Longest chapter ever: brought to you by ElementFive and insomnia.
Okay not really, it's only 3, 378 words, plus the author's notes.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing at all.

Two weeks. It had been nearly two weeks since that disastrous night at the club. Two weeks since the hurricane named Mello had blown in and out of his life, leaving only confusion and a longing for the way things were before in his wake. Because the truth of the matter was that while physically Matt had completely recovered- mentally, he was screwed. He knew exactly what the problem was, and could sum it up simply, with a mere five words.

Matt was so fucking bored. And it was Mello's fault. Sort of. Deep down, Matt knew it wasn't fair to pin responsibility on the blonde- he barely knew him, after all. But Matt couldn't deny the fact that without Mello, this boredom would have never been a problem. Matt's life was exactly the same as it had been before that night. The only difference… was Matt himself.

He still got up in the morning and went to class- at the local community college, even though his parents had tried their hardest to convince him to apply to a university. Matt approached school like he approached most everything else- with a laidback attitude that would most likely get him nowhere in the long run. He still worked every day at the game store in the mall, making just above minimum wage. He would have liked to make more and rid himself of some of the dependence on his parent's money, but didn't feel quite motivated enough to get out and actually look for a higher paying job. He still put off his homework until two in the morning in favor of playing video games.

His life hadn't changed at all. It was still the same monotonous routine, broken only every now and then by overtime at work or an evening exam. He had lived this way for the last year and a half, and had never had a problem with it.

So why was he so fucking bored?

Mello. Mello had stirred feelings in Matt that he wasn't used to and that he didn't feel equipped to deal with. Mello was danger. Mello was excitement. Mello was a break from the rut that Matt was living in. A new and thrilling experience to snap Matt out of his middle-class suburban daze. The blonde was fiery, and strange, and oh so confusing.

And aside from their first chaotic meeting, he was also apparently not interested in Matt. There had been no contact from the blonde; no surprise visits to Matt's apartment, no letters in the mail- not even a fucking smoke signal. Matt had no way of contacting him. Not that he would ever do it- he was too much of a coward. But as much as he hated to admit it, the absence of the blonde was killing him.

Two weeks ago, after the blonde had dropped him off, Matt had spent the rest of the day, and the day following it, listening with hawk-like intensity for the sound of a motorcycle outside in the parking lot. He had no such luck. But still, he had continued to cling to the ridiculous fantasy that Mello might drop by, grab Matt, and sling him on the back of his bike to ride off to god-knows-where. And the truth of the matter was, that would have been absolutely fine with Matt.

Three times in the last two weeks, he had heard a knock on the door and- as much as he hated to admit it- gotten excited, only to answer it and find no blonde-haired beauty, but instead just L and on one occasion, his mother. Every time he opened the door only to be disappointed by the sight of someone other than Mello, it felt like a cruel joke.

It was his own fault, really. If he didn't want to be bothered by his parents or L, he should have replaced his phone. But as it was, he hadn't really done anything about any of his missing items. Driving without a driver's license didn't really faze him; he was a good enough driver not to get pulled over. To be honest, he didn't see a point in replacing his cell phone; his parents and his boss were the only people that ever called him on it, and he had absolutely no objections to missing conversations with either of them.

His mother- the one time she had come by- had been easy to deal with. Just a small, white lie about losing his cell phone on the way to class one day. She was on her way out the door before he was even done with the explanation. It wasn't that his parents didn't love him- he was sure they did; it was just that, for the past nineteen years, he hadn't done a good job of loving them back. They had tried harder when he was younger, to coerce any type of affection out of their son, but he had always been cold and standoffish. It was just the way he was- to everyone, not just his parents. They had tried, but his nature could not be changed. Eventually they just gave in, and left him alone. They still did things for him- like pay for his classes, and help him out with the rent on the apartment, but that was it. And Matt was more than happy with the situation. He had never felt like he quite belonged in a family dynamic, not even when he was a child.

L had been more difficult to get rid of. He had come by twice and both times he had demanded that Matt talk to him about the night at the club and his disappearance. Matt had skirted around the subject and made excuses until he was blue in the face, but L wasn't buying it. Fortunately for Matt, there was nothing L could do about it. They weren't in elementary school; L couldn't just run to the teacher and tattle on Matt for not doing what he wanted. But still, L's interrogations made Matt uncomfortable, and he had breathed a sigh of relief when the black haired teen left.

The source of his discomfort wasn't hard to figure out. L was asking the exact same questions that Matt was afraid to ask himself. What exactly had happened? Not once in the last two weeks had Matt really allowed himself to ponder the possibilities. It made him feel unbearably disgusting and weak. All it took was a momentary flash of a question across his mind to make him feel terrible shame that he couldn't quite explain. Not knowing what had happened to him, what he might have done, who might have touched him, made him feel irrevocably filthy.

He had taken to standing in the shower for the better part of an hour a few times a day, water turned up as hot as it would go, scrubbing at his skin until it split and bled. His water bill was practically through the roof, and it seemed like it was all for nothing. He still felt revolting. It was ironic, really. He was probably the cleanest he had ever been in his life, even though he had never felt dirtier.

And so, it was with the unbearable weight of invisible grime upon him, that Matt found himself in another hour-long shower at seven o clock on a Friday night. For the past twenty minutes the redhead had stood motionless, with his head bowed, letting the scalding water pound into his neck and back. He stared intently at the red, raw skin on his arms- the product of his latest bout of scrubbing. Little dots of blood continually popped up along the length of arms, only to be quickly dissipated by the water running off his chest. He wished he could wash his thoughts right out of head and down the drain, alongside the blood.

Weekends were, at the same time, something Matt looked forward to and something he detested. On one hand, he had no classes, no work, and could spend hours just curled up on the couch, game controller glued firmly in his grip. On the other hand, he wouldn't leave his apartment at all, and that meant dealing with the constant waiting. As much as he tried to distract himself, there was always a small part of him listening hopefully for the sound of a certain boy's booted footsteps outside his front door.

He stayed away this long, Matt thought. He probably wants nothing to do with-

A sudden shift in the air made Matt's eyes narrow and his ears perk up intently. He couldn't say for certain whether it had been a noise, or just a change in the air of the apartment that had alerted him. A feeling in his gut told him he was no longer alone in the apartment. He debated his options quickly; it was useless to try and hear anything over the rush of water from the shower, but at the same time, if there was someone in the apartment, they were probably be alerted by the lack of noise if he turned the shower off.

He slipped as quietly as he could out of the shower, leaving the water running in an attempt to fool whoever was in his apartment. He wrapped a towel around his waist, cursing the fact that he had left his clothes in his bedroom. As discreetly as possible, he pushed open the door and peered into his bedroom.

The lights were off in his bedroom and from the looks of it, everyone else in the apartment as well. Matt gulped; this confirmed his fears. He was certain he had left the lights on. He steeled himself for a confrontation and, with quick prayer to god to spare him the humiliation of dying soaking wet and wearing just a towel, pushed open the door fully, darting quickly into the bedroom.

Immediately, he felt an arm wrap itself around his waist from behind and yank him back, and to his horror, he felt the cold steel of a knife press itself against his neck. He swallowed hard, terrified, and felt the knife press slightly into his throat, almost hard enough to draw blood.

"Freeze," a cold voice whispered, dripping with malice. In the midst of his terror, Matt thought that that voice sounded slightly familiar, almost like-

"Don't move a muscle."

-Mello.

"Mello?!" Matt cried, and immediately he felt the knife slip away from his neck and the arm release its hold on his waist.

"Hey Matt, what's up?"

Matt whirled around, coming face to face with the man he had been hoping to see for the past two weeks- but he had hoped it would be under much different circumstances. This was just…

"What the fuck, Mello! What the fuck were you doing?!"

"Chill, man," the blonde said with a grin, pocketing what Matt now identified as a simple Swiss army knife.

"Chill?!" Matt screeched in complete disbelief at the blonde's easy going manner. "I will not chill! You held a knife to my throat! Who does that?! Who does that?!"

"You're too uptight, Matt. I was just having a little fun."

"How was that fun?! That wasn't fun! That was the complete opposite of fun! Seriously, what is wrong with you?! You broke into my apartment and assaulted me!"

"I didn't break in. You left the door open."

"No, I didn't!" Matt never left the door unlocked. It wasn't for his own safety though- he was always careful to keep it locked for the safety of his gaming systems. After this, though, he was seriously considering reordering his priorities.

"Nice towel," Mello smirked, and Matt was suddenly very aware of the fact that he was practically naked.

"Yeah, well, I was in the shower when you decided to pull your little prank," Matt said with annoyance. Mello didn't have any sort of contact with him for two weeks, and then decides to go and pull a stunt like this?

Mello was completely unfazed by Matt's tone. "Good," he said brightly. "Now you'll be nice and clean for tonight."

"Tonight? What's special about tonight?"

Mello grinned, "Go get dressed, Matt. We're going out." The blonde scanned the room, his gaze settling on Matt's open closet. He bounded over the closet and started tossing clothes out, leaving a completely shell-shocked Matt just standing there, trying to take in everything that had happened.

He felt a vague, lingering annoyance at the Mello's audacity; sneaking into his apartment, and who the fuck knows what he was thinking pulling a knife as a joke. But still, Matt couldn't help but forgive the blonde as he watched him rifle through Matt's clothing. Mello was exactly the spark of excitement his sad, little life needed, no matter how crazy he seemed.

"God, Matt. Do you own any clothes that don't reek of nerd?"

Okay, he forgave him for the most part.

"Sorry," Matt retorted, raising his eyebrow at Mello's outfit; it just didn't seem right for him to be criticizing Matt's clothes when he was wearing tight black leather pants, a shiny, leather shirt that laced up the front, combat boots, and more spiked jewelry than a display at Hot Topic. "All my S&M clothes are at the cleaner."

"Put these on," Mello commanded, throwing some clothes in Matt's general direction, completely ignoring Matt's previous comment. "Those will do for tonight, but next time, you're wearing something of mine."

Matt scoffed at Mello's words, but inside he was practically beaming. Mello had said 'next time'. As in, 'We're going out again after tonight'. As in, 'You don't have to worry about me never showing up again'. Or at least, that's what Matt hoped it meant. The thought that this sort of dependence on a person he had just met two weeks ago, under questionable circumstances, was not in the least bit healthy, flitted across Matt's mind for a second. But he quickly shoved it away as he gathered up the clothes Mello had picked out- a pair of dark blue jeans and a black button down shirt- and quickly darted into the bathroom to change.

Apparently the outfit was to Mello's liking; he grinned at Matt as he emerged from the bathroom fully dressed. Matt realized just how much he liked having Mello's approval.

"Good, much better. You look halfway presentable, Matty."

"It's Matt." That was one point Matt was unwilling to concede. His name was not Matty.

"Okay, Matt." Mello laughed as if he found Matt's insistence on being addressed correctly amusing. "Let's get going. I don't wanna waste the whole night here, the club's waiting."

"We're… going to the club?" Matt wasn't sure if he was entirely comfortable with the idea of going back there so soon.

"Don't worry, Matt. You're with me. No one will even think about touching you, and if they do…" Mello pulled out his pocket knife and flicked it open. He saw Matt's eyes widen in shock and laughed, "I'm joking, Matt. No one's going to do anything to you. You really need to loosen up."

Matt kept a wary eye on the knife until it once again disappeared to somewhere in that tight, black leather. He wasn't entirely sure he believed Mello; he had a sinking feeling that the blonde had pulled the knife on people in far more serious situations.

It took a much shorter amount of time to get to the club on the back of Mello's motorcycle than it did when Light was driving, despite the fact the Mello had stopped at a rather seedy looking apartment building, disappearing inside one of the units for five minutes, and refusing to tell Matt why, insisting he was only 'taking care of some business'. Their quick arrival could definitely be attributed to one simple fact: Mello liked to go fast. Really fast. Perhaps Matt hadn't noticed when Mello had driven him home the first time, or maybe the blonde had been going slowly for Matt's sake. But this time, out on the highway, he held nothing back, and Matt gripped onto Mello's waist for dear life, breathing a huge sigh of relief when they arrived at the club.

When they approached the entrance, instead of heading to the back of the line, Mello boldly strutted straight to the bouncer, who simply smiled and waved them through. They hadn't had to pay or offer up their ID's (which was a good thing, since Matt still hadn't replaced his). More and more, Matt was getting the impression that Mello fucking owned this place.

That feeling was only further confirmed when they entered into the heart of the crowd- the place was already packed and it was still early, only nine o clock. Everyone, from the partiers to the security to the bartender seemed to know Mello. The blonde acknowledged everyone who called for his attention with a wave and a confident smirk of the lips. The strobe lights highlighted his scar, making him look sexy and dangerous at the same time; it was magnetic. Matt couldn't take his eyes off Mello, so it didn't surprise him that no one else could too. It took twice as long for them to get through the crowd as it would have for a normal person. Matt had to wonder, just who was he hanging out with? He couldn't help but feel special to have so much of Mello's attention lavished on him, when so many people obviously desired it.

Once they were through the main bulk of the crowd, Mello suddenly grabbed Matt's wrist and pulled him forcibly into the bathroom. Inside, he dragged Matt into a stall and quickly shut the door behind him.

"Uh, Mello? Wha--" Matt began.

"Shh," Mello commanded before reaching down to pull a small silver cigarette case from inside one of his combat boots. Matt watched in interest as Mello flicked open the case to reveal, not cigarettes, but a small plastic baggie with several small blue pills in it. Matt's eyes widened. Was that…

Mello grinned at Matt and gingerly plucked one of the pills from the plastic and popped it into his mouth. Then Mello did something that took Matt completely by surprise; snapping the case closed, he leaned in and pushed his lips against Matt's, trapping him up against the wall of the bathroom. He gave Matt no time to react and instead bit slightly at Matt's lower lip, using his tongue to coax Matt's mouth open. When Matt obliged and parted his lips, Mello's tongue darted in and deposited the pill in Matt's mouth.

Matt pulled out the kiss and spluttered, spitting the pill into his hand. "What the hell are you doing? What is this? I don't do drugs, Mello!" Matt hissed.

"It's not a big deal, Matt. It's just a tab. Come on; I promise you'll have fun. Just do this with me."

"No!" Matt looked incredulously at Mello. "I'm not going to."

"Fine," Mello's gaze hardened, all previous frivolity completely gone. "You know Matt, I really thought you'd be up for having a good time with me, but I can see that I was wrong. Give me that," he plucked the damp pill from Matt's hand and popped it back into his mouth, quickly swallowing it.

Mello tucked the cigarette case back into his boot and reached out behind him with one hand to push open the stall door. "Here, Matt," this time Mello reached into one of his pockets and pulled out two wrinkled twenties. "Here's some money for a cab home. Why don't you just leave?"

"But, I… I mean-"

"Whatever, Matt. You're not the guy I thought you were, just go, okay?" With that Mello turned and strode out of the bathroom, leaving a bewildered Matt clutching forty dollars, leaning against the wall, and wondering how the hell the evening had turned so bad so quickly.

Reviews? I would really love some feedback about character development, and the pacing of the story.

Beta-ed by: Emo-Nerdy-Insane-Writer