Chapter 12

"I finally found you, Mello" That monotone voice. It had been years since the last time he had heard it.

"What do you want?" Mello hissed again when he got no answer.

There was the soft sound of laughter. It was like the sound of a pin dropping. You had to strain to hear it, but it was there. Mocking him. Mello's fangs dug into his bottom lip as he tried to keep himself calm, least he scare Matt. The boy was oblivious though. He was spooning spagehtii into a bowl in the kitchen, with his back to the blond vampire.

"Is that the way you greet old friends, Mello?" The voice had gone back to its usual monotone. But there was amusement in it now.

Mello's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Friends? What gave off the impression that I considered you a friend?" He was sure to keep his voice low so Matt wasn't able to hear him. Mello wanted to keep him safe and away from any other vampires. As far as they were concerned, Mello was still alone and on the run from Light. And as far as the human world was concerned, Mail Jeevas, was nobody. He was dead to them.

"I suppose you don't want to hear the information I have for you?" There was a pause, and Mello could almost hear the smile forming on the others lips. "Concerning your relationship with a mister Light Yagami?"

That did it. A low growl erupted from the blonds throat, and Matt whirled around to look at him. There was a look of confusion on the redheads face. Mello could see the fear in his eyes though. The boy was sharp, and that was sometimes a problem. It was hard to keep things from him. Matt knew something was wrong, and Mello cursed himself for letting his anger get the better of him. "Mello? whats up?"

Mello shook his head but didn't say anything. He didn't want to hint that there was someone else with him. His efforts were pointless though, for as soon as Matt spoke the person on the other line chuckled.

"Ooh, I'm sorry, am I interrupting your dinner?" The monotone was definitely amused now.

Mello cursed again before answering. "No, Near...you're not interrupting anything" He sent Matt a warning glare and Matt got the message loud and clear. Shut up.

There was silence on the other line. No doubt the vampire on the other line was curling a lock of hair, the way he always did when he was thinking. "Oh my," Another chuckle. "You're keeping a human with you. Naughty, Naughty Mello"

"What makes you think he's human?" Mello snapped.

"Your defensiveness makes me think he's human" Near, as Mello had called him, paused a bit to fully enjoy the fact that he had outsmarted Mello. "He is human."

"Near..." Mello hissed into the phone. He didn't care that Matt was watching him with a worried expression on his face. "What the hell possessed you to call me? How did you even get this number? What do you want!?" The blond saw Matt flinch a little as his voice steadily grew in volume.

"I have my ways on keeping tabs on you. As for why I called, I already told you that I have information" Nears voice was calm, despite the deadly tone in Mello's voice. "Useful Information that just might save your life." There was a pause as Near allowed himself a small laugh. "Your life and the life of your...human"

The blond vampire stood quiet. His eyes locked on Matt's and held them. Near's wording wasn't exactly comforting in anyway , shape or form. Maybe he did it on purpose, the guy was a sadistic bastard deep down. Well, he really couldn't be called a guy. He was a vampire too, like Mello. "What is it?..." He finally managed to say. His eyes didn't leave Matt's though. He didn't even blink and to his surprise, neither did the redhead. Now Mello was sure Matt knew the severity of the phone call.

"Oh? Now you wish for my assistance? I don't think I should tell you, after the way you greeted me"

Mello took a deep calming breath. "Near," He allowed himself a dark humorless laugh. "I suggest you tell me what you know. I created you, and I could easily hunt you down and gut you. Remember, remember" He added the last to words in a seductive purr. Though it was the farthest thing from seductive to the vampire on the other line. It was down right unnerving. It was a threat, and a reminder of what Mello was more than capable of.

There was silence for a full thirty seconds before Near responded. "Right," He cleared his throat softly. "Firstly, I must say you are beginning to slip in covering up your tracks."

The blond hissed. "Get to the point, Near"

"Light is going to New York"

Had Mello's heart been beating, it would have stopped at Nears words. Light was coming to New York to look for him. No doubt he probably already had a pretty good idea as to where he was. This was not good. Not good at all. Matt had long since abandoned his food and was now standing in front of Mello, one hand placed lightly on the blonds shoulder. He said nothing though. Just watched Mello's expression and waited.

Mello's mind was blank. No place was big enough for both Mello and Light to stay together. Once Light got here, it would be damn near impossible to hide from him. He had his followers snooping all over Russia for years, upon noticing that Mello was no where in the country he probably set off to find some records of him in other places of the world. The bastard was stealthy and clever. Outsmarting him was something no other living vampire to date had been able to do.

"Did you hear me?"

"Yeah, I fuckin' heard you"

"Well," Near said. His calm monotone slipped a little and concern was evident in his tone for a fraction of a second. "What do you plan on doing?"

Mello snapped out of it. He looked down at Matt who was staring up at him with his big green eyes. Those damn eyes of his would be the death of him someday. He could never focus on anything else when he looked into the pool of emeralds. The blond had to look away for his voice to come back to him. "What do you think I plan on doing?"

"To get the hell out of that house you're in"

"Bingo, you're a sharp one aren't you?"

Near chuckled on the other end. "I'm coming to New York, too"

There was silence as Mello's jaw hit the floor. "You're what?"

"I'm coming to New York" Near paused a bit, no doubt he was curling his hair again. "You gave me new life, I owe it to you to preserve yours as long as possible"

Mello was speechless. Near was actually offering to help him. He Wanted to help him. Near wasn't exactly what one would call social, caring, or loving. Nope in fact he was quite the opposite. Anti-social, cold, and uncaring. Nothing fazed the vampire. He was stone. Which is why it surprised Mello when the sudden helpfulness suddenly popped out of Nears ass.

"Light does not plan on leaving his current location for another month. I will however, leave in two weeks. " Near continued when it was obvious Mello wasn't going to respond.

"How do you?..."

"I have my own spies and followers."

Mello nodded dumbly. It was a useless gesture seeing as there was no way that Near could see him, but nothing else came to mind. There was one thing. "Where is his current location?" he asked quickly.

The sound of fingers flying swiftly over the keys on a keyboard were heard, and then silence before Near finally answered. "Italy"

Italy. Really, Mello would have been surprised if he had been anywhere else. Light was probably there to kiss up to all the higher ups. The royal vampire bloodlines.
They started off in Romania, and migrated to Italy, where they now resided. Italy proved a better resource when it came to their nutritional needs. It was filled with tourists of different blood types each year. Of course, what vampire wouldn't want to live in a place where their prey willingly came to them? Variety was good too.

The blond sighed. "Two days then?"

"Yes. I have already planned things out ahead of time. I took the liberty of getting you a new home. Its a flat near Madison Square. He will never suspect you living in a place where you'd be easy to find. His cockiness will lead him to the outskirts of the cities. Madison Square will never cross his mind. "

Again, Mello was speechless. Near had done all this without him even telling him too. Then again he usually had to threaten the bastard into doing something for him. "Um...thanks?" Was all he could say.

"Its fully furnished. Pack only the necessities and leave." There was another pause, and more typing. "Tonight, Mello"

Mello nodded, useless as it was over the phone it was just a habit. "Got it. Thank you, Near"

There was silence. Mello, again was sure he could almost hear him smiling. Or maybe it was a smirk this time. "'Till then, Mihael" Yes, most definitely a smirk. The line went dead, and Mello hung up as well.

"Whats going on, Mello?" Matt demanded once the phone had been put back on its base. The blond, ignoring the question completely, brought the redheaded boy into his arms and crushed their lips together.

Matt, though taken off guard returned the kiss full force. He quickly forgot about his question, instead focusing on the blond vampires cold lips moving against his own. He felt Mello's fangs dig into his lip, and the metallic taste of his own blood hit his tongue. It was strangely arousing. He pressed himself closer to Mello and parted his lips so the blonds tongue could snake in and lick up the blood that had managed to slip into his mouth.

Mello pulled back from the kiss, licking the remaining blood from Matt's bottom lip. "Matt, how do you feel about moving?" he breathed against the redheads ear.

A/N: I see I tricked you. You thought it was Light huh? Hehe, nope. For those of you who are wondering where the heck that kiss came from, Mello needed to buy himself some time, and he wanted blood. Sue him for killing two birds with one stone. Anywho, there's another chapter down, quite a few to go. Stay, tuned?

Review plz! Alot of you don't and it makes me sad v.v It really does. -emo sigh- but you'll cheer me up and review right? Right. Good, glad we're on the same page. -grins-

Matt.