There's just one more chapter left now, guys! Oh, and BTW, this is probably my favorite! I hope you all like it too!

It had been only a day since the handcuffs were removed and Mello was practically flipping out. Not because he missed Near's presence, no. He'd kept his promise and Near was now hanging around him and Matt nearly all day every day. The problem was that it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep his hands to himself. He'd been rather… affectionate lately and he was terrified that Near would notice his feelings were deeper than that of a mere friendship.

And so here he was, in front of the mirror. Pretending that his reflection was Near. Which was kind of hard, because Near was far cuter than he was.

"Look, I-I like you. A lot. And… OH, SCREW THIS! IT'S NEVER GONNA WORK!" Mello had not meant to shout so loud, but he was entirely frustrated by this point. He couldn't tell Near about his attraction, never. Near wouldn't feel the same way and he'd just end up humiliating himself, not to mention probably scaring off the poor albino. Suddenly, there was a knock on the bathroom door.

"Uh, Mels? You okay in there?" Mello flinched at the voice of his best friend. Of course the redhead would hear him yelling like that. Matt must think he's crazy.

"Fine, dandy, spectacular. Why do you ask?"

"…Dude, I think we need to talk." Mello groaned, wanting to bang his head against the mirror but resisting this urge due to the fact that he didn't really want pieces of glass stuck in his face. Reluctantly, he opened the door an inch and peeked through.

"Matt, I don't know what-"

"Dammit, don't you dare say that you don't know what I'm talking about!" Matt snapped, swinging the door open fully and dragging Mello out of the bathroom. He forced Mello to sit on his bed and took a seat next to the blond. They remained silent for a while and Mello could tell that Matt was thinking hard, which was quite scary. If Matt was thinking hard, you knew it was serious.

"You should tell him." Mello was speechless. He knew immediately what Matt was referring to, but how could the avid gamer have realized it? Was the crush truly that obvious? He finally managed to shake himself out of his shock and opened his mouth to reply.

"What did I tell you before about not saying that you don't know what I'm talking about?" Matt warned, his eyes narrowing behind his goggles. Mello blinked.

"But I didn't even-"

"Mels, I know you." Mello sighed, he couldn't argue with that. He'd seen Matt do the chicken dance in the infamous birthday suit and Matt had seen him singing Sexyback in much the same manner. Both of them were long stories, but the point was that they knew each other a bit too well by now.

"What if he doesn't-"

"He does."

"But-"

"He does."

"Matt-"

"He. Does."

"He does?"

"He does." Mello felt hope flutter in his chest. Matt was never this stubborn about anything except when it came to video games, so he had to believe the redhead was right. There was one question he had to ask, though.

"You don't care that I'm… gay?"

"Mello, you're my best friend and…" Matt trailed off, tilting his head slightly.

"And what?" Mello prompted, curious.

"And that's it. You're my best friend," Matt shrugged, grinning broadly. What Matt didn't expect was for Mello's eyes to suddenly start watering.

"M-Matt…" Mello stammered, throwing his arms around the avid gamer. Matt was surprised to say the least, but it certainly wasn't unpleasant. In fact, he was touched that Mello was actually having a serious heart to heart moment with him. You have no idea how long he's been waiting for this. No. Idea.

"Aw, Mels," he chuckled, patting Mello on the back in an attempt to comfort the tearful chocoholic. He paused as Mello began to calm down and seemed to consider something.

"Besides, I did use to have a crush on Light," he added, as if it was no big deal. Abruptly, Mello pulled away and stared at Matt incredulously.

"Are you kidding?" He was stuck between disbelief and laughter, his expression switching from a gape to a smirk.

"Nope. I was totally giddy about him. I got over it, though, soon after I realized that he and L were together. I do, however, still believe that he is a fiiiine hunk of man," Matt admitted, unaffected by Mello's reaction as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Wait. L and Light are a couple?" Mello's face was what some might describe as priceless.

"Jeez, am I the only person who notices these things?" Matt grumbled in exasperation, smacking his forehead with his palm and rolling his eyes.

"Well, Mr. Cupid, excuse me for not analyzing every relationship scrupulously. Anyway, I'm going to search for Near. He's probably in the playroom, I'm supposing," Mello scoffed, sticking his tongue out at Matt as he stood and headed for the door. He grabbed something from his English folder on his way, but Matt couldn't tell what it was at the distance they were apart.

"Seriously?" Matt instantly perked, excited that Mello was going to speak to Near.

"Would I lie to you? …Er, don't answer that," Mello grimaced as Matt gave him an extremely sarcastic look and he quickly left the room before the redhead could respond. The avid gamer merely snickered and reached for his PS3 controller, resuming playing Overlord II.

MNMNMN

"Mello!" Oh, crap. Linda. Mello winced, hesitating just a few feet from the door to the playroom. Linda took this as him waiting for her and she quickened her pace to catch up faster. When she was within an arm's length away from him, she practically flung herself at him as she did that annoyingly girlish giggle of hers.

"Hey! I've been looking everywhere for you lately!" she told him, as if this wasn't because he'd been hiding from her. He was completely limp in her embrace, but she didn't seem to care if she even noticed.

"What do you want?" he moaned, as if this exchange was utterly painful for him. His expression said basically the same thing.

"Well, we never did get to finish that conversation about going out sometime and seeing as you're no longer handcuffed to Near…" she explained, fluttering her eyelashes at him flirtatiously. Mello shuddered in disgust.

"Look, Linda,-" Before he could tell her that he wasn't interested and that he actually loathed her quite a bit, she cut him off. With. Her. Lips. What the hell?

And then he heard a gasp. And his eyes widened when he recognized the familiar tone of that gasp.

"Near!" Mello exclaimed in horror, shoving Linda to the side and seeing Near standing frozen in the playroom doorway looking like he'd been punched in the stomach. It was like Mello's voice had jostled him from his state of paralyzation and he suddenly turned around, racing down the hall towards his bedroom.

And the chase was on.

Mello ran after Near, repeatedly calling the younger boy's name. Near's only response was to run quicker, but luckily he was more athletic and had longer legs. He lunged forward, tackled Near and sent both of them crashing to the floor. Mello was worried that he'd injured Near when he saw that the other genius was sobbing.

"Are you okay, Near? I swear that I didn't mean to hurt you!"

"Th-That's not it, imbecile!" Near whimpered, the tears that he cried were streaming from the corners of his eyes to the roots of his hair at his temples.

"Th-Then what is it?" Mello asked with concern, a little shocked that Near had insulted him.

"Y-You kissed her!" Near stuttered, looking hopelessly in love and crestfallen.

And it clicked.

Mello, feeling happier than he had since that Christmas when he'd received an entire stocking full of his favorite brand of chocolate, silently offered Near the piece of paper he'd snatched from his English folder earlier and smiled softly. Near, confused, took the notebook sheet and glanced at it. Immense surprise overflowed Near's features as he read the words that were written in Mello's messy scrawl.

I can't stand this confused feeling,

This confused feeling that I get

When I see him smile,

This confused feeling that I get

When I see him blush,

This confused feeling that I get

When he looks at me with those eyes,

Those eyes that I don't know how to describe,

Or maybe I do and don't want to admit it,

I don't know, but could someone please

Tell me what this confused feeling is

Before I start to lose my mind?

Near's cheeks flushed and he shyly gazed at Mello as he returned the poem.

"What was that, Mello?" he sniffled, not wanting to believe what was surely too good to ever be true.

"That, imbecile, is how I feel about you," Mello answered with a gentle laugh, slowly leaning in and firmly pressing his mouth to Near's.

Neither of them had experienced a more blissful moment in their whole lives, and there were plenty of these sweet kisses yet to come...

Jeez, Near cried three chapters in a row! I feel kinda guilty now... Review, please and thank you!