Near walked quietly towards Matt's door, head facing down. A group of kids ran past him, laughing and smiling naively, not having any expectations to burden them. He eyed them in disinterest, ignoring the brief pang of longing to have something similar. He had long decided that there was no point to surrounding himself with the rest of the children, especially the ones who secretly mocked him for hyperventilating in that closet.

He paused as a shudder escaped him from the sudden reminder of that incident. However, that also reminded him of his biological parents.

He remembered the silence that always surrounded him since birth. The disgust that his own relatives held towards him because of being an albino. A freak, they had said once they caught wind of his strange appearance. Near could remember quite vividly as his mother would lock him up in his small, dark room, warning him to be quiet because she had guests arriving that evening. And he was. He'd learnt to be quiet since he was a baby, which strangely enough furthered his parents' disgust towards his existence.

Still, Near knew that wasn't the reason why he was borderline claustrophobic. It had happened one fateful night, when he and his parents were driving him from an adult party. It had been so sudden as his father suddenly swerved and they were driving off the highway, his mother screaming all the way. Or at least that's what he assumed.

He had fallen asleep in the car and woken up to the stillness of the night. Near quickly realized his parents were dead and had tried to exit the car but he was unfortunately trapped. He had been stuck, cramped in a small spot for hours before someone found him. During that time, Near shivered from the cold and felt so helpless, wondering if that was how he was going to die. He had been able to smell rotting corpses as the heat quickly swelled up. He was dehydrated and tired as he started to cry for the first time since he was a baby. Near felt strange as he remembered those few hours he thought he would die at the age of five.

After he was saved, his relatives were forced to take him in but because he was the only survivor and a child, his parents' fortune went to them. Near's expression fell into a small frown as he recalled that it was under their care that only strengthened his weakness.

Shaking those thoughts away, he continued on his way to Matt's room. He had heard the rumors of Mello leaving the orphanage and how he and Matt got into a fight. Whether this was true or not, Near didn't care. He figured he should try to help Matt take care of himself as a way of gratitude for treating him normally.

Arriving at his destination, Near knocked on the door and waited. He noticed something colorful on his left and turned slightly to stare at Linda walking down the hallway. He suddenly recalled what happened last time they met and decided to ignore her for now. Near didn't like the idea of being a model for her project and he doubted she would stop asking. He knocked on the door harder and said out loud, "I'm coming in."

Opening the door, his eyes widened slightly as he eyed the mess Matt had created from a possible tantrum. Entering, he closed the door and watched where he was walking. He shuffled up to Matt's bed and jumped up at the end of the bed, positioning himself in a more comfortable position. He stared at Matt, who was gazing at the ceiling blankly, and shrugged.

He pulled out a Robo toy from his sleeves and began to quietly play with him. Near knew that Matt could've easily kicked him out if he wanted to but didn't because he needed company and Near wouldn't judge him for it.

They were like that for one hour and 14 minutes before Matt suddenly spoke. "I can't believe that fucking asshole. I've been his friend for so long, I've stood up for him even when he was jerk, I even ignored his shitty behavior and stupid ideas because I cared about and this is all I get?" Near lowered his toy to show he was listening to him. "I just- he's so- Ugh, I hate him so much right now!"

Matt got up and touched the ground, beginning to pace back and forth. "Well gee, Mello, sorry I'm not good enough as L! Nice to know I'm nothing compared to some anonymous letter that doesn't even bother to visit the orphanage!"

Near stared at him.

"Oh don't look at me like that!" Matt snapped. "I am perfectly justified in hating that son of a bitch. I swear, the next time I see him I'm going to punch him in the face and hit him where the sun doesn't shine!"

"Ok," Near said nonchalantly as briefly wondered what time it was.

"No, I'm going to show how much better off I am without him and then he'll feel so sorry he left me, a valuable human, behind. That'll-"

Near calculated it was near dinner time and sighed tiredly. He continued to watch Matt scream his feelings out as he kicked around objects he had most likely thrown out before.

"-not some dog waiting for his stupid add."

"Matt," he said calmly as he slipped off the boy and headed towards the door.

"What!"

"Take a shower first before heading to the evening hall. If you want to prove you don't need Mello to be a fully functioning human, I suggest you start taking care of yourself. By the way, you broke your gamer console."

"...shut up."

"And we'll be conversing with L after dinner so look presentable."

"Ugh, who thought it was a good idea for me to converse with the man who stole my best friend away from me?"

"..."

"...just get out. I'll see you soon."