~Matt~

I knew it wasn't a good idea. I tried to warn him. He insisted, as always.

It had always been like this-Mello charging off on a rampage, Mello with a crazy, foolproof new idea to beat Near at this or that, Mello and his sneaking out of the Whammy's House at all hours, and me-tagging along to clean up the messes Mels left behind, keeping him out of too much trouble, sometimes even taking the blame for him without his knowledge. If it weren't for me, Mels would have gotten into enough trouble to have him out of the House by now, but somehow I either managed to take the blame for myself or Mello would somehow talk Rogers out of the punishment.

Near on the other hand was perfect. Never once stepped out of line, never misspoken, never badmouthed a teach, never forgotten to turn in homework… That was probably Mello's problem with Near in the first place; he couldn't understand how Near actually wanted to follow the rules. I understand Near, I get that he just has no desire to do anything but please himself. The only reason Near obeyed Rogers was because Rogers had won Nears loyalty with Lego bricks and plush toys.

Which is why I knew it would be a horrible idea to have a bonfire of Near's toys in the commons yard, at three in the morning, especially with the elections coming up so soon. Mello couldn't afford to loose any votes as prom 'queen'. Halle was ahead by just a few percent in the rankings, and although Near was abysmally far behind, that didn't mean he wouldn't get pity votes if something tragic happened.

Mello was going crazy.

Near was away 'testing' with Rogers, rumor had it that L himself was there, but that didn't stop Mello at all. It seemed to feed more fuel to the flames of his temporary insanity.

Mello had snuck into Near's rather large dorm room, moved all of the toys to the yard, and was now dousing them with gasoline in the faint glow of the weak night time lighting. Where he got the gasoline…I don't know. Who would give gasoline to a spastic, blond, leather clad teenager was a terrifying thought.

This was going too far, and for what? A .5 difference on a final grade? At what cost did setting fire to the only joy in Near's life become worth it? How could I stand by and let my best friend in the world do something so horrible?

Enough was enough.

~Mello~

"MELS!" Matt yelled as he jogged across the commons yard toward me. "We need to talk about this. Now."

Fuck… I thought. "Matt I'm busy right now. Things to burn, votes to buy, dreams to crush."

"That's what I'm talking about Mel." He closed the remaining distance quickly, and quieted his voice as he neared me. "Why is this necessary? Why right now? What purpose will this serve? You and I both know this won't change anything. He still has the better grade, he's still the top in the school. Burning his things won't change any of that."

"That's why I have to… Matt… Don't you see, when he has nothing left, it will destroy him. He won't be able to be number one if he's moping about the school because his precious toys are gone." I pulled out a lighter and lifted it to do the deed.

Matt smacked the lighter out of my hand. "You think Rogers won't buy him more toys? And how are you supposed to take his place as number one if you've been kicked out of Whammy's House?" Matt pushed me back roughly and whispered. "Don't you ever stop to think about people other than yourself? What would I do if you were gone?" He trailed off into silence. "What would I do without you Mels, without my best friend?"

He locked eyes with me in the faint light, and I could see the pain deep in his eyes. "Matt… I'm sorry.… I.. didn't think-"

He cut off when the rest of the lights came on, the darkness suddenly bright as a football field.

There was Rogers, a very sleepy looking Near, another well dressed old man, and another man. He was tall, but stooped, was barefoot, and had wild black hair.

It was L.