So...here, finally, is chapter 4. Stupid writer's block...well, it was writer's block, and the fact that I was writing "Reunited, Revisited" at the same time, and that sorta took over in priority. But I finally got to a point where I said "I finished a chapter, so I'll go back to "How It Began". And I did.
Not sure what I'll do after this chapter, if anything. I'm gonna mark it as "Complete" for the time being. I may or may not add another chapter. Leaning towards leaving it as is.
(4 years later)
Mello sat on his bed, waiting for Matt to get out of the bathroom so he could get his shower and they could go to bed. Matt always went first because Mello took forever in the bathroom. And even though the blonde attributed it to the fact that his hair was longer and therefore took more time to wash thoroughly, his friend would pick on him a lot for having "girly" hygiene habits.
Soon, the knob on the bathroom door turned, then the door opened, revealing Matt, with only a towel wrapped around his waist.
"All right, Mel, your turn," he said, smiling. Mello got up and gathered his things, then headed for the bathroom. He was just about to shut the door when Matt called his name again.
"Yeah Matt?"
"I, um...I just wondered what you thought of that new girl. The one that kinda hangs around Linda..." the redhead said.
"What do you mean, what I think of her?" Mello asked. "I don't even know her name..."
"Well...I noticed in history today she was kinda checking you out. And I think I overheard her say that she, um...she thinks you're cute," Matt told him.
Mello smirked. "She's a smart girl, then..."
Yeah, she is..." Matt said. They joked around like that a lot. Mello chuckled and went into the bathroom.
Once he was alone, Matt sighed. Yes, he had just agreed with Mello about him being cute. Did Mello think he was being serious? Probably not; they always joked like that. He and Mello were what one would call the 'odd couple' at Wammy's. Some people referred to them as the 'cute couple', but those were mostly people who thought Mello was a girl upon first seeing him.
More importantly, he wondered about his own thoughts. Had he been joking this time? He had felt a strange mixture of emotions in the pit of his stomach when he said that to Mello.
"No," he said aloud, but to only himself. "I wasn't being serious...was I? No, of course not..."
Meanwhile, as Mello stood in the shower, he found himself also to be deep in thought. Why was his conversation with Matt playing through his mind again? Yeah, Matt had, for all intents and purposes, called him cute. So what? He and Matt 'flirted' with each other all the time. Why was this any different? Mello was embarrassed to admit to himself that his heart skipped a beat when Matt said those words:
"Yeah, she is..."
He called that girl smart for thinking he was cute. Matt agreed. Surely it didn't mean anything. They were both totally straight...
Maybe I'll talk to that new girl tomorrow, Mello thought. Maybe she'd go out with him. That would make this whole ordeal blow over...right?
{the next day}
"Mello!"
The blonde jumped. He turned around in the hall to see Linda behind him, her pigtails bobbing as she walked.
"Yeah, what is it?" he asked.
"My, uh...my friend Katie...she wants to talk to you."
Mello blinked. "Okay...why didn't she come to me then?"
Linda smiled. "She's really shy...see, she kinda, well...has a crush on you, and...she was afraid you'd turn her down if she talked to you, so she wanted me to tell you."
"She--wow, actually, Matt and I talked about this last night. He said he heard her say I was cute..."
"Oh, yeah, he heard right," Linda said. "She thinks you're the most adorable thing ever. Your smile, your eyes...even the way you eat chocolate makes her giggle."
Mello blushed. "Well, uh...tell her to meet me before math class. I was actually gonna ask her out today..."
"Mello, you're the best!" she squealed, hugging the blonde.
"Oh, I know," he laughed.
Later, he stood outside the classroom, waiting for his admirer. He didn't have to wait long.
"Mello-senpai!" she squealed, running toward him.
"Oh, um...hi," he said, grinning. "So, Linda told me you've kinda got a thing for me..."
Katie blushed. "I, um...well, she...yes. I do like you, Mello-senpai. I like you a lot."
He chuckled. "Why do you call me 'senpai'?"
"Well, um...you're older than me, and you're smarter...see, I was raised in Japan, so I'm just used to calling more advanced students that..." she explained. "Does it annoy you? If it does, I'll stop!"
"No, it's okay," he said, blushing. "It's actually kinda flattering...but you can just call me Mello. Everyone else does..."
Katie's face turned bright red.
"But enough about that. I was wondering...are you free this evening, when classes are done?"
She nodded, quite obviously excited.
"Wanna study together or something?"
"Sure!" she said. Her eyes lit up, and Mello smiled.
It wasn't until the middle of class that Mello was able to tell Matt his plans for later.
"So, you've got a girlfriend now?" Matt asked.
"Well...no, we're having a study date. That's it."
"Aw, man...here I was, hoping I'd have you to myself tonight," Matt said with a grin. And there was that strange feeling in his belly again. What was going on?
"It's just for an hour or so," Mello said. "Then I'm all yours, Matty..."
A surge of heat rushed to the redhead's cheeks and his heart started beating faster. "Well...good luck tonight..."
"Thanks..."
That evening, as his roommate left to meet Katie, Matt sighed as he turned on his Gameboy. Why was he so jealous? No...he wasn't jealous; he was just...well, Mello was his best friend. Why did this...this girl have to be interested in him? It was supposed to just be him and Mello--girls weren't even part of the equation.
Okay, maybe he was jealous. Just a little bit. Not enough to be totally distracted from his game...
Meanwhile, Mello was sitting in the library waiting for Katie to come in. While he sat at the table, he kept thinking. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty; it was almost like he was just, well, using this study date just to get his mind off of his confusion with Matt. Why should he be so concerned? They were best friends; nothing should be worrying Mello, right? So why was he so worried?
"Hey Mello," a voice suddenly said. "Sorry I'm a little late..."
Mello turned around to face her. "Oh, it's no problem at all..."
"Great!" she said enthusiastically. "I was afraid you'd be mad...so anyways, what did you wanna study?"
"Um...is there anything you need help with?" he asked.
Katie thought for a moment. "Well...we're supposed to have a biology quiz tomorrow, I think...I'm terrible at science of any kind...could we study for that together?"
"Sure!" Mello replied, reaching over to get his biology book out of his bookbag. Well, actually it was Matt's bookbag; Mello had gotten chocolate all over the inside of his own, so Matt let him borrow his for a while since he had an extra one.
Matt...Dammit, Mello thought, he wasn't supposed to be thinking about Matt now! He was supposed to be studying with a potential girlfriend.
Or a potential excuse to distract yourself from the one you're really interested in...a nagging voice in the back of Mello's head said. The blonde ignored it.
"So, we're doing cell structure," Mello explained to Katie. "The structure of a plant cell includes an outer cell wall, which--"
"Cells are boring," Katie sighed. "Can't I just sit here and look at you? You're much more interesting, Mello..."
"Thanks, Katie," he said, "but you wanna pass your quiz, don't you?"
"Y--yes..."
"Then I suggest we study."
This went on for about fifteen minutes before Katie finally agreed to quit flirting with Mello and study. The two children were now passing the book back and forth and quizzing each other.
"Okay, um...what is the difference between haploid and diploid forms?" Katie asked Mello, who was looking in another direction. "Mello?"
"Hmm?" he asked. "Oh, sorry...what was the question?"
"The difference between haploid and diploid forms," she repeated. "How are they different?"
"Um..."
"Mello, you feeling okay?" she asked. "You're a lot smarter than me; you should know this."
"I know," he said, frustrated with himself. "I just...I'm sorry, Katie. I just can't concentrate tonight, and...I'm not sure if I'll be of any help to you at the moment."
"Oh, you're okay!" she assured him. "Everyone has space-out moments. It happens to me every day!"
Mello sighed. "Listen, Katie...it's been great, but I really think that if you want to do well on that quiz, you should study with someone else. I've had a lot on my mind the past couple of days...and I really need to have a bit of 'Mello' time. Clear my head, you know?"
Katie looked a little disappointed for a brief moment, then smiled. "Okay, Mello! I guess I'll just go find Near then...I hope you get whatever it is figured out soon!"
"Thanks," he said, twitching at the mention of Near's name. "I'll see you in class tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay! Goodnight, Mello!" Katie said as she left the library. Mello left shortly after she did and headed back to his and Matt's room.
"You're back early," Matt said simply when Mello walked in.
"I know..." he replied.
"Date not go well?" he asked his friend, who shrugged. "Did she turn out to be not as smart as we'd talked about? She's an airhead, right?"
"No, that's not it," Mello said. "I just...wasn't feeling well, so I told her I had to leave. She's studying with Near for that biology quiz..."
Matt decided not to say anything more about it, especially since Near had been mentioned. He un-paused his game and began playing again, until he heard Mello's voice again.
"Matt...listen. We need to talk."
Matt paused his game again. "Talk? About what?"
"About...about our friendship," Mello said.
"What? Did I say something?" Matt asked, worried. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to..."
"No, it's not that," Mello said. "It's not you. Well, actually...it kind of is you. I can't stop thinking about you."
Matt stared at him. "Well, should I be surprised? We're best friends. I think about you all the time too..."
"This is different," the blonde told him. "Ever since last night, when we had that conversation...you know, when you basically called me cute--"
"I didn't call you cute. I was just agreeing with you when you said Katie was smart when she called you cute. You know, feeding your ego?" Matt said with a grin. This grin was hiding the confusion in the boy's mind that had plagued him. Apparently the same thing had been tormenting Mello.
"Matt...just...forget how weird this may sound. Hear me out, all right?" Mello asked.
"Okay..."
"I...I think that...I might kinda sorta, um...like you. As more than a friend. As in, I think I might be..."
"Gay?" Matt asked. Hearing it put so bluntly made Mello blush, but he reluctantly nodded. "And you...like me?" Mello nodded again.
"Okay, let me have it. Make fun of me. Tell me you want another roommate. Anything. Just get it over with," Mello said with a sigh.
The next several seconds were filled with an awkward silence. Finally, Matt responded with the last thing Mello expected to hear:
"Mello...I think I might be gay for you too."
He stared at the blushing redhead. "W--what?"
"I said I think I like you. The way you said you like me," Matt said. "But it's been bugging me, ever since last night when I did say that. I wasn't sure if I meant it, and I've just been having all these crazy thoughts...do you have any idea how the thought of you possibly dating that girl drove me nuts, Mels?! I thought it was just because I didn't want her stealing my best friend, but now I think--"
"It's because you wished it was you?" Mello finished. This time it was Matt who nodded, red-faced. "Yeah, that was why I didn't think it'd work out. Because...she's just not you, Matt."
He smiled at his friend. "But...we've just confessed this to each other...what if we're really not gay? What if we're both just confused?"
Mello shrugged. "Only one way to find out..." He walked over to Matt's bed and sat down next to him. Before the gamer could respond, Mello's lips were pressed firmly against his, and his arms were draped over his thin shoulders and his fingers were running through his disheveled red hair. He did the same with his hands in Mello's blond hair and deepened the kiss. Both boys felt like a huge weight had been lifted from their chests; they both felt free. Finally, Mello had to pull away so he could breathe. He looked into the eyes of the one he had just unexpectedly kissed.
"Well, Matty?" he asked. "Did that...did it feel right to you? Because it did to me..."
Matt's cheeks were still tinged a slight pink, and he was still getting over the inital shock, but he was smiling. "Yes, Mels. It felt right. It felt good..." he replied, then this time he kissed Mello.
Okay, so that part where they were studying plant cell structure...I learned that in both 7th grade life science and Bio 1 in 10th grade. I forgot all about the "haploid" and "diploid" thing and happened to find it whilst Googling plant cells. Yes, I Googled plant cell structure for this chapter. 'Cuz I'm a dork like that.
Reviews, plz! Kthxbye!