Mello scoffed. "You've got to be joking."

"No, I assure you I am not. There has been scientific proof of supernatural evidence. For instance, the Global Consciousness Project consisted of a machine that would-"

"I'm going to stop you right there. Just because you don't have powers and I get to be special and unique for once in my life doesn't mean you can just slam dunk it in the trash!" Mello got up violently, pushing his hands on the table. He relaxed and pushed his bangs away from his face. "If L needs me, I'll be in my room, okay?"

Near retained a bored look on his face as Mello strode out of the room. Matt felt sick to his ghostly stomach. He didn't want this family to fall apart because he accidentally tricked this poor dude into thinking he had powers. Aw man, this was all his fault. There was no way that he could continue on like this. He had to confront Mello and tell him that it had been him all along. If he didn't, the consequences could be dire.

Never had Matt shown himself fully to a human. It was a tad harder to him than moving objects, as it required focus on manipulating light waves. He could still do it, of course, but it wasn't his preference. With even a tinsy bit more focus, he could even manipulate his form to the one before his death. It made him nervous, though. What if he did it wrong? What if only a disembodied head showed up, and it completely freaked Mello out? For some reason, he felt the need for Mello to be okay with him. Because Mello looked awesome all the time and he… Wait what?

He was getting off track. As he watched Mello stride away from the kitchen, he felt eyes on him. Matt turned away from the exit and towards the table. Dark, round eyes were staring at him. Did Near see him? He waved his hand through the air. The eyes squinted, then he went back to eating his salad. That was close. He had heard rumors of those with Sight, who could see ghosts without them appearing. Usually these gifted people ended up in mental wards unfortunately.

He drifted down the hallway to look through the rooms. There was a large, empty bedroom that held nothing but a bed with blankets. Another room was filled with card buildings, high enough to touch the ceiling. Matt looked closer and was surprised to see tarot cards. The room on the end of the hallway was the last one he chose to check. That must be Mello's room. Its door was shut, this meant Matt could either flow through it, or open it. Flowing through was slightly uncomfortable as it felt like you were walking through jello-like air. Opening it would possibly alert Mello of his presence before he wanted to reveal himself, and that could be equally disastrous.

He paused. Matt didn't know why he was so worried about scaring Mello or getting an unwarranted reaction. It wasn't like he mattered. But somewhere he kept feeling like it did. Taking a deep breath(which didn't do anything to him but calm his nerves) he flowed through the wall.

Inside, the room was dark, with wooden shades pulled over a window. The furniture was heavy wood with odd embellishments. Bookcases lined the walls, and were filled to the brim with novels. Mello was sitting on a wooden chair next to a desk. A computer sat in front of him. His screen was on a search of the Global Consciousness Project.

Mello had a deep frown on his face as he clicked his way through the browser. Matt steeled himself. He had to do it. Otherwise he would feel super guilty for years to come. He focused, thinking about what he looked like before he died.

His form began to appear, flickering between his body covered in gunshot wounds and a healthy one. Finally he was able to settle. He tried to think about what he was going to say. Of course, he spoke before he had a coherent thought.

"Um, hi-"

In an instant Mello had spun around and somehow acquired a gun from somewhere and was pointing it at him. Matt flinched. Guns still kinda freaked him out, after y'know. His death.

"Who are you? Who do you work for? How did you get in here? This is a test isn't it?" Mello fired off questions one after the other.

"I'm, uh, Matt, and uh I work for myself I guess? And-, can you put the gun down please. It's not cool." Matt awkwardly adjusted his goggles, his hand blinking in view and out for a second.

Mello's face lit up in shock for a second before returning to the fierce glare. "W-what was that!"

"I'll tell you. Just chill. Okay, so um. I'm Matt, right. And you're Mello. And-"

"I know my own name!" Mello said, but he placed the gun on the desk within easy reach.

Matt relaxed a bit. "Okay. So. I'm a ghost."

"A ghost? I didn't know, I mean. It makes sense. How else would you have gotten here? And you flickered for a second, like an illusion! But you're talking! So you have to be a ghost," Mello said, his tone pitching up as he got excited. His face fell. "So Near was right. As usual. I don't actually have powers, do I."

Matt was happy he didn't have to explain. But also sad. Because Mello looked so disappointed. "Hey, don't be down about it. Sure, you might not have super powers but that doesn't mean you're not cool!"

Mello's gaze went to him. "If you're the reason that I've been able to move things… Why are you here? Why did you save me from that computer box?"

Matt felt flustered. He didn't know what to say. After all, he himself didn't know the answer to that question. So he said the first thing that came to mind. "'Cause you're awesome."

"Huh? Me?"

"Yeah. These books all over your room? I doubt most people your age could read through the first chapter. You are entirely unique." His voice became quiet. Maybe he should have said more, but he felt unable.

Mello's eyes went wide. "But-"

"Mello. I wouldn't have saved you from that box if I hadn't thought you were special."

"So that explains why you saved me… But then you followed me home? That's kinda creepy," said Mello.

Matt flickered for a second in embarrassment. "I, uh. Was bored?"

The blond smirked. "Sureeeee."

"Do you want me to go?" He asked uncertainly. Matt had nothing else to do but play video games. And he didn't want to leave Mello just yet. There was something about him that made him want to stay.

"What? Of course not. You're a ghost. That's amazing. I want to learn all about you. This is the most interesting thing to happen to me in awhile. Wait until Near finds out I figured something out before he did…" Despite Mello talking about basically wanting to know about a sensitive subject, Matt was comfortable with telling him.

His eyes looked like the sky when he was happy. Bright and blue and full of sunshine. Matt forgot he was dead when he looked into them.

Being a ghost was not fun at all. You couldn't eat food. You could appear to people, but only one person at a time. When you died you couldn't go within 50 miles of your death spot or you could slowly disappear over exposure. No one saw you, and it was really weird having people walk through you. All in all, it was boring.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I'm Mello," he said, holding out a hand. Black nail polish stood out against his pale skin.

"I'm Matt," he replied, and nervously went to shake the hand. The first time it passed through, and so he concentrated and was able to shake.

Mello blinked in surprise. "Your hand, it's warm."

"It is?" Matt wouldn't know. He hadn't felt temperature in awhile.

"It's nice," Mello whispered, just loud enough for Matt to catch.

Matt flickered and dropped Mello's hand. "Sorry."

Mello smiled softly. "Can you tell me about ghosts?You don't have to, of course."

He was getting really tired of concentrating on his form. Saying no meant not being able to talk to Mello, however. "I-I can," Matt said tiredly. "What's your first question?"

"How come I didn't know about ghosts?"

"There aren't that many ghosts, first of all. I've only met two my entire, um, 'ghosthood'. To become a ghost, there are two things required. One is that you were murdered. Two is that you sacrificed yourself for someone. So there's not that many because of that. And, um, every time that we talk to someone who is alive, our soul drains a bit. When your soul drains completely, you're no longer a ghost. And since we don't know where you go when you die, most of us try not to talk to anyone."

"Wait! Stop! What are you doing? If you're talking to me right now, your soul is draining. Don't do this to yourself." Mello was distraught.

"If I wasn't prepared to die, I wouldn't have let myself die. So how is it any different now?" Matt was confused. Why did Mello care? After all, they did just meet.

"Because… I don't know. Just stop talking, okay?" He ruffled his blond hair with his hand distractedly.

"Um, okay," Matt replied, still befuddled. He was met with a glare.

"Here, take this paper," said Mello, and handed him a notepad and a pen, "and write down whatever you're going to say."

Matt looked down at the notepad. Then ripped it in half. "Nah. That would take too long."

The response was a noise of irritation. Matt felt flattered for some reason. Like this guy he just met cared enough about him not to let him drift away. It was strange. He was used to not being noticed, used to no one thinking about him. When he died, only his sister had shown up for the funeral. She still brought flowers every week to his grave. Every so often he would find a computer and hack into Facebook to find if she was alright.

It was always his belief that someone should always be there for someone else. That way, no one was alone. Matt had been alone for about five years. Aimlessly walking around, playing the latest video game. The world seemed to change while he was gone, but not because he was gone. And that's what made him sad.

He didn't know what to do. Should he stay? Should he go? It was uncertain if Mello found Matt annoying or not. And he didn't want to be troublesome for Mello. The guy should be out having fun, dating girls, playing… Sports? Anyway, he didn't want to be like that weird ghost that hangs around and bugs people. Like Casper.

He left the house without a goodbye or a single word.