*Okay, so I took the Mary-Sue detector test. And I was pleased with the results. Raven got fourteen points, and anything under sixteen is not a Sue. So, while I may or may not still rewrite my first chapter, this puts my mind at ease a bit. Thanks for giving me a link to the litmus test, Kavyle. =]

**Okay, everyone wait for it… I WOULD LIKE TO THANK – Josephine Falnor (by no means do I agree with Vendetta, either), becca670 (You are so amazing for reviewing all my chapters! Words can't express my gratitude!), Lazy/Anonymous (I thought Mello had been sorta passive as well.), melloxchocolatexluva (I said that to a friend of mine once… She wasn't too happy with me. T.T), MissehKeehl (The 'thing' that happens with Derek begins this chapter… Or, I set the stage for it this chapter. You shan't have to wait long. And you should update Artificial again soon!), simsbabii (It's hard for me to make Mello likeable without also making him really out of character… =/), icanreadyourmind (I'm glad I've been forgiven. =)), Numanife (I don't know the pairing yet… But I'm keeping score! =)), Practically Venomous (I HATE YOU! GO AWAY! …I love you… =)), Kavyle (You'll find out this chapter. And in no way whatsoever does it offend me. Thanks again for the link! =)), and angelofyouth1427 (I've never actually seen V for Vendetta, to be honest… =/ And I feel the same way about clingy people. xD) – Now, everyone imagine I said all of that in one breath, which would be extremely impressive. =D

***I DON'T OWN DEATH NOTE! …If I did, L Lawliet/Mello/Matt would all take turns being god of the new world. Screw Kira. =) (To Melissa: You've just been struck by the Holy Spirit! Now hold my dad's hand! …Ah, we have good times at mass… Even though I'm an atheist… =) And it was better than holding your grandma's hand! Her hands were cold!)

P.S. – The score thus far is – MattXRaven with three votes, and MelloXRaven with two votes. Review if you'd wish to vote… And by the way, I got a message pertaining to this – DerekXRaven is not a pairing. You'll see why in this chapter. =D I still have big plans for Derek though. Fret not.

It was chilly outside. The transition had been made from summer into fall, and everything was starting to change. I'd avoided Mello like the plague since the confrontation we'd had, and much to my dismay it had been a week and Vendetta was still around. I was beginning to wonder if she'd ever leave. For that matter, why

I was sitting out on the roof, feet dangling out from over it, taking in the light drizzle of rain. I spotted a familiar head of hair walking towards my front door, and my eyes widened, jumping through the window and back into my house. I flew to the front door, "Vendettai'mgoingout" escaping my lips before bursting out of the house, grabbing Matt by the wrist and pulling him away from my place of residence urgently.

Matt looked at me, and back to my place of residence, confused. "Uhh… Weren't we supposed to chill at your house today?"

Oh, yeah… We'd made those plans just before I blew up on Mello, before Vendetta had shown up…

"B-but, uh, it's so nice outside… I figured we could go hang out somewhere else."

"Rae. It's raining."

…I'm a dumbass.

I stopped, but Matt held onto my hand. "But we can go somewhere else, if you want. I'm a pretty laid-back guy, if you haven't figured that out by now."

I looked at the ground, bangs falling in my face. "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know. You're the one who decided we weren't going to your house, for whatever mysterious reason." We locked eyes, and I looked away, unable to stare him in the face.

We were quiet for a moment, the only sound being the rain falling to the ground. Looking around, the world was bleak, gray. My mind was completely absorbed in thoughts, trying to figure things out, attempting to –

"Raven," Matt started, never letting go of my hand, "are you okay?"

I shook my head, sticking a fake smile on my face. "'Course Matt. Why wouldn't I be?"

To be honest, the physical contact was throwing me off just a little bit.

Matt eyed me funnily, still sensing the fact that I was hiding something, namely that there was a serial killer in my house. I couldn't tell him. I couldn't tell any of them. Not without instilling fear in my heart that one of them would get severely hurt. I mean, guys like Mello and Matt aren't the type of people to go around with a gun at their side all the time, right?

Even if they did, I don't think either of them would be able to kill anyone. They aren't coldblooded enough for that. Deep down, no matter what happens between Mello and I, I still believe he's a good person. I'm just an original Pollyanna, aren't I? Screw that shit…

"Come on. Let's go see Derek." I sighed. I had sort of been hoping that it would just be Matt and I… but maybe Derek would help out with the awkward tension. We arrived at Derek's place, and we both knocked on the door with no answer. This didn't make any sense, because Derek's car was parked in the driveway. I thought maybe he'd walked somewhere, but Matt didn't seem to think so.

Matt proceeded to walk into Derek's house, without a second thought. I looked around wildly, and then Matt looked back at me.

"What the – Matt, what're you –"

"Rae. It's Derek. Seriously. As if he'll care." Matt rolled his eyes at me and walked through the front door without pause. I followed shortly after looking around again, making sure we weren't going to get thrown in jail for breaking and entering or something.

"All eyes on me, in the center of the ring just like a circus –" A high, terribly off-key falsetto voice singing Britney Spears was the last thing I expected to hear when walking into Derek's house. Matt's lips trembled, holding back a laugh, and I covered my mouth with my hand to stifle giggles. Derek came down the stairs with a towel around his waist and Matt and I in the living room, doubled over and succumbing to insane fits of giggles as a high-pitched scream escaped his lips.

"Oh my God!" He was completely shocked and out of breath, holding on to a wall for support. "You guys scared the living shit out of me!"

"S-sorry, Derek," I stuttered through my laughter.

" What the hell is wrong with you?! You two should know better than to interrupt a gay man in his 'primping' time!"

I froze. "…What?" He couldn't have said what I thought he had said.

"Primping time. You know, the time when people make themselves look socially acceptable? You really don't want to see me before primping, it's not a pretty sight."

Matt eyed me from the side. "You didn't know Derek was gay, did you?"

Derek was looking at me worriedly, and I made eye contact with him briefly before looking at Matt.

"N-no… I didn't… It doesn't really bother me, it just came as a shock."

Derek stared at me carefully. "What do you mean you didn't know? I willingly watched Music and Lyrics with you, did I not?"

To be honest, I'd been raised to see homosexuality as a 'sin' of sorts, even though I wasn't religious whatsoever. Father had always told me that it was unnatural and wrong, and while personally I didn't have a problem with it, old habits die hard. I cling to what Father taught me. It's what I know, it's what's safe. How on earth could I cope with the fact that my best friend in the entire world was gay?

What would this do to Derek and I? How could I look him in the eyes with feelings like these?

I managed to plaster on a smile, and pass it off like nothing was wrong, making a mental note to rearrange my thoughts later. Stupid past, screwing around with my current life…

We hung out for the rest of the day, the three of us, even though I was a little more subdued than usual for the obvious reasons. I was zoned out the entire day, with things I'd heard from Father running through my brain.

Gay people spread AIDS.

They're unholy, sinful.

They're unclean.

My list could go on, but I'll stop there. Nonetheless, I was completely torn. It felt like my heart was being forced to choose between loyalty to my father, and loyalty to my best friend. Loyalty to the present, or loyalty to the past. Blind prejudice, or deep friendship? Matt and I left Derek's, and Matt said, "Should I go home? You're acting like you don't want me around."

I looked at him quickly, and as he turned to walk away, I said, "Wait…"

He stopped. "Yeah?"

"Can we… go to my park?"

Matt raised an eyebrow. "Your park?"

"Yeah. My park. I go there to dance all the time. I'm comfortable there."

"Okay. Let's go." We walked to my park, and it was a little different for me than usual. I'd never gone there with someone before, and during the day no less. I always felt completely comfortable with Matt, despite what I wanted to talk to him about.

"Alright," he said, "I know there was an ulterior motive to you wanting me here, so spill it, Rae. What's going on?"

I sat down on a bench, pulling my legs up under me and looking down. He sat beside me, bringing one knee up to his chin and staring at me, red hair ablaze in the sun.

"It's about… Derek…" Matt nodded once, as if he knew this was coming.

"His sexuality, huh? It's that big of a deal?" The way he said it wasn't condescending, or patronizing, and it was quite the relief.

My eyes shifted from side to side, a bit ashamed of what I was admitting, like I knew I was wrong for judging based on something like this. "It's not my opinion. It was my father's."

"Then why does it matter to you, Rae?"

"Because… I feel like I'm not respecting him if I go against his ideas."

"Just because you don't respect some of his ideas doesn't mean you can't still love him."

We talked for awhile, without anything actually being resolved. It did make me feel better, while my thoughts were still a jumbled mess. I managed to keep the tears away, despite my emotions being in utter turmoil.

And then I realized I was doing the same thing to him as I did to Mello, dumping all my problems on him without any regard for his space. I'm a goddamn nervous wreck.

I smiled weakly, and laughed sadly. "I'm sorry, Matt… I'm just laying all my issues on you…"

He looked into the setting sun, and then back at me, and did something totally unexpected. He wrapped his arms around my torso, and pulled me into his body with a hug. I went limp in the gamer's arms, managing to barely return it. He kissed me gently on the forehead, and I melted.

"No matter what, Rae," he whispered, "You've always got me. Regardless."

My smile was subdued, but still there, and I said, "I doubt it's much of a return gift… But I'm always here for you too."

"You're the kind of friend who always bends when I'm broken, like remember when, you took my heart and put it back together again?" - "Ultimate", Lindsay Lohan

*OKAY, PEOPLE, clarifying this NOW before I get hate mail/reviews! I am not homophobic! My dear uncle is gay. I thought this would be an interesting twist to Raven's character, and in no way do I think that gay people spread AIDS, are unholy, etc. It's only a plot twist. Please don't take it as more than that. Please and sankyuu. =] J'adore... *insert French word for 'fluff' here*.