I think MakePaaastaNotwar really captured in their review the point I was trying to make about Near:

In chapter 2, you were saying that Near is kind of OOC, but I totally disagree. Whenever he speaks or interacts with other people, he acts exactly like Near would. His inner-monologue is very different from his usual personality, but I think that's just perfect. I mean, the whole point of Near is that he's stoic and no one knows what's going on in his head. He can't be completely void of emotions, then he just wouldn't be human. It makes sense that he would be different inside his own head, where no one can hear him. I think you captured him perfectly.

Thanks for that! That's what I was going for, but I couldn't put it into words very well…Oh, but I guess I should apologize for this chapter. Near does act a little bit weird about halfway through, and I attribute that to the fact that stress and exhaustion from his…er, project (that is also mentioned below) are finally catching up to him. He can't live a somewhat normal life and still manage to be like L-the-super-insomniac. Near needs sleep.

Also, I think Near is very, VERY OOC in this chapter. You may disagree, but my opinion stands.

And now I will apologize for the length of this A/N. You don't want to listen to me ramble, do you? You wanna find out what happens next!

Disclaimer: Ryuzaki! I realize that I was the one who put the disclaimer here, but now I realize it's pointless! It's pointless because I don't own Death Note! Please, take the disclaimer down!

L: I'm sorry, Luke-kun, but you made me promise that I wouldn't take down the disclaimer no matter what condition you were in, or what you said.

Luke: I know that, but I'm telling you, I don't own Death Note! Now please, take it down so I can help you find the real owners!

L: Obata Takeshi-sama, and Ohba Tsugumi-sama?

Luke: Oh...right...

Mello returned sometime that evening, and I only know that because when I saw him open the door, I could see the dark night sky behind him. Rather than get annoyed that he had walked in without permission, or even knocking to announce his presence, I returned my full focus to the construction of the Lego Amusement Park I was building.

Only when I heard a gasp did I tear my concentration away from the miniature park. I glanced up at the blonde, smirking at his awestruck face.

"I'm assuming you're surprised?" I mused. "I would've thought you'd be watching me." Mello didn't answer immediately, only giving a slight shake of his head as a reaction. Instead, he feasted his eyes upon the Lego filled room. The whole thing branched off from my bedroom, merging into a huge metropolis.

The entire living room floor was filled with green Legos meant to signify grass, while multicolored blocks made patterned skyscrapers, some of which reached almost to the ceiling. Blocks had even been stacked onto the table, forming a sort of hill, on which rested a large beautiful house—or rather, mansion.

"Wow…" Mello said quietly. "How long did it take you to make all this?" I thought about it.

"What time is it now?" I asked, twirling my hair. Mello pulled out a cell phone, flipping it open.

"It's nine-thirty." I raised my eyebrows. I had really been at it for that long? I clicked another Lego into place.

"About eight and a half hours," I reckoned. He whistled, impressed. I had to admit, that once I was wholly concentrating on my task, I could get a lot done in a short amount of time. "I started a few hours after your departure."

Mello shot me an annoyed look. "…Man, you've got way too much time on your hands." I blinked at the blonde. He sure was quick to switch moods. I mean, one minute, he's awestruck at my talents with building blocks, and the next he's annoyed at me? Am I the only one who sees that as a bit weird?

In any case, I chose that time to continue adding blue Legos to a rollercoaster arch. For a few minutes, the room was silent, and I had begun to wonder what Mello was doing behind my back, when I heard him yawn. I glanced over my shoulder and sure enough, he was leaning on one hand for support, his eyelids beginning to droop, though it was obvious that he was trying to fight it. And despite the fact that the blonde was obviously intent on watching the Lego masterpiece be completed, I could tell that he was physically torn between his want to watch me work, and his need for rest.

When he didn't stray from his place, I sighed, turning around as I lowered a block to the ground. "Mello," I said firmly. His eyes opened a bit wider and he sat up straight. "I want you to go back to wherever it is that you live…" his eyes widened a bit, and I could see hurt beginning to seep into his eyes. "…and get some sleep." Realization replaced the hurt immediately.

"Alri—," he cut off with a yawn before continuing. "Alright," he said again.

I watched his back as he stood up drunkenly, staggering over to the door before opening it. A pang of something hit me in the chest.

"Mello!" I exclaimed. "Wait." He turned around, giving me an inquisitive look in his half dozed state. I sighed annoyedly.

"On second thought, you should probably stay here," I said. I saw the blonde's eyes light up in what must've been hope before I, just barely realizing it, stomped all over his anticipation by continuing. "If you try and go anywhere in this condition, you'll either cause a car accident, or get jumped. Depending on your mode of transportation, that is." Immediately, his expression soured, but he sighed in agreement anyways.

"Fine," he said. "But considering the fact that your couch is kind of occupied at the moment, and the floor is also covered in Legos, I hope you have a suitable place for me to stay." Internally, I swore.

Damn it! I thought. I didn't think about that! Now what am I supposed to do he can't sleep in L's room, and there's no room on the floors—!

Seemingly instantaneously, I was shot through the head with realization. There was only one available option.

…Shit…

Now please bear in mind, my bed is pretty big. It's not a twin-sized, it's a queen. And so there was plenty of room for the two of us to share a bed without issue.

That didn't, however, excuse the fact that it was horribly awkward. I mean, didn't I just get done saying that I wasn't into him? Didn't I make it clear enough that I didn't like him that way? And then I go and tell him that he's got to sleep in the same bed as me?

This day just gets better and better…

I knew that he probably wouldn't try anything, don't get me wrong. He'd slept in my bed the night before, too, and he'd actually been holding on to me that time. And as embarrassing as that was to remember, it was also my consolation that I would wake up in the morning with all my clothes on.

And besides all the things that were just plan not right about sharing my bed with the man who'd been stalking me for God-knows-how-long, I swear to God, the man had fucking restless leg syndrome to its highest extent. Every ten minutes, so it seemed, he would kick out agitatedly, usually making contact with my knee or shin. The worst part, though, was that he was already asleep. So I couldn't really blame him, or scold him for that matter.

"Ouch! Dammit, stop that!"

Well, I could try. That didn't mean it would be effective. After the umpteenth time his food had made contact with my knee, I sat straight up in bed giving Mello a rough shake by the shoulders, forcing him awake. He seemed ordinarily groggy and disoriented.

"…eh?" was the only response he could give to being woken up at—I checked the clock—midnight while in the middle of what he probably thought was a deep and peaceful sleep.

"Will you stop kicking me, please?" Even though my exhausted voice was practically dripping with rage already, I managed to squeeze a little extra venom into my exaggerated "please".

Mello tilted his head to the side, still seemingly half asleep. "Whatever…" he mumbled. I groaned.

Sure enough, I was assaulted again approximately eight minutes later. "That's it!" I exclaimed, startling Mello into half-alertness. "I'm going to Elliot's room!" I left my bedroom muttering under my breath about how I couldn't wait until the idiot was gone in the morning, and cursing the blonde every which way possible.

That's another thing about me. Usually I'm stoic and unemotional with the people around me(with the exception of Mello, who usually drew anger or annoyance out of me). But when I'm sleep deprived and exhausted, and especially if I'm annoyed in addition, I am extremely hypertensive. I can't even count on two hands the number of times I'd caught L making a ruckus in the kitchen late at night (as I've mentioned before), and practically gone hostile on him. I remember once when I was nine when I actually bared my teeth at him like an animal.

So, yes. Extremely low blood pressure.

Eventually, though, I cooled down and flopped my tired form down onto L's rarely used bed. So rarely used, in fact, I had to brush a bit of dust off of the bedspread. After burrowing deep into the soft comforter, I buried my face into the pillow, yawning. No more RLS-induced bruises, courtesy of my newest "friend". Thank God.

Unfortunately for me, though, I woke up a few hours later, feeling more tired than I had felt when I'd retreated to bed. I glanced over at L's bedside clock. 8:23am. I groaned, flopping my face back down into the fluffy pillow that adorned the head of L's bed.

Have you ever been so exhausted on a Friday night, that you didn't even want to think about staying up late? And then, you went to bed, but just couldn't sleep? And then, you wake up entirely too early the next morning?

…and can't freaking get back to sleep?

Welcome to my lovely, lovely life.

I just kind of laid there for a little while, until the clock announced that it was 8:45 am. Thankfully, though, Mello wasn't in the house anymore, and had even been kind enough to make my bed and start clearing the Legos out of the living room. Even though I kind of wanted to be mad (what if I had wanted to finish building? I hadn't, of course, but still…), I just couldn't do it. I was too tired. And honestly, I had a feeling that he knew that I didn't want to finish something I'd abandoned the night before.

After eating a quick bowl of cereal, without checking to see what kind it was, I showered and got dressed. I wasn't really planning on going anywhere, but it couldn't hurt to be prepared to leave if I changed my mind.

The next two hours were spent clearing out the rest of the Legos from the living room, followed by a sandwich before I moved on to putting away the city I'd constructed in my own room. By the time I'd finished, it was only one o'clock in the afternoon, and I was once again wallowing in boredom.

Then, because I was still dog-tired, plus the extra work I'd done earlier on, I decided that a catnap wouldn't hurt.

As you probably noticed, there wasn't much description in the above text as to my day. That's because not only did I do nothing but what I stated before, but I did it so monotonously that detail would be pointless. I worked like a robot, moving mechanically as needed to gather up a pile of the colorful plastic toys and drop them in a bin.

Anyways, Mello and Matt showed up later on, and at the same time, strangely. It was weird seeing them together, and their appearances clashed drastically, as well as their attitudes. Somehow, though, they complimented each other.

Mello was clad in form-fitting leather, and was fully accessorized with his rosary and chocolate, his blonde hair looking clean and brushed. Matt looked quite the opposite. He was in a striped shirt underneath a fluffy-looking white body-warmer, with jeans and sneakers. His red hair was mussed and looked greasy, and it looked like his goggles had left a permanent indent. A cigarette was hanging out of his mouth while his fingers tapped away at the buttons on a PSP.

And while Mello radiated confidence and superiority (and intimidation), Matt gave off a sort of calm, laid back aura, while also sending the message that he wasn't to be messed with. The "stay away from me" factor was probably all they had in common.

And I was so surprised to see them, that when I opened the door (Mello had actually bothered to knock that time), I just kind of stood there, dazed.

"Hey, kid, can we come in?" Matt asked good-naturedly. I tilted my head to the side.

"Huh?" I said stupidly. I'm sure that some part of my brain was cursing foully at me for my own idiocy, but I couldn't hear it at the time. Matt walked in anyways, and Mello followed.

"What's wrong with you this morning?" Mello asked, eyeing me strangely. I cocked my head to the side like a puppy, trying (and failing) to process what he'd just said. He started to look a little bit concerned in a "weirded-out" kind of way when I didn't respond. "Uh…Near?"

My eyes trailed to Matt as he chuckled, putting out his cigarette on a plate that had somehow gotten to the table. While Mello had been fretting over me, he'd kicked off his shoes and taken a seat, propping his feat up on the table as he leaned back against a wall, playing his PSP.

"Isn't it obvious?" the redhead questioned rhetorically. Mello looked at him expectantly. "His brain is fried. All the weirdness and stress about this whole situation has finallytaken its toll." He sighed between amused chuckles. "Your boyfriend has regressed to robot-state."

Even though I was in "robot-state" as Matt had put it, I still managed to blush furiously at the comment, as well as mentally curse the bastard in every language I knew. Even though I was screaming in my head, I stayed silent on the outside, looking down with a sudden interest in my socks. The situation was already delicate, as he'd already stated, so why the hell would he bring up something like that?

Maybe it's true what they say. I thought. Maybe some gingers really don't have souls. Not this guy, anyways.

"Shut the hell up, Matt!" Mello yelled from beside me. I stole a glance at him, and noticed that his face was beet red. Our reactions only seemed to add fuel to the fire, because Matt's chuckles broke into loud guffaws at our expense.

At this point, I think it's safe to say that I had emerged from my brain-dead shell, enough to have the sense to walk away and hide. After a moment of contemplation, I did so, choosing to seek sanctuary in my room. I flopped down onto my bed, practically suffocating myself with the pillow.

"Please, God," I prayed, my voice harshly muffled. "Let this not be a regular thing with those two."

Okay, so I apologize if any redheads out there got offended by Near's sarcastic remark about gingers and their souls. That does not, in any way, reflect my own beliefs and/or opinions.

I just got thinking about my friend Jack…heheheheheh, he's always saying "Ginger's DO have souls!" at the randomest times, and I thought of Matt.

As usual, please review and stuff. I'm kind of discouraged by the lack of response since I posted the last chapter…don't hate me! Please!

But thank you to the few who did review! It means a lot!