it, as Matt ignored her own work and put all her spare time into buying him chocolate. He was her only friend, after all, and she wanted to make him happy. He could throw her in the dirt while he spat at her, and she wouldn't mind one bit. Not a single piece of her sould would ever hate him, even if he said he despised her. This was something that never failed to cross her mind.

I stopped thinking as I bumped into a pole. "Oww..." I rub my forehead. It hurt, but not enough to get me to cry. I look around, and see a store in front of me that I'd like to go in. The only problem?That store is for girls. Well, technically, I'm a girl, but I'm not so certified as to go in a store like that. Suddenly, I get an idea and go to a clothes shop for men and got a bag with only one pair of normal jeans in , I go in an alley which I was sure that no one would occupy and take off my vest. I put the furry vest in the bag and take out the jeans. These jeans are not like mine, in fact, I hate this type of jeans but they'd do for now. I take off my own and replace them with the other pair. Though my stipped shirt would not be classified as too girly, well, who cares? The only thing I'm worried about is some girl actually recognizing me from school.

I take the final steps into turning into a girl for now. I remove my goggles and place them at my neck. Hey, even if I'm going to be a girl for a couple of minutes I won't take off my goggles. They're important to me, even if they're worn out already.; My forest green eyes looked around, taking in all the colors that I previously didn't see. It had been a long time since I took off my goggles, too, so this was exciting for me. But not as exciting it is now that I'm taking off my dark olive/brown wig, and my red auburn hair falls into place. My hair was messy, and it was a bit long, but I didn't mind. It felt good to be able to actually act like a girl again. It was easier, because I honestly didn't know how to act like a proper boy.

Walking out of the alley, I turn to the direction of the girl store that I had seen earlier, but in the way, I stopped. I hadn't seen this candy store earlier, but now it stuck out like a sore thumb. I looked at the store that I wanted to go, and then at the candy store. I repeated this process for several minutes, my head in an internal debate over which store should I go to.

If I go to the candy store, Mello will be happy.

But if you do give chocolate to Mello, he'll never know it was you! Why waste money on chocolate if you could easily buy more games and clothes? Go to the clothes shop!

But I don't care if he doesn't know it was me... he'll still be happy!

Sure, you're fine with him not knowing, but he never even appreciates it.

...

See? I won. Now go over to the clothes shop and forget about Mello.

No.

What did you say?

I'm going over to the candy store. I don't care if he doesn't appreciate it, or thank me but Mello is still happy.

*sigh* Do whatever you want.

I could never forget about Mello. Not my first friend, no scratch that, best friend. That was the reason I was walking towards the candy shop right now, forgetting all about the other store that stood in the other side of the street. I wanted to see him eat the chocolate that I bought him. That's the only time that I can see him happy. Others would miss that emotion in his face, even if they stood one inch away from him. But not me, I always caught onto his emotions much faster than even Mello himself. And every time he takes a bite of those chocolate bars, I can see his mouth curving up only a fraction of a millimeter. That little smile is worth spending my money in.

Entering the candy shop, I instantly smell all the wonderful treats in there. Lollipops, hard candies, gum, and the one thing I came in looking for: chocolate. I walk up to the section that held all the chocolate brands in the town. And the section was pretty big. I took about ten minutes to search the whole section of chocolate, and I was about to give up, when I finally saw the brand Mello always ate. Sighing, I reach for the last three bars available, when another hand also grabbed the same chocolate bar at the same time as I did, well, probably a fraction of a second later than me.

"Excuse me?" I say sharply at the stranger who wanted to take away my bars of chocolate. Well, technically, they were going to be Mello's in about 13 hours, when I went to school a tad earlier than Mello to let the bars in his seat.

"Let go of the bars." the stranger said. My back was turned to that stranger, but I knew his voice. Slowly, I turned around to meet one of the most beautiful shades of azure eyes, staring right into my forest green eyes. I take in his face, and the most stunning blonde hair that anyone could possibly imagine. His face was cruel, yet I knew better than to believe that mask he had up most of the time. I don't even need to look down to see his entire leather outfit he always had on, though I could see his rosary that hung frun his neck. Mello.

"Why should I?" I ask, my voice clearly softening. Why did I always do that around him? It's as if I liked the guy! And.. I most certainly did not. I'm a hundred percent sure of that! Well, fifty percent, no, maybe a lot less..whatever the point is, I'm not letting the bars go.

"They're mine.." he snarled at me. I was a tad hurt, but then I remembered that I was not Matt at the moment. I was Mail, an unknown girl with auburn hair and forest green eyes. I was not Matt, the fun-loving gamer that always had his goggles on his eyes. I froze up when I remembered the goggles that lay on my neck. What if he recognized them?

"No. Technically, I grabbed them first." I snatched them away from his hand and ran over to the cashier to quickly pay in cash. I let her keep the change, and so I I quickly walked away from the store. Of course, I didn't know that Mello was following right behind me, with a scowl on his face.

"Give those chocolates to me NOW." he yelled to me, though he didn't necessarily need to becase he was only a meter behind me, and he was gaining house was only a couple of blocks away, so I walked-well actually I ran. Mello gained up to me and tried to grab my collar to stop me, but instead ended up grabbing the string of my worn out goggles.

The next thing happened in a blur. Mello managed to break the string on the goggles, and he wasn't expecting that. He, in turn, almost fell on the floor but maintained his balance, though the goggles now lay in the middle of the street. Cars were already in a line, and I was fortunate that the light was in red, but as I was going to grab my father's goggles, the light turned green. I looked directly into the headlights of a car. Strong arms yanked me to the sidewalk by my shoulders. I was saved,, but my father's goggles were broken and shattered on the street.

I drop down to my knees. Those goggles were the only thing left I had of my real parents. The ones who had loved me and took care of me, not like Aunt and her boyfriend. And their only memoir was shatt, in the middle of the street. I stared at them blankly, not noticing the tears that ran down my face.

Mello stood there, not knowing what to do with a crying female. For a genius, he was pretty clueless of human behaviors. Or rather, female's. The goggles were obviously the thing that had made her cry, and suddenly, he found a solution. He picked her up and mad her stand. He didn't say a word as he grabbed this stranger's hand and led her towards another store. Entering the store, Mello looked around at all the different types of accessories. He finally found what he was looking for and so he grabbed it and payed for it.

Meanwhile, I was still in a daze. My father's goggles were broken. That is enough reason to cry over, as I was doing so, but realization struck me even harder. What was I going to cover my eyes over with? I was too busy being paranoid to notice Mello putting something around my neck until he put one of his hands on my shoulder to attempt to calm me down. I snapped back to reality, and looked down to see what he had put over my neck. I gasped a bit in my mind. There, in my neck, laid new goggles. Green goggles with orange-tinted glass in them.

"Sorry about the other goggles." he simply said. I looked at him, my eyes widening a bit, but I did something I had wanted to do for quite some time. I put my arms around him and gave him a hug. He immediately stiffened up, and only relaxed as I let him go.

"Thank you,...." I said, pretending not to know his name. Though I did, I knew who Mello was, including all he does.

"Mello." he said, not giving his last name.I didn't expect him to, though. No one in Wammy's was stupid enough to give out last names, let alone their real names. As I was about to respond, the bell tower rang. I looked up to find that it was already 6 o'clock. I panicked inside. I was going to get beaten up a lot worse because I was an hour late.

I ran towards the door."Thank you Mello!" I yell out as I'm opening the door. He follows and tries to get my attention. "You're welcome.." he said, really not knowing my name.

As I take a step outside, I turn to face him one last time. "Mail." I don't know why, but I just gave my real name. I give a small smile, and walk out the door and head out to the sidewalk, preparing myself for another night of misery.

But, later that night, even as I lay in my bed, cuts adorning my arms and legs, I don't feel the pain. I just feel... Mello.

END CHAPTER 4-

AN- How was that? I'm writing a lot longer now, don't you think? Well, hate it, love it? REVIEW OR I PROMISE I'LL HUNT YOU DOWN!!