A/N: It's Wednesday, almost Thursday! WooT! I actually guessed right for once on my update! :D

I hope this chapter isn't horrible.

I think it came out all right. I was actually originally going to split this isn't two chapters, but I decided against it.

Hopefully the next update will come sometime this weekend. :]

Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Death Note Characters. However, this story is mine.

The hot chocolate and coffee machine screeched through the shop as sizzling, hot chocolate poured into the cup that Mello was holding. His blue eyes watched as steam rose from the open cup. Watching this only made Mello's craving for the hot liquid intensify.

Mello could feel that his mind was distant and floating elsewhere. He was afraid to search for where his thoughts drifted off to. He was unsure if his mind was in a pleasant place or not. He didn't want to take the chance to find out.

Mello could feel himself drifting off as he watched the hot chocolate fill to the rim. The liquid almost spilled over, but Mello snapped back to reality in time to stop that from happening. To say the least, Mello was exhausted. He didn't get much sleep last night. Actually, he had not gotten much sleep in awhile. The long nights were filled with restlessness as his mind was filled with unwanted pictures....

Before putting the lid onto the cup, Mello rubbed his eyes. Maybe I would have gotten a perfect score on that test if I hadn't been so tired.

Mello blamed his lack of sleep on the outcome of his test. That test that Near had beat him on. Just the thought of Near being number one made Mello's blood burn. Mello worked endlessly in his studies, and Near still managed to beat him. I bet that son of a bitch doesn't even study. I bet he does it just to mock me. Mello snarled in thought.

Near. That emotionless robot who didn't care about anything. He just does as he's told. If Roger told Near to jump off a cliff, I bet Near would do it if he could find some logical way for it to trace back to him trying to succeed L. Mello snorted at that thought.

The thought of Near burned into Mello's mind. The flame that never stopped burning. Hotter and hotter until Mello couldn't take it anymore. The type of pain that made a person's fingers and toes twist back in agony and make their necks so ridged that they could snap in half with a single tap. That wasn't even the worst part about it.

Mello turned around to see Matt over in the candy section. Walking towards him, Mello noticed that Matt was trying to decide between gummy worms or Twizzlers. The brown-haired teen with goggles resting on his head turned his head towards Mello. His green eyes widened slightly. "Wow. You're already done getting your hot chocolate? That was fast." Matt gave a sheepish chuckle before finishing, "I still can't decide on what to get."

Matt averted his gaze back down to the shelves. "Hmmm....Hey, Mel. Do you think I should get Twizzez or GW's?"

For a moment, Mello spaced off. His mind had drifted elsewhere again. Except, this time, Mello knew where his mind was. His thoughts had trailed off to the images that had played in his mind last night. A chill ran down Mello's back.

"Melz?"

Mello's gaze locked with Matt's green, puppy eyes. Matt tilted his head to the side and gave a confused, curious look. "You all right?"

Mello averted his gaze to his hot chocolate cup. He swirled the cup in a circle, feeling the liquid swoosh although he couldn't see it. He let out an inaudible sigh. The blond lifted his head and gazed about the small shop. He looked around to make sure that none of the other orphans were close enough to listen in on their conversation.

Mello's blue eyes gravely stared at Matt before Mello whispered, "It's getting worse...."

Matt's eyes narrowed for a moment in confusion. Slightly irritated, Mello narrowed his eyes at Matt. "Damn it, Matt!" Mello hissed quietly. "Don't make me spell it out for you!"

Once it finally clicked in his head, Matt's eyes widened. His mouth formed a semi-circle as he let out a quiet, "Oh. That." Matt shifted his weight uneasily and looked around. His eyes gazed about and fell back on Mello after not seeing any orphans that looked like they were eavesdropping. "How--?"

"Hush!" Mello hissed. "Roger's walking this way."

Matt turned back to the shelves of candy and acted like he was debating on what candy to choose. Mello turned slightly towards the shelves of candy, appearing as if he was observing Matt and possibly trying to help. Mello's eyes lingered over Roger, watching as the caretaker walked from one side of the shop to the other.

Once Roger was out of range, Matt turned back to Mello and asked quietly, "So how bad has it gotten?"

Mello retorted dryly, "Well, it hasn't exactly been a pack of Twizzlers and gummy worms."

Matt lightly chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure that's true." Matt turned his head towards the candy. Changing the subject, Matt asked, "Mel, which one do you think I should get?"

Mello glanced from the pack of red Twizzlers to the pack of assorted gummy worms. Mello then raised his gaze up to Matt before pointing to and suggesting, "Gummy worms."

"GW's today it is!" Matt beamed as he grabbed the package. Mello was sure that Matt was going to rip open the package and slurp down the gummy candies. However, Matt restrained himself.

Matt lifted an eyebrow at Mello before slyly asking, "What did you make on your test? I missed two questions."

A look of anger and frustration crossed Mello's face. His eyebrows pressed roughly against his eyelid, and he became ridged. "What do you think?" Mello snapped. "Near beat me again by one question." Mello spat the name as if it were tainted.

"Oh." Matt's voice dropped for the second time in the past ten minutes. "Did you two get sent to Roger's Office?"

Mello slowly nodded. "Yeah." Mello shrugged. "Roger let me come here anyway. It wasn't bad like other times."

Matt nodded. "All right." Matt shifted his weight before trying to press the matter, "So you beat him up because he got a better score on a test than you did?" Matt knew that he wasn't suppose to bring up the subject without having Mello's anger spark, but he felt braver today. He wanted to try to get a point across. Well, he would try anyway. Before Mello could respond, Matt asked seriously, "Why do you hate him?"

That was the worst part about it all.

Mello could feel his insides shaking with frustration. He wasn't sure if he had a solid answer as to why he hated Near. After so many years, the reason behind the hate had been covered up. For so many years, the reason kept getting covered until it was lost within the sea of events.

He envied Near's intelligence. He was angered by the fact that Near breathed the same air as him. He was frustrated with Near's unemotional and seemingly uncaring attributes. He hated Near's snow-colored skin that looked so smooth. He hated Near's soft curls that elegantly curled on his head. He hated Near's silver eyes that drew him in like the silver wrapping of a chocolate bar. He hated how the light made Near softly glow. He hated Near's gentle calmness like that of a lamb. Mello hated Near....I hate him.... Mello told himself in thought. He repeated the words over and over as if they were something to memorize....

When Mello didn't answer Matt's question, Matt suggested helpfully, "Mello, maybe...maybe you need to clear your head." Matt gave a sheepish grin. "It could help. Maybe you're just thinking with the other part of your mind instead of the right part...."

Clear my mind? ...Maybe. Mello shook his head, not wanting to address the subject. He was about to walk towards the counter when the ringing of the shop door's bell sounded through the shop. Mello's blue eyes trailed over to the door to see the albino walk in. Mello's eyes narrowed at Near. Time slowed as Mello passed by him. The two of them locked eyes. Mello's icy shards cut into Near's gray mist. All thoughts of needing to clear his mind left Mello as the blond's emotions fell to habit. He didn't need to clear his mind. Mello scorned Near....Didn't he?

*~*~*~*~*

Light sighed. I visit my mother and sister for a couple of hours, and my mom goes and bakes a cake for me before I leave. She really goes way too over the top sometimes. Light thought as he walked into headquarters with a pumpkin pie in one hand.

Light didn't even have much of a sweet tooth, but even though his mother knew that, she baked him a pie anyway. She said it was not a big deal because she was going to be entering in a cake contest and needed the practice. Light knew she was just using that as an excuse so she could go out of her way to do something for him.

His footsteps echoed through the large headquarters as he made his way towards the main computers where L was currently. At the sound of footsteps—or the smell of the sweet pastry—L turned his head. Light gave a nod of greeting while saying, "Good evening, Ryuzaki."

Light observed that L's onyx eyes were fixed on the pumpkin pie. The strange thing about it wasn't that he had a look of hunger but that he had a look of dislike. His facial expression didn't change in the slightest. His facial expression remained rational and observant, but Light could see the change in L's eyes. I thought he liked all sweets....That's strange.

"Evening," L greeted shortly before turning back to his computer.

Light sat in the seat beside the detective, ready do crunch in some work that night. It had only been a couple of days that Light had began to aid L on this case, and Light was already getting a bad feeling about it. It wasn't that he felt uneasy working beside L on the case. The fact of the matter was that Light felt that there was something odd about this investigation. It just didn't seem right. The case that Light was aiding L on seemed too...simple for L to take interest in.

Sure, almost all cases had some kind of death or deaths occurring, and then a mystery behind it that needed to be solved. That was the basis of more than ninety percent of the cases. It was just that this certain investigation that L had taken a part in didn't seem right. It wasn't that the information was conflicting. The information on the case wasn't even strange or bizarre. That was just it.

The case seemed simple.

"I did not think Light had a liking to sweets," L commented. Light turned his head slightly to see that L was still eying the pie Light had set on the desk. Light's golden-brown eyes trailed over to the dessert for a moment. Does L want some of the pie? Light wondered. He was sure that had to be it. L wasn't currently consuming any sweets, and Light was sure the detective was becoming sugar deprived already.

Light gave a small chuckle. "I don't. I visited my mother before I came here. She insisted that I take the pie. I didn't have a say in the matter." Light took the opportunity to ask, "Would you like some? It'll just go to waste if you don't, since I'm not going to eat much of it."

Suddenly, Light noted that L's eyes looked light deprived. It was as if the lamp in the room and the light from the computers couldn't reach his dark voids. Those eyes froze Light in his chair. There was something about those eyes that seemed so filled with strong emotion, although he had an indifferent expression shown his face. What had Light said that the detective disliked? Did L even realize that Light had picked up on L's disliking?

"I don't like pumpkin pie."

Was L putting emphasis in the word 'don't'? Did L stumble over the word pumpkin pie as if he'd never said the word before? It must be my imagination.... Light stared at L with confusion. Light gave a hesitant nod of acknowledgment to L's words. "And I thought you liked all sweets," Light pressed.

L turned back to his computer but peeked over at Light through the corner of his eyes. "If I said I don't like pumpkin pie, then it should be obvious that I don't like all sweets." L stated rather icily before turning his attention back to the computer.

Light's eyes widened, taken back. He had not seen L act so emotionally. Well, to anyone else, it wouldn't seem like much, but since it was Light, it seemed like a lot. Through all the years that Light had known and worked beside him, Light had never seen L get defense towards anything. The only exception to that rule was when Light had to keep telling him that Light wasn't Kira. Sure, it was expected that L would strongly push a point but never be defensive and never be defensive over a matter such as pumpkin pie.

Is it stress? Light wondered. Does L even feel stress? Light wasn't sure about that one. If L did feel stress, he sure did a heck of a good job at balancing it and keeping it under control. Light didn't believe himself to do well under large amounts of stress.

Still confused and curious, Light turned back towards his own computer screen. He glanced down at the pumpkin pie, knowing that he'd probably have to toss it soon. After staring for a couple of minutes, Light silently decided: I'll have to ask L about that some time....


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