'I'd been working so hard! How the fuck could he beat me AGAIN?' Mello thought as he unwrapping (tearing, to be exact) his chocolate bar. Being a competitive boy he was, Mello couldn't stand the fact that he was second (again), right after the white-haired boy. He was Mihael Keehl, for GOD SAKE, he was number one, until that little white mouse appeared (9 years ago) and took his place. Mello hated Near so much: his whiteness appearance, his obsession with toys, his indifferent manner... How the fuck could Near be so calm whenever he received his test, whenever Mello punched him in the face... To Mello, L was his idol, his God, yet Near seemed to be unconcerned.

Snap!

Mello finished his chocolate and threw the wrapper aside when he reached the Common room. There he was, perfect Near, sitting in the corner of the room and solving his blank puzzle, like usual. The blonde walked up to the albino. The boy didn't even look up from his puzzle.

"Hello Mello. What does Mello need?" Near said, monotonous. 'What's wrong with him and his third-person-talking?' The older one wondered.

"A perfect score again, Near. Just like always. How does it feel when being first without studying, huh?" Mello mocked. Near sighed, mentally. He really didn't want to be involved in this one-side-rivalry. He liked Mello. The blonde was the only one who ever paid him any attention. Near considered Mello and Matt as his only friends, but the chocoholic despited him. The white-clad boy didn't mean to be a genius, he just did, and here Mello hated him for being himself. How ironic.

"Does Mello have nothing else to do than talking to me, since he didn't enjoy my company? Beside, I'm kinda busy, as Mello can see." Near gestured his puzzle, remained indifferent. Suddenly, Mello grabbed his collar and lifted him up. Fierce ocean-blue eyes locked with deadly grey eyes.

"You think I'm not good enough to talk to you, huh?" The blonde growled. "You think that you're so much better than anyone else, don't you? Your bastard. You're just a little piece of trash!".

Near's face reflected nothing, just blank. The younger boy kept silence. He was used to Mello's 'nickname' for him, though.,

"YOUR MOTHER IS A BITCH!" Mello shouted. The blonde was really pissed off. That was the first time Mello had ever said to him like that.

Near froze.

"YOUR MOTHER IS A BITCH!" The drunken man screamed at a ten-year-old girl as he slid the knife on her arm. Beside him, on the floor, lying a lifeless woman, his wife. She was covered in blood. The little girl kept crying, pleading the man to stop.

In the corner of the room, there was a four-year-old boy, curling up into a ball. He couldn't do anything. Tears stained his face, his wide eyes fulled of horror. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the bloody scene in front of him.

And without warning, the lunatic man stabbed at the girl. There were several stab wounds: in her arms, her legs, her stomach,... her heart...The small boy's eyes widen.

After dropping the girl down, he turned to the boy, a wicked smile crept on his face...

'Near... he is shaking...' Mello noticed. Near looked at the ground, his snowy white hair hid his eyes. They stayed like that for a few minutes.

"I will appreciate Mello if he puts me down right now..." Near broke the silence, his voice cracked. The blonde let go of Near and the albino ran out of the Common room immediately, leaving a confused-Mello behind. He ran past Matt. The redhead was walking into the room, his hands occupied with his PSP.

"What the...? NEAR, WAIT!" The gamer called, but Near didn't listen. He turned to his best friend.

"Okay Mels, what have you done to him?" Matt asked, his voice cold. "Not nice, dude." The redhead shook his head and ran after Near. Mello just stood there, didn't know what to do. 'Near... What's wrong with him. He looked like he was going to cry.'. Fifteen minutes later, Matt came back, Mello was still standing there.

"That kid sure knows how to hide whenever he wants to. He isn't even in his room." Matt murmured, then continued. "Tell me Mels, what happened?"

"I... I don't know." The blonde admitted.

TO BE CONTINUED
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