theminion's note: Okay, I caved. I rewrote the chapter. Gah. It's… not as good as the original… but I honestly can't say when I'm finally going to get around to having my computer fixed, and I figured I shouldn't punish you for my own incompetence. Thus, here you go. Hope you enjoy.
Also: I just read Another Note. Two things. One, I loooooooooooooove L. The ending was the most adorable thing in the world. Two, even though many things involved in this story have now been refuted (i.e. the kids knowing each others' names, and there being L wannabes long before Mello, Near, and Matt) I'm still going to keep this the way it was/is. Since Another Note wasn't written by Ohba herself, I kinda think of it as a… glorified fanfiction. Yeah, it got published and publicly acknowledged by the creators… but I think it can still basically be considered a fanfic, thus, this one is still plausible. Even if I do have to call it AU, now. But whatev. It'll continue as planned, 'kay? 'Kay! Woot. Moving on!
.VIII.
Matt snatched up his bookbag, swinging it over his shoulder excitedly as he glanced around at Mello, grinning conspiratorially. The blond gave him a half-hearted smirk in return, slowly stuffing the test he'd just gotten back into the bottom of his bag.
"Matt, may I have a word, please?"
The boys shared a short, confused glance, before Matt waved for Mello to go on without him and walked up the aisle to Ms. Bourgh's desk at the front of the room. He watched Mello's honey blond hair disappear around the corner of the doorway as he rocked back on the balls of his feet, waiting impatiently as Ms. Bourgh neatly arranged a stack of papers in the top drawer of her desk.
"Matt," she finally said, taking off her reading glasses and setting them on the desk before resting her chin in her hand, "I wanted to talk to you about your grades."
The redhead gave an exaggerated roll of his eyes, but she pointedly ignored him. "You do realize that you have an overall score of 67 percent, don't you, Matt?"
"Yeah," he replied sharply, fidgeting slightly.
"Why?" She sighed, pressing a stray strand of light brown hair back behind her ear. "Matt, it's obvious, to anyone who cares enough to look, that you are one of the most intelligent children at Wammy's. But your class work just doesn't reflect this. You've failed two out of your last three exams, and you haven't turned in a homework assignment—" She glanced down at a small notebook laying open by her elbow. "—since nearly the start of term. Why is this? Matt, if you would just apply yourself—"
"Yeah, yeah," Matt cut her off, scratching his head in a bored fashion, "If I'd just give a little effort, studied a bit, got my head out of the clouds… I'd be right up there with Mel at the top of the class. No offense, miss, but if every teacher I've ever had has given me this lecture, what makes you think you're going to get anywhere with it?"
She scowled slightly, and Matt could have sworn he saw her eye twitch. "Matt," she said sternly, "Your past teachers may have given you leniency, since L's blatant favoritism seems to hold far more sway than it should in this establishment, but I warn you now, you will find I won't go easy on you just because L and Mr. Wammy have deemed you superior to your peers."
Matt stared, wide-eyed, as she leaned down to drag a large manila folder out of the bottom drawer of her desk. No teacher had ever dared bring up L in their lectures before—not since Mr. Hughes, at least. She sat up, dropping the stack of papers she had retrieved onto the desk with a dull thump.
"Whether you want it or not, I am here for your education, and I fully intend for you to get it. So, you are going to complete every homework assignment that you have so far failed to hand in, starting right now, and you will not be leaving until you have completed them all." She cocked a haughty eyebrow in his direction as he mouthed wordlessly at her.
"W-what? But… I can't! Not tonight! Please, miss, it's Mello's birthday, and I promised him that we'd—"
"I'm sorry, Matt. Your actions do have consequences, and you have to face them. Yes, tonight. If I renegotiated your punishment based on your personal schedule, how would you learn? Mello will live. If anything, I'm sure that he would fully support my decision."
Matt lunged forward desperately, slamming his hands palm down on the desk and leaning toward her, wide sapphire eyes imploring. "But— I— ma'am, please, I'm his best friend and I promised—"
"Excuse me, Ms. Bourgh."
Matt broke off, whirling to find a small, pale figure silhouetted in the doorway, gazing back and forth between them with calculating gray eyes.
"Oh, hello, Near," Ms. Bourgh greeted, gesturing him forward kindly, "What can I do for you?"
Near shuffled forward slowly, glancing at Matt's anxious figure as he came to a stop next to the redhead and held out a small book. "Ms. Peyton asked me to bring this to you."
"Oh, thank you, dear. I'd been planning to run down to her room after class—"
"Near!" Matt grabbed the younger boy's shoulders frantically, whirling his friend to meet his pleading gaze. "Near, please, you gotta do me a favor. Tell… please tell Mel that—" He cast a particularly poisonous glare at Ms. Bourgh, which was ignored as the young teacher was eagerly thumbing through the pages of her book. "that I got a detention, and I… we can't hang out tonight… but I swear I'll make it up to him… we'll do something tomorrow, or—"
"Alright, thank you, Near, you may go now." Ms. Bourgh finally said, dragging herself away from her book and sliding it to the edge of her desk, returning her gaze to the two boys across from her. "Matt, the sooner you get started, the sooner you will finish."
Near glanced over his shoulder at Matt once more on his way toward the door, tangling his forefinger in a wild lock of silvery hair near is ear. "Please tell him," the redhead mouthed anxiously, watching the younger boy shuffle out of the classroom.
"Hey, Mello!"
Near paused in the midst of pressing a puzzle piece into place, slate gray eyes scanning to his left where, halfway down the corridor, Mello stopped short on his way back from the Library, whirling around to meet Abigail as she bounded giddily toward him.
"Happy birthday, man!" She grinned, giving his shoulder a gentle, affectionate punch. The blond's mouth curled into a smirk that almost, almost could be called a genuine smile. "Hey, we were gonna make you a cake… quadruple chocolate, o' course…" She elbowed him playfully. "You gonna be at dinner?"
"No," Mello replied, shifting his bag to the other arm, a tiny hint of authentic regret sparkling in jade green eyes at the mention of possible cake—especially of the chocolate variety, "Matt's got something cooked up. I think he's dragging me in to town or something."
"Oh…" Abigail pouted for half a second, shoving a haphazard lock of short auburn hair behind her ear. "So, Matt'll be gone, too…?" She bit her lip in distress at the mere thought, before her eyes lit up as she came to a satisfactory conclusion. "Well, you 'n' Matt can just come to our room when you get back, and we'll give you your cake! …Maybe… you guys could even hang out for a while…? …I've been stuck on this one part in Chrono Cross…"
Mello rolled his eyes impatiently at the ceiling, silently cursing the day that the female inhabitants of the House had taken note of Matt's expressive ice-blue eyes, perfectly disarrayed crimson hair, enigmatic smile—and the elusive dimples that came with it—not that Mello'd noticed all this stuff… he'd just… overheard Stella and Linda giggling outside the girl's bathroom that one time….
"Sure, maybe," he replied absently, a perturbed frown marring his features at his own thought process, "I guess it depends on what time we get back."
A fidgety, awkward silence ensued, before Mello gave a short, pointed cough and hefted his bookbag. "I have to go drop my stuff off, then—"
"Oh, don't let me keep you!" she interrupted hastily, giving him a light shove in the direction of his room, "Mustn't keep Matt waiting, now! Just… don't let Roger catch you guys sneaking out," she whispered conspiratorially.
Mello nodded, the almost-smile sneaking across his lips again as he turned away from her. "Yeah, later Abbie."
"Ew, Mel!" she yelped indignantly at his back, "Don't call me that! My name's Artill—"
"Yeah, yeah!" Mello waved her off, heaving a frustrated sigh. God, sometimes girls were so—
What're you looking at, freak?" He stopped short, casting a disdainful glare at Near, sitting curled over his puzzle in the doorway of his and Matt's room.
Near stared back unblinkingly, absently twirling a strand of platinum hair around his forefinger. "…Please tell Mel—"
"I just wanted to wish Mello a 'happy birthday,'" he finally replied in a monotone.
Mello's eyebrows drew together in a mixture of confusion, suspicion, and slight disgust. He sneered at the younger boy. "Yeah right," he growled, taking care to scatter the pieces of Near's puzzle as he continued on his way down the hallway.
Near watched the blond's bookbag whip around the corner, blank pewter eyes narrowing marginally as he reached out to gather the stray pieces back to him.
Mello shivered, irately shoving his hands into his pockets and burying the lower half of his face into the front of his coat.
'Where is Matt?' He rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet in a bored manner, glancing disdainfully at the scraggly, leafless trees flanking either side of the patch of road where Matt had said to meet him.'I'm flipping cold. Wanker has five minutes to get his ass out here, else I'm tracking him down and kicking it.'
He scowled, fervently wishing he'd had the foresight to bring an extra chocolate bar. At the rate this birthday was going, he'd have to consume roughly thirteen of the sweets just to work up the endorphins to put him in a somewhat decent mood. Seriously. He'd gotten an A- on his algebra test (a friggin' A-! He never got anything less than a 98 percent!), L wasn't even there, and now Matt was standing him up! Matt! Standing him up! Friggin'—
He blinked, the sound of heavy footstep and raucous laughter drifting from the opposite direction of Wammy's House catching his attention. He glanced over his shoulder curiously, watching a gang of teenagers round the curve in the road. They were older than him, probably around 17 or 18, and he didn't recognize any of them from Wammy's… what were they doing here?
"Oi!" one of them shouted, catching sight of him and gesturing, "What have we here?"
Mello turned fully, straightening himself out to seem taller, though the effect may have been slightly dampened by his overly large coat.
"One of those freaky li'l orphan kids," another one sneered, grinning toothily.
Mello narrowed his eyes, his hands balling into tight fists at his sides as he stared them down stonily.
"Wait, hold up." The boys parted slowly, and a single figure stepped forward, peering at him curiously. Mello returned the glance incredulously, eyeing the older boy up and down with barely concealed disdain—spiked dirty blond hair, average height, a little on the hefty side… overall nothing very remarkable, especially in what seemed to be the leader of the gang.
"So, it is you," the pudgy leader grinned, his eyes narrowing dangerously, "Huh. You've grown up quite nicely, eh, Kitten?"
Mello's eye twitched subtly as the nickname dredged up several unpleasant, long-forgotten memories. He grit his teeth, giving the teenager another once-over, his gaze finally settling on the crooked nose with dawning recognition. "Mm. Better than you, at least," he finally replied, "Beating kids half your size not enough of a workout anymore? You've packed on some pounds… er… sorry, forgot your name?" He smirked as the goon's face contorted with rage.
The teenaged boy who'd been behind Matt's sprained wrist of several years ago seemed to have weaseled his way to the top of a new gang; there were more of them than Mello remembered and more than a few of them had an unpleasantly dodgy look about them.
"Phillips," the older boy hissed furiously, "Rodney Phillips." He raised his head haughtily, quirking a cocky eyebrow as he gazed at Mello down the length of his crooked nose. "And you'll do well to remember it, this time. A little respect, too…. But don't worry, Kitten," he grinned maliciously, his beady brown eyes widening excitedly, "we'll make sure you learn your lesson this time."
Mello squared his shoulders, the toe of his boot digging into the dirt as he tensed his legs, watching as the three boys directly behind Phillips—incidentally, three of the bulkiest of the group—skirted around their leader and started toward him at the smallest twitch of Phillips' head in his direction.
He bared his teeth defiantly as the rest of the group chortled at him.
"Oh," Phillips called lazily, crossing his arms and basking in the collective amusement of his cronies, "and bring me that coat. Looks comfortable."
Matt stretched gratefully, arms high above his head, back arching languidly. He sighed contentedly, rolling his head from shoulder to shoulder in an attempt to dispel the kink that had been assailing it for the past two and a half hours.
He glanced sullenly at a passing clock as he strolled down the hallway. 9:47… geeze, it couldn't have been legal for Ms. Bourgh to keep him cooped in her classroom for that long. Granted, she'd given him several breaks, but still… almost seven hours! And Mello…. He sighed, reluctantly turning his feet in the direction of the blond's room when he came to an intersecting corridor. Mello was probably pissed. Best to grovel now than let the other boy stew over it for a night….
His sneakers drug reluctantly against the carpet the closer he got to his friend's room. He actually felt rather terrible about the whole thing… he'd made Mello a promise after all, and what with L being away and all….
A confused hum of worried voices caught Matt's attention as he rounded the corner, freezing midstep as he caught sight of the gaggle of adults crowding around the door of Mello's room. He swallowed, a miniscule inkling of dread beginning to claw its way up his throat; he stomped it down firmly, cerulean eyes hardening determinedly as he closed the remaining distance.
"—where else he would be. I've checked Matt's room, the Library, the kitchen, the Common Room… I can't—"
"What's going on?"
Roger broke off abruptly, glancing down at the redhead as he came to a stop at his side. Matt glanced around the rest of the group, the shock at seeing L and Mr. Wammy back at the House far outweighed by the dull panic incited by their presence outside this particular room, concern obvious in their eyes—even L's, if you knew where to look.
"Matt," Mr. Wammy said gently, reaching out to rest a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder, "When was the last time you saw Mello?"
Matt gulped, feeling his heart jump into his throat as he peeked around L's hunched figure to find Mello's room empty, seemingly untouched. "Mel…? Well, I—" His mind raced frantically. 'Why--? Oh, god, they wouldn't be asking unless—' "This afternoon in class—" 'Mel? What's going on? Where are you?' "We were supposed to go—" He paused, biting his lip. Leaving the House without an adult was strictly against the rules… he didn't want to get in to any more trouble today.
"Yes? 'Supposed to go' where, Matt?" Roger prompted, taking a step closer to the boy.
He swallowed uncertainly, ignoring Roger and staring straight back into L's soul-searching eyes with a look of pure desperation. "L… what's going on?"
The raven-haired detective bit at the tip of his thumb in agitation, his gaze boring relentlessly into Matt's, as though he could weed the answers out of his protégé's face itself. "Please answer the question, Matt," he murmured quietly, "Mello seems to have disappeared."
Matt swallowed, closing his eyes in a desperate mixture of concern for his friend and despair at the punishment sure to come. "W-we were gonna go hang out in town… 'cause it was his birthday and all," he clarified quickly, gesturing wildly, "but… Ms. Bourgh gave me a detention and I—I didn't even get to tell him… but Ne—"
They weren't even listening anymore. Roger and Mr. Wammy were already halfway down the hall in the direction of Roger's office, and L had disappeared into Mello's room for a beat, before reappearing with the flashlight the blond kept in the drawer of his desk. He was gnawing on his bottom lip viciously, his eyes glinting with an intensity Matt had never before seen in the detective.
"Matt." He knelt down, bringing himself to eye-level with the boy, "You were going to meet somewhere outside the property, yes? Sneaking out together would have been far too obvious." The redhead nodded in confirmation, not daring to speak for the nausea attacking his stomach. "Where?"
He slipped around the gate with the last of the staff to exit the Wammy's property. Glancing around, he made sure that no one had noticed his presence before darting into the trees, skirting the road, keeping out of sight behind the foliage as he ran.
L had told him to stay inside—had very sternly forbade him to set foot outside the orphanage doors. But… how could he expect him to do that? Mello was out here somewhere… something had happened to him, something to keep him from returning to the House. God, if he was hurt, or lost…. Matt's stomach jolted at the thought. It was snowing… so cold….
The cold night air was alive with dozens of frantic voices calling Mello's name; L had roused nearly the entire staff to search for the blond, leaving only a handful of caretakers to look after the children remaining oblivious, safe behind the orphanage walls.
Matt stumbled, a soft cry ripping past his lips as his trainer caught a tree root. It was so dark, how was he ever going to find Mello… it was highly unlikely that the other boy was still even anywhere near their agreed meeting place, but even the smallest chance….
"Mel…?" he whispered anxiously, scanning the small clearing with wide eyes. The tangled branches arching over his head blocked out most of the starlight, and Matt had been too rushed to even think of bringing a flashlight. He could barely see a confused jumble of footprints slowly disappearing beneath the top layer of newly fallen snow, and Matt followed them carefully, shuffling across to the other side of the clearing.
"Mell-oof!"
He pushed himself up quickly, frantically swiping the snow off of his face as he rolled over to see what had tripped him.
He felt his heart stop at the sight of familiar scuffed black boots barely protruding past a shadowy bush he hadn't even taken into account during his cursory sweep of the area. His breath came in quick, sporadic pants, the blood pounding through his veins so loudly that he barely heard his own voice whispering, "Mello? M…Mel?"
He crawled reluctantly over, his eyes widening fearfully as he noticed the blotchy blemishes on the snow, darker than the shadows. "Mihael…?"
Mello was deathly still, almost as pale as the snowflakes powdering his face and hair. Matt barely had time to notice that the smaller boy was only wearing a black turtleneck before he had lunged forward automatically, latching onto his friend's limp shoulders. "Mel!" he squeaked, giving him a gentle shake.
There were scratches… marks everywhere… every visible patch of skin was bruised, and there was a nasty looking gash to the head that seemed to be the main source of the blood. But… there was so much….
"Mello!" His panicked voice was getting louder, shriller as the blond refused to show even the slightest hint of consciousness. "Mel! Wake up! Mello!"
There was a crashing sound back in the direction he'd come from, and he screamed instinctively. "L! L!" He continued to shout the detective's name like a mantra as the crashing grew louder, someone rushing toward them, shoving, uncaring, past tree branches and bushes.
Hysterical, Matt wrapped Mello in his arms, gathering as much of his friend's limp body into his lap as possible. Still screaming, he watched the point of light bobbing rapidly in their direction through blurry, tear-filled eyes.
He'll be okay… it's Mello… he'll be fine….
L burst through the trees at a dead run, hurried by Matt's panicked screams, faster than the redhead had ever even imagined he could move. His hair was a wild tangle, his cheeks flushed with exertion as he skidded and dropped to his knees when he reached them, wide eyes taking in Mello at a glance before he ripped off his coat and wrapped it carefully around the boy's still body.
"He won't answer me, L. He won't say anything—" Matt was babbling, rocking back and forth in shock as he numbly watched L press his fingers carefully to Mello's throat.
The clearing was filling with people now, appearing from all directions, flooding the small area with light. Gasps and frantic whispering broke out at the sight of the blood.
"L, make him answer! He's alright, right…? Make him talk to me! L!"
L pursed his lips, catching sight of Mr. Wammy and Roger pushing their way through the crowd. He nodded quickly at Matt the second the two men reached the front of the mass of adults swarming around the detective and two boys, and they stepped forward, prying the panicked redhead slowly away from Mello, leaving L free to lift him gently into his arms.
"No! Let me—fucking let me go! Mello! Mel, talk to me! Mello!"
Be alright. Be okay. Please, please, please….
"Matt," Roger panted, struggling to hold the boy back from chasing wildly after L and the limp figure in his arms, "Matt, calm down!"
"There's nothing you can do, Matt," Mr. Wammy agreed gently, keeping a firm hold on his arm, "You found him, that's enough. You need to allow him the attention he needs."
His thrashing slowed after a minute. Panting desperately, he glancing up at the elderly men flanking him, and Mr. Wammy nodded. They started off, following L's footprints back in the direction of the orphanage, Roger and Mr. Wammy keeping hold of Matt's shoulders lest he attempt to break free and get in the way again.
Oh god, Mel… this is my fault….
To be continued.
Heh. Cliffhanger…? Sorry 'bout that. But… yeah. Also, sorry if L seemed out of character. I figure if anything could get his knickers in a twist, it would be missing/hurt!Mello. …Or a chocolate-covered-Light. But he doesn't get one of those yet. Hee.
Also, I wouldn't even know where to start when it comes to review responses… I'm tired, cranky, and… kinda, inexplicably nauseas… so PLEASE forgive my not responding this time around…? I swear I'll start it back up next chapter.
I LOVE AND APPRECIATE YOU ALL! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEWS! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
Until next time, then, my friends…
Bwoff!