A/N: Please note that A) these two are only 10 :C well, Mello (whos apparently older than matt, bummer, but not by much and it hardly matters in wammys house XD) is almost 11, so please, anything that coud be seen as sexual isn't actually "sexual" and they ttly dont realize their gay yet (they are XD duh) so no intercourse or anything yet. ;D you'll have to wait, my pretties, you'll have to wait! BWAHAHA! oh and B) this chapter is too long. DX and then the next one is too short. And i'm sick today so i have wayyy too much time on my hands. ORZ. Well, love you, hope u enjoy~

Matt

I woke up way too early.

My eyes were sore - had I been crying last night? I couldn't remember. I couldn't remember much of anything, really. Where was I? Where was my sister? Why wasn't she with me? Where was her bed? Where were my parents? My computer? Where….

…Wammys House, Mail. You're Matt now, remember?I let my vision clear of sleepiness, rubbing my eyes before I hopped out of bed, quickly pulling my change of clothes out of the bag, almost frantic to get out of the room. I hated the feeling of being closed in that room all alone, and pulled on another pair of jeans - the dark jean ones - and a red and black striped shirt and pulling on my goggles, like always, opening the door and hurrying to the bathroom, not thinking to do anything with my hair since it always pretty much looked messy no matter what I did with it, quickly brushing my teeth.

When I saw myself in the mirror, though, I flinched. My eyes WERE red, and I had tear streaks down my cheeks. Great. That would make an excellent first impression, for sure. I clenched my teeth, silently cursing whatever horrible nightmare I must have had the previous night, washing my face quickly.

As I exited the restroom I suddenly felt myself thinking about the blonde I had met the other day, sneaking a glance at the door. Of course I wasn't planning on just waltzing in, I didn't know him, but the guy was simply interesting. Maybe he would want to play video games. Later?

Your thinking like Mail again.

The thought caught me in a rush. That's right. I didn't know anyone here. I didn't know the leather decked blonde, I didn't know the old man who had brought me here, I didn't know the room I stayed in, this entire orphanage was a complete and giant question mark to me.

I check the time on the cell phone some dude named Roger, the guy who had originally picked me up from my house, had given me. 6:00. Damn! Six!? Since when did I get up that early? Hissing in frustration I shoved the phone back into my pocket. I was too restless now to go back to bed, not that I wanted to go back to that blank, lonely room again. I grumbled a sigh and sat down plop in the hallway, not bothering to take notice of the fact that I was leaning against the wall opposite of Mello's. It wasn't on propose, I was simply sitting wherever I felt like it. I didn't even notice. I just pulled out my game and started playing - ah, Zelda, how you never fail to distract me from the confusions of every day life.

Mello

How many times have you come out of your room to find a redhead on the floor outside your room, playing a dumb video game, randomly sitting there in the middle of the floor. I'll tell you - not very many. And so obviously I was kind of shocked that, what do you know, there he was, buried in some game.

I don't even think he realized I was there. And so I made my presence known.

"Hey, dumbass. What the hell are you doing?" I growled, hands on my hips, leaning forward. For a few seconds Matt didn't respond, and then the game music stopped and he looked up, gaze completely zoned out and uncaring until he met my eyes. And then he lit up, like a fucking Christmas tree or something, and smiled, catching me off guard. Most people weren't too happy seeing me waiting there for them, but apparently this boy thought otherwise.

"Hi! I didn't wake you up or something, did I?" he chirped stupidly, getting to his feet. I grimaced.

"Of course you didn't, stupid. You were just sitting there.""Oh."

I sighed and rolled my eyes, turning away. Something about that boy's eyes told me he wasn't as stupid as he was acting, but he was acting pretty damn retarded. Was he embarrassed by something? If so, what? I was wearing pants, right? Then again, the leather was pretty tight so I kind of noticed it, so that option was out of the question.

"Come on, let's go to class," I grumbled, turning away and flipping my hair over my shoulder. To my surprise Matt followed without hesitation, bobbing up and down in that overly-happy obedient puppy way, smiling that pleased smile.

I smirked. Obedient puppy, huh? For some reason I had a feeling I could get used to that.

Matt

I couldn't understand why people were giving me weird looks.

I was fully clothed, right?

I didn't feel like I was doing anything weird, but people kept their distance from me as I followed Mello, keeping close to him on instinct. A lot of people looked really shocked, a few pitying, a few laughed, most just stared. I didn't understand any of it. Why did they look so surprised that I was following him? He was stunning. I didn't mean in an sexy way - I was 10 years old for crying out loud - but he was just a leader for some reason. And I was just simply a follower. Always had been, I guess.

"You have science, right?" Mello asked, catching my eyes as I looked at everyone with a smirk.

I look up at him, perking up a little. "Huh? Oh, yeah, science," I replied, nodding my head. How had he known that? I wasn't sure I really cared, I was just glad that someone was talking to me. The stares were giving me weird feelings. Mello smirked - I don't really think I've seen him smile kindly yet, but there was a certain pleasure in his eyes - and nodded. "Okay, it's this classroom here," he told me, pointing to it, "I'm going to Math. You have a free period after this, so relax."

I frown but nod none the less. I was hoping that he would be in the class with me, but it didn't matter. He was juts one person, but I admit I was crossing my fingers that our next class would be together - I liked his odd company.

"Oh," Mello added after a few moments of me just looking at my feet, "And don't talk to anyone else for too long. Trust me, okay? See you after class."I frown and look up, startled by the request. "Huh? What? Why?" I stammer, confusion spreading through me. But the other boy was already hurrying away with that swagger he had. I found myself watching him walk away. I liked the way he walked. That swagger, I mean. It was…

…I didn't have a word that I liked for what it was that didn't make me sound like a gay pervert, which I'm neither, god dammit, so I hurried away towards the classroom I had been directed to.

As soon as I entered the room, I felt about 20 pairs of eyes train on me. All at once. And I was suddenly suffocated by nervousness. The teacher at the front of the room was a tall man with a gray suit on and a very serious look on his face.

"U-umm," I stammer, "Matt. I'm new here," I say quickly to the man.

The teacher frowns. "Just sit down, there are no assigned seats."

I stare. What? What teacher says 'just do whatever' to the new kid? But none the less I hurried to my seat, not wanting to feel like a weirdo. But seriously, what the hell? I could feel people looking at me, and whispers being passed, but I couldn't make out any of them. But I could just tell they were talking about me.

Class went over in a blur. The teacher was talking in a really boring voice, and I already knew most of what he was talking about anyway, so I stared into space, over the teachers shoulder and at the chalkboard, thinking unconsciously thinking about Mello. God, I was such a weirdo. But he was the only one that I even had the chance to get to know yet. And what was that he said, don't talk to anyone? What a weird request. Possessive, almost.

And yet for some reason I felt compelled to follow it. To follow anything he asked. That icy cold gaze he had… even with that feminine stance he was menacing.

I think I should have been intimidated, but I wasn't.

Weird.

Mello

I stalk into the Math room, as always making everyone freeze on eye contact. Good. I loved that feeling - the feeling of being in control. It was a strange feeling, the pleasure in response to being hated.

For once, though, I was distracted by different thoughts. Annoying thoughts entered my head, every single one of them involving Matt. Hot damn, why did he always worm his way into my head when I least wanted him there? I felt like a cheesy schoolgirl, chewing on a chocolate bar (though I suppose normally it'd be a pencil or something) and daydreaming about her boy-crush. Not that Matt was my boy crush or something stupid. He isn't. He's just interesting. In a totally non-gay way.

But I was really bored, and my mind wandered ways I didn't want them to. I wondered about his hobbies. I wondered if he liked computers, since he mentioned them. I wondered if he had muscles under that shirt. I wondered if his hair was his natural color (though I doubt a guy would dye his hair especially at 10) I wondered what he thought of me. I wondered if he thought it was weird that I didn't want him talking to anyone else.

It's not that I didn't want him to have any friends. That wasn't it, I mean, I'm not that evil. But… well, frankly, the majority of the people in this orphanage pretty much hate me. Probably most of it is fear, but none the less the nasty rumors are there. Not that anyone - or at least, besides Chad and his stupid little posse of idiots - ever dared to act out towards me more than once when I was actually in the room. Oh, no.

I wasn't concerned about Matt finding out about me being sort of violent - he probably guessed that already - but it was the… well, the rumor that I was gay that I didn't want him hearing. It might scare him off or something. I was probably just being paranoid. But I didn't want him to believe it or anything.

Unless MATT was gay. Wait. What would that even matter if he was? I'm still not. I'm not interested in Matt, really. I mean, I guess I liked the guy okay, but I didn't' LIKE the guy. But what if I did? I didn't. It doesn't matter. Does it?

…I needed more sleep.

Matt

The bell rang after a long time of random daydreaming and not paying attention to class, and I gathered up my things. I hurried out of the classroom, but I didn't see Mello anywhere. Frowning, I turned, looking for him.

"Hey, you, new kid,"

I flinch and turn around, knowing the voice wasn't Mello's because it was a girl's. Yes, definitely a girl, a brunette, short and peppy looking. "Hi, I'm May," she greeted me, grinning. There were two other girls a few feet away, giggling and pointing. I figured immediately that this was just another dare. "I was wondering if-"I cut her off. "Look, I really don't have time to talk. I have things to do, we can talk later." I lied about that last part, and Mays face went stony with confusion, but I turned and hurried away. I could tell that she was going to try and talk to me again, but luck was with me and Mello was standing a small distance away, and I caught up with him. "Mells! Hey!"

Mello tensed and turned around, his eyes narrowed. "What did you just call me?"

I froze, realizing my mistake and smiled nervously. "U-uh, sorry, Mello," I murmured, looking at my feet. Where they shuffling? I thought I had fixed that nervous habit…

To my surprise Mello made a choking noise, and my head snapped up to find that he was choking back a laugh, a giant grin on his face as his hand covered his mouth. "N-no… that's f-fine.. Ah…" he shook his head, trying to regain composure as he walked the other direction. I didn't get what was so funny, but I followed without argument.

"What do you want to do during free period?" I ask chipper, coming up side by side with the blonde. I caught a few people looking at me funny, but I ignored them at this point, though they made me feel self conscious. Was Mello some kind of looser or something? Not that I cared. I mean, psh, look at me. I could tattoo my head with the words "geek" and it wouldn't make it more obvious.

Not that I cared. Mario was the only guy for me.

Uh.

I mean Peach was the only woman for me.

…my mind is rotting, I think.

"I don't know. I was going to go to my room and watch a movie or something," Mello replied, shrugging his slender shoulders and looking at me from the corner of his eye. I felt disappointment crush me. I'd been hoping we'd do something together, since we were just now starting to get along, and my posture deflated.

"Oh."Mello gave me a really long, hard stare, his eyes glancing around. There was nobody in the hallway, and suddenly he burst out into the most beautiful laughter I had ever heard. It was more like a giggle, a girls giggle, but I loved it. It rang happily, and his face blushed a little. I flinched, surprised, but Mello grinned and let out through his laughter, "Stupid, you can watch it too!" I couldn't help but start laughing. I tell you, my laugh is annoying. A-NOY-YING. At least, I thought so, it was kind of loud, but it made Mello laugh even more, trying to stop himself but failing miserably. That only made my laughter worse.

Suddenly the door beside Mello's bedroom, 665, opened without notice, and out came Near.

Mello froze immediately, stiffening. That made me shut up too, and we stared at Near. That kid had been in my Math, I remembered, but I hadn't ever gotten a good look at him. He was so cold and blunt looking that he could have easily been mistaken for an ice cube. Creepy little albino. But somehow my initial surprise at meeting him was nothing compared to the shock on Mello's face, staring at near. As if waiting for some reaction, like the sudden appearance of a second head on Near's shoulders.

Near, on the other hand, while he looked completely and utterly expressionless, had a slight flicker of what I interpreted as a "Do Not Compute" expression, staring at Mello, then to me, then back to Mello again. And then he spoke, in that weird monotone voice that I think I heard answer a question when I was daydreaming the class away. "Having a good free time." It was not a question, I noticed.

Since Mello wasn't responding, I rolled my eyes and grabbed Mello's hand, making the blonde flinch in surprise, and I smiled at Near. "We were before you showed up," I tell him in a fake-friendly voice, angry that he had ruined our moment, and pulled Mello after me into his room. Mello stumbled along after me, Near only staring at me as I led the blonde away.

Mello

Dammit.

That was my first reaction as Near showed up. Complete shock. Let me tell you, I have not laughed like that since I arrived at Wammys, and it felt good. So good. Even if my laugh was an annoying little girl-giggle and Matt's was the most addicting, contagious laughter, like, ever, it still felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders for just a few moments, seeing Matt laugh like that, hearing myself actually laugh like that.

Then Near had to show his stupid little albino ass that had been apparently watching, leaning against the doorframe, for a while now. I stopped cold, staring at Near in shock and anger. Dammit. Just DAMMIT. I had shown weakness right in front of the little twit I hated most, standing there giggling like a little girl with Matt. Just having Matt with me was enough, but now I was GIGGLING. LIKE. A. LITTLE. GIRL. In front of my rival. God, I hated fate. Maybe I was the devil reincarnated and I was just getting really bad luck because of that.

Near stared at us, clearly judging us. I was surprised at the confused look in his eyes. Near? Confused? How? I mean, I hate the boy, but he was damn smart none the less, I wouldn't deny that. So why?

"Having a nice free time."

It wasn't a question, and I wouldn't have answered anyway. I was just about to blow up in his face out of pure pissed-off-ness (that's a word, god damn you) when Matt suddenly grabbed my hand. I flinched in shock, looking up at Matt. He was smiling at near, a sarcastic smile, I could tell. And then there was the fake-friendly voice as he said, "We were before you showed up."

I almost laughed.

But Near was still there.

Not for long though, since Matt was dragging me into my room. I stumbled along with him into the room. As soon as we made it inside I burst into laughter - wow, two laughter's in a row, that's more than in a whole year for me! - choking for oxygen in between my giggles. Matt was laughing too, leaning on the door as if the laughter would cause him to collapse. I felt tears in my eyes, but not sad tears, no, I was laughing so hard I wanted to cry. I grabbed Matt's arm for support, laughing into his shoulder.

I'm not sure how long we stayed that way, laughing like hyenas. "Near got BURNED!" I cried, clapping my hands in approval and ruffling his hair. I'm not sure what compelled me to do that last part, it was like I was treating him like some sort of dog, but Matt didn't seem to mind it, in fact he was beaming at me. I swear he was almost wagging his tail, so I guess it didn't matter if I treated him that way.

"Okay…. Okay…. Ahaha….. Okay…." Matt, waved his hand, trying to stop laughing. I tried too, choking on my laughter. It had been so long since I laughed, I almost had forgotten how to stop, but I managed too, coughing to clear myself of the laughter. Matt stopped a few seconds before me, grinning. "So what movie are we watching?"Without thinking about it I clapped my hands together and announced, "Oh, anything with Johnny Depp!"

Oh. Shit. That was a stupid thing to say. Gay gay gay. I wasn't gay, I only loved Johnny Depp's movies. Seriously. Not the actual GUY. That'd be stupid. And gay. I looked at Matt, gauging his reaction, but he only grinned at me. "Oh, good! I love him!"

There was a long pause at the awkward statements, and Matt looked bewildered for a second, then laughed, "But not like THAT."

I nod in agreement and flop on the floor, fighting off more giggles as we turned on Sweeny Todd, letting my worries wash away just this once.

Matt

Sweeny Todd. Johnny Depp AND blood. Good stuff.

God, I loved this.

Not just the movie, either. I loved sitting there, leaning on the bed while we watched Mello's TV (how had he gotten a TV? I don't know…) beside the blonde, feeling him just barely lean against me as we watched the movie. Friendship. That was something I hadn't had in a long while. I wasn't gay or anything, but I'm kind of a touchy person, so having Mello right there beside me… kind of made me feel really happy.

God, I know how gay that makes me sound, but I swear, I'm not.

Anyway, the movie was getting to the really gory part, and while I was grinning - hey, I'm a guy, don't judge me - I could see that Mello's eyes lit up in a way I hadn't really expected. I mean, I know he was kind of… I don't know, physical, but to react to murder like that was a teensy bit weird. But maybe it wasn't the murder he had lit up to, you know, it could be the music.

I did like that music.

Anyway the movie ended after a while and it was then that we realized we had gone way over the time you were suppose to have for free time. "Ah, shit," Mello hissed, slapping his forehead with his hand. "Jesus, I'm going to be in deep shit."

I frown sadly. "Sorry, it's my fault," I mutter, lowering my head in shame. I knew that Mello was one of the smartest in the orphanage, and I didn't want to interfere with his studies or looked at me and shook his head. "Don't be sorry, you idiot," he laughed, and ruffled my hair again. I grinned helplessly, sighing. I don't really know why, I just liked it when Mello did that.

The blonde boy leaned back and yawned. "Well, I already missed half the class anyway, we might as well hang out here a while longer."I smiled, pleased. I wouldn't have paid any attention in class anyway, so I nod in agreement, sitting up and stretching. "Okay, cool." I say.

Mello paused for a couple seconds, then he looked up at me. There was a sudden, unexpected intensity in his eyes. "Matt, who did you talk to today?"

I stare at him. What? It was kind of a weird question to ask, but I guess I should just answer it… "Nobody --wait," I corrected myself, remembering, "Some girl named May. I'm not really sure what she was, but I'm pretty sure she was dared to talk to me so I blew her off."

Mello nodded approvingly. "Yeah, ignore that girl. She's with Linda's stupid posse. Almost as bad as Chad.""Chad?" I questioned, tilting my head, but Mello blew off my question with a wave of his hand. Well then, I thought, he's awfully hasty. But I guess it doesn't matter anyway. For some reason I was beyond caring what we talked about as long as I was talking to SOMEONE - preferably Mello - instead of being lonely in that stupid room again or "studying" in class. (Studying in Matt's Dictionary: staring into space, pretending to pay attention, thinking about video games and other various people who will go unnamed at this time.)

"So. Matt." Mello began again, turning his head to look at me, giving me this funny little smile that I immediately saw as both funny and a sign that he was about to ask me a question. "Tell me about yourself."I stare at him for a long moment. "Um." I start to rely, staring into space. "I play video games?" I offered, shrugging helplessly. Mello raised his eyebrows but didn't push me anymore, yawning.

"God this place is SO boring. But we really should go to class when the next bell rings, much as I'd love to sit around and watch every Johnny Depp movie in the universe with you," Mello told me. I nod and stretch, back popping. I had been sitting like that for too long - not that I wasn't used to that since I spent my days hunched over a game most of the time. I didn't want to leave, but Mello was right - we couldn't just constantly skip class like this, it was a surefire way to get us in trouble, so I stood up. Mello did the same, then suddenly whipped around and looked at me.

His eyes were narrowed and intense, staring at me for a long moment. I frowned. "What?"

Mello didn't respond for a long moment, then reached up, slowly, and pushed the goggles from my eyes, same as before, except gently. I froze, blushing, feeling his baby-soft hands brush my face as the golden tinting was removed from my eyes, Mello's hands grazing my cheekbones as they retreated from my face. I shivered unconsciously, forgetting for a moment that Mello was, again, a guy, staring at him bewilderedly, knowing that I was blushing without meaning to.

The blonde was staring at me, right straight into my unprotected eyes. My vision was adjusting to the color change, and I could see his eyes more clearly for the color that they were, which was a pure, icy blue, sending shivers right through me as his gaze held mine.

After at least a full minute of this, I broke the silence with a whisper. "M-Mells..?" the nickname again, accidentally, but Mello didn't react the same way this time. He poked his finger into my shoulder and stared right into my eyes, seriously and without any waver.

"When we are alone, you take the goggles off so I can see your eyes."

I stared, dumbfounded at this sudden turn of events. I tried to fight my blush - it seemed like something a girlfriend would ask, not a friend of barely a day. But somehow I didn't question the request, I simply obeyed, nodding hastily. "Okay."

Mello paused for a few seconds, then smiled, a warm, genuine smile that made my heart clench. I loved that smile. "Good," he whispered, ruffling my hair gently before walking past me towards the door. It took only a few seconds for me to turn and follow him.

He already owns you.

It was my conscious, I new, telling me this. But suddenly, as I hurried after Mello, pulling the goggles back over my eyes to shield them from the outside world, I suddenly didn't care.

A/N: OKAY well.... I told you the chapter was long. XD' Yeah i know you all hate May already. Even though she was there for, what, 2 seconds? Doesn't matter. Actually may's just a random girl and wont matter later really XD shes nice i guess... too bad mattys a flaming homosexual 8D HUZZAH FOR JOHNNY DEPP! *sparkle* Anyway yeah the next chapters already done so this isn't really a cliffe. It wouldn't realy be a cliffe anyway XD"' consitering....

Isn't Mello just a total genious in being not-gay? XD LOLNOT