Love.
Love is probably the most dangerous emotion in the world. It is one of the emotions that can rip apart families, split lovers, and so much more. But one of the biggest dangers of love is that it can ruin and destroy friendship. It can wrench two friends apart, can blacken their relationship till it's nothing but hate and regret.
"Oh, Matt, you've got something in your hair."
"I hate you Mello."
"It looks kinda like snow."
"I hate you so much."
"It couldn't be because I hit you with a snowball could it?" Mello asked, his tone layered with false innocence "Mr. No-one-can-hit-me-because-I-am-a-snowball-dodging-machine?"
Matt flushed "I might have been a little off in my assessment..."
"I hit you three times. Don't be vain." Mello smirked, smug as a banana in a fire wall of death.
Matt scowled and bent down to scoop up a snowball of his own when another ball of wet snow smacked him squarely in the back.
"Your funny Mello." Matt grumbled, scooping together a large one then turning to face the grinning blonde.
The two were enjoying the first day of February as the first day of a winter month should be enjoyed. With a day outside throwing snow at everything that moved. Including a poor squirrel Matt had accidentally hit when Mello had ducked one of his particularly small snowballs. The horrified gamer had dropped to his knees next to the stunned squirrel who had run after leaving at least three different places on Matt's face scratched.
"Oof." Matt grunted as Mello tackled him, causing the large snowball to plump down on Matt's own face before he rolled around with Mello till the blonde managed to pin the ginger and began burying most of his back in snow. But Mello had at least shown some mercy in not pressing Matt's head down into the snow. So the goggle bearing boy could breathe... and yell.
"Get off me!" Matt gasped, struggling against the older boys grip. But Mello just laughed "Only if you surrender!" and began to coat Matt's legs with snow, packing it nice and tight.
"Never!" Matt cried.
"You sure?" Mello paused in his burying of the boy.
"Yes!"
Matt unfortunately couldn't see the evil smirk on Mello's lips.
The blonde shifted so his knees were on Matt's back, holding him to the ground, while his hands began to scoop snow together. The red-head shifted tirelessly under the chocoholic, muttering threats and curses. He froze however when he felt one of Mello's gloved hands curl around his red jacket.
"You wouldn't-" But he broke off as he felt something cold and wet against his skin. He began thrashing and trying to get his arms to his back to scoop out the snow, all the while screaming at Mello to get off him.
"Now do you give up?"
"YES YES! GET IT OUT!"
The blonde chuckled and rose off the ginger who jumped up and danced around wildly till all the snow had either melted or been removed. The redhead then turned on his laughing roommate and, despite his yell of surrender, chased him while pelting snowball after snowball at the blonde. Mello ducked and dodged each one, only getting hit once when a small one smacked into the back of his leg that caused him to stumble. He jumped around till he regained his balance then shoveled snow at Matt who looked ready to collapse.
"Fine! Fine! I seriously give up!" Matt wheezed as the force of Mello's attack brought him to his knees "Just stop!"
The chocoholic smirked and halted in his attack. Matt clutched his chest and sucked in the cold winter air which caused him to cough and splutter.
"Maybe we should go inside." Mello offered the ginger his hand. Matt pushed himself up without the blonde assistance, he had more pride than that, and smiled "Yeah."
Mello led the way into the heated orphanage with the younger boy ,who had his jacket pulled up passed his mouth, following. The blast of warmth caused Matt to shudder as he stripped off his winter coat and hung it on a heater to dry. Matt glanced to his left to see Mello was doing the same with his gloves and boots.
The blonde met Matt's gaze and gave him a small smile before he busied himself with shaking off his jacket.
Matt cursed the color that rose to his cheeks and he stared hard at his own snowy boots. Matt had the very intelligent thought that the blushing that was suddenly occurring in the presents of his best friend since New Years was probably not something to draw attention to.
Matt would give up most if not all his possessions in exchange for understanding of the heat and color in his cheeks. But sadly. Matt doesn't overly like to read and when he did read it was certainly not romantic novels and plays that caught the gamer's attention...
Matt was jarred back to reality when Mello rested a gloveless hand on the gamers shoulder. Matt jumped and his face burned. The blonde chuckled "Drifting off?"
"Um yeah, sorry. What did you say?" Matt asked, calming himself so he could turned to smile at his roommate who's returning smile jarred at Matt's heart.
After his little heart spasm was complete Matt mentally kicked himself. When had Mello's smile become so alluring?
"I asked if you got your new schedule yet." Mello repeated with a chuckle.
"Yeah, it's in my pocket." Matt pulled the folded piece of paper, now slightly wet, with large black text out of his pocket and smoothed it out.
Classes had started a whole month late, not that Matt was complaining, because Mrs. Acissej had quit and the other teachers had gone on strike demanding better pay. Roger had managed to quiet everything down and had hired an old high school friend by the name of Ms. Nero to replace Mrs. Acissej post as English teacher. Unfortunately classes were due to start tomorrow. The main reason for Mello and Matt's outdoor adventure.
"Let me see." Mello took the schedule from Matt and looked down the list. He compared it to his own memorize one and then handed it back to the gamer.
"You had English, Computer class, and Science with me." Mello smiled "I heard we are doing dissections this term."
"Cool," Matt grinned "I've never dissected anything before!"
…
Turns out dissections made the bottom of Matt's list of favorite things to do.
After a class of explaining the proper process of dissecting a cow eye the period continued on through their period 2 as all the students were given an eye and an hour.
"Well hello there cow eye." Matt muttered, pushing his cow eye over gently with his knife. He shuddered at the sight of the brown iris that was staring back at him, unmoving and glassy.
Barely seconds into the dissection Matt had run out of the classroom, hand over mouth. He then proceeded to empty his stomach contents into a boy's bathroom that was thankful empty. The smell would have certainly caused other kids to gag too.
Matt returned to the classroom after running hurriedly back to room thirteen and pulling on a new shirt. He returned to find mostly everyone was done but Linda was looking a little green in the face and West was rubbing her back looking concerned. Mello had finished with his blue eyed specimen and was reading from his text book.
The teacher excused Matt's sudden exit and he retook his seat next to Mello and pushed away his half cut eye in disgust. The gamer's roommate peeked over his book and smirked "You okay?"
"Shut up." Matt grumbled, wrapping his arms around his stomach and leaning forward in his chair. Mello laughed and looked back down at his textbook while Matt focused on not throwing up again.
...
After that extended class Matt and Mello walked together to English while Linda strode away toward her art class that Matt no longer had to take.
Ms. Nero turned out to be a very pretty woman with back length blonde hair and a figured you'd expect to see in the latest swim suit magazines. She passed around cookies she had baked for everyone's first day and began to explain their first assignment while the students munch on their sweets.
"You must write a simile comparing one person to an object or emotion of choice. For example." Ms. Nero smiled and looked at Percy "Your name?"
"Percy." The older boy replied.
"Percy is a cookie." Ms. Nero began, looking around at each students "His shell is hard but his inside is gooey. He brings smiles to faces and everyone likes to see him. Percy is a cookie."
Several people snickered, Matt included, and Percy glared around at all of them before he huffed "I'm not like a cookie! I ain't gooey!"
Ms. Nero smiled "I don't know you Percy but everyone else does. So I'm sure you will all do a better job of comparing each other than I. You have the rest of class."
With that she sat behind her new desk and began to grade papers from the last class. People began to lean over to their neighbors, sharing ideas and possible partners.
Matt already knew he would do Mello so he took a piece of paper from Ms. Nero's desk and sat down with a pencil and began to think. He tapped the pencil against the desk, writing down random objects that some what related to Mello. He thought of chocolate first... but no, Mello liked chocolate but he wasn't like chocolate. Matt glanced at his chosen person to see that Mello was already writing, his blue eyes focused.
Matt looked back at his own paper and an idea struck him. He began to scribble down words and a smile formed on his face as his idea took shape.
He was done within minutes, way before even Mello so he took the left over time to make a neat and clean copy. He signed his name and brought it up to Ms. Nero's desk and presented it to her.
The blonde smiled and took it from him, indicating for him not to move. She read it over then looked up at him with a smile "Very nice. Would you like to share it with the class?"
"With the entire class?" Matt glanced around.
"Yes, so they can have a better example. Class," Ms. Nero raised her voice and everyone looked up "Matt has finished and I have volunteered him to share his."
Ms. Nero handed Matt's paper back to him and turned him to face the class "Speak loudly" She reminded him before she settled back in her chair to listen.
Matt's throat went dry and he had to swallow several times before he opened his mouth.
"I did Mello." He mumbled.
"Speak up." Ms. Nero commanded and Matt took a deep breath and said loudly "I did Mello."
No one made a sound so with another shaky breath Matt began:
"Mello is a fish.
Trying to swim upstream.
He fights the current even when he is tired. But never gives up.
And one day he will reach upstream. He will achieve his goal.
He will be on top, the number one fish.
The only price he will pay is that all his fellow fish will be left downstream.
Never to join him.
But he will be there.
On top.
Mello is a fish."
Matt finished quickly and ran back to his seat without looking at Mello. A couple of people clapped but out of the corner of his eye Matt could see that Mello wasn't one of them.
…
"Mello was a fish?" Matt thought to himself, arm over eyes as he lay on his bed, thinking about the first day of English. He sighed and continued in his mind "I'm such an idiot! Mello is not what I said, I made him sound selfish. God."
The gamer rolled over onto his stomach with a groan and smashed his head repeatedly into his pillow
"Stupid." He muttered with each smash "Stupid Stupid Stupid Stupid Stupid!"
A hand came to rest on the back of his head to hold it still and Matt froze.
"What are you doing?" Mello asked, leaning down to look Matt in the eyes. Matt's heart skipped a beat and he had to beat back the blush the had threatened to surface. He raised his head and Mello removed his hand so the ginger could sit up.
"I'm sorry Mels." Matt muttered, looking down at his hands in his lap.
"For what?" The blonde asked, sitting down next to him "You didn't do anything wrong."
"My English paper." Matt sighed "I'm sorry, it wasn't like you."
"No, I think you did good."
Matt raised his head.
"I think all that you said was true." Mello continued, eyes closed "but I just hope I won't 'reach upstream' to fast. After all, that would mean L would be dead."
"Yeah." Matt sighed "I guess your right."
Mello smiled at him "What's with that tone?"
I don't want you to leave. I don't want you to leave me down stream. I want to go with you. Everywhere. That's what Matt wanted to say. Because it was true, he wanted to stay with Mello. He wanted so badly for Mello to lose to Near so the blonde would stay with Matt for just a little bit longer...
"Tired." Matt replied, returning the blonde's smile with a fake one.
…
I love you.
Is that such a hard thing to say?
A three letter phrase.
I-love-you.
Not even the slightest bit difficult to pronounce.
We say it all the time to our best friends and our family. To our mothers and fathers. To our sisters and brothers. To that friend that just got you the new dynasty warriors game or the one that you are so close to it doesn't feel weird to say it. The word love is used everyday to describe objects, people, and emotions.
I love you.
It was these three words that were chasing each other around in Matt's brain on the morning of February fourteenth.
Valentine's Day.
Once Matt knew he was awake enough to have no chance of sleep again he peeked opened his eyes and glanced at the red digits on the alarm clock that had surprisingly held up for five months so far. As he watched it the whole number changed from 8:59 to 9:00.
The gamer first checked the rooms for signs of Mello before he rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. The white winter light was giving away the hiding place of the air dust which spiraled around like tiny snowflakes. Matt's breath distributed those closest to him, causing them to blow out toward others and change the pictures them formed.
Matt began to shifted uncomfortably in his bed as the dust clouds lost their interest. It not that the bed was uncomfortable, far from it, but it was what was under the bed that agitated him.
The bright red and pink package of chocolates stuffed between a orange sweater and Matt's summer shoes.
Regular chocolate.
Mello's favorite.
To be or not to be.
To give or not to give.
To Mello or to the trash can.
Matt could not decide.
"Morning."
Matt's heart did a mini spasm then it dropped into his stomach acids as Mello walked out of the bathroom, rubbing his face with a towel and shaking the water out of one ear. The blonde dropped his pajamas into his laundry bin and stretched.
"Morning." Matt replied, his voice normal despite the storm in his stomach.
There was silence as Mello disappeared back into the bathroom then returned without the towel. The blonde bent down and grabbed his bag from the floor before he emptied it onto his bed and began to repack it.
"We don't have school today." Matt reminded him, sitting up so as to see the blonde better. Mello turned and grabbed a pack of chocolates from the bedside table and threw it into his bag without answering Matt.
Matt frowned "Are those for someone?"
"No, they're rations." Mello replied as he zipped the bag closed.
"Rations? Why do you need rations?" Matt stared as Mello pulled on his spare winter coat and a dry pair of gloves. The blonde scowled and pulled on his boots "Well if I plan to stay in a tree all day I'd probably get hungry wouldn't I?"
"A tree?" Matt asked blankly.
"Yes."
"Why are you spending Valentines Day hiding in a tree." A smile tugged at Matt's lips as he continued "Afraid of cooties?"
Mello laughed lightly as he swung his bag onto his back "I wish!"
"Then why?"
"Song."
"Oh."
Yeah, oh.
How could Matt forget?
Song.
The crazy obsessed Mello stalker who had almost snapped Matt's arm.
Oh yeah, she's also that girl that slapped Mello.
And Matt.
Song.
Oh.
"That explains where you were last year." Matt replied, lying back against his pillows "Have fun."
"She didn't come by last year did she?" Mello asked, looking around as if expecting to see the black haired girl hiding the corner "I swear she climbed in through the window a couple years ago but she denied it when Roger asked her."
"I was with Lily last year." Matt replied. My how the times have changed...
"Well if your hanging around here be prepared encase she comes. Just pretend you don't speak English." Mello called over his shoulder as he opened the door and disappeared into the hallway. Matt chuckled and pushed back his covers only to whip them back up so fast it smacked his chin.
"Coooold." He grumbled as he wrapped himself up and touched his feet to the icy cold floor. He shifted toward his dresser then muttered "Ta hell with it." And shuffled around toward the door. He slipped on some purple bunny slippers and walked out into the mildly crowded hallway beyond.
Girls had brought boxes of chocolate for their female friends and some boys were waiting, eagle eyed, to prey on the first boy to receive the first box of chocolates. This unfortunate boy happened to be Pavel as he was handed a box of chocolates by Linda. The teasing and mockery could still be heard down the hall as Matt shuffled toward the dining room.
Today was apple pancakes and Matt dug in slowly despite his love for the food. The pancakes had been baked into heart shapes and had strawberries and whip cream all over it. Matt was to lazy to wipe away a dot of cream that got on his nose and ended up leaving the hall with a white nose. He yawned and almost choked on the box that was shoved into his mouth.
"Happy Valentines Day!" Linda sang while Matt coughed the box into his hand.
"Thanks," Matt smiled, ignoring his near death experience and looking at the label. It was one of those five heart cheap chocolates with cheesy messages and funny animals but Matt still loved it and hugged Linda before apologizing "Sorry I didn't get you anything."
"That's alright," Linda replied and Matt SWORE he saw her wink as she continued "Mello would probably just steal it from me."
"He does like chocolate." Matt agreed suspiciously as Linda's smile widened a bit to much. Linda nodded and tossed Matt another box "That's for him."
"Thanks. I'll give it to him later. He's presently hiding in a tree." Matt laughed.
"AH HA!"
Shit.
Matt whirled around and found himself face to face with a grinning Song.
"So that's where he's hiding!"
"NO!" Matt denied, his mind racing "I said...he's...NOT in a tree."
Song gave him a: 'Really? You REALLY expect me to believe that? look' and Matt winced.
Mello would kill him for this.
Song smirked and turned on her heel and, with Matt right behind her, sprinted toward the front doors. Matt wasn't quite sure what he would do once he caught her but he chased her all the same. Song laughed and threw something yellow behind her and Matt face planted.
Matt grunted and held his nose as he sat up, looking at what he had slipped on.
A banana peel.
No.
No.
No.
No.
NO.
Matt slowly shook his head, glaring at the banana peel.
Only in cartoons...
Not in real life.
It was official.
Someone was out to get Matt.
...
Matt sat down on his bed, still clutching his nose and seething silently.
Bananas were now his least favorite food.
The gamer sighed and stood, swaying slightly before he walked to the bathroom and looked at his nose from several different angles as he poked at a spot of dry blood with a damp piece of toilet paper. He used his hand to wiggle it gently and winced. He sighed and dropped the red toilet paper into the trash can. There was a banging sound and Matt jumped a mile before he checked the trash can for turd bombs.
When the sound came again and nothing moved within the trash can Matt ran back into the main room and looked around.
"Oh, hi." He said, spotting the source of the sound.
The source scowled back.
"Sorry." Matt continued as he hurried toward the window that over looked Mello's bed. Mello was clinging to god knows what outside the window and kept glancing downward as Matt fumbled with the window lock. After a moment or so he got it to snap open and an icy wind sent Matt to the opposite side of the room. The gamer's roommate slid in and closed the window not a moment to soon as a box of chocolate's smacked against the glass.
Mello shook snow out of his mane of golden hair before he pushed off his jacket and rubbed his hands together.
"Sorry," Matt repeated with a wince "I was telling Linda where you were, she had chocolates for you, and Song heard."
Mello shrugged limply before he collapsed on his bed with a sigh "Doesn't matter."
"So what are you going to do now?" Matt asked, sitting on his own bed and staring at the blonde.
"First of all is that door locked?" Mello jerked his head toward the dorm door and Matt rolled to the end of his bed and stretched a hand to hit the small lock "It is now."
"Okay now that were actually safe," Mello continued "I guess I just plan on just hanging here for the rest of the day."
"You mean hiding?" Matt smirked.
"Hanging."
"Hiding."
"Hanging"
"Hiding." Matt sang "Mels is hiding from the big scary Song."
"If it wasn't for you she would never have found me."
That shut Matt up as he flushed a deep red. Mello chuckled and rolled over, kicking off his boots "Well I guess if we're both stuck in here we should find something to do."
"We could play a game." Matt glanced at his game consul.
"A video game!" He quickly added as the dreaded blush returned to his face as he thought about all the ways his first statement could be interpreted. Mello sat up, rolling his head from side to side, cracking his neck with a small sigh "I don't see why not."
Now game playing isn't actually romantic. But when your playing Peach and your best friend and roommate who you find yourself strangely attracted to is Mario then it adds just a touch of interest in Matt's opinion as he drove around in his pink car, ramming Wario and Yoshi with evil laughter.
Mello didn't even bat an eyelash when Matt finally bulked up enough courage to fetch the bag of chocolates he had brought from a small stash Percy kept. The cheat had sold Matt the bag for five dollars more than the original price but Matt wasn't complaining. The gamer hurried explained (lied) that he had been saving it for him, Mello, Linda, and Pavel all to eat together. The two munched silently on chocolate while they played, the sun getting lower and lower in the sky with every minute till dusk had fallen and Melllo finally threw aside the second controller Matt had ALSO bought from Percy.
"I'm so sick of this game." Mello grumbled, setting down onto his back with an arm over his eyes "How long have we been playing?"
"I don't know." Matt said, selecting a one player mode, his fingers not even hurting.
Mello popped another chocolate into his mouth and pushed it around his mouth before he sighed "Another year survived..."
"Don't jinx it." Matt chuckled as he sped through his level "Song's got till midnight."
"Her lack of activity worries me." Mello grumbled, swallowing his chocolate and reaching for another.
"Sleep with one eye open." Matt laughed, turning off his game and the TV before he rose to stretch. He let out a groan as his leg muscles cracked and he bent back so far he was on the verge of stumbling. He let out a sigh and straightened up, pulling down his shirt that had risen to expose his belly. He checked the clock that read an amazingly late seven-fifteenth. His stomach growled but he ignored it.
Mello stayed on the floor, eating chocolate and poking his eyes with his arm hair. Matt smiled and crouched down beside his roommate and poked Mello's slightly exposed belly "Get up."
Mello flinched then groaned "Go away. I want to enjoy these moments of peace!"
Matt chuckled and shook his head before he unbent his knees and went into the bathroom to slap water on his I-had-my-eyes-open-for-to-long-staring-at-a-bright-screen-face after removing his goggles. He looked into the mirror and orbs of emerald stared back.
The scars were kinda like wearing mascara. It brought attention to the eyes. Someone passing would surely and undoubtedly notice them.
"I'm gonna hit the hay." Matt called out to Mello who turned his head so he could see into the bathroom "But you got up late. Don't tell me your tired."
"My eyes hurt." Matt answered which was completely true. Try spending like five hours just staring at a TV, barely blinking. It doesn't leave you unaffected, even if your wearing goggles.
"Hmm..." Mello rolled over and used his arms to push himself onto his knees "Okay."
"What are you going to do?" Matt asked, collecting his pajamas from the foot of his bed before he reentered the bathroom and closed the door "I'm not leaving the lights on so you can be a nerd!"
Matt heard Mello snort from the other side of the door and then the door creaked and Matt assumed Mello had finally stood and was now leaning against the bathroom door.
"No ones ever called me a nerd." Mello answered while Matt pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it onto the floor
"Many have called Near one," Mello continued "But never me."
"Then it's about time someone told you what you truly are," Matt chuckled as he pulled on his long sleeved sleep shirt "The king of nerds. So, what do you plan to do?"
"Maybe I'll watch sop operas and sick calms on the TV. I can as long as I keep it down right?" Mello asked sarcastically.
Matt rolled his eyes and changed into a pair of plaid pajama bottoms then replied with equal sarcasm "Only if you tape them for me!"
"Hmm...no, if you want to watch them then it might keep you up," Mello replied, amusement plain in his voice "I'll have to do something else."
Matt wet his tooth brush and squirted some tooth paste into his mouth before he began to brush quickly, an amused smile on his face all the while.
"I guess..." Mello drawled and the blonde tapped his fingers against the bathroom door "I could watch you while you sleep."
Matt choked.
Toothpaste flew from his mouth and his toothbrush clattered to the floor as he bent double, coughing and gripping the sink counter. His eyes began to tear up as he pounded his chest and coughed till he was able to breathe again. Once the sound of his coughs had faded he could hear Mello laughing.
"I'm joking Matt." The blonde called "I'm not creepy like that!"
"God," Matt gasped, pushing open the bathroom door which Mello jumped away from "Give me a heart attack!"
The chocoholic plopped down on his bed while Matt placed his goggles on the bedside table before he crawled under his sheets, avoiding Mello's gaze.
So staring at people while they sleep is creepy.
Matt was a creeper.
And it was that thought that he fell asleep thinking.
Only to be awakened hours later by a handful of rose petals hitting his face and Song's shouts. After another hour or so the two roommates were abee to beat her back and break the piece of metal she had used to pick the lock.
All in all a very boring yet exciting Valentines Day.
Yes, Matt would be looking forward to the next one.
But little did Peach consider at that moment...
That Mario wouldn't be there forever.
Author's Note: Ughhhhhhh two weeks since I updated. I'm sorry, that's why I'm updating on Sunday. I'm trying to make this year in my story go a bit faster than the last one so I'll be jumping around alot. Well, hope you liked it and thanks to all my reviewers! I hit 100 reviews!
Please R&R!