Matt's POV

That night, after maybe the best shower of my life, we stayed in our room all night, lying in my bed next to eachother. We would have stayed in Mello's bed, but there were some… stains there that weren't going to come out that easily and we were both too tired to try anyways. We fell asleep with Mello resting his head on my chest for the second time.

The next morning, Mello was shaking me awake. Shit, we didn't sleep in again, did we? I sat bolt upright and and fell off the bed like a dumb ass. Ow… Getting up and rubbing my forehead, I asked Mello what time it was. Oddly, he was still lying down.

"Six-thirty," he answered.

"Huh?" I glared at Mello and sat down next to him. "Why'd you wake me up so early?"

"Uh…" Mello looked away, blushing a little. "I… woke up around six and… and…"

"What Mells, couldn't you wait for me to wake up?" I said, laughing.

His face turned even more red and I laughed again. He looked up at me and glared. "It's not funny!" he said.

"You're right," I said, still laughing. "It's not funny... It's cute!"

"Be quiet!"

I finally stopped laughing and managed to catch my breath. "Sorry, Mells" I said.

Mello actually pouted. It was kinda cute. "Come on, Mells," I said. "You're not that mad."

"Yes I am.."

"Then why are you still lying down? Mello, you always get up when you're pissed off just to yell in my face." I smiled at him. Actually, why was he still lying down? I guess it's not really that weird. He's probably just tired. Mello finally gave in and smiled back at me.

"Come on, Matty. Lay down with me."

I chuckled. "That's what I was doing."

"Well do it again, now that you're awake, smart ass."

I didn't bother arguing as I did what Mello asked. Once I was lying down facing him, I placed a soft kiss on his lips. I pulled back and grinned at him.

I love you.

Again, the words were threatening to spill out, but I couldn't do it. Not yet… I wrapped my arms around Mello and pulled him in a little closer. For a moment there, I thought I saw him wince.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing…"

We stayed there like that for a while, pretty much just cuddling until Mello finally pointed out that it was 7 and we should get up. We didn't want a repeat of yesterday… I got up and went to the restroom to brush my teeth. When I came back out, Mello was… still in bed? I grinned and said, "Come on, lazy ass. We have to get ready for class, remember?"

Mello nodded. I turned around to get some clothes from my dresser. Once I had an outfit in hand, I turned back around to see Mello barely sitting at the edge of my bed. Okay. Something was definitely up…

"Mells, what's wrong?" I asked, giving him a concerned look.

"It's.. nothing…" He looked down at the floor. I think I saw him blush but I wasn't sure. Yeah, nothing my ass.

I went over to Mello, grabbed his hand and roughly pulled him up. "Then let's go, Mel-"

"Ouch! Fuck, Matt!"

I let go of his hand and took a step back. He was rubbing his hips and wincing in pain. Oh shit.

"Mells.."

"What?!" he snapped, glaring at me.

"A-are you… Are you a little….. sore?" He looked back down in response, his face turning bright red.

"It's not.. that bad."

"Like hell it isn't. You're staying in bed today."

"No!"

"Mells-"

"No!" He glared. "No! I refuse to miss any classes!"

"You gonna go like that?"

"..."

"Especially with people talking shit about us already?"

"... I'm going."

"Oh, really?"

He looked back up at me with a defiant look on his face. "Damn right!"

"Fine," I said, taking about ten steps back.

"What are you doing?" Mello asked, quirking a brow at me.

"If you can walk all the way over here, which is only like ten steps, without hurting then you can go."

Mello scowled at me before taking a slow, tentative step forward.

"No," I said. "No talking your time either. You have to walk at a normal pace."

Mello started walking, a pained look on his face, over to me. He refused to give any other signs of pain. When he made it over to me, he said, "Can I go, now?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

"Damn it, Matt!"

"Mello, do you really want people to know what we were up to last night?" I said with a cocky grin.

"N-no… but…"

"I mean, not only will people talk on and on about how we are already at it, but they will also know that…" I bent over a little and whispered the next part in Mello's ear. "You were the one receiving…"

I pulled back and looked at the horrified look on Mello's face. I couldn't stop the laughter that bursted out because of it. Mello slapped my arm.

"... Asshole….." he muttered.

"Come on, Mells. I'll even bring you homework from our classes. I'll just say you aren't feeling well."

".. F-fine… I'll stay.. But on one condition!"

"And what's that, darling?" I grinned.

"I… want to see your friends, Matt."

My grin faded. "Huh? But you've seen my fr-"

"No, Matty. You know what I mean. I want to actually meet your friends."

"But… why, Mells?"

"Because we're fucking going out! That's why!"

"No."

"Why not?!"

"What's the point in making you stay in bed of you're just gonna get up anyways?"

"I'll be just fine by then! We could go after dinner.."

"No, Mells."

"Damn it, Matt! Let me meet them!"

"Mello, just stay in bed today. You're not going anywhere."

"Matt, this isn't fair."

"Mello, I mean it."

"You just don't want me to meet them, Matt! This isn't about my ass at all!"

Had it been under different circumstances, I would've laughed at what he said. "That's not the case, Mells. You can see them another time."

"But-"

"Mello, I'm not going to argue about this. You're staying in here whether you like it or not."

Mello scowled again and walked over to my bed, sitting down. "Fine, asshole. Be like that…" He crossed his arms and pouted.

"Mells…"

He didn't say anything.

"Look, Mells…." I awkwardly scratched the back of my head. "I….." I almost caved and told him yes. "... have to get ready for class. I'll see you when I get back, okay?"

When he didn't say anything, I went to the bathroom and got ready. When I finished, I got out and left the room, books in hand. I told Mello I'd see him later, but he didn't say anything. When I closed the door, I heard something hit it. It didn't sound like anything broke so at least I knew the lamp wouldn't have to be replaced again. It was probably a book or something..

I went to breakfast and surprisingly enough, Near was there. He sat down in front of me… It was awkward, considering our last conversation, but I didn't say anything.

"I believe…." he quietly spoke up, clutching a little robot toy and twirling a lock of hair. "That I owe you a form of apology…"

"Uh… Don't worry about it," I said. Near nodded.

"Mello is not here, today?"

I looked down, feeling a little guilty. "N-no… He's not feeling well."

"I see." The rest of breakfast was quiet. I just pushed around my cereal, not really eating it at all. When it got really soggy, I threw it out. After that, I went to classes. People were still talking shit, but I wasn't really paying any attention to any of it. At some point, that girl from yesterday told everyone to 'cut their shit' which I really appreciated. Turns out I had every class with her except for maths. She must've been pretty smart to be in that many classes as me and Mello. I'm glad she was there to help though. I was already stressed out about dealing with Mello when I got back from class. I could only hope he wasn't still pissed off by then.

I tried to concentrate, but I couldn't. I decided to just do my homework later. Throughout classes, I just spent my time spacing out, looking out the window, or doodling in my notebook. I tried playing my gameboy, but I couldn't even concentrate on that! I at least made sure to pick up homework for Mello. I ate lunch alone. Well, actually, I got a sandwich and never ate it. I hoped Mello had enough chocolate since he didn't show up. When classes were over, I went to our room. Mello was still sitting on my bed reading something and there was a book and a broken psp on the floor by the door. Damn it.

I put Mello's homework down on his desk before walking over to the door and closing it. I picked up his book and put it on his shelf. Then I went back and picked up my poor, poor, beautiful portable gaming console. Oh, how the good die young… I checked to make sure there wasn't a game in there when it broke. Luckily, there wasn't. I took the memory card out of it and put it on my own desk next to my broken baby.

"Looks like I'll have to order a new one online…" I muttered. I looked over at Mello who was dead set on ignoring me. I hated having him so angry with me… "Mells," I said, softly. He didn't respond. I should've known… Mello always gets what he wants..

"Mells, how well can you walk?" I asked.

He looked up at me and glared. "Why?" he snapped.

"If you're okay…" I sighed. "I'll let you meet them.."

Mello grinned and stood right up, placing his book down on the bed. "It hurts a little, but I can walk just fine," he said cheerfully.

"Fine. We'll go after dinner."

"Thank you, Matty!" Mello said, running over to me and hugging me. I shook my head and gave him a kiss.

When we went to dinner, I actually ate. Although, I was eating as slowly as possible until Mello threatened to shove the food down my throat if I didn't eat faster. Once we'd scraped, Mello practically dragged me to the front doors of the building. As we went out the doors, I tried buying some time.

"Oh! Mello, I forgot my cigarettes, could you believe it? I guess we have to go back and-"

"That's okay! I have them in my pocket! Now let's go."

That… bastard! He knew I'd try pulling something like this! I sighed as he took me to the usual spot. Okay, so I admit, I was really nervous. What if they didn't like each other or something? It's not like I can pick a side… I mean, I'd probably pick Mello in the end… But I couldn't just do that to my friends… What the hell would I do then?

When we got there, Olson, along with K and Jake, were standing there, smoking. Olson was the first to turn around and notice us. He waved at us and called out, "Hey, you guys! Matt actually brought his boyfriend with him!" He grinned at us as we made it over to them. Please, god, just kill me now…

Once we were there, Mello stood in front of them with me right next to him. Olson was still grinning at us.

"What's up, man?" he asked. I took a nervous step back and looked down. I looked up a little to see him smiling at Mello. "Didn't think we'd actually get to meet you in person, considering how shy Matt gets when he even talks about you." He chuckled lightly. Then he extended his arm. "I'm Olson."

Mello slowly took his hand in a less-awkward-than-I-expected handshake. They finally let their hands drop and Mello introduced himself. Then he turned to the other two.

"Jake," Jake said, smiling widely.

"Call me K," K said, waving. She gave me a thumbs up, winking. "Matt, he's even hotter up close!" Mello stiffened for a moment. W-what? "You've got great taste in men!" Why'd she have to go and say that?! I took another step back and panicked just a little when everyone was looking at me, waiting for a response.

"W-well.. I-I-I... uh, thank you….?"

K laughed. "I totally knew you would spazz out like that!"

Everyone else, including Mello, started laughing along with her. I felt my face heat up. After a while, I found myself laughing along with them. I walked over to Olson and sat down on the grass next to him. Then I patted the spot next to me for Mello to sit down. He sat down next to me and then handed me my pack of cigarettes awkwardly. I thanked him and then realized that I didn't have a lighter.

"Olson, can I borrow your lighter?" I asked. He nodded and handed me one. I pulled out a menthol and popped it before lighting it. I took a drag and made sure to blow the smoke away from Mello.

"So I take it you don't smoke?" Olson asked Mello.

"I hate cigarettes," Mello said, trying to cover up the fact that he would rather not talk about the one thing he hated my friend for. I hoped Olson didn't notice the tone in his voice. An argument was the last thing I needed..

"Yeah," I added, nervously. ".. Remember when he practically dragged me away last time I was here?" I laughed a little.

"Oh yeah," K said.

"Sorta dramatic," Jake said quietly. Funny how he barely talks, yet unlike with anyone else who does that, I still notice he's here. Mello seemed a tad bit surprised like he forgot about him, though.

"Dramatic?" Mello repeated.

"Yeah," K added. "I mean, it could've been much worse than smoking cigarettes."

"I guess you're right," Mello said. "I mean, he could've started drinking and become an alcoholic or something."

K gave a dry laugh and we were all silent for a moment. That was the wrong thing to say… I couldn't completely blame Mello or anything. I mean, we knew K was an alcoholic but Mello didn't. Still… When I turned my gaze from Mello to K, who was sitting next to him, with a concerned look on my face... she still looked a little hurt. I felt like apologizing, but I wasn't sure about what exactly I should say..

Olson caught my attention when he broke the silence. "Maybe Mello's just a goody-two-shoes." He grinned.

"Oh whatever," Mello said back. "I am not."

"Bet you'd never try a cigarette though, Mr. Goody Two Shoes." Oh crap. Olson didn't know that you. Never. Tease. Mello.

"I could if I wanted to!" Mello called out. Uh oh…

"Oh really?" Don't challenge him…

"Yes, really!"

"Doubtful."

"I'll do it right now!" What?!

I whipped my head around to make sure that it was Mello who was talking. Then I gave him a look that just screamed 'ARE YOU CRAZY?!' He looked like he wanted to take it back but couldn't.

"Okay," Olson replied. "Hey, Matty. You wanna do the honors?"

My eyes grew wide. "Uh.."

"Shotgun him!" K called out, obviously joking.

"Sh-shotgun?" I asked my voice getting all high-pitched. In front of them? She was kidding, but… Why'd she suggest it at all?

"What's that?" Mello asked.

"N-nothing!" I said. I handed him my cigarette and said, "H-here. Just.. try it." I felt like a horrible boyfriend for doing this.

Mello held it in between his thumb and forefinger awkwardly like it was radioactive or something. He hesitantly put the butt of it to his lips and inhaled the smoke. Not even finished with his first drag, he started choking loudly on the smoke. It was even worse than my first try. He dropped the cigarette as he continued to cough up a lung. When he stopped, I was the first one to say anything.

"You practically swallowed all the smoke, didn't you Mells?" I asked.

Mello's face turned completely red as I started giggling like crazy. Mello shoved me a little and I fell over, continuing to just giggle.

"It's not that funny, Matty!" he said.

"Yes it is!" I breathed out.

I finally stopped laughing after a while and sat back up, seeing everyone's amused smirk. I lit another cigarette for myself as we all just started talking. Mello was getting along with them a lot better than I'd hoped. I was pretty happy about it. At some point, Mello scrunched up his nose and stood up.

"I'll see you inside, Matty," he said.

"You're going?" I asked.

He nodded. "Before I get cancer from all this smoke," he joked. He grinned playfully before bending over and kissing me on the lips. At first, I felt awkward because of the fact that we were in front of everyone else. Then I got over it and kissed him back, placing my hands on both sides of his face. I heard one of my friends whistling and I felt Mello grinning with his lips still pressed to mine. He pulled away and stood back up. "Later, Matty! It was fun meeting you guys." He waved and then left.

We sat there and smoked for a while longer before I left and went inside. I headed straight for our room and saw Mello sitting on my bed and reading again. I looked over at his bed and remembered that we'd have to get his blankets cleaned.

I sat down next to Mello who didn't even bother to look at me. He didn't even seem to notice that I was there. He looked.. off… His eyes were glued to the same spot, meaning he wasn't even actually reading. His expression told me that something was bothering him. I put a hand on his shoulder and he almost jumped. He looked up at me and quickly smiled.

"Hey, Matty."

"Mells, are you alright?"

"Huh? Y-yeah.. why?"

"I dunno. You just look like something is really bothering you. Are you sure you're alright, Mello?"

"It's nothing…"

"Mells.. Don't lie to me."

"..."

"You don't have to tell me what's wrong. But don't just lie and say that it's nothing at all." I looked down for a moment. Even though I said that, I really wish he'd just tell me what was wrong…

"..."

I leaned over and gently kissed Mello. He kissed back, wrapping his arms around my waist and dropping his book. I put one hand up and held the back of his head while wrapping my other arm around his waist. We stayed like that until we needed to part for air. Again, as I looked into Mello's eyes, those three little words were there in the back of my mind.

I love you.

And yet again, those words were left unsaid.

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