Chapter eight:
Near finally nods softly so Mello hums in agreement.
"Sounds good. I will let them know." Mello sees Near's eyes dart towards him though the other doesn't say anything. "Don't you worry about me. I'll do it if it means that both of us will be able to get out of here. I want us to get out of here together. It sounds nice. I mean we don't have to be separated. We could even live together out there. I would keep you safe." He smiles at the very thought of it, especially the idea of the two of them living a comfy life together, and almost swears that he sees a brief smile on Near before it vanishes. He gets up. "Ready to go?"
Near slightly lifts his arm so Mello helps him up to his feet. He sticks close to the blonde as the two of them head to the meeting spot.
Sam actually looks a little surprised to see them.
"Near agreed. So we will do it." Mello informs Sam who looks to Near though the other doesn't seem to even respond to being looked at.
"Well. Okay. We will give you trust on this for now." Sam agrees and leads the two of them into a room Mello doesn't think he has seen before.
It almost looks like a movie or tv police interrogation room with even the mirror on one wall. Yet there is comfier looking chairs, some paintings of calming things like mountains and beaches on the walls, a nicer looking wooden table in sitting by the chairs and not to mention that the floor is a nice greyish white carpet.
Mello lets Near sit down in one of the chairs that are provided. He turns as a doctor approaches holding weird looking helmets.
"This will help us to study your brainwaves." The doctor informs the two of them so Mello lets them put it on the two of them. "Okay. These will be on monitoring mode while we finish grabbing what is needed for your tests. You two feel free to relax in here in the meantime. We will be back very soon." He leaves with Sam after that with the door being closed behind them.
Mello's eyes dart to the mirror having a feeling that they are hiding behind there. He blinks in confusion when a light is turned on showing no one there. He supposes that it must be to comfort them by showing them that they aren't being watched. He turns to Near shifting his chair to show him it before turning him away again. He glances around having no doubt that there is a camera somewhere in here. He turns back to focusing on Near. "So." He figures that he should show them that he really can get Near to react to him. "Are you nervous?"
Near slightly lowers his head which Mello takes as a yes.
"Me too." Mello admits quietly before he pulls up the chair next to the other. He leans back after sitting there. "However they are here to help us. So we don't have anything to worry about." He hopes that he is right as he realized that he doesn't know what these tests will entail. "Anyways. Have you thought about what your favorite drawing we did was?" He sees a soft nod that is softer than usual probably as Near is still worried about being watched. "Great! I am excited to find out what one you really liked!" He spots Near tries to secretly move a finger beckoning him closer. He leans close enough that Near will be able to whisper to him.
"The one of us laying under the stars in a field." Near whispers almost too softly to hear.
Mello feels his heart race at hearing Near's voice. He can't help a smile to himself at the thought that he had gotten Near to actually speak to him. "That one was a good one. Do you like the stars?" He sees a soft nod. "Maybe we can one day get permission to do some stargazing." He sees another soft nod then Near stops showing any signs of responsiveness as the door is opened. He turns to it spotting the doctors bringing in a curtain rack on wheels as if to separate the two of them. He leaps to his feet ready to protect Near as he growls in a dangerous warning giving them pause. "What is that for?" He demands to them who slowly puts it against a wall.
"A later test. To study your brainwaves when you are apart and together. Just for comparisons. That is it." The doctor explains to Mello who mostly relaxes supposing that he does have a point in needing such data to reference. "Are you two ready to begin? We have all that we need now."
Mello glances to Near before turning to the doctor. "As ready as we ever will be." He confirms as the others leave so it is just him, Near and the doctor. He doesn't like the slight twinkle in the doctor's eyes. He is now getting a bad feeling about this whole thing. He also notices that the light is turned off no longer allowing them to see past the mirror.
"Great!" The doctor claps his hands together. "For our first time we will just be gathering data. Just to see your different reactions to various situations. We need a starting point after all." He goes over to Near with Mello staying very close ready to protect the white haired boy at all costs. "So. To start we will do something easy." He looks Mello in the eye who is using his peripheral vision to watch for him doing something to Near. "This first one will be just seeing how things go if you two get to have activities." He pulls out a folded piece of paper and a crayon placing it on the table in front of Near. He backs off after this. "Go ahead. Draw a picture."
Mello sits down still suspicious about all of this. He picks up the crayon and starts to try to recreate the line work for Near's favorite drawing. He only has a black crayon after all. He shows Near once done making sure it is right where the other can see it properly without having to react. "Look Near! It is your favorite drawing!" He sees Near's breathing relax clearly showing that he likes it. "Glad you like even this version of it. I think it turned out great with our limited stuff." He turns the drawing to himself to look at it. He wishes that he could have done better.
"Interesting." The doctor mummers before approaching again. "That was excellent. Do you want another easy one or one that may be harder? You are free to breaks as needed. Just let us know if you need a break or if something needs to stop."
Mello looks to Near and leans close to him placing the drawing stuff including the drawing on the table. "Softer breathing for harder one. Normal breathing for another easy one." He whispers only allowing Near to hear what he says. He waits for a moment then Near's breathing softens. "Okay. I guess you want to get harder ones out of the way." He whispers before pulling away and turning to the doctor. "We will try one of the harder ones."
The doctor brings over the curtain separating Mello and Near. He then hands Mello some wireless earbuds. "Wear these." He tells the blonde who does as told. "You will hear some talking. We want to see your reactions not being able to see Near versus when you can see him. Nothing will happen to Near." He steps back staying close to be ready to pull away the curtain if needed.
Mello hears the words start to play through the headphones.
"Near is nothing but a waste of time and resources."
"I don't even know why he doesn't get euthanized as surely it'd be more human than keeping him alive. He is such a lost cause after all."
"No one actually cares about Near. Plus now Mello too because he decides to just hang out with him."
Mello grips the armrest of his chair feeling the rage starting to build up. He keeps hearing jabs towards Near and himself. He starts to growl and glares at the doctor. He charges only for the doctor to move quickly moving the curtain. He spins to what was revealed expecting an enemy. His eyes land on Near and he goes towards him with small growls however not charging so intimidatingly. He stops right in front of Near reaching towards him as he feels the tension in the air. He places a gentle hand on the top of Near's head feeling the other slightly lean into the touch. He closes his eyes letting out a breath before opening them again as the demons retreat back inside of him. "I didn't scare you did I Near?" He sees relaxing breathing telling him that he is good. "Good." He breathes out in relief. "Sorry about that. The demons got the best of me." He hears the talking from the headphones fade away as he had stopped listening to them. He turns only to see the doctor standing by the door.
"We will take a small break and allow you two to relax a moment. I want to take a look at the data before we continue." The doctor heads out with that.
Mello turns to Near removing his hand from the other. "Well. Maybe if we finish in good time we can read a story together." He offers only to start to detect the smell of something strange. He looks around just now noticing some sort of white wispy smoke coming out from a vent in the ceiling. He feels panic start to take over him. He gets Near up to his feet. "We have to get out." He tells the other rushing him to the door as the smell gets heavier making him start to feel sleepy. He throws himself into the door which breaks easier than he thought it would. He falls to the ground however moves Near away who remains standing. He doesn't think he can get up as his body feels so heavy and darkness is starting to take over. "Run." He tells Near before he passes out.