Chapter 11: Devotion

Matt groaned under his breath as he headed toward Mello and Julia's room the next morning. He was not looking forward to this day. He knew that he wasn't with Julia or anything but he didn't like the feeling that overcame him when he found out that she had been with Mello as well. He didn't usually care about these kinds of things but for some reason, this was different.

As he reached the door, he shook his thoughts away and focused on being the laid back man he liked to be. No point in worrying about things now anyway. He knocked briefly on the door and waited for Mello to tell him to come in.

"Hey," he said to both of them, nodding his head in a greeting. Mello kind of half nodded back, but Julia stood up off the couch. Matt pointedly kept his eyes on her face as she approached him. She placed a simple kiss on his cheek. "So uh…Mello," Matt said, snapping back into focus as Julia walked away from him, sliding her hand along his chest until she was too far to reach. The pissed off blonde across the room clenched his jaw as Matt continued. "Did you need me to do any work in here or what? I mean I know you want me to take care of that…assignment…later," he added, hinting at the Julia situation, "But anything you want me to do now?"

"No," Mello answered, managing to control himself. He knew Julia had just kissed Matt in front of him to provoke a reaction, and damn if it wasn't working. "Go back to your room."

"Right," Matt said, shooting him an apologetic glance before heading out the door. Julia watched him go, mouthing 'see you later,' as he stepped out. She knew this little triangle she'd created was putting a strain on their friendships, but at this point she really didn't care. She wanted Mello and she would have him. Simple as that.

Matt had sat around his room all day in anticipation. He'd built up a pretty good little speech to recite to Julia explaining why they couldn't be together. He just hoped it came out when she stepped through the door. He was actually nervous, which was an odd feeling for him. He'd gone through a whole pack of cigarettes the last few hours, and he lost every damn round of his video game. But he'd promised himself he wouldn't let things get out of control with Julia again. He would just explain things and that would be it.

"Aw hell…" he mumbled under his breath as Julia stepped into the room.

"I've been thinking about you all day," Julia informed him, wasting no time reaching him and wrapping her arms around his waist. Matt just stood there like a helpless idiot as she ran her hands under his shirt. She met his lips and he felt her hands sliding back down his chest toward his pants, her nails grazing his skin.

"We can't," he said, breathing heavy. Julia furrowed her eyebrows.

"I know Mello didn't say he had feelings for me…"

"We can't do this because I know what you're doing," Matt said quickly, avoiding her comment.

"What's that?" Julia asked, leaning back into him and kissing his neck.

"You're using me," Matt replied. "I know you've had sex with Mello."

"What?"

"Julia," he said. "Sorry but I'm not gonna be your second choice. You either want me or Mello. Which is it?" Julia's face fell and she groaned.

"Are you mad?" she wondered quickly. Matt shrugged. "Please don't be mad at me."

"I could never hate you, babe."

"I mean, you know I love Mello but there's something about you. I want to be with you too, honestly. I didn't mean to play you like that. It just kinda happened."

Matt grabbed his empty pack of cigarettes in frustration. He dug in his pocket and managed to find a stray one, placing it in his mouth and lighting it. Julia didn't know what else to do but leave, not wanting to ruin their friendship any more than she already did.

"See ya tomorrow," he said, pulling his cigarette from his mouth and blowing smoke from his mouth.

"You're a good guy Matt," she said as she stepped from the room. "I'm sorry I didn't meet you sooner." She smiled slightly and headed back down the hall, leaving Matt alone. He shut the door and sighed. Maybe they could have been something more if they'd met sooner.

Julia giggled as she walked beside Matt to the candy store she used to go to when she was younger. She managed to convince Matt to leave his DS and go with her; even she was unsure how that happened. He had a disgruntled look on his face because he was outside, and Julia linked arms with him in comfort.

Ever since their conversation a few days previously, they had been spending more time together. After quite a bit of begging on her part, he was able to forgive her and found that he was glad he did. The small amount of not talking with her had actually upset him more than he thought it would.

Julia was starting to develop more feelings for Matt now and felt incredibly guilty for feeling that way. She knew Mello was still her love, but Matt was definitely working his way up on the list. They just seemed more compatible. Still, she couldn't shake the strong feelings for Mello, and so it was more confusing than anything.

"You know, a little sun won't kill you," Julia teased. "Don't look like you're in pain. It's a nice day out." It really was a pleasant day, and Julia was wearing a white and blue sundress as proof. It reached just above her knees and a white ribbon wrapped around her waist, tying in a bow behind her back. Matt had his usual clothes on, but went without his goggles because Julia had begged him to leave them behind. She loved being able to see his blue eyes.

"You're lucky I like you," Matt grumbled. "The outside does nothing for me."

Julia rolled her eyes. "Stop being so dramatic."

Julia could see the candy shop nearby and she suddenly grew excited. She hadn't been there since the day Mello had taken her when they first met, and now she would be sharing the experience with Matt.

Before they could make it all the way there though, a voice stopped Julia in her tracks.

"Julia Ferris?"

Julia paused before looking back in the direction of the voice that had called her name. Standing there was a tall, good-looking man with dark hair and blue eyes. He was in a suit and looked almost like a CIA agent, or something of the sort. He looked vaguely familiar but Julia couldn't exactly pinpoint from where.

"Can I help you with something?" Julia asked unsurely.

Matt looked at her and noticed she didn't seem completely comfortable around this guy. "You know him?" he asked her.

Julia didn't get a chance to answer as the man said, "Ms. Ferris, could you come with me please?"

The brunette squeezed Matt's arm, not wanting to go with the strange man. Matt took the hint and stepped in front of her protectively. "Look, she doesn't want to go with you."

The man nodded. "I mean you no harm, Ms. Ferris. Near would just like a word with you."

Julia tilted her head to the side. "Near?" Then something clicked. She suddenly remembered the man. "Oh I know you! You work with Near! Gevanni, something or other…Wait, why does Near wanna see me? Are you sure he didn't want to see Mello?"

"No. He specifically asked for you."

Julia thought about it for a moment. She was interested now, wondering what he wanted to say to her. She didn't really understand that boy anyway.

"You're not going anywhere without me," Matt cut in, looking to Julia.

"Near only asked for Julia," Gevanni said.

"I don't care if Near asked for the freakin' Queen of England. Julia is not leaving my sight. Near will just have to live with that."

Julia blushed at his strong words. She hadn't been expecting Matt to be so protective of her, but she was glad he was. It pleased her more than she could tell.

Gevanni sighed, knowing that arguing would get them nowhere, grudgingly agreed. The three took a car to the SPK headquarters and Julia's curiosity was increasing by the minute. In all honesty, what could Near possibly want with her? It wasn't like she was a genius or had a lead on Kira. She could think of nothing else. She voiced her thoughts to Matt, who snickered.

"Maybe he has a little crush on you," he replied. Julia gave him an eye roll as he continued, knowing that definitely wasn't the case. "I don't know how that kid's brain works. He was a mystery to everyone at Wammy's. He didn't get along with anyone and no one else really liked him either."

"Hmm, well that's kinda sad. The poor kid."

Matt shrugged and remained silent for the rest of the trip.

When they finally made it to the building, they walked straight into the room where Near was and saw that he was sitting on the floor playing with his action figures. He looked up at the newcomers and smiled a crooked smile. "Ms. Ferris, thank you for coming to see me. And Matt, it's been a long time since I've seen you."

"You haven't changed," Matt replied.

Instead of replying, Near's eyes wandered over to Julia before addressing everyone in the room. "Will everyone please leave? I'd like to speak to Mr. Ferris alone." The three SPK members did as they were told but Matt lingered by her side. He didn't want to leave her for some reason.

"It's fine," the brunette told him. "Go."

Matt nodded at her and hesitantly left the room.

"Well well, I've never seen Matt so taken with someone," Near told her. "Same with Mello. He's completely changed from what I remember."

Julia scoffed. "His determination to beat you hasn't changed though, has it?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

"So, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I am well aware of Lidner's connection with Mello," Near started. Julia scowled at his comment. "And I wanted to know if you would do the same for me. I'm aware of your manipulating abilities; Matt and Mello are proof of that and I feel your help would be a valuable contribution to my team. At the same time, you'd still be able to work with Mello."

Julia furrowed her eyebrows at. She thought Mello was just being dramatic with his hate for Near but she was starting to dislike the white-haired boy herself.

"I do not manipulate people's feelings! I care deeply for both Mello and Matt and they care for me in return. Just because you're willing to do things for others doesn't mean you're being manipulated. Second, I really don't care if Kira is caught or not. I don't necessarily have a strong sense of justice or anything so it doesn't matter either way. And third, Mello dislikes you so much that I would never join you because of that."

Near watched her. Studied her, as he twirled a strand of hair between his fingers.

"Interesting. I don't think I've ever met anyone with such a strong devotion towards someone else."

Julia placed a hand on her hips. "You must not know a lot of caring people then. Mello saved my life and I will follow him till the end. Sorry Near, but I don't want to help you. I'm on Mello's side one hundred percent."

"I see," he said. "That's too bad."

Julia turned to leave but stopped. "Listen Near, I know Mello hates you and I don't exactly know your feelings towards him, but I think it's a real shame that you two can't work together. You would make a good team. I think that if Mello were to agree to you guys working together, then maybe we could be on the same team." She then left the room and made her way toward Matt, who was waiting for her.

"What did he want?" he asked immediately.

Julia shrugged. "You were right. He did have a little crush on me. The poor guy."

Matt smirked. "You turned him down flat, right?"

Julia chuckled. "Of course! You and Mello are my main men." Her face turned serious for a moment. "Speaking of Mello, let's not mention this to him, okay? I don't think he'd be too pleased that I went to talk to Near instead of getting him some chocolate, which we still need to do."

"Right."

Julia linked arms with Matt again as they made their way to the car that would take them back. Julia wasn't exactly sure what to make of her conversation with the white haired boy, but she was almost hoping that Near would see the light soon enough. She hoped he would realize that being indifferent towards everything wasn't the way to go, and that building relationships with people was important.