"Matt?" Matsuda looked at him with just a hint of concern in his wide dark eyes. "Is there anything you'd like to talk about today?"
Matt shrunk back in his seat as all the eyes in the room turned to him. He shook his head fiercely, red hair flying into his eyes. Matsuda sighed, but turned his attention on another patient instead.
Matt relaxed a bit, now that the focus was off him. He could remember what it was like when Mello had escaped, how everyone wanted to interview him. It had been a time of pure hell. Not only had he lost his best (not to mention only) friend, but he had also been at the center of attention for weeks.
But he never talked, not even a little about Mello's plan, mostly because he knew so little of it. Mello hadn't confided in anyone, he had simply up and disappeared one day. But even if Matt had known, he wouldn't have told anyone. He didn't know why, exactly, but Mello was someone he wanted to protect, no matter what.
With a start, Matt felt someone watching him. He turned to find L staring at him with those owlish eyes of his and paled. It was almost like L could tell what he was thinking. But that was impossible, wasn't it…?
Mello shivered in the cold of the alley, the breeze numbing his sleeveless skin. He couldn't afford a coat, though Zak had promised all that would change soon. All he knew was that he was cold, and hungry, and a little scared. But he waited in the shadowed alley like a good boy, the drug money in the back pocket of his tattered jeans.
He had contemplated just taking the money and running, but there was something about Zak, something that was a little scary that kept him from leaving. The kid seemed to have eyes everywhere, and dying was not at the top of Mello's to-do list.
Without warning, a broad, shady looking man entered the alley. He was tall, much taller than Mello, and had a complexion that made him look a little sick. Addict, Mello figured, as the man approached. He looked like he was forty, though he couldn't have been more than twenty-five. It gave Mello the creeps, but he suppressed a shudder as best he could.
"You Zak's boy?" The man asked in a gruff sort of voice. Mello nodded mutely. "You got my money?" Mello held out the wad of bills. The man nodded, grabbed them, and thumbed through them quickly, as if this was routine. Hell, Mello thought, it probably was. He reached into his pocket and gave Mello a fair sized bag full of white powder. He looked at Mello expectantly, but Mello had no idea what he was waiting for. Finally the man sighed, and said, "Look, are you gonna test it or not?". Mello started and it took him a moment to find his voice.
"Um…that's not really…I'm just here to pay…" The man snorted.
"Whatever you say, kid. Whatever you say." And without another word, he turned and disappeared into the streets. Mello looked at the powder in the bag before pocketing it and making his way back to the abandoned factory that Zak called the 'Base'.
AN: So things are getting more interesting! I feel the need to apologize for taking so freaking long to update, but now that i have an idea where i'm going with this, it shouldn't take nearly as long. ^^ Thanks for sticking with me!
-Sarah