Loathing Chapter 4
A/N: I was threatened by some lovely people to update this story. And this is by far my favorite chapter. I possibly started this story just so I could write this chapter. Matilda/Mrs-Jeevas made me a forum thread for this fic on her website. If you wanna come by and discuss this story or get spoilers please make an account and join us. Link on my profile. I made a forum topic for Barbie Boy as well titled Leanne Keehl and Gina Jeevas.
Warning: Violence. Also, Matt can't keep it in his pants, like at all. It's a problem D:
Musical suggestion: Chandelier by Sia.
"Let his flesh not be torn
Let his blood leave no stain
Though they beat him
Let him feel no pain
Let his bones never break
And however they try
To destroy him
Let him never die...
Let him never die…"
(Elphaba in No Good Deed from the musical Wicked)
"What do you mean he's praying?" The blond boy knit his eyebrows together in confusion, a single hand resting on his hip as he laughed at Near.
Near shrugged, "In the closet of the maths room, praying. I do not pretend to know why."
But Near had apparently said something wrong because Mello shoved him roughly until his back hit the hallway's wall. His lips curled downwards in an almost feral snarl, "You saw this, did you?"
"N-no," the smaller boy stammered in alarm. "Beyond Birthday told me to tell you."
Mello seemed to completely forget himself as he glared at Near with a chilling stare. The change in the other boy was noted only a flash of emotions across his face but Near couldn't even follow all the facial changes as Mello switched from various stages of hurt and anger before realizing what he was doing. He released his hands from Near's shoulders and stepped back a foot but didn't apologize, he merely stared at his hands as if acknowledging that his actions hadn't been conscious.
"What exactly did Beyond say?"
Near released a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, "That he should be praying."
"No shit. Stop repeating yourself. What exact words did he use?"
"Tell Mello that Matt's going heels-to-Jesus in the—"
Near didn't have a moment to finish as Mello released a train of swearwords and punched the wall near his head, "Fucking hell. I'm going to kill that damn cheater!"
The sound of Mello's feet pounding the floor registered to Near's ears before his eyes really took in the blond's frantic running. He blinked. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. He was watching Mello's hair whip around but it was too close. Near glanced down at his own wrists where Mello had grabbed him a moment before. He was on auto pilot running with the other boy, being dragged along and he hadn't even felt his own feet move. They were moving too fast and he was stumbling over himself just to keep up with the blond's desperation.
Mello only released Near to throw both of his fists on the door to the closet that Near suspected was the one he'd just told Mello to look into.
"Matt! Matt! Open this fucking door, you fucking slut!"
They could hear movement behind the door and Near was sure there was more than one voice, but no direct confirmation that Matt was inside. Impatient as he was, Mello pulled some wires from his pocket and shoved them into the keyhole, working the lock open. Within seconds a popping sound unclicked the door. The door was yanked so violently that it swung backwards and indented the adjacent wall with shape of the round handle. Mello's small frame shook and he squeezed his knuckles white, peering in without saying a word.
Inside the closet, Matt, shirtless, zipped his jeans up and waved his hand dismissively at Mello.
"Oh hey there, Princess." He looked about himself, his eyes resting on a girl who was buttoning her shirt next to him. "Oops?"
Mello grabbed the girl by the hair and dragged her out while she yelled, "Damnit, let me go! That hurts, damnit! Mello!"
Mello released his hold on the brunette and she slumped, holding her head. Near recognized her as one of the older girls. He couldn't remember her name, but she looked much older than any of the boys present, with well-developed hips and curves. She tried to cover her partially exposed breasts as Mello grabbed her by the chin.
"Bitch, if you ever touch what's mine again, I swear I'll—"
Before he could threaten the girl, Mello was cut off by the true object of his anger.
"Caught again, am I?" The redhead sighed, his tone belaying boredom, "Damn, I guess this place is burned. I'll need a new shagging spot."
"Right. Matt," Mello growled in a very low tone, completely forgetting the girl and turning towards the redhead, "Care to explain what you and Jelly Bird were doing? I'm all ears."
"Anatomy research?" he rolled his eyes and shrugged.
That was when the first fist flew. Mello's knuckles connected with Matt's jaw so hard that his neck snapped back sharply and the redhead rolled backwards into himself in pain.
At least that was the feint.
Matt's legs went swinging towards Mello as he propelled himself forward, gaining momentum from the way he rolled. He caught the blond hard on the knee and leapt up in time to dodge a reciprocal kick. Matt didn't stop moving away so Mello jumped on his back, weighing him down.
"You. Fucking. Cunt." Mello punctuated each word with a punch to Matt's gut.
Matt twisted his head and spit, "Let go, Mello!"
Mello would not let go. They were a tangle arms and legs, scratching and biting and pulling at hair. Twisting fingers clawing down arms and drawing blood. Strangle holds and bruising slaps. Neither boy let up, their energy seemingly endless.
"Why Matt? Why am I not good enough for you?"
"I never said you weren't." the redhead bit the blond's hand and Mello howled.
Somewhere in the mix of punches, the girl, Jelly Bird, had regained her footing and tried to get in between them, yelling at them to stop. Mello merely shoved her aside and Matt actually flipped her off saying, 'a birdie for the birdie,' before splitting Mello's lip and causing the other to stumble backwards.
Unfazed, Jelly Bird ran to Near's side and pleaded with him to leave the scene, "C'mon, we need to get Roger. Someone's going to get seriously hurt if we don't do something!"
But Near couldn't move. He could only watch, frozen. He was scared. There were clues but they weren't clicking in place. The situation screamed of a lover's quarrel but the violence level touched on delinquent assault and battery. What had happened to the nonchalant gamer and the crudely comforting chocoholic? They were throwing all their energy into hurting each other. But why? What purpose could such senseless beating serve? He only understood that Mello was in pain and was channeling that emotion through his fists. Matt was the cause, but he didn't seem surprised or apologetic for throwing the other boy into such a rage. What was Near missing? Every conclusion brought a more hideous truth than the last, so Near followed none of the logic paths. The the shock of the violence brought Jelly's words on deaf ears, the young boys eyes' entranced with the violent dance of the redhead and the blond. The girl gave up her crusade and ran, not wanting to watch the play to its curtain call.
It was like watching a poorly choreographed ballet. Mello lost his balance and Matt took the opening to run out into the hallway and towards the stairs. He pulled himself upwards to stand on the bannister. One misstep would send him falling to the ground floor.
"How 'bout we play up here, Mels?" His grin was marred with the puffiness of his fast-forming black eye.
"Get down from there, idiot."
"Come up here with me, unless you're just chicken shit."
Mello shook his head, "What hell? Stop dicking around and get your ass down here."
"Or what? You gonna hit me again, bitch? Do it while I'm standing here." Matt spread his arms out, and the light reflected off bare lanky arms. He shoved his goggles off his head to reveal mirthful green eyes, "Hit me where I'm standing, or I'll jump."
Mello considered Matt's words with alarm and his anger dissipated to be replaced with worry. "Matty, come down here, please. I'm sorry. Let's talk this out. Whatever you want, just get down from the fucking bannister, please!"
It seemed the first time that Matt noticed they weren't alone. Jelly Bird had already run off, but Matt hadn't yet noticed the small boy with the white hair. He turned his attention to that child and grinned.
"You're a witness to this, Near. When they ask you, tell them I slipped."
But as Matt made a posture to jump, Mello tried to grab him. He wasn't fast enough and Matt really did slip and not in his own intended manner. Green eyes bulged and Matt grabbed at the air, his hand catching a hanging string from the chandelier. It wasn't enough to halt his momentum but and he yanked at several more as gravity called him down. It wasn't built for his weight and the whole thing swung sideways, pulling Matt off course in his descent. It all happened in seconds, nanoseconds even, but somehow Matt twisted himself in enough strings to not fall and he hung precariously, the pendulum of a chandelier the only thing between him and flying towards the ground.
"Matt! Shit. Hell, don't move. Just fucking, shit shit shit!"
"Mello, you asshole, I wasn't really gonna jump!" Matt's voice was frantic as he clutched upwards, the metal rungs on the hanging fixture just out of his reach.
Mello stood on the edge of the railing, his feet locked in between vertical wooden bars as he extended his arms to Matt.
"Swing yourself this way, c'mon, I'll grab you."
It really wasn't built for his weight, and as Matt struggled to move, the base cord snapped.
Matt screamed even before the impact sent his bones breaking and the chandelier crystal flying across the floor.
Mello leaped down the stairs, half sliding down the banister in desperation to reach the ground floor. Near could only watch, frozen in place as the blond threw himself at the boy and clawed away at the glass and metal bits. Not heeding the sharp edges that cut into his knees and hands, he freed the redhead from the debri. Matt just lay there, glass cutting into his jeans and his chest, scratches and cuts decorating every exposed inch as the blond lifted him into a hug, glass crunching between them and lodging deeper into both their bodies.
"Matt! Mello! Oh my God!"
"Don't just stand there! Fetch Bea! Roger!"
"Somebody! Do something!"
"What the hell happened here? Jesus Christ."
Kids had filed into view, some gasping, and others gawking. A few rushed forward help but Mello screamed at them.
"Don't touch him! Don't you fucking touch him!" Mello let his final plea out as a whisper while he buried his face in his blood-covered hands., "Please be okay, Matty."
No one could get close to the pair. Mello was like an animal guarding its child. And yet, if anyone had been looking at Matt's face instead of Mello's livid one, they might have seen the cheeky smile as it spread across the redhead's mouth.
.
.
.
"That was fun. Play again next time, yeah?" Beyond whispered to Near where he'd found him hiding alone in the dining hall under a table.
Near had run there after watching five robed men tackle Mello to the ground. They'd carried Matt away to the infirmary on a stretcher, but Mello had to be tied down before they'd carted him off to wherever they'd taken him. Near had seen everything. And he'd slipped away from the gossipping children, not wanting to hear any of it. He'd slipped away to cry alone and hoped that no one knew that he'd seen it all. He didn't want to recount the scene to Roger.
How had Beyond known where he'd be? Near realized, more than being scared, he hated the teenager.
"Jelly was a bit of a sourpuss. She was supposed to stick around longer and rub it in Mello's face. Bit of a disappointment on her part. Hmmn, but Matt's performance completely made up for hers. Beautiful, wasn't he? And you, Near. You did well, my little lamb. You stood by and did absolutely nothing."
"You tricked me. You knew what was going on and you threw me into that situation like…" Near curled into himself, not able to contain his shaking any longer, "If Matt dies, it'll be my fault."
"Matt won't die."
"I'm not stupid. I saw his injuries. You're a liar and an instigator."
"I've never lied to you. I told you the truth before. Not my fault you didn't know heels-to-jesus was a sex position. Although I suppose it might have been pertinent to mention that Mello and Matt are a bit of a thing, but that was withholding facts, not lying. I'm not lying now. Matt won't die from that. Call it a sixth sense of mine to just know things."
Beyond lay the forefinger of each of his hands on the corner of the boy's mouth, pulling his lips into a smile. His touch left Near's face sticky and a cursory look at Beyond's hands revealed a red substance on their tips.
Too red.
Near couldn't breathe. Palpitations surged through his heart and he slid to the ground gasping. Of its own accord, his body went into full panic mode.
A/N: *blink* fucking hell that escalated fast. And Defeat Cigarettes is laughing at me. Where teh fuck do you get these names from, Banen? Jelly Bird? Really?
The answer to that particular one is that I had a friend in high school who was legit nicknamed Jelly Bird. It began when someone said she was such a jealous birdie, and that got shortened to Jelly Bird, so no, there's not a connection between her name and Beyond's favorite strawberry sauce. LOL, it just sounded so friggin' Wammy's, I couldn't help myself…
Also, yes. Mello keeps lock picks with him at all times. And no, Matt's not suicidal.
kthnx bai, love you
-Holly