THE BIG 50!

"Wisty, are you stupid? this is chapter 51."

Yes, I know, but If I haven't made myself clear before,

I do not count my Halloween chapter.

So...

For me, this is my 50th chapter!

Another important message I wanted to tell you was the inspiration for this chapter.

I've recently become obsessed with the song "I wont give up" by Jason Mraz

It was that song, that inspired me to write this chapter, so thank you Jason for your wonderful music!

Enjoy!

And yes, you do not have to remind me that the song is overplayed. I love it all the same.

(Disclaimer: For all my peeps out there in your yellow candy coated crusts, I do not own Death Note)


I wont give up

Alice felt like she was on cloud nine. High above the earth's atmosphere where the wind was subtle and the birds couldn't reach her. She felt euphoric. As if she had an hour's mediation session with her old yoga instructor. She had worked so hard to win the trust of the Wammy house, and in just those few moments of finding the duffle bag, it all seemed to come together. They finally believed her.

"I can't believe this." Matt adjusted his goggles as he came out of the RV. Everyone else was already outside, looking at the duffle bag with a more critical eye. L was squatting over it, picking up bills as if they were filthy. Near was poking around the smaller pockets, analyzing any DNA samples he could find. He had a kit next to him with a bunch of plastic baggies and jars. He was swabbing some of the fabric with a Q-tip. Mello was watching over their shoulders, trying to get a good view of the bag itself.

"I told you guys. The bag was under the mattress, just like Doug said." Alice had on a smug smile.

"This is amazing." Matt ran his hand through his ruffled hair. "How do you…? What do they look like?"

"The ghosts?" Alice raised an eyebrow. Matt nodded his head. "They look like you and me. The only difference is they're dead and they can walk through walls."

"Wicked,"

"Matt," Mello had an authoritative voice. "We need to get to work."

Alice felt a rush of blood to her cheeks. They just found out she could communicate with the dead, and they wanted to work on the case? She thought her gift would hold more intrigue. It wasn't everyday one could run into a psychic.

"What's our next move?" Matt started towards Mello.

"Wait!" Alice had to interrupt. "You all put me through hell and back just to prove my abilities to communicate with the dead, and now that you finally believe me, you want to work and pretend like nothing has happened?"

"That's not true Ace." L finally stepped away from the bag. He felt Near had the capability to finish the job without his help. "We find your supernatural gifts to be astounding."

Alice pressed her lips together. "Well, thank you," her gratitude was a bit precautious.

"Shall we get back to work now?" Mello was becoming impatient. Alice felt her eye twitch. Luckily L seemed to be on her side still.

"Wait one moment Mello. I believe you owe Ace here an explanation."

"What are you talking about?"

The light bulb turned on over Alice's head, and she remembered what L was referring to.

"That's right! You said L was going to kill me!"

Both Matt's and Mello's faces went pale. L stepped around the duffle bag and walked over to Alice's side.

"My feelings were quiet hurt." He put his hands into his pockets. The blood came rushing back to Mello's cheeks, and he glared angrily at L. Alice crossed her arms and clicked her tongue.

"So you want to give me some answers?" She tapped her foot.

"Can't we talk about this later?" Mello turned away with his fists clenched tight. Alice could see the veins on his neck, as if he was holding back more anger than usual. But that didn't scare her away from wanting to know the truth.

"Absolutely not," she put her foot down. Mello growled under his breath. Matt thankfully stepped in to be the voice of reason.

"Could we at least have this discussion in privet? I promise to explain everything once we are inside."

Alice had a moment to think over his proposition. She could have let them suffer by saying no, but seeing Mello in such a state was enough to change her mind. He already looked like he suffering enough.

"Fine."

"Perfect, shall we go then?" Matt grabbed Mello's shoulder. Mello's frustration took him to a point where he was even considering tearing Matt's arm off. But he kept his temper down, and let Matt guide him back to the hotel.

Alice gave one last look to L to thank him, and she was on her way. The questions kept formulating inside her mind. The thrill of the unknown was playing with her heart and making it flutter. She just had to know the reason.


Alice was comfortably sitting on a sofa inside one of the hotel rooms. She wondered if there were any guests there at all, because they seemed to be using every room in the building. She hadn't even seen that many employees walking around. It was as if the hotel was abandoned.

"Well this is awkward…" Matt rubbed his arm. He was sitting on an armchair across from her, looking as if he could get up at any moment and flee. He was on the edge of his seat, fiddling with the sleeve on his shirt. Mello was leaning against the armrest on Matt's chair, looking at the floor. He obviously didn't want to be there, but Alice wasn't going to let him go so easily.

"So who wants to start first?" Alice initiated the first step.

Mello didn't make any attempts to speak, so it all fell onto Matt's shoulders. He didn't mind, but he couldn't help feeling hesitant to talk about the Wammy house's past.

"Alright," Matt sighed. "We honestly had a good reason for calling L a killer."

Alice raised an eyebrow.

"You see, he…" Matt paused, trying to come up with a way to explain it without making it sound ridiculous.

"His name was Beyond Birthday." Mello surprisingly took the reins.

"Pardon?"

"There were six individuals that were the original members of the Wammy house. L and Beyond Birthday were part of those six."

"What does this have to do with your assumption of L being…?"

"I believed L would repeat the same crimes as Beyond."

Alice was a bit speechless, noticing how serious Mello expression was. His brows were furrowed together, and his jaw looked as if it was flexing. There was something in his eyes Alice couldn't identify, but it looked searing; as intense as a burning flame.

"What crimes?" her voice almost turned into a whisper. That's when Mello reached for his rosary around his neck. He held onto it as if he were waiting for it to sink into his hand. Matt gave him a concerning look, but he dared not speak a word. Taking a deep shaky breath, Mello prepared himself for the long story. If he could survive a lengthy battle with his boss, then he was sure he could reminisce about the past. Sinking into her seat, Alice listened intently to every word Mello spoke.

The story seemed to open up Alice's mind and play a movie inside her head. It was long and sometimes hard to listen to, but she stuck it out till the end. Matt occasionally had to step in when parts of the story were too tough for Mello to handle. Mello would just look away and hide whatever facial expression he had on. Alice was left to wonder what Mello was thinking. By the time the explanation was coming to an end, Alice had completely lost her voice. Not too long ago she visited Maria's grave with Mello. She witnessed Mello first hand with his deceased close friend, and at the time it meant nothing to her but simple curiosity. She even joked about the rosary which by now she was regretting. She couldn't believe the Wammy house could have such a past, nor could she believe somebody from the Wammy house could cause such pain. It just didn't seem possible. Everyone there now was so kind and affectionate. Even Miss Jane, the housekeeper, was nice once in a while. She just couldn't imagine a killer ever coming from such a loving home.

"So you see," Matt continued with the explanation. Mello was done talking all together. "The reason we thought the past would repeat itself was because all the signs were pointing in that direction. Everything that L did, Beyond had done the same. Almost to a tee,"

"You thought L was going got kill me…because Beyond killed Maria?"

Hearing it out loud, Matt could see how ridiculous it sounded. But at the time, it made perfect sense to him. Now he could see how stupid he and Mello had really been. But then again, the odds were never in his favor. When Alice told him she could speak to the dead, he never even considered the thought she was telling the truth. It all seemed so farfetched. But now it was as clear as day.

"Yes," Matt sighed heavily.

The story of Maria certainly brought her sorrow, but the thought of L doing anything remotely similar just wanted to make her laugh. She could never see L doing anything heartless to the people he cared about, assuming he cared for her. She couldn't be hundred percent sure about that.

"That's ridiculous, and where in the world did you ever get the idea of L and myself having some sort of fling?"

"You're kidding right?" Mello came out of his secluded shell to join the conversation. Alice was startled by his sudden abrasiveness. "Do you really not see the way he looks at you?"

"You mean the neutral creepy stare he gives to everyone?"

When both boys sighed at the same time, Alice started to become more nervous. Were they trying to make her believe another lie?

"No Ace," Matt stepped in this time. "Not that look. The one that so obvious, even a blind man could point it out."

"I don't know what you guys are talking about." She shook her head. Mello rolled his eyes, making Alice look like she was the fool in the room. She gave Mello a heated glare and stood up from the sofa.

"Listen Ace, I know we were being idiots before, but this time we are telling the truth." Matt stood up with her, only much more graceful and poised.

"L couldn't think of me in that way." Alice's cheeks started turning red. "I don't think he can even feel emotions like those."

"He's only human." Matt started to smile. Seeing her baffled just made him want to laugh. He's seen her flustered before, but this time was different. It was a heck of a lot more entertaining to watch. Even Mello was starting to enjoy it.

"The guy has some sick puppy dog look every time he see's you."

That only seemed to fluster her more. "That can't be true. He's…L is…he's not…"

"Face it babe," Matt finally got comfortable enough to go back to his old nickname for her. "He's fallen for you, and hard."

Alice had nothing more to say. The realization of it all just came crashing down on her. They were very serious, and in the back of her mind, she knew it to be true. She may have been ignoring it before, but L did occasionally give her looks that made her heart flutter. It was only now she realized the meaning behind those looks, and she still wasn't quite sure what to feel. What was she suppose to feel? Her whole life she dealt with the undead, so romance was always on the backburner. Sure she had relationships in the past, but she honestly never took them seriously. She was flirt and a horrible commitment. Her relationships never lasted, and for good reason. To be honest, it wasn't L who she thought couldn't feel the emotion of love, but herself. She was a lost cause to love. The emotion was a stranger to her, much like the many dead she spoke too. Half the time she even believed she belonged with the spirits she spoken too, because those where the individuals she interacted with the most.

She felt a knot growing inside of her stomach. It was painful and made her feel like throwing up. She couldn't do this to L. She couldn't lead him on to think she would be good for him, because she knew nothing would come of their relationship. Much like the past, if she were to accept L's feelings, she had no doubt in her mind she would end the relationship out of fear or just plain stupidity. And then she would lose the closest friend she had. She didn't want to lose L. She wanted the famous happy ending of returning to the Whammy house and making things the way they were before; when everything was perfect.

"Are you okay Ace?" Matt's smirk vanished after seeing her cheeks flush. Her skin went so white, he could have mistaken her for a ghost.

"No…no," her voice grew horse. She had to find out if it was true. There still could have been a chance L didn't feel that way, but the only way to find out was to ask him herself. So without even giving reason to her actions, she bolted out the room. Matt was about to chase after her, but Mello grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Leave her," he grunted, letting go of his arm. Matt swallowed and looked at the door she ran out. He worried, but Mello was right. There was nothing more he could do. He would just have to wait and see what happens.


Watari put the last file away where it rightfully belonged. He was packing them up to send back to the Wammy house, so Roger could copy them to the main computer. That way they would have two sets of copies for each file. It was a system they had been using for years, and it was a well organized one. Watari did worry when the time came for him to depart from this earth, because he knew L wasn't the most organized. He feared the filing system would become chaotic, much like the desk L was working on at the moment. It was covered in tiny plates and tea cups. Crumbs littered the floor around him and papers were scattered about in an array of disorder that Watari could only describe as some form of filthy hell. He felt compelled to go over there and clean, but he knew L didn't like to be disturbed when he was working. Cleaning would be a distraction. So Watari had to take deep breaths and try to distract himself with other chores. Near wasn't there to help distract him since he was working with the forensics team, and Alice would have made for a perfect distraction, but she was busy with Matt and Mello.

The door was suddenly slammed open and Alice came walking in with a flushed complexion. Watari was so startled that he even dropped the box he finished sealing with tape. The loud thump made L turn away from his computer. Seeing Alice's white skin and exhausted physical state made L go on high alert. Something was wrong, and he got the feeling it was directed at him.

"L, do you like me?" She was the first to speak. Watari almost gapped at the straightforward question. This certainly was a distraction, but not the kind he wanted to happen. He quickly looked to L to see how he was coping.

"Of course I like you. I certainly wouldn't have wasted my time saving you if I didn't like you."

"No, I mean do you really like me, as in more than just friends?"

"Forgive me, but I don't seem to understand what you are asking."

Alice swallowed what little moisture she had left and made sure to look him in the eye. "Do you want to have a romantic relationship with me? Do you love me?"

That seemed to make the whole room go quiet. L looked stuck, as if he was jammed with an overload of information. There were so many thoughts circling his mind, that even with the room being eerily quiet, it felt noisy to him. His natural instinct was telling him to shutdown and become a robot, much like what he would revert to in the past. But this time he couldn't quite bring himself to do so. He was at the end of his rope with excuses. He was getting tired of always having to put on a show. And it wasn't as if he could lie to her. He's never lied to her before in the past, and he wasn't about to now.

"Watari, if you wouldn't mind. I would like to have some privacy with Ace."

"Yes sir." Watari bowed. He was slightly disappointed he couldn't stay, but in the end he knew there wasn't anything he could do to help L. He only hoped there would be happy ending for the two.

L watched Watari leave the room and shut the door behind him. It was then only Alice and L left, making the energy in the room feel even more awkward. L may have made the decision to be honest, but that didn't mean he wasn't nervous about it. This was new territory for him. He's never had any experience or practice on how to deal with love confessions. What was he suppose to say? Should he just outright say his inner most feelings to her. No, that would be embarrassing. He wasn't that type of character anyway.

"Tell me the truth L. I need to know." She sounded like she was getting more desperate. L picked up on her mood and started to wonder why she was getting emotional. Was it something he said? Or maybe she was waiting for him to answer so she could reject him. Maybe she was upset at the thought of L liking her. She looked sick, as if the thought of him liking her made her want to puke. Did she really find him to be that disgusting?

"Ace, I'm sorry," he said. It was the only way he could express his feelings and try and make up for the way he upset her.

"Is that a yes?" She took a step closer.

"I could not lie to you, you are to assume correctly."

He waited to hear what she would say, but when she didn't give him an answer, he started to feel even worse. Why was she delaying it? Why won't she just reject him already and get it over with? If she still wanted his friendship, then he would give it to her without question. He just wanted this moment to be done and over with. He never thought he would ever feel defeat, but he knew he should have never been so cocky. He was only human after all. It's human nature to fail.

Alice opened her mouth to speak but quickly shut it again. What was she suppose to say? L just confessed to her without even looking remotely flustered or unwary. He looked confidant with his statement, even if he was hunched over in his chair, gnawing on his thumb. What feelings did she even have for him? Were they real or just her mind playing tricks on her? What did falling in love feel like anyway? L sure seemed to know, and Alice was jealous of that. The confusion of it all was starting to overtake her emotions. Her eyes were getting tired from not blinking, and she couldn't even focus on L anymore. Her vision went south to the floor.

When L noticed that one teardrop come crashing to the floor, his heart momentarily stopped. What had he done? He's made her cry yet again, and this time it felt like a knife was being stab through his heart. His thumb dropped from his mouth and he quickly stood up. Alice wiped it away as fast as she could to try and hide it, but it was too late. She's caused L to worry once again, and she just felt awful. There was no stopping him from shuffling over to her to try and comfort her. She was truly making the situation worse by getting emotional. Hadn't L suffered enough after she deliberately ran away?

"My intensions were not to make you cry," L sounded stricken.

"It's not you L!" Alice gave in to her emotions. It was the dreaded line L had read about in many research books. The line of "It's not you, it's me". It was the most common break up line, and L waited patiently for the slap on the face. "It's me…" her voice started to fade. L cringed internally.

"I understand,"

"No L!" Alice got a hold of his attention. He was startled by how sudden her outburst was. Finally he was looking her in the eyes, and there was something more to her sadness that he couldn't quite point out. "I'm not the type of person who can commit. You deserve better. "

The last line threw L through a loop. Was this a test? Did he really hear her right? Out of all the possibilities to reject him, she comes up with her status being under par? That was utterly ridiculous. If anything, it should be L who does not live up to the expectations of her class. She was bubbly and cheerful. She could talk to anyone and be their friend. She was a social butterfly, while L was the groundhog, hiding in his hole for the winter. He just couldn't believe what she was saying.

"I find your reasoning to be lacking evidence."

Alice snorted with a pained expression. If he wanted evidence, she had plenty to give.

"In the past, all my relationships have failed. I left them all because I couldn't keep myself grounded. I've hurt a lot of people and I don't want you to be a part of that list."

"So you feel history will repeat itself…"

Alice looked away with tears threatening to fall. She hated it. She hated hurting him. He may have looked calm, but that didn't mean he wasn't upset on the inside.

"Don't you find that line to be a contradiction?" L continued. Alice didn't know what he was talking about. It made perfect sense to her. "Didn't Matt and Mello have these same theories of their own about me? They believed I was out to kill you, which in fact was not true."

"But this is different," Alice tried to argue.

"Not at all, my feelings for you have nothing to do with your past. Much like Beyond and myself have nothing in common."

"Do you even know what love is? Are you even sure you're in love with me?" Alice changed her argument. She was getting nowhere with the last one.

"The emotion is still quiet new to me, but that isn't to say I don't understand it. I've done plenty of research. I would have never come to this conclusion if I haven't done the work to prove its legibility. And trust me; I went through a lot of hypothesis." L thought back to his moments of research. After clarifying his love for her on the day they came home from Paris, he wanted to be sure of his feelings. So he must have read every book, magazine, and news article known to man about the emotion. There was no denying it, he was in love.

"What kind of research could you possibly do? Love isn't something you can read from a book!"

"Is that so? Then could explain it to me?"

Alice didn't have an answer for him. She didn't know what love felt like. What was difference between caring about a friend as oppose to caring for a partner? Alice rubbed her forehead and bit her tongue. What was she trying to argue at this point? She could just reject him and forget the whole mess happened. L would still be her friend, right?

L noticed her struggle. She was conflicted. Hoping maybe he could help, he started to think back to his research.

"Recently I read a book by Katie Moon who works for a prestigious university. Her work was insightful."

Alice kept her gaze to the floor, listening to his every word, but not giving him the chance to see her pained expression. He continued on.

"She used a metaphor that I believe will help you to understand. She explained love to be like a new born child; Ignorant to world and always searching for answers. By the time the baby is ready to learn to walk, they don't always just get up on their own and magically take their first few steps. They require a helping hand to guide them."

Alice stopped biting her tongue, and her features relaxed into a more neutral expression. Was L really giving her a lecture on what love was?

"It takes both partners to make the relationship work, much like the guiding hand for the child. I don't know what happened to your past relationships to cause them to end, but that doesn't mean you should give up on trying to walk."

Alice became speechless. This was L! L was seriously giving her a lesson about love! Since when did their roles flip? When did L become knowledgeable about these pop culture feelings? Why was she the one to get the lecture? Shouldn't it have been the other way around?

"I…" Alice tried to speak, but she felt like her brain had turned off. She was still trying to comprehend L's explanation.

"Was my explanation unclear? I could refer to another source if you like."

"No," Alice shook her head. "I just need some time to think this over…"

"Alright," L didn't argue. Alice took a step back, keeping her eyes to the floor the entire time. She couldn't look at L. She felt ashamed, at the same time humiliated. She was delaying her rejection, but she couldn't help it. She didn't want to disappoint him. But by delaying the answer, she knew she was making him suffer even more. No matter what she did, she was just making things worse. And here she thought everything was going back to the way things were. How could she be so foolish? Marching out the door, she turned left and sought out a room where she could be alone. She needed time to clear her head. She needed to find the courage to tell him no. She also needed to find the courage not to cry.


Night seemed to have come quickly. The crickets came out and the stars twinkled to a rhythm only they seemed to understand. Alice was still alone in her room she found just two floors up. When she found it, she didn't even consider knocking or asking if anybody was occupying it. The hotel was empty anyway, so she didn't have to worry about barging in on someone. In fact, she probably had the entire second floor all to herself. Everyone else was either on the first floor or in the basement.

She didn't bother to turn on any of the lights. She got plenty of light from the moon. It was a clear summer's night sky. She would have appreciated the beauty of it all, had she not been wallowing in her own misery. Her hands had run through her hair so many times, there was evidence of clumps on the floor. She didn't know what she was waiting for. The longer she stayed in the room, the worse her nausea got. All she had to do was confront L and tell him their relationship wouldn't work. Why was she making it out to be so damn difficult?

She groaned loudly and tried to relieve the pressure building up in her head. She was so distracted by her growing headache, that she almost didn't notice the bed shift under her.

"What's got you down child?" The deep undertone of his voice filled her ears. She didn't have to look up to know it was Jim, her newest ghost friend. She wasn't even surprised to see him. For some odd reason, her whole life has been filled with the undead coming to her aid, even when it was supposed to be her job to help them. She appreciated their help, but sometimes they made things worse. Luckily this time she felt Jim would be more useful than most. He seemed a lot wiser then the majority of the ghosts she's encountered.

"I don't know what to do."

"Well now, that there's a first,"

Alice shoved her face into the palms of her hands. She wanted to hide under a rock and never come out.

"What should I say? How do I reject him?"

"You're talking about that L feller, aren't you?"

Alice nodded her head without letting it go. She felt safe under the darkness. And hearing Jim's voice was enough to satisfy her. It was like listening to a long lost grandfather she would have spent days with, just reminiscing about his past. It was soothing, much like enjoying classical music and drinking warm honey tea. She could even smell the fresh fields of cotton.

"Well, do you like him?"

Alice escaped her darkened cave and gave Jim a look. "Of course I like him!" She felt insulted. Jim wasn't offended in the least. Instead, he continued his advice.

"Then why would you reject him? There ain't nothin' wrong with the boy,"

"But that's just it!" Alice stood up, feeling even more frustrated. She thought Jim was going to be helpful, and the fact that he didn't seem to understand the dilemma of it all just made her more upset and confused. "There isn't anything wrong with him! He's perfect, and he deserves someone who's just as perfect!"

"Now that's a bunch of hog wash." Jim waved her off. "Since when are you such a fraidy cat?"

"Fraidy cat? I don't know what you're talking about." She crossed her arms.

"Ah, what about all those adventures you had. You helped that friend of yours. I'd say that took some guts. Seemed nothing was going to scare you, not even the thought of death."

Alice relaxed her tense muscles. Her mouth went soft and her eyes lost the sharp sting that followed. When she thought back to how she was able to save Zeek, she couldn't help feeling proud.

"I hope you know you almost got me killed in that warehouse." Alice started to smirk.

"Nah, you's was fine. I saved your life. You wouldn't have made it out of that cage if it wasn't for me."

"So that was you!" Alice gasped. She knew he was the one to lead her to that room, but she didn't know he was also the one to unlock her makeshift prison cell.

"Yes ma'am,"

"Well, then I should thank you."

"Ain't nothing." He giddily smiled while scratching his beard. Alice kept her smile for a minute longer until she was reminded of her little problem.

"Hey Jim?" she called while looking towards the window. The moon was bright, and she was able to see some shadows of birds fly by.

"Hm?"

"That crow myth you told me earlier. Are there any number of crows that signifies love?"

Jim gave her a hearty laugh in return. "That's silly child, crows don't represent love. It's them dove's."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." She gave him a pity laugh. The disappointment didn't go unnoticed by Jim.

"What's got you so scared?" He leaned closer to her.

Alice didn't have an answer for him. She had to think about the question as if it was a debate on the meaning of life. She didn't have a clue of what she was afraid of. Jim had brought up a good point earlier. She was a daredevil. She wasn't ever afraid to do anything. She ran away from home and snuck on a train with a hobo. She lived in a broken down barn for three months because she thought it was cool to finally be alone. When she met Watari, she didn't even care what he might think about her psychic gift. She had been so happy to be free, that she was willing to share her abilities with anyone. Watari just so happened to be the first costumer. And she couldn't forget when she was accepted into the Wammy house. She met so many new friends that truly thought she was something special. She had so many crazy adventures with them all, that she couldn't even count them on her fingers and toes. And all of this happened in the course of merely a few months time. She even went to Paris and blew up a ship for Christ's sake! Out of all the stupid things she's done that seriously put her in danger, the one that scares her the most is having L like her? What was wrong with her?

"I'm afraid of losing him…" She seemed to finally admit to herself. That was what she was truly afraid of. She knew L on a personal level, even though they had not known each other for long. It was long enough for her to know L was an antisocial narcissist who occasionally had something nice to say. He was confident when he needed to be, and shy when there was nothing left to be confident about. He had very few friends, and had never even thought of the opposite sex until she came around. So the fact that he's fallen for a girl who's known for playing around and breaking hearts surely was not one of his greatest achievements. She could easily break him, and that's what terrified her. He trusted her too much, and she barely had any trust for herself. She could never guarantee he could have a happy life with her. Just look at the past few cases they worked on together. She gave him lip almost every moment they had been together. She defied him on more than one occasion, and even spent his money like a gold-digger. How in the hell did he ever find her appealing?

"How could you lose him? Love ain't about loss. It's about soul, and what keeps it happy. There are few things in life that can keep your soul happy, and two of the biggest are food and love. Don't you forget that," he wagged his finger.

"But what if I hurt him? What if I hurt his so called soul? He would suffocate himself in cake!" Alice threw up her arms.

"What's the point in thinking about a future that you can't see? You may be psychic child, but that don't mean you can see what lies ahead. Do you really want to have regrets about not giving it try?"

Alice relished over the thought, her mind making dozens of scenarios in her head. Some were joyful to watch, others ended in heartbreak and misery. But none of them seemed to make her world crumble. In fact, the earth was still spinning and the birds would eventually sing again. Why had she never thought about it before? Jim was right again. She would regret rejecting him. She could envision her rejections over and over again, and each time she did, she could see herself crying after each horrific scene. It was why she was stuck up on the second floor for so long in the first place. She didn't want to reject him, because the heartbreak seemed worse than the one she thought she would give L later on in the relationship. Her whole world seemed to change at that point.

"I don't want to regret it…" A tear escaped from her eye. Jim's smile turned warm, making the moonlight in the room feel like the sun's rays. Even though it was dark out and the crickets were singing, she was still able to make out the sound a chirp. It sang a soft tune, much like the smile upon Jim's lips. Looking out the window, a lone tree stood high and proud, each branch filled with new born spring leafs. Perched upon one of the branches stood a white bird, so easily disguisable among the black background. It ruffled its feathers and cocked its head to the side, looking at Alice as if to say, "What are you waiting for?"

But it was Jim who had actually spoken those words out loud, and brought her back to the room. Seeing the dove was a sign. She believed heavily in karma and destiny, and this moment was the answer she had been looking for. Fate was telling her what to do, and she wouldn't waste a minute longer in that room.

"Thank you Jim!" She jumped off that bed.

"I'm always here for you child," he waved goodbye, fading away into a thin cloud while she ran out the room. She didn't even know if her feet were touching the ground. She ran down those stairs because the elevator was not going to be fast enough. By the time she reached the basement, everything had turned into a blur. The only clear focus she had was the room L was working in. It didn't take her long to find it and make a dramatic entrance.

When Alice came bursting through that door, L nearly had a heart attack. It had been a long time since their last conversation, and in the back of his mind, he had hoped she would wait until tomorrow to give him an answer. He wanted her to think over his feelings carefully before coming to a drastic conclusion. At least then when she rejected him, he would at least have the pleasure of knowing she cared enough to think it over seriously. But seeing her come in seemed too soon.

Near was back in the room as well, and he was just as startled as L was. Of course, he had the comfort of dominos surrounding him on the floor, so at least he could quickly stack a wall and calm himself down. But seeing Alice with such an exasperated form, made him pause midway with his tower. She seemed a lot more lively then the last time he saw her. Her eyes looked like they would bulge out of her head, her hair was an untamed mess, giving her a more animalist appearance, and her clothes looked wrinkled and worn. Needless to say, she was a complete mess.

Sitting on the beds were Matt and Mello, who recently took out the yellow raft. So the room was finally big enough to hold them all together. But when Alice barged in, they both had to pause their work. They thought she had run away again. They had found out about L and Alice's little soap opera scene, so they wondered if it was enough to scare Alice away. Apparently it wasn't, since she was gasping loudly in front of the doorway.

Alice's first few steps were shaky, but once she got her momentum going, she picked up the pace. She didn't care who else was in that room. The only person she saw was L.

"L," she said his name with such exhaust. She was in front of him in seconds, looking down as he sat in his chair with his knees to his chin. L was speechless. The only practical human bodily function he could do was breath. The rest of his instincts were put on hold.

"I don't want to regret my decision." She began. Her voice already sounding like it was chocking up. "My friend Jim who was a slave in the 1800's gave me some advice, and after thinking over your confession, I came to the conclusion that Jim was right. I was a cat…I mean, I was afraid. I was cat who was afraid to be with you because then I thought I would lose you! And I asked him if crows could mean love, but he told that doves were the true meaning of love, and I saw a dove L! I saw a dove! Destiny was telling me that it was okay to be a cat! That I shouldn't just give up because I'm scared! I can't see the future, and the only way to make my soul happy is through food and love!"

L desperately tried to follow her logic. Matt and Mello were just trying to understand her quick speech. She was talking so fast, that they could only catch a few words at a time. Near seemed like the only one who was brave enough to talk after her pause for breath.

"Did you say you were a cat?"

By now, Alice didn't even know what she was saying. She had been so caught up in the moment, that she didn't even realize she was talking nonsense.

"That's not what I meant to say." She rubbed her forehead.

"Take a deep breath Ace." L found his voice. Alice took his advice and filled her lungs with oxygen. She exhaled slowly and rewired her brain so she could give him a proper response.

"I want to give us a try."

"And by us…do you mean…?" L waited for her to finish his question.

"A relationship." She was short and to the point. She should have tried that tactic in the first place, but her mind still felt like a Rubik's cube.

"I see." L sounded out of breath. He had to turn away, just so he could take a moment for himself to assess the situation. Alice had just accepted his feelings. Not in a million years did he ever imagine the outcome to be like this. He believed the percentage level of Alice saying yes was less than 0.01%. He honestly didn't know what to say at that point. Of course he was happy beyond his wildest dreams, but how was he going to express that to her? Should he thank her? Should he share some of his cake with her? He could give her the strawberry, which was his favorite part. Would that be sufficient?

"Don't get me wrong though," Alice made L discontinue his thoughts. "I'm still not sure what love is like, and it might take me some time to get used to the idea of us together. But I'm willing to accept your helping hand." A small smile played at her lips. L was thrilled to hear she used his metaphor for her analogy in her confession. It meant she had listened to what he said and understood, all at the same time. That didn't happen too often between them, and it was a sign that showed they would surely work as a close team in the near future. At least, that was what he envisioned.

"Yes, of course. I don't expect any kind of rush. I find it more comforting anyway to take things slow."

Alice let out her nervous sigh and smiled even wider. She liked this a lot better than the idea of having to reject him. Her heart and soul were defiantly more at ease, and she was even starting to feel giddy about the idea of being closer to L. Maybe the love thing wasn't going to be so bad.

"Are you two going to make out or something?" Matt raised his hand in question. Alice's smile immediately dropped and her cheeks turned a powerful red.

"No!" She tuned to him sharply and squeaked.

"Certainly not. We still have quite a bit of work ahead of us, and it would be most helpful if we were not giving into to our sexual desires."

Alice crossed her arms and nodded her head to agree with L. But when she sat down on the chair next to him, she raised an eyebrow after having second thoughts.

"You've been having sexual desires?"

L immediately stuck a piece of cake into his mouth so he couldn't answer her question. Matt gave a whoop of laugher, filling the whole room with a much needed stress reliever. The tension in the room seemed to subside as quickly as it came. Life couldn't have gotten any better than that.


THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!

SpringBorn, hikari-hime 01, Hauarieistoolazytosignin, AnonMouse524, chocolatxdoll, MsBlondiePunch, Angel Ayame, xGrellSutcliffx, LawlietMilkshake, chabitso.0, tootsiepop101, Crazyinabottle, ShnieseAce, Ironicsheep, XBloodMageRikaX, blackstar778, KiyUzumaki, Vsat101, mrs-Sora-sparrow, Saber Amane, Kaiyira, Rainbowed-Sunned-Spirit, Tsukino Aisuru - A, freaksforever (NICE!), jssjessica, Ari the Amazing, and bob. (Can we all just raise a glass to how awesome we all are? I mean, we just completed 50 chapters! And yes, I do mean we. I could have never done this without you, so congratulations everyone for a job well done! Here here! *Clink*)

Invincible Shadow: Why thank you! Hmm, three consecutive days.., so...maybe some holidays that come 3 days in a row...like...fudge day (June 16th), Fathers day (June 17th), and Garfield the Cat day (June 18th)? And if you are wondering, those are real holidays...I do not lie. xD

torixx3: Yay for making our friends obsessed with Death Note! I always love to convert the innocent to the dark side. =D

Sakura Ichigo Morihiko: Oh that was a good one! I liked that riddle! Okay, on to the next, and I know this one! It's a penny!

In the Shadow of Light: I'm so touched that my story would be your first review! Thank you so much! You don't know who much that means to me!

Bow Down To Gir: No need for apologies. Whether you review for every chapter, or wait every ten chapters, your reviews are always special to me. The twitching is a wonderful sign. It means my story has the toxic effect of involuntarily moving your body in tiny unconscious spasms, which makes me a very happy author. Thank you for the congratulations!

Speckles719: You don't know how yummy that recipe sounds! But unfortunately, I've never worked with alcohol in my baking before, and I don't think my first try should be making it catch on fire. But don't get me wrong! I hope you don't mind I hold onto it for future use. My baking skills are still on the verge of being amateurish, so I think I should avoid blazing fires until I've had more practice. But Thank you so much for the recipe! I could defiantly make the cookies without any trouble. Shortbread if F*% ing awesome! By the way, my family loved the blondies so much, they ordered me to make another batch the next day...xD

Ramen Pizza Teacup: Request has been analyzed and will be taken into consideration. And by consideration, I do mean used to its fullest potential. I will defiantly add more fluff and shenanigans!

g-minor-art: LOL, back in chapter 48 (The Great Escape), there was a small cut scene where Alice pressed one of the buttons on her bracelet, and a raft inflated where L and Near were working. It was a small scene, so its understandable if you don't remember. I could have probably written that scene better anyway. Ninja pony's...I want one. You must teach me the ways of how to train these pony's!

Beloved Little Bit: THANK YOU for finding those mistakes! I fixed them right away!