#21 Inside

Why would anyone ever want to go outside?

Nothing out there but smoke and weather and all those bright colours that made Matt dizzy when he took his goggles off.

Far better to stay inside.

Even if that meant not getting to play with Mello and the other boys during the long summer months when their entire lives revolved around soccer and climbing the trees around Wammy's house.

Even if it meant that the mahogany tan his homeland of Spain had gifted him faded out into nothing.

Even if that meant he developed some pretty bad allergies to pollen, simply because his system wasn't used to dealing with it.

Who needed the outdoors?

"Matt!"

The striped boy barely looked up from his games system. "Mm?"

Mello scowled, hands clutching the soccer ball, twitching as though he might throw it right at the red-head. If he didn't get the attention he craved, it was entirely likely he would. "Are you coming out to play or staying in here like a looser, again?"

Matt sighed and lifted his head from the game, pushing his goggles onto his forehead with some reluctance, pupils dilating at the sudden change in light. "Um…" his emerald eyes flickered away from the attractive blonde. Unwilling as ever to say 'no' to his best and only friend at the orphanage, but too afraid to go out into a world that was just too much for his over-sensitive system to cope with.

Mello actually growled, and Matt could have sworn he saw the older boy's hair bristle like a lion's mane. "What, you'd rather sit in here on your own with your stupid games? No damn wonder you don't have any friends."

And with that the blonde had stormed off outside, not even waiting to see the impact of his words. He didn't need to, being Matt's best friend meant he knew precisely what to say to hurt the boy.

Matt bit down hard on his bottom lip, trying to stop it trembling even as he tasted coppery blood, and one hand leapt to scrub at his eyes, feigning itchiness when in fact he was trying to stop the tears before they came.

It wasn't that he wanted to make Mello angry… and he'd tried before to explain the way things outside overwhelmed his senses, but Mello barely ever listened, and Matt didn't really know enough about the condition to explain it.

Silent, he moved to the window ledge, wincing at the bright light that momentarily blinded him. As the whiteness faded from his vision he forced himself to focus on the shapes that were racing across the grass.

It took him a few moments to latch on to Mello. Mello with his gorgeous golden hair and bright blue eyes, like an angel…

Matt winced and pulled his goggles back down over his eyes, frowning when the orange shields changed everything in front of his eyes. All of a sudden Mello was a figure covered demonic orange-ish red. And even like that, all the other kids were paying attention only to him.

Mello was right, it was no wonder he had no friends. He wasn't like Mello, he wasn't bright and beautiful, able to charm the birds out of the trees with a single smile.

With a soft whimper, the red-haired boy turned away from the window, realising there and then that there would never be a place for him in Mello's world of sunlight.

He was better off staying in the dark, lonely inside.