(Again, you can blame me for the lateness, but it has been Christmas, I've been ill, and it's impossible to concentrate on this stuff while ill, though I'm trying. I've also been away and stuff, but that's just excuses. I'm sorry for my lateness, and hopefully this will be worth it! - Misa/C-Sc)

Disclaimer: we don't own death note because to be honest if we did i'd keep L to myself *insert evil laugh* =3

Read, enjoy and please review xxx

Love Rachel and Misa

Stuck In The Middle With You

As Matt walked to English, he thought of Mello still at home again, this time because she was aching far too much. Matt chuckled to himself as he sat down in his seat and leant back casually. 'So maybe I was a little rough on her, but what does she expect? She was practically asking for it.' He sat in his own thoughts until he was suddenly shaken out of them by Near sitting down beside him, in what was usually Mello's seat. "Uh… Hey, Near…" He muttered as he glanced her over. He had to admit, she looked wonderful today. "Hello Matt," She said softly, monotonously. "I didn't realise you would talk to me. I had to sit here because my seat is taken." She nodded in the direction of her usual desk, to prove that it was indeed taken, as she placed her stationary on the desk in the same perfect way as every time he'd seen her lay it out before. He swallowed hard, and cleared his throat before speaking, and she cocked her head up to look at him when he did. "Why wouldn't I talk to you?"
"Well, mostly because you have been deliberately ignoring me recently." She said, and despite her obvious lack of care for the subject, he felt bad. "It isn't my fault…" He mumbled nervously, twirling his pen and glancing up at the teacher as she began to talk.
"If Matt doesn't mind, I'd like to concentrate on class." She said, and turned away to begin taking notes. He rolled his eyes, cursing her for sitting where she had- although, looking around, there was no where else for her to sit, so it wasn't as if she'd purposely sat there to annoy him. The lesson went smoothly aside from a few people messing around. For once, Matt didn't feel much like making a nuisance of himself. Near constantly corrected the teacher, causing the teacher to become more and more irritated and ended the lesson early, to everyone's amusement, and Near's barely-visible bewilderment. Matt was among the first to leave, heading to the bathroom. "Near-" He sighed as he washed his hands. Was he really not good enough for her? He thought as he tidied himself up in the mirror, wondering why he cared so much when he had Mello now. He headed to the changing room lockers, hoping to skip the next lessons to give himself time to think. Usually he'd come here to play games or spend time with Mello while skipping classes.

He spotted a light on in one of the shower rooms and walked over to check it out. Perhaps he'd find some younger students trying to get together between class, like he and Mello had done before. He tried the handle, finding it locked, he slowly formed a grin, assuming his thoughts before true. His grin dropped as he looked through the small window in the top of the door and saw Near on her knees surrounded by a group of five, maybe six, boys, all smirking. Matt felt a growl in his throat when he saw Joey, and recognised most of the boys from his year, 'him again, oh Near, you idiot.' He watched as Joey said something to Near and she shook her head. He dug his fingers into her hair, pulling her head back sharply, and she lifted her top up awkwardly, though, an awkwardness down to inexperience, not shame. Matt reached into his bag for the pistol he always kept hidden there when Mello wasn't around, and grabbed a set of Mello's hair pins he used for lock-picking out of his bag also. He glanced at the window again, seeing Near shake her head again, and Joey pull out a knife. She takes off the white T-shirt and drops it aside, in a way that would almost suggest her boredom with the entire situation. Despite that, Matt couldn't imagine her being anything other than terrified.
'I can't let her get hurt!' He thought defiantly, a few moments later, he finished with the lock, and slammed open the door. "Let her go, Joey!" He yelled.
Joey laughed, glancing up at the other male. "Oh, come on Matt. Why don't you come in and have some fun? Near just offered to entertain us," he said as he jauntily gestured for Matt to join him.

Matt glared at him, flicking the safety off. "Get out, all of you." He ordered coldly. "Near, come here." He barked, annoyed at her for being so clueless he told her not to trust them. The gun glistened menacingly in the dim light, and some of the younger boys in the group followed his order and quickly left the room. Joey seemed to be calm, putting his hands into his jacket pocket casually and continuing to smirk confidently over the situation. "She's not going anywhere, Jeevas, now why don't you join us?"
"Like hell, you seem to forget I'm the one with the gun. Near, get up!" He snapped at her, pointing the gun at the boy. Matt came to the conclusion Joey thought the gun was fake as he was the only one left the rest had run away. Joey grabbed the pale girl by the hair again, bringing a nailgun out of his pocket placing it against Near's throat. "Well, isn't this nice?" He smiled cheerfully. Matt growled, and Near looked at him at last. "Matt should leave now, it'd be better for us both. As much as I don't particularly mind dying, this method is quite painful." She said as tonelessly as ever but her skin had paled even more with the introduction of the second weapon. Joey grinned at Matt, "See, Matt? She gets it." Joey said, stroking Near's cheek.
"I'm not leaving her." Matt raised the gun, pulling the trigger as he did so and pierced Joey's hand, causing him to drop the nail gun. Matt ran forward as Joey took off, swearing and cursing as he did, from Near and pressed her behind him. He felt pride swell in his chest for saving her, and he glanced around for Joey. Matt sighed and turned to Near as he realised Joey had left. He gently tapped her on the head and glanced down at her. "You could have been hurt, Near, did you want that?" He asked, his annoyance at her for getting in this situation returning.

She looked annoyed for a moment, "Matt assumes I wanted to be in this situation, while I may not be socialized as much as him, I do have common sense, and I was forced into coming here, and I was getting myself out of here as Matt arrived. The nail gun was specifically modified as a projectile weapon and would have been able to go through the jacket and he would have shot one of us if we were to become distracted for even a moment. Matt almost shot me while aiming for Joey, and had Joey had his finger on the trigger when you shot him, his hand would have compressed it anyway, and killed me." She returned to her expressionless mask as Matt handed her the shirt she'd been wearing earlier, then promptly was gathered into his arms before she was able to put it on. "I can't let anything happen to you." He said irritated, letting go of her so she could change, instead she looked up at him and shocked him by leaning into his chest, "Matt is angry with me?"
"Wha- No! I'm not, I'm angry with myself." He said, frowning at the ground. He froze in shock when he found himself staring into Near's dark eyes, with her lips pressed hard against his. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He could tell she was inexperienced, but as she pulls his hand on to her chest, his thoughts reeled. He pulled away, confused at her actions. "What are you doing, Near?" She was flushed, and she looked confused as well, her eyes clouded with something he didn't understand. "Matt, please?" She begged. He paled, trying to think clearly. Did she like him or not? He smiled and pulled her over to the table in the gym room behind them, pulling her onto it.

"Are you sure?" He muttered against her neck, she nodded and he smiled, pressing his lips against her neck. She mewled, and wrapped her arms around his neck again pulling him down onto her further. He smirked at how eager she was and he was happy to satisfy her. He knew it was wrong, but his attraction to Near had taken control of him. 'Mello, I'm sorry,' he thought as he raised his head to kiss Near. She made quiet moans, and arched herself against him, urging him into her, to take her. He ignored that her movements are a little too stiff and purposeful; a little too practiced and thought-through. He pulled away from the kiss they were sharing, going back down to nipping her neck. "Near," he sighed and raised his hands to awkwardly and excitedly groping at her. She leant her head back when he did, giving him better access to her white neck. "Please, Matt?" She whimpered, and presses her hips against his again. He looked up at her flushed face and hoped against hope that she was asking what he hoped she was, "what is it Near?" She flushed more under his gaze, and her eyes were half-shut. "Please, I want you." She begged again as she brought one hand up to become tangled in her hair. He grabbed at her, panting against her skin, "You do?" She slipped off her underwear from under her skirt, and pressed her hand against his crotch. "Please?"
He nodded at her reply; "alright," He fumbled eagerly, removing his pants and boxers just enough for his length to be out. He kissed her neck again, and positioned himself.

"You ready?"
She nodded, biting her lip as she watched him hazily. He entered her slowly, being scared that he'd break her as she felt and looked so delicate. She moaned and the hand in her hair clenched over her white locks. Her head tipped back again as he returned his attention to her chest. "Let me know if I'm hurting you, I'll slow down." He said, nibbling the shell of her ear. "You won't." She whispered back, tipping her hips up for him to go deeper into her. He nodded, and once fully inside, he kissed her forehead and held her against him. "Oh, Near, you feel so good," He muttered, rocking against her.
"Perhaps Matt wouldn't mind moving himself properly?" She asked casually and he laughed breathily, "Sorry, I was just worried I'd hurt you." He loved the way her noises were so much different to Mello's, he thought briefly before she mewed louder as he moved a particular way. He groaned, feeling her tighten around him as he tried to focus on doing that again, deciding that if it would make her make that noise again, it would be worth the focus. She purred happily, arching her back up again and pulling him into another inexperienced kiss. Matt felt her shake underneath him as the feeling of her overwhelmed him and he thrust faster into her, losing all control outside of making her feel, making her his.
"Near-"
He gasped against her skin as he felt her convulse and with a particularly hard thrust, he gave into her, and she cried out fully for the first time in their entire time together as he came into her.

After a few moments, his mind cleared and he saw her watching him with her usual blank stare. "Did you enjoy that, Matt?" He nodded, stroking her downy hair, "what about you?" He asked after leaning down and kissing her forehead, she shifted under him. He stepped away from the table, and she pulled her clothes on quickly. "I suppose," he tilted his head, "what do you mean by that?"
He let go of her, fixing his clothing.
"Near?"
The bell rung to signify the next lesson and she turned to him after taking her bag from the floor. "It seems we've missed a lesson, I hope the teachers will not be too bothered by that," She trailed off, seeming more perturbed than she had all morning. He ran to her and grabbed her wrist as she began to leave, "hold it, Near, we've got to talk about this. What does this make us?"
His thoughts flashed as Near stared at him, then she pulled her hand free and smiled in a way that made him chill. "This makes us nothing at all. I said thank you, didn't I?" She said, and walked away. This time, Matt only watched as she left, frozen in place by her words. "Did... did I just get used?" He thought, dazed.

Over the next two weeks, things continued shockingly normally in his life. Mello continued to be with him, Near ignored him unless he sought otherwise from her. Mello kept him busy at school, and at home, which she'd mostly moved into now, without asking permission, he added as an afterthought. If Mello knew what him and Near had done, she hadn't said anything about it, and probably wasn't going to anymore. He supposed it would be most men's success story, to fuck the sexy stranger, and still have the girl he'd been after forever… It didn't feel like all that much of an achievement though really. Near had been his for a brief time, and now she would never be his again.
True, having Mello every night was good, and she kept his house decently tidy, and either made him food or ordered it for him, but she wasn't like Near. She was rough, untameable, and fiery, like she'd always been. Mello was the silky sand on the beach that burned and scratched as soon as you were around it, and Near, the bitter ocean, calm and cool, and just so desirable after the heat of the land.
He was shaken out of his thoughts by Mello debonairly stepping into the room, her black dress twirling around her thighs as she did. "What do you think?" She asked, spinning on her black high heels. He grinned and let out a low whistle as he walked over to her. "You look beautiful Mels," He pulled her against him, his hand slipping up her thigh, pushing up the smooth material of her dress. "The car battery's dead, we'll have to walk. Is that's ok with you?" He whispered, and she shrugged, brushing him off to take her bag from on the bed. "Sure, I'll just put my heels in my bag, and changed into them when we get there. It's only a 10 minute walk anyway." She kissed him lightly and went into the other room to change her shoes.

A few minutes later, he and Mello were leaving the house together. He smiled as he locked the door behind them and let Mello cling onto his arm. She started to tell him something as she pulled him along the street, not minding if he listened or not. He tuned out of her voice as soon as he was sure she wouldn't mind, and looked up to the darkening sky, his mind drifting back to the past week, past two weeks, Near. However, the peace was short lived as a car rushed past them, then all noise seemed to collide. Gunshots, the car's wheels squealing, Mello screaming. Somehow he'd ended up on the pavement with Mello kneeled beside him, and the quiet street filled with voices; questions, shouting, crying, and Mello, Mello over everything.
"Shhh, Matt, help will be here soon." She stroked his hair lovingly, trying to keep the both of them calm. He gazed up at her wide, worried eyes, and panic suddenly hit him. If something happened to him, who would protect Mello? Who would make her safe? Who would love her, and care about her? "Mello, please, go back to my bungalow- you'll be safe there. Please Mel." He said and fumbled for his car keys to give her. She laid him back, stroking him and holding him to her. "Matt, we'll both go to the hospital in a moment. You'll be okay, don't panic." She gripped his hand tightly, whispering to him over and over. He nodded weakly, cuddling into her warmth, "I'm tired, Mel," he muttered into her lap. The paramedics arrived in a flurry of lights and sounds, and he pressed more into Mello to avoid it, before she was pulled away and the only thing he knew of her was her loudly and defiantly demanding that she had to be taken with him to the hospital. As he was put into the ambulance with Mello beside him, the noise, lights, action, everything around him, became a lot less important, and he gave into the sleep that he needed so much.