A/N: You get to hear a bit of Matt's POV in this chapter. I hope it's not annoying to have the POV's switched.
Near' s head throbbed. He blinked groggily and sat up, immediately becoming aware of the nausea in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't think properly. The albino staggered to his feet and barely stumbled a few steps before vomiting all over the floor and falling to his knees in front of the puddle. He crawled around the ground , with uncoordinated movements , not really sure what he was doing or what had happened.
Curling up in the corner near the door, he wiped his mouth with the cosplay jacket sleeve and groaned. Near felt very stupid, like his brain was clogged, and little star-like bits of light were floating around his head.
"Near!" He suddenly heard Matt's voice call. The goggle-wearing brunette stepped into the room, flicking on the light switch. Near blinked several times, even though the single bulb was dim.
"Near, are you okay?"
"What..what...happened...I don't feel good..."
"I think you have a concussion. Mello bashed your head into the wall last night. Come on, we need to go, quick! Mello's asleep right now, but I'm afraid he's going to wake up."
Near got up and swayed on his feet. Matt, seeing that Near couldn't walk properly, lifted the albino into his arms and dashed noisily up the stairs and through the kitchen and living room with him. Matt exited the house and stepped onto the porch, locking the door behind him.
"Shit, shit, shit...we can't stay here..."
Matt shoved Near into the passenger seat of his red car in the driveway.
"I'm going to get you to the hospital okay?" He said as he began driving.
Near didn't respond, he just gazed up the ash white sky, and then looked at the bright green numbers on the clock in the car. 5:16 AM.
About ten minutes into the car ride, once they were away from the house, Matt spoke to Near again.
"I-I'm really sorry...about the kidnapping and the...you know..."
Near turned to look at him with a blank expression. Matt looked back at him.
"Near are you even listening?!"
"Please keep your eyes on the road, Matt. I would like to arrive at the hospital in one piece."
"Oh...Yeah sorry..." He turned his attention back to driving. "You're really out of it right now..."
The finished the commute to the hospital in silence, and waked into the waiting room.
"Near..." Matt suddenly whispered. "Do you have am alias?"
"Just...Say I'm Nick Smith..."
"Got it."
He stepped up to lady at the desk and filled out Near's information. He gave a brief explanation of what happened, saying that "Nick Smith" was in an abusive relationship, and that's how he'd gotten injured.
Matt flipped through magazines, but didn't really read them while the doctor checked Near out. He started thinking about what had happened over the past week. Why had he gone along with it? Now that he took the time to reflect, Matt couldn't believe he'd actually gone through with kidnapping, torturing and...raping... Near. Near was still a kid. He was seventeen...but still. And he'd done nothing wrong. It was Mello who had started up the rivalry and decided that they were enemies.
He bit his lip and tried to concentrate on the stupid magazine articles. He didn't want to believe he was a rapist, but be was, and nothing was going to change that. The brunette cursed himself for being such a goddam follower. Just a little dog, and nothing more. He sunk his teeth in deeper, feeling tears pool in the bottom of his goggles.
He hoped Near was okay.
