A/N: Well, time lapse, folks. ^_^ I'd tell you their age, but it'll be kind of obvious soon. OH, and oh my god forgive me, I accidentally got some chapters confused… stupid document manager. Anyway the order of the chapters is back in order, I'm soooo sorry for any confusion!

Mello

I woke up to nothing but two green eyes in my vision, inches from my face.

Shocked, I yelped, but I quickly realized that it was Matt and relaxed, blush apparent on my face, but Matt didn't even seem to notice. He was grinning ear to ear, and I swear if he had a tail it would be wagging. "Happy Anniversary, Mells!"

I stare at him. At first I don't understand. Had I woken up to some weird reality where I was married to Matt? But then I quickly remember - of course! It's the anniversary of moving into my room. I beam at him, instantly pleased, finding myself hoping that he wasn't expecting a present since I forgot. Then again matt's the only one who remembers every year, which is kind of sad since we've been friends for two years now. It was hard to believe I was 13 now. Matt was getting there, he was twelve, but already he was taller than me. I kept telling him I would get taller than him one day, but he always rolled his eyes and said 'sure.' But I would. We were only just hitting puberty now.

"Happy anniversary to you too, Matty." I giggle - I still hated that giggle, some things never change - and shove him off of me, hopping out of bed. Matt's goggles were around his neck and he grinned at me. Matt really had not changed one bit over the two years we'd been best friends. He was still such an obedient puppy, I was still a total manipulating, PMSing bastard, and it would be a lie to say that I hadn't kind of taken advantage of his loyalty. Weird thing was that not once did he request that I stop, going along with everything to midnight chocolate runs to pranking Near to sneaking out in the middle of the night to skipping class to watch Johnny Depp movies. Yeah, it was the life.

Here was another weird thing - Matt still slept on my bed. Yeah, I know. See, we couldn't convince Roger to let us actually room together, and he insisted we would be okay separated and therefore would not allow another bed to be placed there. My suspicion was that he had heard the "fag" rumor - that was just this year starting to die away since they had no proof - and that's why he wouldn't let us room together. True, it was kind of suspicious, but I wasn't gay. Nothing had changed. Nothing. Of course, I wasn't about to make Matt stay in that stupid room again, and Matt didn't want to be left in there either, and so every day he would come visit me and simply not leave. We almost got caught a few times, but he always managed to jam himself under the bed whenever someone knocked on the door at night.

It was quite the life. He was the best friend you could probably ask for. I was a lucky bastard.

Matt

I turned around in bed, grinning from ear to ear because I couldn't help myself, sitting up over Mello's sleeping body. He was sleeping soundly, his lips slightly open, eyes closed softly, his breath even. It wasn't very often anyone but me could ever see him like this, completely peaceful. Asleep. The morning sun was just peeking through the window, reflecting through Mello's golden hair and illuminating his face, making him, admittedly, look breathtaking. So breathtaking that I almost just leaned over and kissed him. I could do it just gently, I thought for a moment, just enough, but not enough to make him awaken. But I knew I could never do that. That would be betrayal. Almost molestation. (kind of) And anyway.. I wasn't going to, no matter how breathtaking this person was.

But I wasn't gay.

Honest.

Pushing away the thoughts I leaned forward very carefully, so that I was eyelevel with him, inches from his face. I slowly reached my hand around him and trailed my fingertips down his neck, which never once failed to wake him up. And this was no exception - Mello shivered and his eyes snapped open, and like every time I did this to him his face turned a precise shade of pink and he yelped, panic in his eyes for a split second, but his face immediately softened to a tiny smile as he recognized me and I said cheerfully, "Happy Anniversary, Mells~!"

That feeling was great. He trusted me.

Which was good, because we had been each other's only friends for two years now. And by only friends I mean ONLY friends. Mello probably could have friends, if he wanted them, he was pretty badass. But he had long ago passed the line from badass to bully, in most peoples eyes. Not to me though. He was just stressed. Angry. A ruptured soul, easily aggregated. Just temperamental. Not evil. No, there was no such thing as an evil angel, and that was surely what Mello was, at least to me.

But anyway, it turned out being best friends with Mello means being not-friends with everyone else. They simply avoided me as if even looking at me would make Mello jump out of the shadows and stab them in the back, quickening their pace even when Mello wasn't around. The only people who still occasionally bothered me were Chad and Heather, but I managed to dodge them the majority of the time. May and Linda and that little posse of girls still bothered me too, but not in a mean way, really, as far as I knew. They just would ask me some weird question, I would nod, shake my head, or shrug, and then they would squeal and giggle and run away again.

I didn't understand what the big deal was. But whatever. I didn't care - Mello was the only friend I needed.

Mello looked up at me with big blue eyes, smiling. "Happy birthday to you too, Matty."I still loved that nickname.

Mello seemed to be in deep in some sort of thought, so I quickly bear-hugged him. He yelped again, then started laughing. "You forgot the anniversary again, didn't you?" I tease, releasing him from the hug. He smiles sheepishly, but he knows I don't really care. That boy was so busy he'd forget Christmas if there weren't any decorations up.

"Don't worry," I tell him happily, plopping on the bed. "I don't mind. It's not really a holiday anyway."

Mello frowned at me and tilted his head thoughtfully, then shrugged. "Well, it is to me," he says stubbornly, and I laugh, letting Mello have his own little sappy moment. I had plenty of them, so I shouldn't be selfish. Suddenly though the blondes usually delicate features became stony and frightful. "You didn't… buy me anything, did you?"I blink, clenching my jaw. Oops. I had bought him something, and I blushed. Had that been wrong? Had I made a mistake? Mello looked up and saw my expression, sighing. "Matt, you idiot, your not in trouble, I just feel bad not getting YOU anything."That gave me absolutely no relief and I squeezed his shoulder affectionately. "That's okay. I'm already sharing your bed, remember?" I had meant to cheer him up, but Mello only shrugged helplessly. I sigh and pat his head. "Do you not want the present?"Mello's head perked up almost immediately, shaking his head. "N-no! I want it!" he exclaimed, and I laughed at the horrified look on his face. He never did pass up the chance for a good gift, especially from Matt. The blonde's thin lips pressed shut, looking embarrassed, but I was used to how Mello was - I didn't care one bit. I loved every part of him.

Err….

Not in a gay way. Seriously. I'm not gay, so stop giving me that look, okay?

I wriggle out of the bed completely and pull the box out from under the bed. Mello's eyes immediately go big and wide, eyeing the box. Before I can even hand it to him he's torn it out of my hands and is ripping at the wrapping paper and I'm laughing, unable to contain my joy from the lit up expression on Mello's face.

"Oh, MATT!" Mello cried, pulling the things out one by one. I'd kind of guessed I'd spent a tiny bit too much, but I couldn't help but indulge on Mello. Godiva chocolate, leather gloves, those really cool sunglasses Mello's always eyeing, I had to get them all. I couldn't HELP it - no new games for a few weeks, but worth it.

Mello looked up from the gifts with sparkling eyes, both probably from happy tears and just plain that his eyes sparkled. At least, when he wasn't glaring at you. But he certainly wasn't glaring right now - in fact he had thrown himself into my arms before I could ask if he liked it (which he obviously did, apparently).

I blush as Mello hugs me, squeezing me way too hard. I gasp for air - I'm pretty strong but Mello is just a fuckng machine or something, especially when he's pumped, and I wasn't about to try and tear him off of me. Finally Mello releases me, grinning from ear to ear. I smile too, brushing the hair from his eyes. "I'm assuming you like it?"The blonde smiled his angelic smile - god I wanted to melt - and nodded. "I love it matt - god you're an idiot for spending so much…"I smiled weakly. "Couldn't help it. Suited you too well." Mello was already running to the bathroom to get dressed, clearly just to flaunt his new things. I waited a few seconds, contemplating what we were to do with the rest of our day when Mello strutted his way out of the bathroom. I almost died.

Mello had on his (and my) favorite outfit, a tight leather vest that stopped above his midriff, and his leather pants that were lower than they proudly should have been, stopping right where, if it hadn't stopped, it would have probably shown more than allowed, showing off his stomach, which I suddenly really wanted to touch. Those pants were damn tight too, which proved (again) that Mello was definitely, definitely a guy. His angelic hair was still there, contrasting with the outfit, and along with the sunglasses - mello had been right when he had originally eyed them at the store. They looked 'absolutely FABULOUS' oh him - and the leather gloves, he was probably the most badass, sexy, amazing thing I had ever seen.

Now was not the time to get hard, so I sucked in a breath as Mello made a show of posing around. "Don't I look awesome? God, Matt, I love you." he said happily, spinning around in a circle. I nod tightly, clenching my jaw and trying to distract my thoughts from pinning him to the floor and taking all of that fabulous outfit off, tearing it from him, everything off of him, pressing my lips on his, on everywhere, to imagine making him moan, making hi--

Whoa. Yeah. Thoughts must stop now or consequences will be given.

…yeah, that thing I said about me not being gay?

I lied.

When Mello was finally done strutting around - thank Jesus in a robin suit (no I did not forget about that, even now it haunts me) - he stopped and gave me a look. I think possibly he took my clenched jaw in the wrong way, because his face fell a little bit. "Hey… I'm sorry I didn't get you anything, Matty. Really I am."

Immediately I shook my head. That was hardly what I was worried about - what I was worried about was accidentally raping my best friend - and I patted his head. "I told you, it's FINE."

Mello bit his lip, hands on his hips - oh, god, why cant I put MY hands there?… god I hate puberty! - and made the cutest pouty face of all time. (Yeah, I'm beyond saying I'm not gay. Stop smirking) I could tell he wasn't happy. And he made that perfectly clear as he looked up at me. "No it's not fair," he pouted angrily, self hatred in his eyes. "I couldn't have remembered this year, at least…"

"Mell…"

But mello was already perking up, looking up at me with big, hopeful blue eyes, and all at once he was right against me, standing on his tip toes to be face to face with me - I was a bit taller than he was - his hands on my chest, determination in his gaze. "Hey, I can make it up to you, right? We can do whatever you want! Anything at all, just name it and we'll do it!"

Don't tempt me, Mells, I will NOT hesitate to rape you, right here, on the floor of this dorm room. I almost said. But - duh - I didn't. Stammering to find an answer to his request, I struggled to resist touching his bare stomach, eyes darting around for an excuse, something to distract myself.

Luckily, the sound of a knock at the door saved me.

Mello

Near didn't even wait for a response before walking in. Little fuck.

The little albino simply walked in, blank expression on his face. At least, it was pretty damn blank until he saw us there. He stared at Matt, then me, and then him again, his face blank, as if he didn't know how he was suppose to react. Which was kind of weird because A) the little twit was a super genius (much as I hate to admit that) and B) he already knew Matt stayed in my room.

Yeah, it's true. It was because he was the only one uncaring enough to just walk into 'the devils room' which was pretty damn stupid, and he'd caught us sleeping in that same bed several times. But he's such a blank slate that I doubt he even cared.

I narrow my eyes, slipping away from Matt - who looks really flustered for some reason, probably just worried about getting in trouble again, worry wart - my fingers brushing his thigh accidentally as I turn to scowl at Near. "What the fuck do you want?" I hiss, putting my hands on my hips as I lean forward to further scowl at him.

Most children either flee, start panicking, or try to act tough when I do this to them. There were only two children who never had that reaction, Near and Matt. Matt would have a number of different reactions depending on the situation, usually either involving a humorous sarcastic comment or getting that pathetic puppy dog look on his face. Near, on the other hand, just continued to stare at me like I hadn't even moved. Urk. Just fucking urk. It was annoying enough when he did that normally, but this was in MY room, during MY anniversary with Matt (not that he knew that), and I was in the middle of prying a way to get out of feeling guilty about forgetting that scarf.

Near spoke as I finished that thought, as if he had been reading my thoughts and waiting for me to finish, and looked up at Matt as he spoke, ignoring me completely. "You left this outside in the hallway," he said blankly, holding up a video game. I stared at it as it was lifted up to Matt, who only stared at it. It occurred to me that Near really shouldn't know whose game that was - the redhead was a nerd but he wasn't the only one in the whole orphanage who played video games.

But apparently it was Matt's because he reached out and took it, his face stony and clenched. He looked upset about something - lord, he was acting weird. I hoped it wasn't my fault that he was acting like this, but why would it be? He said the gift thing was alright, and he looked like he meant it. Had Near said something that bothered him?

"Have a nice day, then, Matt," Near said after waiting a few seconds for a reaction from Matt - who didn't give one - and for a split instant second I swear to god I thought I saw him smirk.

He smirked.

At Matt.

I know, it sounds unbelievable that an ice cube could smirk, but he did. For a few seconds. I know I didn't imagine it, because Matt shifted uncomfortably, a tiny bit of…. A blush? Was he seriously blushing? I clenched my fists, suddenly extremely angry. Angry at everything. Angry at Near for being here, for smirking at matt, for making matt blush. Matt didn't blush, especially not for Near. I was mad at Matt, too, for blushing at Near's smirk, and at the door for not having a lock, and at Near for barely even knocking, and at myself for being so angry at everything.

And then Near turned, and he left.

Matt

"Have a nice day then, Matt."

I stared at him, clutching the game in my hand, disbelieving. Did Near just smirk at me? I knew why, though, all at once. He knew. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, he knew. I felt a blush come to my cheeks. He knew. I could tell, just in that split second that he smirked at me, that he knew at least to a certain extent how attracted to Mello I had been a few seconds. Not so dense for a totally emotionless sheep-head I suppose, then. I almost expected him to turn and tell Mello what he had figured out, but he didn't. He just turned and he left. Which was actually kind of worse, in a way, because I could tell that Mello saw that smirk too. Slowly, the blonde turned his head to look at me, his delicate features twisting into a grimace.

"What the hell was that?" he growled, pointing to the game. "How'd the little stalker know that was your game?"

Um. Actually, that I knew too.

I had been sitting by myself outside the doorway of Mello's room. I could hear him changing clothes inside, and I resisted the urge to walk in and pretend that it had been accidental. Why wasn't he changing in the bathroom?

I closed my eyes and changed the topic in my mind, going back to fiddling with my game. It was asking me to name and pick the gender for my character for the dumb little RPG that was so annoyingly addicting. I almost automatically switched to male, but then a thought occurred to me. The female in the game had shoulder length blonde hair, and a slim featured face. Immediately I was reminded of Mello. The outfit didn't really look like him, but I could change that later in the game. Without really thinking about it, I smirked and named the character Mello. Cute little character too, really did look like him. Even flat chested. The only difference was that 1) it was a video game character and 2) it probably had girly parts.

Name? I typed in Mells. Yes, damn game, I was sure that was the name I wanted. I hated how it always asked me that. If it wasn't the name I wanted I wouldn't have typed it in. Just as I was ready to be angry at the game for manipulating me into thinking of Mello, I heard the door beside me open, and out came the creepy little albino. Immediately I hid my game behind the desk, pretending to be fiddling with my shoelaces, though I knew I couldn't fool the clever little albino. He gave me a hard stare for a long moment, then blinked and said, "I think Mello's done changing now."

I stared at him. Whoa. Doesn't get much creepier than that. Then again if I could hear him from in here, hissing in irritation from inside while he tried to get the zipper of his jacket to come off, then I bet with the consistently thin walls Near could too.

Knowing he expected me to go in immediately, and sneaking a glance at my abandoned game, I got up and went into Mello's room. Nobody would take the game if they had any sense, last time anyone stole my things Mello beat their brains out. I never went back for it. Shit, shit shit. I knew immediately that Near must have seen that I named the character - the hot FEMALE character - Mells. As I remembered what had happened I suddenly realized Mello was staring at me, expecting a reply.

I only shrugged, helpless. "I don't know. Maybe he saw me playing it? Little twits annoyingly smart."Mello smiled at me, seeming pleased with the reply, and put his hands on his hips again absentmindedly. "Well, that was annoying. On our anniversary, too." He giggled - aw, fuck, I love that giggle - and flipped his hair. "We sound like an old married couple."I smile half-heartedly. Married couple. That's a nice thought.

"Only if you're the bride," I tease, poking him in the ribs and accidentally picturing him in a wedding gown. Mello squealed, ever ticklish, and I continued tickling him, making him squeal and laugh and giggle, flailing around, failing to avoid my tickles.

"Ah! Ah! Stop that, Matt! Ahh! Nooo, ahahaha! You big idiot!" Mello yelped, unable to keep the grin off his face. I was one of the few people who knew he was ticklish, and the only one who would actually be allowed to tickle him, and he dived away finally, to the other side of the room, only to have me chase him down, tickling him all over again. "Ahh! Matty! Matty! Stop! Ah! Hahaha! Your hurting me! Aha!"

That 'hurting me part' was a lie, I knew, but I stopped automatically, only to have him slip and knock my feet from under me, falling to pin him down on the bed, automatically stopping my fall and his.

The situation and position we were in was absolutely wand-- …awkward, my hands holding him down on his shoulders, his legs tangled in mine, Mello blushing like a wild maniac, giggles still subsiding in him. I knew I was blushing, but I didn't move for a split second, just letting the moment sink in.

Mello stopped laughing, and I froze. "Okay, seriously, get off of me."

I blushed harder and rolled off of him. "sorry." I said, but he waved his hand dismissively, obviously not noticing the fact that I was extremely turned on. Fight, man, fight, I told myself. Your turning into a flaming homosexual.

Well actually, maybe I'd always been a flaming homosexual.

"So, Matty," Mello tried again, scooting close to me and peering into my eyes. I looked back at him, letting myself smile and relax. "What DO you want to do today?"I almost said 'whatever you want to do' but I knew automatically that wasn't what the blonde wanted out of me. He wanted an honest answer. I frowned, unable to think of anything good. I mean, anything with Mello was fun, as long as he wasn't bitching the entire time - even when he was it was actually pretty fun, really - and I shrugged hopelessly. "I really don't care," I told him, and he made a pouty face as I said it, making me feel kind of guilty. "I mean, really, we always have fun. Can't we just sneak out and hang out like we always do? Go out on the town or whatever?"Mello gave me a long look, then finally broke into a satisfied smile, brushing the golden hair from his face and around his ear. "Is that really what you want to do?""I just want to spend the whole day with you." I told him, smiling. It was the truth, really, though I left out the part that after the day was over I wanted do some rather… inappropriate things. But I wouldn't dare say that out loud, much less do it.

Mello stared into space for a long, awkward moment, then grinned and ruffled my hair - aah, I loved that - laughing. "Okay, fine, then. I'll wear my badass outfit, you'll wear… whatever you want I guess, and we'll go kick some city-life ass, okay?"

I feel my grin broaden. That's my Mells. "Alright, deal," I tell him, getting up from the bed to get on some clothing, any awkwardness shoved aside in my mind, "Tell me when your ready to go."

Mello

Spend the whole day with me.

Wow.

What an extremely luxuriant request, since we were obviously going to do that anyway.

But I was determined to make this day completely and utterly awesome-tasitic. So awesometastic that we'd have to make up a new word for how awaesometastic it was. Not that awesometastic was really a word anyway.

As soon as Matt was ready - he was wearing that adorable black and white shirt and some very skinny jeans, goggles over his eyes, hair all brushed out for once. I had to admit, he cleaned up pretty nice. Not that I was, you know, gay… but if I were, you know, a girl, I'd probably be flirting with him. But I wasn't.

So yeah. Shut up.

Matt gave me that big, boyish puppy-smile and we headed out.

***

"Oh my GOD Matty, this is sooo good. Mmmmmmm…"

Matt held back a laugh, obviously amused by appeal at the drink before me, but I didn't care. Did you know they make chocolate soda? Because apparently they do, and I was loving it. We had stopped in a club down the road from Wammys - it's right near a city where they really don't care how underage you are (especially considering we were only 13.) Anyway it wasn't like we were drinking anything with alcohol, I was just drinking chocolate soda and Mat was sipping….something. Mountain Dew I think.

The club was sort of lame, but there were lots of high school students there so we fit in, and there was a dance floor with a fog machine and anything. Matt kept glancing at the dance floor, but we both have a serious lack of dancing talent. Apparently super-genius (even if I'm kind of active) and good-dancer just doesn't go together in a single person.

"Okay," Matt said, taking another drink of his soda. "You are officially a chocoholic."Chocoholic, huh? I liked the sound of that, and I smiled, rolling my eyes. "At least I'm not addicted to video games."

Matt frowned. "I could stop that any time I wanted to.""Sure," I teased. Matt grinned and rolled his eyes, poking my ribs.

"Don't make me tickle you again in front of all these people," he tease-threatened, and I stuck my tongue out at him. However, I knew that he seriously meant it, and there were a number of people shooting looks at us, so I stopped teasing him about his video game addiction.

We had been sitting around in this club for a couple minutes when I heard a shrill voice from my left - the side where matt was sitting - and turned to see a girl standing beside Matt, smiling way too wide. She had long, wavy black hair that went down past her shoulders, pale skin and a cleavage showing, short cut white dress on, with long legs. She was tall, too. At first glance she was actually kind of pretty, but you could totally tell that her hair was dyed and that dress was extremely sluttish.

She apparently knew it, because she leaned forward a little and said, "Well hi there, cutie. You new here?"Fuck it. She was talking to Matt. Not that I cared, or at least I shouldn't, but I found myself eyeing Matt intensely, waiting for a reaction. He looked up from his drink and his eyes widened, seeming to do a double take at the girl. God, she was a hoe, I thought, but Matt seemed to take it a different way and scooted back in his seat, giving her an awkward smile. That awkward smile he was suppose to be paying attention to ME with.

"Uh, hi. Yeah," Matt said, still smiling, his feet shuffling below him where his feet barely touched the ground on the barstool. The whore in front of him smiled and sat in the seat to his left, completely ignoring the fact that I was there with him. She probably realized I was a guy, though, so it wasn't like she was expecting us to be together for our anniversary. Of course, it wasn't like we were dating, so I mean..

"What's your name, then?" she purred, scooting to the edge of her seat. Was she DRUNK or something? Matt didn't seem to notice at all t hough, quickly replying that he was Matt. Was he seriously still talking to her?

I huffed as she continued to talk to him, telling him that her name was Mallory, and I poked at my drink, sipping it, trying to look like I didn't care that the girl was flirting with Matt. Which I shouldn't, it wasn't like I was his gay lover or anything creepy like that.

But it was kind of annoying, since Matt kept talking to her. Driving me absolutely insane. I tried to block out their conversation - which was more of the hoe Mallory flirting and blabbing and Matt going 'uh-huh' 'yeah' 'sure' in between.

I was freakin pissed.

Matt

Who the hell was this girl?She was kind of attractive, I guess, if you were, you know, not a flaming homosexual. She kept flirting and leaning forward, like some sort of lynx or something. I was fighting the urge to turn and look at Mello again, because I could sense that he was glaring at her, but what was I suppose to do? The girl was NOT stopping her jab.

She reminded me of Linda.

"So, hey," Mallory said, her blue eyes locking with mine. They were not the cool blue Mello had, that kind of creamy blue that was swimming with alcohol, even though I was pretty sure she wasn't much older than me. "I was wondering if you wanted to dance or something?"Uh. No? Sorry, I'm here to have an anniversary with my best friend.

That's what I WANTED to say, but I couldn't make it come out. She was way too close to me, and I felt frozen between her flirtatious look and Mello's hatred boring into my back. I wondered if she even saw Mello there. I wondered if she saw him flinch - I know he did, I could feel it - when she reached out those over manicured fingers and placed them on my knee, grinning confidently. I wondered if she could tell I wasn't frozen with attraction to her, but rather the conflict of saying hell no and making her ask why - what was I suppose to say, I'm already here w itch my best friend? I'm gay? Both would freak Mello out, probably. But if I said yes, Mello'd be upset probably, and I sure as hell didn't want to dance with her. I wondered if she saw Mello stand up with that huff. I wondered if -

"Hey, bitch," Mello hissed, suddenly beside me. Her face twisted in confusion and anger as her head snapped up to look at Mello. So she HADN'T noticed him before, obviously, because her face contorted in confusion upon seeing him - I could tell what she was thinking too. Girl? No, guy. But why? And then Mello's hand grabbed her wrist and twisted it away, not painfully lucky for her, and moved it from my knee, freeing me from my previously frozen state and allowing me to scoot away. "Get lost, he's here with me."

I felt myself blush. I coul dnt help it, I was blushing. And smiling. Even though I knew Mello didn't mean it that way, I could tell Mellissa totally saw it that way, because her face went from confusion to horror to disgust as she got up, grabbing up her purse and pulling up her shirt - so she KNEW it was too low! - before stalking away, her too high heels making a clack noise with every step.

There was a long, stretched out moment before Mello sat back down. I turned to face him, to apologize, but Mello was already looking up at me, his eyes big and sad. "I'm sorry, Matty."

Wait. What?

Mello

I couldn't help it. I tried to hold back all my emotions, but I couldn't.

That boy was mine. This was our anniversary. Call me gay if you want, I wanted to hang out with him today, and today I was the only one allowed to talk with him, dance with him, or touch him.

I tried to ignore it. It wasn't like I owned him, and this was what guys do, right? They go to bars and flirt with chicks. Regular dude stuff. But I guess I wasn't a normal dude, because the moment that whore put her hand on MY Matty's knee, her fingers so poorly painted seeming resting on his leg, as if she owned him, as if she was above him, above ME, I found myself standing up and pulling her hand away.

"Get lost, he's with me."The girl looked up at me. I could read her face, easily. I could tell she was trying to judge what I meant by that. Trying to read my expression - which I'm sure was deathly angry - and trying to understand what I was meaning by that statement. Her face contorted with confusion, then it turned to disgust and horror. As if she had just witnessed something so horrifying. And she got up and stalked away, those ugly ass shoes making a horrid clack clack clack until she vanished in the crowd of dancing, chattering teens, the blaring techno music drowning out their sound.

I could tell what she thought. It was the same expression my mother had.

I was sitting on the floor, staring at my little G I Joe dolls that my father had bought me one morning. I frowned at them, displeased with their irremovable outfits. It wasn't any fun if you couldn't play with the outfits. I sat up and wandered into my sister's room. She had dolls of all sorts, and dresses for them, and shirts for them. And those ken dolls had outfits too, unlike the G I Joes with their ugly faces and big buff bodies that wouldn't even take Barbie clothes if you tried to put them on.

But before I could reach the dolls, which I so wanted to play with - not like Kate would care anyway, she was much older than me and she didn't play with them anyway - I saw it. The make up box.

When my mom returned home I looked fabulous. Okay, as fabulous as a six year old could accomplish. I had painted my nails red and pink. I loved painting my nails. I loved it. I did my fingernails, my toe nails. I tried the eye shadow too, but I didn't like that as much.

She gave me s much an expression when I showed her though. She stared at me in shock, then her face twisted to horror. Such horror upon seeing me like that that she grabbed her rosary and gaped at me, wide eyed. "Dear god… RICHARD!"Richard was my fathers name. He wasn't happy with me, either. He was a paranoid man, not that I realized it at the man, and at the sight of his SON wearing nail polish, well, I think he was pretty horrified. He went on a long lecture which I didn't understand at the time. Why couldn't I wear nail polish? Guys weren't suppose to wear nail polish. Not allowed. Only girls and GAYS wore nail polish.

After that day they ignored any plea for anything even slightly relating to anything gay. They dragged me away from anything, even tennis, because girls played it. Signed me up for football, which I hated. They lectured me with everything, about how I would go to hell, about how I should be attracted to girls. I neither defied nor agreed with them. I mean, I wasn't a homophobe like they were, but I was only seven. Like I would know if I was attracted to guys or not.

Now that I thought about it…

Was I gay?And then I realized as I watched that girl stalk away - was MATT gay? No. He wasn't. I knew that, he was way too, well straight to be gay. He would comment on how hot girls were. He played violent video games. And not to be prejudice and everything, but he didn't DRESS gay (expert those pants, but… that was emo, not gay). And if he wasn't gay, then I had just chased away his chance at a date with a hot girl.

Guilt twisted in my stomach and I sat down again, I could tell my face was burning with blush. I had to apologize, so I lifted my head to talk to him. He was blushing, I noticed, probably because I embarrassed him on front of that girl, which made me feel even guiltier, sadness in my expression. "I'm sorry, Matty." I whispered, clutching my drink. I felt tears sting my eyes, but I held them away. No. I couldn't ruin this day. I wouldn't.

Matt stared at me, dumbfounded look on his face, his mouth hanging open a little before he finally replied with a, "What?"

I frown at him, irritated out of no where. "I said I was sorry."

Matt stared at me. It was a really long, stretched out moment, and the music seemed even louder, some song that I thought I recognized but I ignored it. His face went from confused to sad. "Why are YOU sorry? I should be sorry for ignoring you, Mells."I smile despite myself. That would normally be the reaction I was hoping for, but not really. "This was suppose to be your present, Matty," I murmured, fiddling with the straw in my drink. I hated apologizing, it always made me feel so weak, but right now I was alone with Matt, Matt and a bunch of strangers that wouldn't remember me later. I had to say something. Something…

Suddenly I felt Matt's hand on my shoulder, and I peeked up. He was smiling. "Come on, Mells, don't be such a wuss," he said, and I knew he was teasing, his smirk radiating true pleasure, "That girl was a giant whore anyway, I'd rather dance with you. It IS our anniversary after all."

Matt laughed when my face lit up - I really shouldn't have been as happy as I was right then, but fuck you I was damn happy. Hopping to my feet, I twisted around and stretched out my hand. "Let's dance then, cutie," I purred, imitating the girl in an attempt at a joke. Matt roared with laughter, that loud, genuine laughter that was music to my ears as he took my hand. "Yeah, let's."