Back again! Teeheehee!

The top three smartest in Wammy's were Near, Mello and me. At age 14, Mello and I had become almost brothers, and my nightmares were nearly non-existent. I accepted Wammy's as a home, and Mello as my best friend. There was almost a contest at Wammy's, with the same prize if you won.

You became an heir to L.

Mello hated Near. Near brought the monster out in Mello. He made Mello stomp around the room, throw things, yell, punch things and even once, shed a tear. I realized quickly that since I didn't really hate Near, I just had to make Mello laugh. I was one of the only people who could. When Mello came into the room after a meeting with L, slamming the door and yelling,

"Fuck Near! Just fuck him! I wish he would just crawl into a hole and bury his fucking white ass head in... in dirt!" I whistled, getting his attention.

"That's very unoriginal." I said, keeping my eyes on the T.V screen. Oh, I had also discovered video games. I was sitting in front of the couch.

"Excuse me?"

"You make him sound like an ostrich, but we both know he's more the sheep type." Mello burst out laughing suddenly, anger forgotten.

"Oh, Matt. You make me laugh." He threw himself onto the couch behind me, his leg touching my neck. Shivers ran down my spine, and I quickly pulled my goggles on, more of a security blanket type of habit than anything else. At least they fit now. "Matt?"

"Yeah?" Mello sat up behind me and leaned over me, pausing my game. I looked up at him, my head resting on his crossed legs.

"Do you think I'm better than Near?" his eyes had lost the anger, now they were just sad and curious.

"Yes, I do." he smiled fleetingly, and moved my head off of him, going over to his desk to work. I resumed my game.

Lately I had been feeling different towards Mello. He made me feel strange. All tingly and shivery and he made my heart feel good. I didn't know if it was good or bad and I didn't know if I should tell someone or not. Besides, who was I going to tell? Mello was pretty much the only one I talked to. And what was I going to say, Yeah, Mello? You make me feel funny inside and I kind of like it. Can you tell me what that means? Cause I have no fucking clue. Yeah right. I looked over at him, bending over his work. His hair was shaggy and uneven, his eyes still beautiful. I had always thought he was beautiful. But I wasn't sure what that meant anymore. He sensed me looking at me and snapped,

"Take a picture, it lasts longer!"

"Sorry!" I had been killed by the boss while I wasn't looking. Damn it, I thought. He's so distracting.

"Why must you stare?" asked Mello from across the room.

"I- I dunno." I mumbled, blushing. He was quiet for a moment then barked,

"Turn that shit down. I can't concentrate." I stuck my arm out and yelled,

"Heil Hitler!" making him chuck a pencil at my head, laughing.

In the middle of the night, I woke up after another nightmare, clicking on my light and sitting on the floor beside my bed. Mello tossed and turned before, turning to face me, rubbing his eyes.

"Matty? Why are you on the ground?" I looked up at him with tears in my eyes and he sat up.

"Oh no. Not again?" I nodded and hugged my knees like I did when I was little. He hopped out of bed, putting a hand on my head to make me look at him. "It was bad?" I stared at him. "C'mon Matty. I don't want you to lose your voice again."I swallowed and cleared my throat, making sure my voice was normal.

"I'm fine." I whispered, trying to smile. Mello smiled back and got back into bed, patting the space beside him.

"Come on." He said, like you would to a dog, and like a dog, I hopped up and curled into a ball under the blankets. He laughed and looked at me while I fell asleep. You have such beautiful eyes, Mello. I'm not sure if I said it or was thinking it, but it didn't matter to me because I had worked it out for myself.

And my decision felt right.