A/N: I couldn't wait to upload again. lol. Don't worry. Plenty of Matt and Mello happening. Building up. And remember, Near is going to England for school soon! So much can happen!

EndlessStorm: I 3 BB.. I would imagine him talking in a way that I'll never do it justice.

ShinigamiMailJeevas: Yes, a cuddly Mello is always fantastic. 3

Chapter 9: Preparations

Mello was on cloud nine! Not only was he playing with Focus.. He was singing with Matt! They had been at it for a few hours now. Matt had decided there was no time like the present to make sure Mello was up to speed with their original songs. Matt had picked up a guitar and played back-up to him as Mello sang back-up for Matt. The girls (and Light) had decided that they needed to go shopping *insert roll of eyes here* for the outing tonight. Mikami had left to file away the paperwork Mello had filled out. L was perched on the couch on his laptop for his 'job'. Beyond had disappeared to his room muttering about finishing a song. Matt had informed him that they all wrote music for the band. Sure, most of it was Matt, but he always excepted lyrics from everyone, and everyone had to agree on a song before they would actually produce it. That had led them to where they were now. Messing around on guitars and laughing their asses off.

"Jenova, Mello. Why didn't you ever tell us you were so good with a guitar?" Matt spoke as they took a break and flipped through some music sheets. Mello cocked a brow and laughed.

"Jenova?" Matt looked away sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Er.. Yeah.. You'll get used to it. I tend to make a lot of references to games. I mostly tend to say 'Holy Zelda' and shit cause it's the Holy Grail of gaming, and I'm actually atheist." Matt looked up and saw Mello's shoulders shaking as he covered his mouth with his hand and his eyes squeezed shut. "Hey, shut up!" Mello turned away and Matt kicked him in his ass. It only cause Mello to let out a snort and when he heard a muttered 'dick', he let his laughing past his lips.

"I'm sorry. I've just.. Never met anyone like you before." Mello got out as his laughing lightened up. Matt turned his 100 watt smile to him and he instantly stopped laughing as it stunned him.

"I take that as a compliment!" He plucked at a few strings on his guitar, emitting a soft melody. Mello shook his head.

"Ooooohhhhhh, Meeeellllooooo!" Fuck. Misa's smile was even bigger than Matt's as she walked in with Naomi, Sayu, and Light trailing. Sayu's own smile matched his sisters as she eyed her own brother next to Mello, and Naomi was smirking at the blonde. Light was giving him an apologetic look. Double fuck. "We got you something." Triple fuck. His eyes narrowed.

"Before you try to fight it, you have to have something for the stage. Give it a chance, ok?" Sayu spoke up. He sighed and put his guitar down on it's stand. Misa smiled at him as he approached.

"What is it?" Misa plucked up a bag she had dropped onto the couch and pulled out what looked like a wad of leather. Unfolding them, she first showed him a tight leather vest that zipped up the front and then leather pants that looked like he'd need to heavily oil himself up to slide into. His eyes widened at the garments. "Oh, Mello, don't act like you hate it. We both know you've always wanted a pair." He bit his lip as he held the pants up himself.

"Well yeah.. But ones that I could used to ride a motorcycle. Not the stripper version."

"Well, it'll definitely compliment your feminine features." Matt was laughing next to him. Blue eyes glared at him and he continued to smile innocently.

"YEEEAAAHHHH!" A yell was heard as Beyond came in, his arms up in victory, some paper in his left. He headed over to Matt and handed them over. "I finished!" Matt smiled as he read over the lyrics, his fingers tapping to an invisible beat.

"This looks fantastic, B. We'll all have to give it a shot tomorrow."

"Yeah, you all might have to play around with your notes a bit for comfort, and of course, we have to hear it all together, but.." His eyes finally lifted and he saw Mello holding up his leather pants. His face morphed into his playful smirk. "Sexy, Mello. I didn't know you were into that type of thing."

"Shove it, Beyond." He regretted it the moment he said it. If Beyond's face was anything to go by, he'd never live it down. But as he opened his mouth to retort, another interruption came.

"Great news, guys!" Matsuda rushed in commanding attention. "Oh, good, you're all here. Well, how would you feel about doing a random surprise concert? You play 2-3 songs, and then the hall has the whole top VIP floor cut off for you to enjoy yourselves."

"Oh! That means I can go!" Sayu jumped up and down excitedly. Apparently, unless they were out as 'Focus', Sayu and Matsuda never went with. They were too well known and couldn't chance being caught by association. They apparently hadn't thought that through thoroughly.

"Wait. I thought we all wanted to get wasted? I'm only 20." Mello let out. Matt's arm flew around his shoulder.

"And I'm 20. You think that we'd be showing any legal identification as Focus?" Mello smirked in response.

"You dirty, lying, cheat." Matt just smiled in return.

"Ok Mello, go put these on!" Misa shoved him to a bathroom door. "I'm waiting to see how it looks before I get dressed."

"What? But it'll take you-" The door was slammed, abruptly cutting him off. "..longer." He sighed and began to pull off his shirt and pants. His shoes were by the couch. He looked at the leather in his hands. What if someone else tried them on before? He wasn't wearing underwear himself. He hated them. Well, shit. He took a deep breath and stepping into them anyways. Thank God the bathroom is spacious. It took the whole space for him to dance around and wiggle to get them on. That was when he noticed that they closed via laces, and not a zipper or button. Well, that could be problematic if he got hard. He tied them as tight as he could before pulling on the vest. It showed off a bit of his midriff, his hips jetting out over the hem. No bad if he said so himself. And he did. He pulled in all his confidence and put on a sexy smirk before opening the door, and leaning against the frame provocatively. "Well, what do you think?" Misa squealed.

"Aren't I the best big sister ever?" Mello rolled his eyes.

"Damn, Mello. If you were straight.." Sayu winked. Mello noticed that only the three girls were present, and all in different states of undress. "Then again if you were straight, I couldn't be letting you walk into a room I'm changing in."

"So you kicked everyone out?" He laughed.

"Not exactly. They wanted us to start getting ready cause we take longer. Light and L left up to L's room to get ready. Beyond is bi and Matsuda is straight, so naturally, they got kicked out. Matt went to go tell Near what was going on before he gets his clothes from his trunk and gets ready." Naomi was wiggling into her own dark brown leather pants, but even hers didn't look as tight as his were. She then pulled on a sleeveless black turtle neck.

"Oh, so I'm the lucky guy who gets to be in the room of half naked woman? No offense, but ew." His arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the wall more comfortably. Sayu was laughing.

"None taken. I'm good with seeing you pick up my brother instead." Sayu wore a black dress that was loose on her body, the material would flow elegantly when she walked. The neck dipped and hung below her breasts, but there was wide holed fishnet under it and down her arms.

"Sayu-chan!" Naomi spoke before Mello could. His eyes were wide as she laughed.

"What? It's not hard to tell they want each other. Once Matt stops being stupid and him and Near call it quits, the better all will be. And I'm sure Mello is just the guy to give dear Matty-kins the ass ramming he needs. You can even tell he's packing!" She pointed at his crotch. Mello shifted uncomfortably.

"Sayu! That's my brother! I don't look there!" Misa lectured. When the hell did she get into the whole Lolita look anyways?

"As much as the compliment flatters me, Matt and I are just friends. Sorry." Sayu gave him a knowing look, so he coughed and moved towards his boots. As he reached for them, Misa's heeled foot kicked them away.

"No, Mello. That box." She pointed to a long shoebox on the arm of the couch. He sighed before pulling the lid off. He swore he was going to bust out of his pants. Inside lay a pair of cherry red knee high Doc Marten boots. He turned his head to look at his smug sister. He smirked evilly at her.

"I normally wouldn't accept these. But seeing how you owe me for not telling me you played bass for the my favorite band that had a singer who's voice used to give me wet dreams and I know this didn't even dent your bank account.. I accept." He sat down on the couch and pulled them on. The laces were way long, so he wrapped them around the top a few times before tying them off. "Besides.. I really wanted these." Misa laughed as he stood and stepped back over to the girls, giving his sister a hug.

"Ok, girls.. And Mello. You better be ready cause we're coming in!" Beyond yelled before pushing open the doors. He stopped as he eyes them. "I take back any jokes I had, Mello. Looking hot." He winked. Mello couldn't help but laugh internally as he saw how Beyond had his face painted. Blues, Purples, Blacks, and Whites all made up a creepy looking skeleton face.

"I know." He said. Beyond laughed, and Mello couldn't help but allow the confident smirk to form on his lips once again. L and Light were with him, and he couldn't help but feel a little cocky when they both tightened their grips on the other as if to stake their claim. They should feel threatened. Matsuda walked over to Sayu and offered her his arm.

"I guess we'll do what we always do and make sure to enter first?" She took his arm with a smile. They were the only two who really looked 'dressed up'. Her in her dress and Matsuda in a nice basic suit. Ok, take that back. Light was wearing an all black, form fitting suit. He looked the part of security for sure. Though L looked out of place next to him.

"Misa has to paint her face real quick." Misa said as she pulled out some cosmetics and a mirror. Naomi and Sayu joined her to help. The outcome? Mello was right. She looked like a doll. A creepy doll since she put in a pair of red contacts.

"Ok. I hope everyone is ready! Watari offered to drive tonight since it was last minute, by the way." Matt walking in wearing his skinny jeans that were tucked into a pair of boots that had to be custom. He wore a black and white striped shirt with his suede and fur vest over it, swinging his goggles on his finger. He stopped abruptly as he caught sight of Mello. The blonde himself couldn't get over the fact that he was in his on stage clothes. This was something he fantasized about through his teen years so many times.

"Is it as good as those wet dreams, Mello?" Sayu whispered into his ear. He went to tell her to shut up, but she was already walking out with Matsuda. His eyes went back to Matt who still had his hand up as if to swing his goggles more, but the eye wear itself hung limply on his gloved finger. His eyes were wide and he looked like someone just kicked him in the gut, with his jaw slightly open. Everyone else was laughing as they passed him. Mello let his smirk grow slightly seductive as he sauntered over to the stunned gamer. Using his pointer finger, he snapped Matt's jaw shut, jarring him from his trance.

"WOW.. Mello.. You look.."

"Sexy? I know." He winked. Matt chuckled.

"So humble, aren't we?" He took a step back and let out a shuddered breath.

"Confident." He winked. " And relax. You have a boyfriend. It doesn't mean you're blind." He smiled as he headed for the door, the redhead laughing as he followed.

"Hurry up!" Sayu was standing through the sunroof of a stretch limo.

"Where the hell are we going that we need a limo?" Mello asked as they climbed in.

"It's a club called PURE. It's not like academy awards style, but our transportation options in the big group are limited. And I wanted you all to arrive together. This will be the most the public has ever seen of the band itself. Make sure you all keep your different versions of concealment at all times. You don't talk to any of the possible reporters, as I'm sure there was at least some sort of leak to you being there tonight. It can't be helped. Sayu and I will do all the talking. Tonight we will also be announcing that you, Mello, have replaced Gevanni. Speaking of, what is his band name?" Matsuda explained.

"It can't be Mello?" He couldn't help but ask.

"No. You go by it too much and it's not a common name. Anyone who met you before could easily place it." L took a turn to speak.

"Just for irony, I'm calling you Angel." Misa smiled innocently as he gawked at her.

"You have the weirdest names for me! First Mello, which has been pointed out numerous times, I am not a mellow person. Now Angel? I'm definitely not one."

"An Evil Angel, maybe." Matt laughed. Mello's eyes turned a glare towards him. "What? It's true!"

"Well, unless you can come up with something you prefer in the next two seconds.." Matsuda asked as they pulled up outside of the club. He was right. There was a leak. "No? Ok. Angel it is." Mello's protests died on his lips as Matsuda and Sayu stepped out and the people who recognized them started to yell. Light joined them and was talking to security. They heard Matsuda informing the few reporters that Gevanni had quit, and they had a new guitarist named, Angel. Mello groaned.

"Aw. It's not that bad, Mels." Matt said close to his ear. Once again his reply was interrupted as the door swung open. Beyond slipped a pair of sunglasses on to cover his unique eyes before stepping out. His hand went out to help Naomi who also wore glasses, and had hair hanging in her face. L stepped out after he put on his mask. Mello did laugh at that one. Misa pulled on her own old fashioned black masquerade mask that had strings off beads handing down on the sides and threw something at Mello before taking L's hand to get out. Matt moved forward, pressing a button to make his goggles glow green. Mello saw Misa had tossed his a pair of aviators and he slipped them in. As he was about to climb out, Matt dramatically held his hand out while he laughed. Mello smacked his hand away, but once he got out, Matt threw his arm over his shoulder, and he couldn't help but laugh back. It was dark. They could see the pulse of lights inside, but the flashing cameras were pretty blinding.

"That's Kiyomi Takada. She's a fucking shark of a reporter. Avoid her at all costs." Matt whispered in his ear as he motioned to a Japanese woman trying to get someone to talk to her, all but pulling Sayu to a stop. She had short hair and wore a business suit. Sayu quickly spoke before moving on. Then he sights fell on them, and she smiled smugly as she had he cameraman snapping pictures of them. He didn't let the self-satisfied and cocky smirk leave his lips, not wanting to let her get to him, and allowed Matt to pull him into the club after the rest of the band. They headed to the back of where a stage had been created and started to get ready.

"Good job, Angel." Beyond was saying. Mello flipped him off before grabbing his own guitar and making sure it was ready.

"Nervous?" Matt's lips were against his ear before he moved in front of him. He wanted to say no. To be the arrogant man he should be. But he couldn't lie to him.

"A little." He chuckled at the truth. Matt smiled reassuringly at him. He ran his fingers through blonde hair before circling down his jawline.

"You'll do great, Evil Angel." And he pulled away, heading over to check his microphone and get himself ready. Mello's breathing had increased and he worked at slowing it down as he watched the other man walk away, but when he looked over his shoulder and smiled at him again, all his efforts had to be doubled. Shit. Why did Matt have to be Matt? He would get used to it in time. And then he'd get over it. It was Matt for fucks sake! Ok, bad words. He took a deep breath and looked around at everyone getting ready. Sayu stood to the side and winked at him when she caught his eyes. Bitch. He moved to get into place with everyone else. Fog started to fill the stage as they got into position. His eyes lingered to Matt who was holding onto a microphone in its stand. This was it. The second time Focus would perform live. The first time he himself would be playing lead guitar.

A/N: =O I had to cut it there. Sorry. 3 I hope you all enjoyed getting a bit more of a look into the band. I think next chapter I'll work in everyone's names. So, any suggestions need to be told asap. Yes, there is a bigger reason why Mello is 'Angel'. Just wait it out. I know the MxM stuff was a dirty tease, yeah? Patience dears.. It's coming.