Barbie Boy Chapter 7: Cereal Killer

A/N: Thank you every body who has been faving and following and reviewing. I'm sorry I have been behind on answering to reviews. I have a few of you to respond to still. I read everything you guys give me as feedback and I really enjoy the talks with you guys. :3 This is the last chapter of the ones I've originally written that will lack any major editing. If you are one of my original readers, I am changing the usage of a few characters that get introduced next chapter.

That being said, Barbie Boy's introduction has officially ended and this chapter marks a move into the middle plot of the story. I'm so fucking excited it's scary. XD Forty chapters by July. That's the goal here, peoples! WHOOT!

Misa was watching America's Next Top Model in the living room while Mrs. Keehl cooked dinner. She pouted in exasperation as the program was interrupted by a flashing news report.

"Breaking News. This just in," began the man on the television, "Authorities have issued an official Amber Alert for ten-year old Lucia Luca. She was abducted from her home in the early hours of Tuesday as she played in the front yard…"

The little girl's picture caught Misa's attention as the newscaster went on to explain about a recent string of missing girls. Her eyes were bright blue and her hair was almost the same golden shade as her own and Mello's…

"We cannot say for sure if Lucia's disappearance is connected with the recent string of kidnappings in the area, but police are concerned that this might be the work of a serial kidnapper. In the past four months, six young girls have been abducted from different areas around the interstate, each between the ages of seven and twelve, and all with striking blonde hair and blue eyes." The newscaster hung his head low as each missing child was shown on the screen, "Not a single girl has been found, alive or otherwise. We are begging the community, if you know any information that could lead to young Lucia's or any of these girls' rescues, please call our hotline number."

Misa couldn't help from shivering at all those smiling faces as they faded from the screen and the regular programming returned. She lifted herself from the couch and walked into the kitchen where her mother was pulling a roast from the oven.

"Mommy? When someone steals you away, it's to kill you, right? All those girls on the TV, they're gonna die, aren't they?"

Leanne Keehl blinked at Misa. Since when did that child have such morbid thoughts?

"Oh, Misa…what makes you say that?" The woman quipped a bit too unnaturally.

Leanne left her roast alone and walked over to her daughter, hugging her tightly. She didn't quite know how to respond so she tried to convey as much sense of safety into the embrace as she could. She also made a mental note to buy her daughter some pepper spray. Her thoughts were cut-off, however, at the slamming of the door and entrance of her son and husband. Jacob Keehl may have had a sour grin on his face, but Mello was positively irate. He marched towards his mother and spit at her, fists swinging. In surprise, she fell backwards against the counter and instantly seared her hand against the hot metal of her roast pan.

"Jesus Christ, Mello!" his mother yelped in surprise.

She grabbed the boy around the waist and despite his struggling, she lay him across her knee before whacking his rump with her uninjured hand. His glare was icy as she shoved him off her skirt.

"No son of mine is going to treat me that way. Go to your room! You're not coming out to dinner until you've thought about your actions and are ready to apologize."

"I hate you! I hate you all! I wish you weren't my family!"

She'd never admit it, but Mello's words were like a knife in her side. For a brief moment, Leanne remembered when she was young and had promised that if she ever had children, she'd be a better mother than her own had been. Mello was pushing her to her limits. Mrs. Keehl, stunned, slid to the floor in silence while her husband marched out to the front porch with a beer in his hand. It wasn't his fault that Leanne couldn't assert her authority properly. At least the boy wasn't acting like a pussy and bawling his eyes out. Jacob chuckled to himself…phase one of 'manning-up' his son was complete.

Not wanting to be in the same room with his parents for longer than necessary, Mello ran to his room, slamming the door behind him and throwing himself on his bed. His little hand clenched the bedcovers tightly as he smothered his face into the tear-soaked pillow of his bed. How could his daddy do such a horrible thing to him? How? And his mommy just let Jacob do it. They simply didn't love him, that was it. Mello began to kick at the comforter in frustration.

"Mello?" a sudden knock at the door only intensified the boy's rage.

"Go away! I hate you!"

"Mello, please look at me." Misa opened the door and edged her way towards her brother with caution; while they usually got along with ease, Mello wasn't above biting her when he was upset with life.

The boy flinched as her fingers lightly raked against the newly-sheared hairs on his scalp, "Don't touch it. It's ugly."

"You're still you, Mello. Your hair's just shorter," and with that, the blonde girl planted a kiss on the boy's head and left the room without another word.

Mello sniffled as he sat up, touching his hand to his hair like Misa had. He let his feet drop to the wooden floorboards and shuffled out of his room, seeking the bathroom. Standing on the toilet seat, he leaned over the sink to catch a glimpse of himself in the mirror.

Gone. All of it.

His beauty…his power…it was all gone in the few snips of the barber's scissors.

He would be starting school the next day, something he'd been looking forward to because he would get to see his friend Matt again. He hadn't seen Matt since 'the incident' and Mello wanted so badly to apologize and play with him again. Now, however, he was dreading the moment when they'd finally meet. Matt probably wouldn't even recognize him.

Mello stared at his reflection with hatred. He could barely slide his fingers through his once beautifully long tresses. His self-esteem was in pieces, and how could it not be when he looked like a fucking porcupine with all the bristles sticking up in every direction. They took away the one thing that made him feel special and different and beautiful and strong...and it hurt. It hurt so much.

Mello slammed his fist against the reflection, hating the truth in the looking glass.

He no longer looked like a princess.

So originally, this chapter was in two pieces: Mello's night before school and Matt's morning of school. I decided they didn't really fit together as one chapter though, so I'm splitting it off into two.

Hope you're enjoying yourselves. See ya soon. *heart*

*cries* Is it lame that I want to have a funeral for Mello's hair? XD

Review if you can ^^"