Mello's POV

When I awoke the next morning, snuggled up to my boyfriend as always, the first thing I noticed was that I wasn't in any sort of pain anymore. I stretched softly, feeling Matt shift a little next to me. I could tell he was still asleep though from the sound of his breathing but it was calming.

I carefully got up from his bed and went to the bathroom. When I came back out, I looked at the time, it only being six-thirty. I figured I should get Matt up anyway though. I smirked as I approached his bed and carefully climbed up, straddling his waist.

I reached out and placed my hands on his thin biceps and just as I was about to shake him awake, I froze in my movements as I stared down at the redhead. He looked… beautiful as he slept peacefully.

My chest swelled with pride at the knowledge that he was mine. I leaned down and softly kissed his parted lips before pulling back only enough to look at him again. I felt myself blushing slightly. "Matty…" I mumbled, feeling another unfamiliar feeling that I'd been feeling quite a bit lately… I shook the feeling and willed my blush away.

I finally shook his arms to wake him up. "Hey, wake up you lazy ass." I said, still close enough to feel his breath. He finally stirred and opened his eyes. I grinned at him and the blush he began sporting. "Good morning," I said cheerily.

"Morning," He replied and pulled me into him, kissing me. I melted instantly and kissed back, my hands moving from his arms to the back of his head and neck to pull him deeper. Shit, this was too blissful to be safe.

We separated after a few long moments and he tilted up to kiss my nose before pulling away to speak. "Uhm, as much as I love to have you on top of me like this..." I blushed instantly. What a bastard! "We should get ready for class."

I blushed deeply though nodded and we got up and got ready for class. It didn't take too long and I knew I had some catching up to do, though I had finished the homework Matt brought back for me last night after everything had happened.

I sighed; the events of talking with Near were still playing through my mind. It still had me worried, I couldn't deny that but I knew I had to push it from my thoughts for now. There wasn't anything I could do to help L or even know where he stood on the case, not without him wanting me to know at least, so I would only make myself sick if I thought over it too much.

Before we left our room, I grabbed Matt's arm and pulled him into me, kissing him hard and quick. It was a distraction for myself, really, but I smirked at Matt's pink cheeks after and played it off as teasing him.

Once in class, things went fairly normal. I could hear whispers and what not of people obviously still talking about Matt and I but I ignored it and paid attention to my work, like they should have been doing.

Regardless, soon enough the teacher had to leave the class for a few minutes and with a quick warning of 'behave yourselves', the class was left to the students; which is never a good thing. Within moments, I heard movement and knew someone was standing over my desk.

"So, I guess you really are a homo then?"

I sighed and looked up, narrowing my eyes at the kid. "Beat it." I warned, not wanting to deal with this in the slightest.

"Or what? What you gonna do? A little fag like you can't do shit."

Really? Somedays people in this school just made me sick and lose all faith in humanity. My temper was wearing thin and I was not in the mood for this sort of shit first thing in the morning. "Leave me alone. Unlike you, I want to pass so that I can actually do something with my life."

"Whatever, man. You're not gonna do shit if I don't."

"Excuse me?" I snapped.

"Who are the teachers gonna believe? Who's Roger gonna believe? The kid who gets into fights all the time? The kid who always gets into trouble? Or the kid who has a clean record?"

Unbelievable! Yeah, I like to fight when it can get my anger out, but I could use my brain to shut him up just as easily. The only time that doesn't work is with… Near… I groaned inwardly, our conversation from the day before still haunting me.

"Just… shut the hell up, already…" I tried, going back to doing my work. I really wasn't in the mood for this. I just wanted peace and quiet and that was too much to fucking ask for because what? I was dating my best friend? Ridiculous…

"Oh, I was right, wasn't I? Just a little bitch now, huh? Ha! I bet you don't want your little boyfriend seeing you explode either." I glanced over at Matt. Like I cared what he saw, I exploded on him half the time. But still… "Oh, or maybe your precious little Matty is gonna defend you now? I bet-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Matt snapped, standing up. My eyes went wide as I stared at him in surprise. "Maybe he can't get into anymore trouble. But if I have to, I will do something about it. And I PROMISE you that it won't be pretty, pal."

"Pfft, what're you gonna do?"

Matt took a few steps towards the kid and I bit my lip. "Matty, don't.." I said quietly. I didn't want this getting bad. There was no reason for Matt to fight, especially not my battles.

"Yeah, Matty don't. I don't wanna kick your ass, but if I have to-"

"Trust me, you won't." Matt interrupted.

"Matty… stop…" I begged.

"Yeah. Just listen to your little bitch and sit down now, okay?"

Bitch?! I've had it with this guy! Now I almost wanted Matt to kick his ass! Just then, Matt took a step forward and shoved the kid back. Everyone in the room paused for a long moment, waiting to see what happened next.

I had my eyes glued to the kid, glaring daggers at him. If he made one move at my boyfriend…

He did. He lunged forward and shoved Matt back a little harder and I stood instinctively, my hands curling into fists. I don't care if Matt shoved him first, no one touches my boyfriend! But just as I was about to lunge at the kid, fists ready, Matt got in the way, shoving the kid back even harder.

The kid flew back into a desk and flipped over it, knocking the desk down as well. He seemed to hit his head and it didn't look pretty. "M-Matty…" I mumbled and turned back to look at Matt. I knew I was looking worried but I couldn't help it.

I had never seen Matt lose his temper like that. Not even after all those times I blew up at him. I would scream at him and hit him and throw things at him and break his stuff and he never did a damn thing! Then one kid calls me a bitch and he flips his shit?

Matt had bolted out of the classroom in the next instant. I furrowed my brows and looked back down at the kid on the ground. He had some other students around him, making sure he was alright. I chewed my lip nervously as I made sure he was alright and got to his feet.

The kid glanced at me sheepishly but the only look I had on my face was a calculating one. I wasn't one to miss class. Ever, if I could help it. My grades and score were too important to me… Fuck classes, Matty needs me.

I was gone in the next instant. Before the teacher had even returned but there were enough students to explain what happened. I had gotten to the bottom of the stairs, heading up to our room before I froze.

Once, there would be no question of where Matt would go when he was upset. It was always our room, usually curling up in my bed. That was safety to him. But now… I pivoted on the spot and booked it outside, making my way to where Matt and his friends were sure to be, smoking.

Sure enough, he was there but only Olson was with him. Olson spotted me first and stood, walking towards me. "Hey," he started once I could hear him and Matt couldn't. "He's pretty shaken up so take it easy on him. Y'know, he cares about you more than anything. Don't mistreat him."

I gave Olson a look of surprise before I nodded and walked passed him, soon sitting down next to my boyfriend. I was silent and simply rested my head against his shoulder, simply enjoying him and breathing in his scent, even if it was masked by the stench of smoke. Though, as he took a drag, I realized it wasn't bothering me quite as much anymore.

Matt rested his head against mine as we sat there together, just against each other like that for a few peaceful moments. Eventually, he shifted again to take a drag from his cigarette and when he did, I decided to finally speak up.

"Why?" I questioned.

"Huh?"

"Why'd you go and… do that? You could end up in trouble…"

"I don't care."

"Why not?"

"I just don't."

"You idiot!"

"Mells… I wasn't about to just sit there and let someone treat you like that… Especially not when.." Matt trailed off and I furrowed my brows.

"When what?"

"... When it's all my fault.."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"..."

"Matt."

".. just… I'm the one who kissed you in front of all those people.. It's my fault they're talking."

"Matty…" No, he couldn't seriously be blaming himself for that. I don't care how many people see us, he should be able to kiss me and make my heart stop for half a second without worrying about someone judging us!

"I'm sorry, Mells."

"Don't apologize, you idiot!"

"Huh?"

"I am not gonna have you apologizing for shit that isn't entirely your fault! I wouldn't even be going out with you if it was that big of a deal."

"... You're right."

"Damn right I am!"

He laughed at that and I smiled softly, happy to hear that sound. "Anyways, if I if I get in trouble it's no big deal. I hardly ever get into trouble and if I do, it's something minor like playing my gameboy during a lecture. What are they gonna do to me, Mells?"

"..."

"Besides, it's worth it. I… I…" I tilted my head, looking at him curiously. But he seemed to change his mind about whatever he wanted to say. I felt a little disappointed and very curious. But before I could voice it, Matt shook his head and spoke again. "So, Mells.." he grinned. "You still wanna know what a shotgun is?"

My eyes widened, remembering when his friends were all teasing me and Matt and made him blush with that. I was really curious about what it was. I sat up and nodded eagerly.

"Alright. No backing out, okay?"

I rolled my eyes. Does Matt even know me? Like I would back down from anything! "Just tell me already!"

Matt didn't even say anything he just raised his cigarette to his lips and took a long drag. I opened my mouth to protest, about to yell at him for stalling but suddenly his hand was on my chin, forcing my mouth open a little more and then he was kissing me.

Only not really kissing me but blowing the disgusting smoke from his mouth into mine. My face flushed hotly both with embarrassment and anger and I choked on the smoke as it seeped down my throat. I began coughing horribly before I snatched Matt's cigarette from him and angrily stomped it out.

"Ass.." I grumbled bitterly.

Matt chuckled but then he leaned over and kissed me again. An actually kiss that sent my head swimming and I couldn't not kiss back. Now I could see how Matt was so addicted to those damn cigarettes, because I was beginning to think Matt's lips were just as addicting.

"Come on," He started. "I don't feel like going to class today. Let's just go to our room."

"I can't just-" Of course Matt skipping was nothing new but he knew I couldn't just miss class.

"Mells, you've already skipped class to come out here. Just come with me. Please?"

He did have a point… And I had already decided that Matt was more important than grades. Well, okay, at least for the moment I could pretend he was. ".. Fine."

We stood up and went back to his room and sat on his bed together for awhile. It was peaceful, just the two of us like that. I fiddled gently with his fingers in my own hand for a bit, smiling softly at him.

"Y'know, the way you lost your temper, got all tough and stood up for me today, it was really sexy, not gonna lie." I whispered to him, smirking. He blushed a deep shade of red.

"R-really?" He stuttered out and I laughed before kissing him chastly.

"No, it was very wrong!" I scolded, still smirking. He just pouted, turning away from me and I chuckled. "Don't worry, Matty, I still lo-" I froze, cutting myself off. Did I almost just tell Matt I loved him? Where did that come from?

I shook my head and forced a chuckle, kissing his neck a little to distract him. "You're still my favourite dork." I said after a moment, smiling at him. I was probably blushing hard, dumbfounded with myself.

Eventually Matt picked up a controller and began playing a videogame on his playstation. I watched him for awhile and soon he moved to sit on the floor so he could see better. I moved down with him, sitting next to him and joined him in the game.

Before long, there was a knock on the door. Roger, here to take Matt to his office to reprimand him for today. I didn't move the entire time Matt was gone, I only sat there, twiddling with my fingers as I waited for him to get back and hoped he wasn't in too much trouble.

I looked up immediately when he came back into the room. "You're not in trouble, are you?"

Matt shook his head and grinned. "I told you so. Now quit spazzing out."

"I am not 'spazzing out.'"

"Okay, if you say so Mells."

"Whatever."

I rolled my eyes but a smile still played on my lips. He sat down with me again and we continued playing video games for awhile until it was time for dinner. We made our way down and ate together and one thing I noticed, was people weren't so blatantly making fun of us. I guess Matt really did make a difference today and the thought made me smile.

I wasn't surprised when he wanted to go out for another smoke after supper and I let him hold my hand and kiss my cheek before he left. With everything that had happened today, I'd had quite the distractions up until that point.

It wasn't until I passed by the common room and saw Near in there, sitting by himself that I remembered our conversation from the day before. I grit my teeth and sneered at the albino. He didn't even acknowledge me and it was possible he really didn't notice I was there but I doubted it. I refused to stop, not wanting to put myself in a bad mood again so I just wandered off back to my room.

Although, seeing Near did spark up my motivation once again and I plopped myself down at my desk and set to work, studying hard and saving every valuable thing I found to memory. I still had homework to finish tonight, not to mention I would have even more from missing today's classes.

I had lost myself in my work, completely absorbed in learning. I hadn't even heard Matt come in and I jumped slightly when his hands fell over my eyes with a, "Guess who!"

"Matty do you wanna lose your fingers?"

He removed his fingers and kissed me on the cheek. "Mells, play a game with me."

"No."

"Pleeaaase?"

"Matty I need to finish my homework and study. Besides, we already played games earlier."

"You're always studying, Mells. And I can do this homework in my sleep, which means so can you."

I shook my head with a soft sigh and stood. "Fine, fine. But only if you agree to stop interrupting me when I'm trying to get some work done."

"Okay!" I couldn't help smiling a little. This wasn't the first time Matt promised this and it wouldn't be the last.

We went back over to his side of the room and sat down next to each other and played. It was a usual gaming time and of course Matt let me win a couple times. At one point though, I think I had actually beat him. He was trying harder than he would be if he was letting me win, but I think he probably just let his guard down. Either way, I still got really excited. It meant I was improving!

Once we were done playing, I went back to work on my homework and told Matt he needed to finish his as well. He begrudgingly complied and we worked together for awhile on the work until we were finally done.

After getting ready for bed, we lay down next to each other in Matt's bed in nothing but our boxers and it was honestly really nice. We kissed a little bit but soon it wasn't enough and we were completely making out. My fingers threaded through his hair, pulling him closer and his hands on me. God, it was blissful.

Matt eventually pulled away and he moved his attention to my neck and chest. I kept my fingers in his hair as he treated me all across my most sensitive areas. My toes curled and I let out soft moans, pushing back against the bed. This bastard was good with his mouth…

I pulled him away and kissed him again before he could turn me on too much. I was too tired for anything major tonight. We made out for a long while again before he became more gentle with me and the kisses. I pulled away and snuggled up into his chest, listening to his heartbeat as I drifted off. With this, I was out like a light before I knew it.

I dreamed Matt told me he loved me that night. And it felt like my heart stopped altogether.