A/N: Sorry for the long wait, I've been really busy with school stuff…I have 3 projects to do, AT THE SAME TIME. Oi.
Chapter 5: Friend?
"F-friend?" the word stuck in his throat. Had this person, whom he had only known for a short time, really just call him his friend? Mello stood unable to move; the shock from that one word rendered him 'fully paralyzed, unable to process the thought. He hadn't been friends with boys he'd known since birth, yet after just a few short weeks; this strange child was calling him friend.
"Mello…you okay?" Matt cocked his head to the side, looking up at the older boy like a confused puppy.
"You…you called me your...f-friend." Mello said quietly.
"Well yeah…I mean, I know we didn't start off too great, but there's something about you that entertains me. You have spunk, you still have a personality. Something most of the kids that came here really young have lost already. Heck, even the ones our age or the ones that came in late are starting to change into robots; give 'em a rank and they suddenly turn into dull, super-smart zombie. But you…you're different, you fight, you yell, you do whatever it takes to get what you want, and don't let the administration here try to change that. I wish I could do that…I admire you, Mello." The redhead said with a sheepish grin, embarrassed.
Mello untensed slightly; finally he was getting some of the respect he deserved, so what if Matt was a little irritating at times, and careless when it came to his rank. He still had a point. He was the only kid at Wammy's Mello could relate to in terms of emotion, hell, the kid was even sticking his neck out to help Mello get some food since he had missed dinner. The blonde may not have understood what this "Friend" thing was, but now he had one, and he was rather glad that it was Matt.
"You too," Mello said finally after a long period of silence. "Now can we get moving? I think my chocolate is starting to melt."
Not another word was said as the two swiftly made their way through the maze-like corridors of the orphanage in the dark, bursting into laughter as they finally made it into their room.
"That was…fun." Mello gasped as he tried to catch his breath.
"See? And as long as we don't say anything, they won't know." The younger boy smirked, brushing his russet-colored bangs out of his eyes.
"Yeah, sorry for letting you fall back there," Mello replied, his blue eyes avoiding Matt's. Matt only shrugged, giving him a 'don't-worry-about-it' look.
The years passed, and the two boys only grew closer through their wild antics, whether it stealing one of Near's toys and hiding it just out of his reach, midnight kitchen raids, as usual, Matt would voluntarily take the fall, whenever Mello would ask, he would only say "because your rank means so much to you."
That never changed. Even three years later, at twelve years old, winning was an obsession for the blonde. He had not moved from second place. Always coming in second to the exact. Same. Person.
To add insult to injury, it was Near who was always in first. The quiet albino boy that was two years younger, those two short years made all the difference to Mello. Whether it be two years or twenty, five points or fifty points, Near was always winning, and that was unacceptable. It became all Mello could think about. Matt seemed to be phased out as exam dates drew closer, his friend always being 'too busy' studying to play a game of Super Smash Bros. with him or to go pranking.
He would scold him from not caring about his rank, or for ditching class.
"All I'm saying is, maybe you'd be respected like me if you'd stop being a worthless ass and actually do something." Mello roared at him one day for hiding his chemistry book in an attempt to get his best friend to take a break for sake of his sanity. The words cut him deeply.
"Really," Matt snapped. "For someone so obsessed with becoming the next L, you sure don't pay the hell attention." He shot back before storming off.
He'd been in third place for months, his name right below Mello's.
Mello never noticed.
A/N: OOOOH what will happen next? I couldn't let it all be fluffy.
Review for next chapter!