Chapter 12

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*Looks at directions for this chapter*

"Mix a cup and a half of angst, a cup of sappy, and 3/4ths of a cup of fluff. Blend well and garnish with a stuffed panda. Serves several."

Shoulder to Cry On

Matt POV

I was playing Call of Duty when I got a really strong urge to call Mello. No it was more like a compulsion. I went to the peninsula where my cellphone was placed and pressed '1' then 'send'. There was a sniffle as she answered. "Hello?" She sounded like she was trying to hide that she'd been crying.

"It's Matt. I don't know why but I felt like I really needed to call you. Are you OK?"

"I'm fine" she said but her voice was thick. "I'm just a little sleepy is all."

"Mello… have you been crying?" I bit my lip. I knew she had from she sniffling and he voice but she seemed the type who liked to hide it.

"No. I'm fine." I was hurt she had lied but once again I could tell she always tried to appear strong.

I took a deep breath then said firmly "you need a hug. I know it's rude to ask but can I come over to your place?"

She paused then said in a small voice "it's messy. Can I go to yours?" She sounded so small. Like she was a scared little kid who wanted to be protected.

"Come to my place then. I cleaned it like I said." I would have to check if it was still clean enough. She seemed like a neat freak so there was only so much I could do. "You can bring pajamas if you want to spend the night."

There was a pause then, "thank you Matty" she whispered. "I'll get my stuff and come over." She paused again then asked, "where do you live anyway?"

"Santa Cruza Apartments. Number 424." The stairs were pretty much my only form of exercise and they just about killed me each time.

"OK. I'll see you soon." She hung up and it sounded sad and reluctant somehow. I dashed around my apartment and cleaned up the small messes that had been made after I re-decorated. The haste turned out to not be needed because she arrived just as I thought she wasn't coming. She had a partially-full blue duffle bag in one hand and was holding the panda in her other arm. She dropped the bag and ran into my arms and buried her face in my shoulder. I wrapped her in a hug despite the panda taking up space between us. "Sorry for being a burden" she muttered.

"You would never be a burden to me Mells" I said as I tilted her chin up to face me. She was taller than me so she still had to look down though. Her eyes were red and puffy and teary and her nose was red too but she looked beautiful to me. "Why did you bring the panda?"

"His name is The Fuzz" she sniffed out. "He was a good listener in the car and I couldn't bear to leave him there."

I held back a chuckle. She was so adorable! I took her hand and led her to the bedroom where I sat on the bed. She kicked off the ballet flats she was wearing and curled up next to me then nuzzled in my arms. "Do you want to talk about it?" I asked gently and she nodded.

"It was while I was living in Slovenia. My father had closed a very important business deal and convinced my mother to go to the company celebration with them. I was 8 at the time and stayed with my Stará mama since the party was just for adults. My Stará mama had tucked me into bed but I woke up to the sound of her wailing. She had received a call that my parents had been run over on accident by another partygoer who was too drunk to drive. Their car flipped over and they were both crushed on impact… The driver lived." She clutched at my leg painfully as she said the last part. It was obvious she wished he had died too. Honestly I couldn't blame her for feeling that. If she was killed like that I'd want the bastard dead too. I felt a wetness on my shirt and she shuddered. "It hurts. It hurts to miss them so much" she sobbed out. I held her close and let her let it out. Finally she relaxed and I thought she had fallen asleep until she asked, "where's the bathroom? I need to change."

I pointed to the door behind me and she got out some regular blue button-down cotton pajamas and went to the bathroom to change. I quickly changed into a plain white t-shirt and my black boxers. I decided to put on my gray sweatpants too just so she wouldn't be uncomfortable. She came out and crawled into the bed and turned away from me and curled around The Fuzz. I was hurt until I realized she wanted to spoon. I got in and wrapped my arm around her (and The Fuzz since he was in the way of her waist). She snuggled back into me and sighed. She soon fell asleep with a tiny smile and I fell asleep soon after; glad I could cheer her up even a tiny bit.

Aww *heart* Matt's such a sweetie.