A/N: Thanks to my reviewer! (you know who you are) I've got the rest of this story planned out by now.

Chapter 3: Thunder

As more time slowly crept by, the punishment began to seem much less daunting. One boy would occasionally break the silence by making some sarcastic remark or complaint, causing the other to snicker. Finally, after it seemed like eternity, Mello had summoned up the courage to turn around, studying the younger boy more closely. His hair was a dark red, contrasting greatly with his rather pale skin. His clothes hung loose against his thin frame, but what was really odd was the pair of oversized orange-tinted goggles that hung from his neck by the strap. Feeling that he was being watched, the redhead turned around, his emerald green eyes locking with Mello's deep blue ones.

"What?" Matt asked casually.

"What's with the goggles?" Mello inquired, still staring at them.

"They belonged to my older brother…when I still had one…" Matt said quietly.

"Oh…" Mello said quietly, deciding it best not to pry.

"So uh…sorry for being a jerk I guess…" Matt muttered. "I guess if we're gonna be stuck together here until graduation, we might as well not hate each other."

"Sounds alright. Doesn't mean I have to like you though." The older boy said bluntly.

"Where would the fun be in that?"

The sound of footsteps outside the door silenced them. "Well. It's nice to see you two getting along." Roger said, brushing off the sleeve of his suit jacket. "If you promise that there won't be any more incidents like that, I'll let you off with a warning." He added. "Now, dinner is being served in the dining hall, go on, best not be late."

"I have to admit. You're different." Matt said, jamming his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he showed the new boy the way to the dining hall. "Most people around here are so boring, no real fire in 'em, I figured you'd be a robot like all of them."

"I've never been like most kids." Mello said darkly. "And I don't plan to be. The other kids might put up with your stuff, but I'm not going to. There's more from where that black eye came from."

"…just don't touch my stuff." Matt rolled his eyes.

"In trouble again Matt?" A girl in paint-covered overalls sneered as they entered the large, elaborate dining room.

"Shove it Linda, it's none of your business." He shot back.

"I haven't introduced myself. I'm Linda." The girl persisted, extending a hand to Mello. Mello glanced down at her hand before turning away, more focused on the large table filled with the biggest array of food he'd ever seen, already being torn at by the hungry children. "That's rude!" Linda called after him.

"Don't care. I'm hungry." Mello said, taking his seat, not hesitating to begin stuffing his face with the first thing he could get his hands on. The mahogany-haired girl huffed, crossing her arms before stomping back to her own chair. "What are you staring at?" he grumbled at a pale, white-haired kid sitting across from him.

"You can slow down. Nobody is going to take your food from you," his blank eyes seemed to avoid Mello's, which only irritated him further.

"Near, don't try, he's just a jerk." Linda pouted.

As weeks passed, Mello's social interactions did not change, the slightest thing would spark anger in him. Not that it bothered him, he never really depended on anyone before, he had to fend for himself after his father had died, and he had been taking care of himself mostly, with his mother being too sick to do very much. He didn't need anyone, and he was determined to keep it that way.

He lay awake, rolling over to glance at the alarm clock. The fluorescent blue numbers read out 2:00. Normally he'd be asleep by this point. It was almost routine. School classes, studying, and more studying. Upon hearing about the detective L, and that the orphanage found the children ages 8 and up to qualify for the running of the great L's successor, he had to ensure that he was the best. The first rankings would go up in a few weeks based on grades and test scores. He had to win, it was all he knew.

But how would this disruption in his routine affect his schoolwork? He couldn't risk falling asleep in class. Nonsense…he thought. With all the sugar in his diet, it would surely keep him awake. A white flash crackled across the sky, followed by a loud rumbling. A thunderstorm, and by the sounds of it, it was getting pretty close. Perhaps that was what had woke him.

Muffled by the rumbling and the sound of rain against the window panes, he heard something else, shallow, ragged breathing. Mello sat up, confused, glancing around the room. Matt was tossing and turning, panting and groaning in his sleep.

"Matt." Mello whispered. "Maaaatt." But to no avail, the redhead continued to kick and thrash about, Mello swore he could almost hear a whimper escape his roommate's lips. Rather annoyed, or maybe even concerned, the blonde took aim and lobbed his pillow at the sleeping boy; suddenly, he quieted down. "Matt. What are you doing?" he demanded.

"N-nothing." Matt sat up and hugged his knees.

"Sure." Mello snorted.

"Okay okay, I don't do thunderstorms." He whispered. "It brings back memories."

"Oh…" the 9 year old said quietly. He knew all too well about things of the sort. A particularly loud crack of thunder made both boys jump as the wind seemed to pick up, rain now pounding the windows. The shaking redhead crawled under his blankets, jamming his eyes shut.

"W-why don't you come over here…just for a few minutes." Mello said quietly, a bit uneasy himself. He'd almost forgotten he no longer had his mother to comfort him when we was afraid. Without hesitation, the other boy crawled back into Mello's bed, draping the blankets around his trembling figure.

"Matt?" Mello asked once the younger boy had settled.

"yeah?"

"Tell anyone about this, and I'll throw your Gameboy off the fourth floor balcony."

A/N: I don't know why, but I just see this happening.

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