This chapter and the future ones take place a few weeks after Mello's injury. He is now able to walk again. Poorly, though.

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Matt laughed quietly as Mello tried to follow him down the sidewalk. He turned his head to cast his gaze over his shoulder at the blonde, slowing down his pace so that the temporary cripple could catch up. It was odd to see Mello limp and wobble around, considering he usually had such a powerful look to him. Not now, he doesn't. I could push him over and he couldn't even stop me. He thought cheerily.

"Where's your catwalk strut, Mellsy? I thought you said you could own this street." Matt sang out, turning himself around to walk backwards so he could face Mello when he talked to him.

The blonde shot a small glare at his friend, momentarily holding onto the pole of a streetlight as he wobbled past it. "Shut the fuck up! I told you, it's hard to walk! Not to mention I look like a fucking idiot!" He shouted. His entire leg felt like Jell-O and trying to walk was very awkward and unusual to him.

Matt grinned and sang out teasingly—and poorly, I might add—as he held out his hands theatrically;

"I won't cry for you

I won't crucify the things you do…"

Mello deadpanned and stood where he was for a brief moment. "Matt, I am surprised every day at how fucking gay you really are." He called out as he continued to follow the red head, a smile playing at his lips.

With a soft laugh, Matt pushed up his goggles to scratch one of his eyes. "You shouldn't be so surprised if I display it every day." He retorted playfully, narrowly avoiding a post box.

Mello shook his head and smiled, continuing to limp after his friend. He would have preferred taking Matt's car to the pizzeria, but no. Matt insists that it's important for him to walk so he can get strength in his leg back. Fuck Matt and his knowledge of injuries.

"Good job walking, dumbass."

The gamer raised his brows, a laugh escaping his throat as he looked over the other. "Me? Look who's talking!"

"At least I'm not running into things like an idiot. You're the reason people hate gays."

At the last comment, Matt laughed a bit louder. He'd admit, Mello was funny sometimes. With a quiet yawn he pressed the button for the crosswalk and waited for the light to change, turning his attention to the blonde who was adjusting the small bandage over one of his wounds. A soft breeze floated through the area, causing their clothes and hair to ruffle slightly. It was a nice change to the sticky hot weather that had been going on lately.

Mello smoothed down one of the edges of the bandage and poked where the fading hole resided. It didn't hurt much anymore to the touch, but walking with it was still a bit uncomfortable. Once he'd finished messing with his injury, like Matt had told him countless times not to do, he pulled down the end of his black cargo shorts to its appropriate place to hang just above the bandage. He then pulled down his white tank top so that it was no longer riding up his back from having been bent over. When he was done, he looked at Matt.

"How are those goggles not making your face hot?"

The red head blinked at the question and then shrugged. "They are actually." He breathed a laugh and pushed them up off of his face so that they rest in his hair, moving his hand to wipe away the sweat around his eyes afterwards.

Mello watched his friend and snorted softly. "You should invest in sunglasses."

"Sunglasses don't look as cool though."

"I'm sure you can find yellow-tinted sunglasses somewhere, Matt. Besides, if you wear sunglasses, you'll look like less of a loser."

Matt pursed his lips slightly and ignored the comment, quickly walking across the street when the sign signaled for him to do so. "C'mon Mello, hobble across the road before you're run over."

The blonde made a soft noise as he quickly limped across the asphalt, occasionally glancing to the side as a few cars slowed to a stop next to him. I hate this. I hate this. I fucking hate this; I look so retarded. He thought, being slightly embarrassed of his current situation. When he made it across to the sidewalk, he slowed down his pace to a more comfortable one and walked along with Matt.

After another ten minutes or so of walking and casual talking, the two of them arrived at the pizzeria. Matt led them into the pleasantly dim restaurant and found them a seat in a booth, around the corner and away from the majority of the other diners. They usually sat away from others because of Mello's staring habit and his paranoia that people were always watching him. This, in turn, caused him to stare back if he ever caught someone. Sitting away from other people just made it easier on the both of them.

"Do you want to share a pizza or each get something or…?"

Matt looked up at the suggestion and thought for a moment, turning his head back down to scan through the menu to try and help his decision. "Hmm…" he verbally mused, turning one of the pages. "I don't really care. Whatever you wanna do." He shrugged, ordering his drink once the waiter came around.

Mello ordered his drink as well, relaxing back into the comfort of the booth as he looked over his menu. After a few moments he pointed to one of the options. "Let's just share this pizza. It's big."

"Sounds good to me."

With a soft breath, Mello messed a hand through his hair, working his fingers through a few small tangles. This place always reminded him of a part of his old mafia headquarters… it was so dim and creaky and—

"Oh, yes, we want this." He explained as he pointed to their choice on the menu, the waiter having surprised him slightly out of his thoughts. He noticed that their drinks had been placed down and when he was finished ordering he took a sip from his own.

Once the waiter had left, Matt raised a brow at the blonde. "You okay? You kinda… spaced out there." He said with a laugh, drinking from his own glass. He wasn't sure why he'd even asked that; Mello stared all the time.

The blonde turned his attention to Matt, smiling a bit as the thoughts came back to him. "Oh… nothing. This place reminds me of the mafia. There was a room in the headquarters that looked kind of like this… We used it for selling drugs and other black-market things." He said, his gaze trailing to land on nothing in particular while his fingertip ran up and down along the edge of his glass, looking lost in memory. "It didn't smell like pizza though…" he thought aloud, his voice trailing off in the end.

Matt paused and then laughed a bit. "Thanks, that's… pleasant. I'm never going to be able to look at this place the same ever again." He laughed again and pulled his phone from his pocket, checking the time before sliding it back into its place. Almost three o'clock. Plenty of time to eat and then pick up a movie before the shop closed.

Mello shrugged and smiled at his friend, taking a long drink from his glass. Not only you, Matt. There was never a time when Mello could look at this place and not think of the mafia. All the things he'd done and people he'd killed… He wouldn't tell Matt those things though. It wasn't for the red head to know and in all honesty, Mello often wished he could forget some of it. Like the time he was pressured into doing PCP… Like hell he was ever going to do any kind of drug again after that.

The red head watched his friend, curious as to what was going on inside his head. He wanted to ask Mello what the mafia was like, but… he knew it brought up mixed feelings. He'd tried talking about it twice before; the first response being anger and the second being complete avoidance. So when his urge arose again, he decided against the questions and tried to come up with another topic to converse on.

"Did you have any ideas for what kind of movie you wanted to get?"

The blonde blinked and locked his eyes with his friend's. "I dunno, what were you thinking?"

Matt smiled subtly to himself and sipped his drink. "Something with ghosts or demons."

Mello gripped his glass and widened his eyes a fraction. You bitch. "Why not like… a psycho killer or something?"

"Because I live with one. It's not that exciting."

Mello breathed a quiet laugh and adverted his gaze to his drink.

With a satisfied smirk, Matt played with the salt shaker a bit, watching it as twirling it around in his fingers. "So… a haunted or possession movie sounds good to you?" He raised a brow and tossed the shaker up, looking up at Mello and catching it with one hand as his smirk grew wider.

The blonde kept his eyes on his drink. That atheist bastard knew his religious ties with the supernatural and how the thought of ghosts and such was one of the few things that actually freaked him out. After a seemingly long moment of silence, his eyes returned to his friend's. "I hate you."

"So is that a yes?"

"Would you accept if I said no?"

"…No."

"Exactly. So get your goddamn ghost movie so that I'll have to hold my piss all night because being alone in the bathroom will freak me out."

Matt grinned in triumph, relaxing back into the booth and nodding a thanks to the waiter when their pizza was set down on the table. "Don't worry Mello; I'll hold your hand during the movie so you won't cry." He said with a wink, leaning forewords to pick up one of the little plates and get a slice of pizza for himself.

"You shut the fuck up. I won't cry." He retorted, grabbing some of the pizza for himself as well. "You're just a douche and like to pick the one thing I'm afraid of."

"Only one thing, huh?" The gamer said, a mischievous glimmer in his eyes.

"Yes Matt. You only need to know about one of them. Because you're a jackass."

Matt just smiled and shrugged. "I'm sure one day I'll eventually figure out another one." He flashed his toothy grin, his good-looking features accentuated in the low light of the pizzeria. For some reason he felt exceptionally… good today. Perhaps it was because he knew he could outrun Mello and have an actual reason to tease him. Or maybe it was because he loved pizza and horror movies… who know? Matt didn't. All he knew what that today was good, for whatever reason it may be.

As the blonde ate his food and enjoyed himself, he couldn't help but notice Matt's devious smile. Why did he look so… happy? It was odd, actually. Usually the red head was apathetic or sad looking. Well, not exactly sad. His neutral expression, Mello decided, resembled sad. So seeing him look so cheery and full of life was rare and to be truthful, Mello rather enjoyed it. Though, if he seemed to be in such a good mood… maybe he could get the red head to finally play his keyboard for him before they watched the movie… It was the least he could do anyways, right? Matt knew he didn't like those kinds of movies…

"This is pretty good, huh?"

Mello focused at the sound of his friend's voice and then nodded in agreement. "Yeah it is. If we don't eat it all we should bring it back home with us." He suggested as he bit down onto his piece, quickly letting it go again when it burned his tongue. Hot. Hot. Hot hot hot.

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With a careful eye, Matt scanned through the movie titles on the shelf. He wanted to find one that actually sounded scary. One that would make Mello scream. "Hey, how about Paranormal Activity and Paranormal Activity II?" He asked, looking over at his friend who was looking through movies in a different section.

Mello glanced over and frowned slightly. "You said only one! Besides, fuck those movies! They're real, Matt. That shit actually happens."

Matt held a movie in each hand, taking a moment to let what Mello said sink in. Perfect. "It's just a demon Mello." He said with a smile, walking the movies to the front of the store to rent them. He ignored the blonde's cries of protest; this would be too fun to pass up. Besides, he'd been wanting to see them for a while now anyways.

Once everything had been paid for and they'd begun their journey back to their apartment, Mello prepared to launch his counterattack on the red head.

"…Hey Matty?"

Oh God. He only calls me that when he's got an idea that I won't like. Matt looked over at Mello with an expressionless face. "What is it."

"You never played your keyboard for me, you know…"

The red head furrowed his brow slightly and then sighed out. "Mello, I'm really not that good anymore…" he tried to reason, breathing a little laugh. "I wouldn't even really be worth it."

"Matt oh my God grow some balls and just play it."

The red head grunted in discomfort and rubbed his free hand over his face, taking a moment to decide. He did kind of want to see how well he could actually play still… and who knows, maybe it would be fun? He'd be better than Mello at something… heh.

"Fine. Fine, okay, I'll play it when we get home."

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Mello watched as the red head set up his keyboard across the room. He was actually excited to hear him play, considering he'd never seen Matt do much of anything other than smoke and play video games. Secretly, he also hoped that Matt would be really good. Playing the piano, Matt… how cute.

With an annoyed grunt, Matt pulled the cigarette from his mouth and stood over the keyboard, trying to figure out why it wasn't standing properly. So fucking wobbly… both sides are extended all the way too. He let an exasperated sigh escape his lips and put the cigarette back in its place, breathing the smoke in deeply as he simply shoved a few CD cases—which he'd picked up from the nearby end table—under one of the feet. Afterwards, he gently tried to rock the keyboard, a smile of satisfaction spreading across his face when it stayed stationary. Finally.

"Okay… ready?" He asked, going into the kitchen and taking one of the dining chairs, bringing it into the living room so that he could sit down in front of the keyboard.

"Woooooo~" Mello cheered from the couch, throwing his arms up into the air with mock enthusiasm. "Go Maaaattt~"

The red head rolled his eyes and then smiled, holding his hand out towards Mello a bit as he took his cigarette from his lips. "Hand me that ashtray." He waited and when the metal met his fingers, he pulled it close and rest his cigarette down into one of the nooks. Okay… what to play… A small smirk tempted to show on the corners of his mouth as he thought of a song. He breathed in deeply and then began playing a pathetically simple little tune, plinking his fingers across the keys. He continued for a few seconds before singing out in his deep, smoke-raspy voice;

"I'm s-i-c-k of my meaningless life—

Where c-h-a-n-c-e-s pass me by,

It's r-e-a-l-i-t-y…"

Mello felt a flutter of excitement flicker through him when Matt got ready to play—only to have it be destroyed a moment later by the painfully simple song that came out. Not to mention the lyrics. Is this real. Honestly Matt what is—what the fuck is this song. He continued to listen, his face contorting into a look of confusion as it became obvious that the entire song was the same way.

"…Mr. c-o-o-l at all the shows,

Your a-t-t-i-t-u-d-e is old

It's r-e-a-l-i-t-y…

And you might ask why—

Nothing's ever how it seems

I think I knew more when I was thirteen—

When did life get so real?"

The blonde just stared, listening to the song. Did Matt… write this song? Or was he playing some other person's song? It was starting to depress him, really. Though, he let Matt continue, listening as Matt's singing became slightly more intense for a moment and then died down, the music slowing and becoming quieter. Was he finish—

"NA NA NA NA NA NA NA—"

"Matt! Stop, oh my God" Mello called out, laughing a bit at the red head's sudden overly loud outburst.

Matt jumped slightly at the sudden sound of his friend's voice, stopping his singing and playing. He stared for a few seconds before laughing loudly and leaning back a bit from the keys. He didn't think Mello'd actually let him play almost the whole song. He figured he'd have been stopped after the first verse, which is why he'd chosen to play it in the first place.

"What did you not like it?" He asked, laughing more.

The blonde laughed as well, shaking his head a bit. "I wasn't really expecting something like that… something more… upbeat, I don't know."

Matt grinned and stretched upwards, a few laughs escaping his chest. "Yeah I know, I only played that for laughs." He brought his hand down and used it to bring his cigarette to his lips again, taking a few puffs before setting it down again as the smoke drifted slowly out of his mouth and nose. "I'll play something for real now."

Mello nodded and relaxed back into the couch, smiling as he watched his friend prepare himself. Even though he'd sung a slightly depressing song beforehand, Mello liked his singing voice. It wasn't the classic 'good' singing voice. It was actually pretty bad; though bad enough that it sounded good. Scratchy and deep, sometimes wavering… he liked it.

The gamer inhaled deeply, thinking of the song he'd chosen for a moment before he began stroking the keys, the sound coming from them being quite nice compared to his previous display. The tune was now soft and it flowed smoothly, Matt's good-bad singing soon joining the melody to make up an entirely different song. This song Mello enjoyed.

Maybe if he asked nicely, Matt would play a couple more. Then he could push off the movie for longer and longer.

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I won't lie, I liked this chapter. xD But ffff sorry about the Lady Gaga song reference there in the beginning, LOL. I've been listening to it a lot lately and couldn't help myself. I don't really know why Matt would have been listening to Lady Gaga. Maybe he just happened to overhear it… Speaking of songs, though, I used two in this chapter (including Lady Gaga's) so incase anyone's like me and likes to hear songs they read in fics ( _ ), I'll post links to them. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

"Bloody Mary" by Lady Gaga: http : /pl. st/s/1693467153

The song Matt sang first, "Moceanu" by Bayside: http : /pl. st/s/813831185

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