Just another lame day in 'advanced' chemistry. Really, it was just a joke, like the rest of the classes in this place. As per usual, Matt sat in the back row by the window, ignoring the prattle of the teacher as he clicked and tapped away at his worn out PSP. The game on the small screen reflected off of the redheads orange-tinted goggles, making his already hard-to-see eyes even more impossible to make out.
"You little bitch," Matt growled as, in the game, his character was attacked by some creature. Grumbling a few choice words, the boy leaned back and thoughtlessly kicked his feet up onto the desk, sucking at his bottom lip as the craving to pull out a cigarette grew more and more intense.
To Matt, this was what school meant. Sitting in the back of each class while playing his game. The teachers never giving him shit because his grades were perfect, and he never really had a behavior problem. He did his work and kept to himself. Of course, it wasn't because Matt as shy. He wasn't even close. He just didn't like people. It was nothing personal against any one person, but as a whole, the human race seemed so meaningless and boring to Matt. He much preferred to just play his game and be left alone.
Other students used to try and bully him. He seemed like an easy target - a timid little geek with red hair and goggles. But Matt wasn't afraid to get into a fight, unlike most of the would be bullies. But he didn't stop with just laying them out... Matt would ruin them. He'd hack into their social media accounts and make them look like fools, leaking all kinds of personal information. That was enough to warn people to leave him alone.
However, Matt's attention had been slightly altered as of late. A new kid had transferred to the school and was in nearly all of Matt's classes, and he was a very interesting guy. Matt had decided that before he even peeked into his transfer file, which was locked away inside the school's database. He had long blonde hair, cropped just above his shoulders, and dressed in leather. Fucking leather! And, with his tight body, it was hard not to stare, regardless of sexual preference.
He was more than just physically appealing, though. Apparently, this fucker, whose name was Mello, was some kind of genius. The same kind Matt could be.. if he wasn't so damn lazy and unmotivated. That was something that REALLY captivated Matt's interest. Almost made him want to compete with the blonde firecracker.. almost.
"MATT!" A sharp feminine voice caught Matt's attention, causing his hidden green eyes to momentarily flicker upward to find the teacher standing directly in front of his desk. A few of the other students giggling, giving Matt the impression that the teacher had been trying to get Matt's attention for a while now.
"Did you hear a thing I just said to you??" She huffed, hands on her hips. Matt just stared at the woman for moment, arching a brow and pursing his lips ever so slightly before, finally, shrugging his shoulders. "Nope, not at all."
This, of course, pissed the woman off. She disliked the way Matt carried himself, and it was obvious. He had the ability to really go places; to thrive! But he didn't. He was lazy and uninterested in mostly everything. He preferred to waste his life in a video game opposed to making a difference in the world with his brain. That was how she saw it, anyways.
Sighing, she gave Matt an exasperated look before turning and heading to the front of the room. "I was telling the class about the upcoming science fair. And, given that this is a science class, participation is mandatory." There came a wave of groans from the class, but Matt just went back to mashing at the buttons of his PSP, only half listening now. He didn't mind a science fair project. It would be easy.
"Also, this will be a group project! You will all work in teams of two. And no; you don't get to choose your own partners. I've already chosen your partners for you." Another groan from the students. This time, Matt had faltered in playing his game, a little scowl tugging at his lips. Perfect! He'd have to work with some little fucker. Well.. he could just do it himself--
"Matt, I've decided to put you with Mello." And there it was. Matt blinked, completely tearing his gaze from the video game now to stare at the woman in bewilderment before looking over towards where Mello was seated. A few of the other kids let out audible sighs of relief. Mello had a nasty little attitude problem, and the other students were definitely glad not to be stuck with him.
Matt had a feeling this would either be really interesting... or really annoying.
call me a s i n n e r, call me a s a i n t ❜ ❜ ❜ tell me it's o v e r, i'll still l o v e you the same
× ××
A science project. How elementary, even for a high school assignment.
Unlike Matt and his other peers, for that matter, Mello was already using his time planning ahead, deciding what sort of "project" would be appropriate for this group project. It wouldn't be difficult impressing a high school teacher who graded a light bulb experiment as A+ material but the credit wasn't what Mello cared about. If he didn't challenge himself every now and then, even for a dumb science project, it would be the same as sinking to everybody else's level.
But, then again, he couldn't exactly present a biochemical miracle nor one that posed a hazard as his little project, so thinking of something appropriate was proving to be more difficult than anything else. Of course, Mello hardly cared for whom he had been partnered with, too. It was less of a hassle getting things done without a second opinion and Mello was the type of person to risk docking off some participation points for more freedom. Hell, he'd rather do the entire project himself.
Whether or not Matt liked him was beyond his consideration at this point.
Once class was over and Mello had a few minutes of leisure before his next class, advanced calculus, he made his way over to Matt. It was the closest he had ever been to the redhead and the blonde now realized why he hadn't paid much attention to him (not that he ever did to anyone, ever). The other male was on his PSP still, which admittedly made this confrontation a bit easier since one of them was detached from a conversation Mello sorely wanted to end before it started. "I'm going to do the project on my own," he said, although his tone of voice made the more-than-generous offer sound like an order. "You'll only get in the way." Ah, now that sounded more like the Mello his classmates loathed him for.
Maybe if the blonde had known that Matt was actually bright and on his level of academic intelligence, he would have considered a negotiation at best, even if he personally preferred to work alone. For now, all he thought of Matt was that he was some gaming freak who wore goggles indoors and reeked terribly of cigarettes. He almost felt sorry for the students that sat around the kid.
He himself wanted to stay at least three feet from Matt and those three feet became five, then six, until he was at the door. There was nothing Matt could do, after all, to force Mello into willful cooperation unless the brat actually snitched on the teacher and earned them both a failing grade. He didn't think Matt was that stupid, though.
Matt wasn't the competitive type, not by a mile. Mostly because there just wasn't anyone around that could even try to compete with him, to be honest. So what was the point? But when Mello approached him after class and stated so boldly that HE was going to do the project, Matt felt a weird ping of adrenaline pump through his veins. He feigned that he wasn't really paying attention to a word Mello was saying, answering at first with a distracted hum. However, when he was told that he'd only get in the way, he couldn't help the little grin that spread across his lips. It was faint, and by the way he was slouched over with his head tilted towards his PSP in his hands, it would be hard for Mello to catch. But it was there.
"You're a pretty cocky little bastard, aren't you~?" He chirped out by the time Mello reached the doors, his gaze finally lifted to meet Mello's own, should the blonde even bother to look back when Matt spoke to him. Regardless, Matt stuffed the game system into the pocket of his vest and strolled on over towards the door as well. Mello did many things to him.. but scaring him wasn't one of those things.
"I appreciate the offer, Goldilocks, but how can I trust that you won't fuck things up? My grade is ridding on this, and I just don't trust you with something as precious as my grades!" He feigned a little sigh, shrugging his shoulders as he caught up with Mello. Honestly he didn't care THAT much if his grades got fucked. He just really liked the idea of pissing Mello off... was that weird?? Matt wasn't the best at socializing. Mello was just so moody and arrogant that Matt couldn't help but mock him.
"Besides, we wouldn't want you to damage those girly little hands of yours.. right, Mel~?" Matt was grinned broadly now, arms folded lazily behind his head as he stood a few short feet away from where Mello himself was standing. Those playful green eyes peering curiously over at Mello from beneath the tinted goggles.
A few other students who were out in the hall had stopped to cautiously watch thee two. They all felt certain that a fight was about to break out, Matt was talking so boldly to Mello's face, and Mello clearly had a short fuse...
call me a s i n n e r, call me a s a i n t ❜ ❜ ❜ tell me it's o v e r, i'll still l o v e you the same
× ××
A part of him hadn't expected Matt to swallow his words like a little bitch but now that the redhead was annoyingly fueling a confrontation, Mello certainly wished the kid had no backbone.
He stood his ground, pupils narrowed piercingly at the other male. If looks could kill, Matt would have dropped dead on the floor the second he took those gutsy steps towards him. Unfortunately, his menacing gaze alone didn't do much but prove he really was a "cocky little bastard" who wouldn't take Matt's childish taunting with a grain of salt. "You don't have to trust me with anything, idiot," the insult rolled off his tongue none-too-easily. "Just stay out of my way."
Mello honestly had no bone to pick with Matt nor did he think this tiff was worth the extra effort and time of standing there, tossing immature banter back and forth with a redhead who clearly underestimated him. He had half the mind to leave, but Matt strangely grated on his nerves even with the shallowest of remarks. Girly hands, really? Anyone else could have pointed out that Mello looked like a blonde bitch and he wouldn't have given two shits about that, but this... he pissed him off.
"I'll wring your neck with them if you keep pissing me off," he threatened, and they truly weren't empty words when one knew how temperamental and violent Mello's nature was. The crowd of passing students had thickened a bit, but it wasn't the peer pressure of being the tougher male that pushed him to take a step closer. A bit too close for comfort, maybe, because Mello instantly regretted his move when the stench of cigarettes shot up his nose.
He scowled. "And don't call me that." If the hall monitor hadn't intervened when she had, Mello would have started a fight, a real brawl, and at least one of the two would have ended up bloody and bruised. The blonde backed off, just before he caught a glimpse of the forest-green eyes veiled beneath those shitty goggles and thought for a split second that Matt was maybe a bit attractive for a stupid fuck. He did have a thing for green eyes, after all. And redheads.
Just not this one. Mello shoved past him, ignoring the hall monitor who was in the middle of writing both of them citations for disturbing the peace.
He didn't give a fuck, and he didn't give one until the end of school as he walked off campus, still thinking about how aggravating that redheaded fucker was.
Oh, this guy's intimidating! Matt though to himself, unable to rid himself of that little smirk that was plastered across his face. This was just so exciting. He didn't have anything against Mello, of course. He just hadn't gotten into a good fight in a long time, and he was curious to see if the blonde was all bark or if he had some bite to him. And with how angry Mello already was, Matt felt certain that Mello was about to start swinging. Matt wasn't sure that he'd win the fight even if they did get into one, and he didn't really care if he did or not. The outcome wasn't as exciting as the buildup.
His eyes were shimmering beneath the lenses now as Mello stepped up to him, his heart beating like a drum in his chest. He stared directly into the dangerously narrowed icy blues of the other boy, not so much as flinching. Matt just smiled, slowly lowering his hands from behind his eyes as they practically stood nose to nose.
"Ooh~ Did I strike a nerve?" He teased, not even realizing that they had drawn a crowed until suddenly the dumb hall monitor was wedging herself between them to force them apart. Matt's eyes widened a little then, brow furrowing into an irritated, flat glare as he looked to the girl. His smile faded just as quickly, forming a frown. Tch... what a pain in the ass. "Mind you're own-- eh??" Suddenly, Mello was shoving past him and through the crowd of students.
"H-Hey! Wait a sec, Mels!!" He called out, waving a hand in Mello's direction and taking a step towards him only for the hall monitor to grab his arm before he could escape. She began to lecture him, but he hardly head a word she said. His focus was on Mello, who disappeared around the corner. Growling, Matt grabbed the little slip of paper that the girl shoved into his hand before making his own way through the crowed. He crumpled the paper up and tossed it aside as he went, but.. he was too slow. Mello had slipped out, and Matt had no idea which way he went.
Man... well.. there went THAT little tid bid of excitement. Deflated, Matt let out a sigh and, sluggishly, began to make his way off campus as well. Where was he headed? 'Home'. To his mom's boyfriend's house. His mom was in jail over some petty shit, again, so Matt had nowhere else to go. He knew that once he got there, it would mean a fight. Especially if the motherfucker had been drinking...
And he was right, because Matt woke up the next morning face-first on the kitchen floor, his head aching and throbbing. Grunting a little, the boy slowly pushed himself up into a witting position and moved to run his head, only to wince when his fingers met a bump on the back of his skill. That fucker hit him in the back of the head with a bottle, knocking him out cold. Speaking of 'out cold', Matt glanced over and noticed the man slumped across the lumpy sofa. He was passed out, arm dangling off the side of the couch with a beer bottle clenched in his hand.
Glaring flatly at the bastard, Matt stumbled to his feet and dusted himself off a little. "I hope you die of alcohol poisoning, asshole." He grumbled, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it as he stumbled stiffly from the house and headed outside. He had been fully dressed when he and the old man got into it, so he wasn't going to bother to stick around and get changed.
Besides, a good smoke, a small walk, and some fresh air could only do him some good. And he was right. Smoking was, in Matt's opinion, the best way to deal with pain. It made him feel better, it numbed his pains, and everything else.
Matt was just walking... he had no way of knowing he was headed right towards a certain temperamental blonde boy.
call me a s i n n e r, call me a s a i n t ❜ ❜ ❜ tell me it's o v e r, i'll still l o v e you the same
× ××
Mello tried for a good attendance record whenever he could, but more pressing matters often arose and the blonde's desk was often empty than it was not.
Today was one of those mornings Mello actually dragged himself out of bed to go to school for, and circumstance kept him from keeping the first bell. He took the shorter route to the campus but there were three burly men, most likely members from an enemy gang, that stood like impassable boulders in his way. It was going to be a pain in the ass to wiggle his way out of this one without some sort of physical altercation.
He sighed. How annoying. He only hoped that they were dumb enough to mistake him for a normal high school student, although Mello was quite the talk in the streets nowadays. Instead of circling around their turf, the blonde had the nerve to walk right through them, which he shouldn't have if he was truly in a rush to be in school.
"Well, well, if it isn't pretty little Mello! Going to school?" one of the enemy gang members howled with laughter. "Run along then, like a good boy!"
Technically, he was off the hook. If Mello possessed the self-restraint to walk away from a fight, he wouldn't have missed the first bell nor gotten himself in the scrape he was getting himself into now. As soon as the lead shithead of the group finished speaking, the blonde had already sliced open a gash across his cheek with a concealed blade. His attack was quick and effective, but certainly not painless. Mello grinned when he saw for himself the damage he had inflicted, the way his perfect cut tore open the fucker's mouth wide enough for him to look like the Joker. An ugly one, at least.
His small victory was short-lived as he was punched to the ground by the other two men. It hurt. It hurt like hell to have his ribs kicked in and his face scuffed against the asphalt but Mello still wore a menacing grin when the men held him up by his hair.
"You little shit!" the others barked, hoping to wipe the haunting smirk off his face with a few more kicks to his muzzle and diaphragm.
Mello hacked up blood, but even the unpleasant taste of iron pooling in his mouth didn't taste so bad when he gazed upon the shithead's mangled face and knew he had done that. "Fuck you!" the blonde screamed, stabbing one of his perpetrators in the shoulder before he was tossed to the ground again, being beaten black and blue.
Matt had absolutely no intention on going to school today. He just wanted to find somewhere to sit, smoke, and play his PSP to put all this other shit out of his head. For now, though, just walking and taking drag after drag of the addicting cancer stick was enough to satisfy the boy. That, however, was when Matt heard the commotion. At first, he paid it no mind. But the closer he got, the louder the commotion got, and the better he could pick up the voices. None of them were familiar at first, so his interest wasn't piqued in the least bit. However, he soon heard a very familiar voice screaming 'FUCK YOU!', followed by someone roaring in pain.
"What the fuck..?" Matt mumbled, rounding the corner to catch a peek of what was happening onto the come face to face with a sight that really, really pissed him off. At first, he didn't even recognize that the person on the ground was Mello. Ge just knew three full grown men were beating on someone not even half their size. But when he finally recognized it was Mello, he felt something inside of him flicker. A dull rage of sorts. He didn't know who these guys were, or how Mello got himself into this situation, but not even Mello deserved to be jumped.
"Instead of jumping him like a bunch of pussies, why don't you fight him one on one?" Matt's voice cut through the air like a knife. It was flat, but laced with venom. Much different than the light, playful tone he had taken with Mello the day before. He took another drag of the cigarette as the men froze, watching close as one of the men put his foot to Mello's chest to keep him down while the two other guys stepped around him to face Matt. They were grinning like a bunch of idiots, though it was obvious that being called pussies had rubbed them the wrong way.
"Listen, punk. Unless you wanna end up like him, I suggest you move along... and forget what you saw." They threatened, but Matt was ignoring them. He took another few steps forward, staring instead at Mello now through those orange goggles of his. "Hey! We're serious, prick! One more step and you're dead!" The other man snarled, causing Matt to slowly withdraw the cigarette from his mouth and lift his gaze back to the two men. He looked the man who just threatened him dead in the eye, and then.. took one distinct step forward.
Snarling, the man lunged forward and swing his fist directly into Matt's face. He hit his mark dead on, his fist smashing into Matt's nose and caused him to stagger back a bit, but to the thug's dismay, Matt didn't go down. He just let out a small 'tch..', wiping the gush of blood away from his nose with the back of his sleeve as he lifted a rather twisted little grin to the men. Then, in a swift motion, he dove forward. He ducked under another of the punches and lifted his left hand, which had the cigarette pinched between his index finger and thumb.
Without hesitation, he stuck the cigarette into the guy's left eye, sending him staggering back with a loud scream. Matt took it as his change to knee him as hard as he could manage in the balls, sending him crashing to the ground.
The guy who had his foot on Mello's chest was quick to abandon Mello, assuming he was too hurt to get up, and smashed his elbow into the side of Matt's head while he was distracted with the other guy who was not on the ground. The blow sent Matt to the ground, jaw hitting the concrete hard. He began to stomp on and kick Matt while the other guy quickly moved to aid their fallen comrade, who was still screaming from the cigarette to the eye.
"Is that.. all you got... prick?!" Matt panted up at the man in between the kicked and stomps. He figured this would buy Mello time to either get up and join the fight again... or flee. One or the other.
call me a s i n n e r, call me a s a i n t ❜ ❜ ❜ tell me it's o v e r, i'll still l o v e you the same
× ××
If he passed out from this, Mello would have still been satisfied to know that the fucker would have to stare at his mangled face in the morning every day from now on. It was worth it.
He had also expected to pass out a while ago but he really wasn't one to knock out so easily and, well, somebody had actually come to his rescue. Mello wasn't hopeful, of course, that any passerby with just an ounce of bravery to blindly step into a fight between street rats had any idea how unfairly they fought. This was bad. Really bad.
Mello spat out a wad of blood and dragged himself up, sitting against the brick wall behind him for support and holding his bruised ribs. He was honestly surprised to see Matt in the midst of the bloody brawl, taking his hits and losing sorely in the process. What a fucking idiot. Although, for someone who looked like a sack of sticks and bones, the redhead was putting up a good fight, one that kept the three injured goons at bay while Mello found his jackknife tossed into a pile of trash.
Once he had recovered his weapon, he lunged for one of the men and stabbed him one, two, three times, purposely missing his vital organs so they wouldn't have a corpse to clean after this. Coming late to class with an 'I killed a man' as an excuse wasn't Mello's ideal way to start his morning. Fueled by rage, the blonde grabbed the second thug by the collar and slashed at him with his knife, getting a good, few cuts across his face before the three realized two twiggy high school students weren't worth the trouble (or multiple stitches).
They ran off and Mello exhaled heavily, shoving his bloody knife into his backpack. The ground was a bloody mess, he was a bloody mess, and... Matt was a bloody mess.
"That wasn't your fight," he helped him up carefully, narrowing his eyes although he spoke more with concern than malice at this point. "I told you to stay out of my way." Mello wasn't going to thank him, no. The blonde would have been perfectly fine on his own, whether or not Matt intervened with his heroic spiel about how street thugs should fight justly. But, it still mattered that the fucking idiot had interrupted the altercation and Mello was puzzled as to the redhead's motive for it.
He hardly had a break before he heard police sirens wailing in the distance. Someone had probably called the cops on them and Mello didn't want the police to be the cherry on top to his already shitty day.
Mello grabbed Matt and ran. He wasn't sure where to yet, nor if either of them could run in the state they were in, but Mello's first priority had always been not to get caught, and Matt would have been the only evidence left on the scene if he left him.
They ran until the sirens faded and Mello led the redhead into a cramped alley with grungy motels and dingy apartments. He stacked a few broken crates on top of each other to create a makeshift ladder that led to a dusty window, one that was easily accessible by removing the screen and faulty glass. It was an empty sublet Mello crawled into that was poorly furnished and reeked of cigarettes and miscellaneous drugs. It was a hideout, mostly, that members of his gang used to host illegal transactions and stakeout from patrol.
It was here that Mello found refuge, at least temporarily, just to nurse the worst of their wounds and hide before revealing themselves. "You don't listen, do you?" he asked Matt after spitting blood into the sink. "Why did you do that? You could have been killed, you annoying fuck."
But why would he care if Matt of all people got killed? Matt, the pretentious dumbass in his chemistry class. Why did he care?
Physical pain was nothing to Matt. After years of being beaten black and blue by that asshole back at home, this beating was nothing special. He even managed to let out a little laugh as the man stomped on his back and kicked his ribs, hip, and shoulder. And, of course, the laugh just earned him a stern kick to the side of the head. Which, momentarily, fucked his obscured vision up quite a bit. But he didn't need his vision to feel the beating stop, and hear the sound of the man crying out as (presumably) Mello attacked. Blinking hard a few times to try and clear his vision, the redhead perked his head up when he heard the blonde's voice and just smiled up at him like they hadn't just had their asses kicked. Blood dribbled down his chin, dripping onto his already blood spattered tan vest. So the fight wasn't his, huh??
"Hehe.. well.. too bad, I wanted in on the action. Don't be so greedy." He chuckled, voice strained with discomfort as she sat himself upright as best he could. He was admittedly surprised by the fact that Mello helped him stagger to his feet, even more so when the blonde's voice held a hint of concern even if his words were as cold as ever. He did his best to shake it off, instead looking Mello up and down and biting the inside of his lip. Well, at least his question about whether or not Mello could bite to back up his bark was answered. Mello had a way with that knife of his.
Though, when Mello reminded him about how he told him to stay out of his way, the redhead just chuckled and shrugged his shoulders innocently. "What can I say? I don't like to be told what to do." He stuck his tongue out after he spoke in a childish manner, not really caring when he heard he distant sound of sires. All he cared about now was his undying need for a smoke.
However, just as he was reaching down to hook his fingers into his pants pocket to find his lighter and cigarette carton, Mello was unexpectedly grabbing his arm and pulling him. And, honestly, Matt wasn't sure why he followed him. He could have easily torn his arm back and staggered away on his own. But there was something in him that just told him to follow... like some weird instinct. There was just something about Mello that drew the redhead, like a moth to flame.
So, even if he could hardly breath, the boy followed. Sure, he was gasping and wheezing by the time they stopped, sweat pouring down his face and smearing the fresh blood on his skin, but at least he hadn't keeled over on the way here. Wherever 'here' was. Matt was too winded to really care to look and see where they were, Instead, he doubled over, hands on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath while Mello went about stacking crates against the wall. Then.. he climbed them.
Great. More physical activity. A fight was one thing. It was fun. But all this running and climbing shit? Matt wasn't really build for it!! Still, using what was left of his strength, he clumsily followed Mello up and in through the window. And he did so with as much grace as a bull in a china shop.
He crashed face first through the window and onto the floor, foot stuck in the window frame, leaving him awkwardly (and uncomfortably) twisted upside down. He did, eventually, manage to pull his foot free and flip so he was laying flat on his back, but he looked pretty ridiculous while he was doing it.
"You live in a shithole, Mels." Matt blurted, panting hard as he lay across the filthy floor, arms and legs spread out like a starfish. Despite his exhaustion and bodily pain, there was still a small half-grimace, half-grin plastered across his face. He even let out a small laugh, only for it to be cut off as he groaned and hold his side. Heh... seemed like laughing was out of the question for now.
He did listen to Mello's words as the other went about spitting the blood from his mouth and int the sink, going on about how Matt 'didn't listen' and how he could have gotten himself 'killed'. The redhead just rolled his eyes and smirked.
"I only do what I want to do." He stated, staring at the ceiling through the orange hue of the goggles. "As for why I jumped into that fight," He started, pursing his lips a little in thought. While he tried to figure out why he had joined in, he finally managed to pull a cigarette from his pocket and light it, tucking it between his index and middle finger before taking a long, needed puff. It was only after he exhaled the cloud of smoke that he finally answered Mello's question.
"Honestly, I don't know why I bothered... The risk of being killed never crossed my mind to be honest." Matt shrugged again, taking another drag. It was true. Matt wasn't afraid of death. Everyone died at some point, and in the end, it didn't matter how or when to him. He had no reason for his existence. He had no goal, no future, no drive... but Mello... something about him...
"What about you? Someone as lovely as you couldn't possibly have enemies. So why were those assholes whopping on you?" He teased, the word 'lovey' laced with obvious sarcasm. Really, it was a no brainer that someone like Mello had to have enemies. But these guys had seemed like straight up thugs.
call me a s i n n e r, call me a s a i n t ❜ ❜ ❜ tell me it's o v e r, i'll still l o v e you the same
× ××
Great. Now he had one of his classmates from chemistry class lying, bloody and beaten, on the floor of their hideout. He had expected Matt to be a little more shaken up, maybe even curious about his surroundings, but the redhead didn't give a damn and was treating the gang stakeout as his own living room. This... he was going to be an interesting situation to explain to the other members if one of them stumbled into this.
"I don't live here," he bit back an insult. It was too easy calling Matt something derogatory, so, for now, Mello wouldn't give him the pleasure of knowing he was easy to agitate. That tidbit about not living here was sort of, kind of a lie. Technically, Mello had no home, no permanent roof over his head to call his own. He was always running, hiding, and scheming, occupying whatever space was left vacant by the gang to spend his lonely nights. But Matt didn't need to know that.
He unintentionally ignored Matt while he scrubbed the dry, rusty blood caked on his hands with lukewarm water. As much as he loved the thrill of having someone else's warm blood splatter on his skin in the middle of a slaughter, dried blood was a bitch to clean. He wiped the crimson blotches from his tight, leather jacket with ease, then from his scarred, warped face.
Mello was mildly surprised that Matt, being as annoyingly nosy as he was, hadn't asked him about nor poked fun at the nasty burns covering half his face and downwards. It was the first thing people (at least his classmates) noticed about him and often teased him for it.
"I don't know," he lied nonchalantly, tying up his hair into a messy ponytail. "That's what a 'bunch of pussies' do, apparently."
While the redhead sated his cravings with a cigarette, Mello reached into his worn-out backpack for a chocolate bar. He preferred milk chocolate, the sweetest kind, but the supermarket next to his temporary place had only restocked the 70% pure cocoa crap this morning. That was better than no chocolate, though. After peeling back the gold foil, he snapped a corner off with his teeth and waited until the chocolate melted on his tongue to swirl it around, savoring the way the sweetness masked the bitter iron of blood.
"Oi, get up, you're lying on rat shit," Mello gently nudged the side of Matt's temple with the toe of his boots. If Matt was true to his word and he truly went against what people told him to do, Mello didn't give a shit. He could be swimming in rodent feces for all he cared.
Whether or not Matt listened to him after that was none of his concern.
What he was concerned about was school, and how he had missed a day of it dealing with street thugs when he could have been doing something more productive. Like working on that science fair project. He glanced at Matt under the messy curtain of his fringe, figuring it would be convenient to settle their last score now that his "partner" for the assignment was actually here. Forcibly put together by fate, but together, nonetheless. Mello took a seat on a worn-out couch and crossed one leg over the other, placing a few of his notebooks on top of his thighs. "I already have an idea for the project and I'm going to finish it by tonight."
It really was no daunting task to finish a one month long project in one evening for someone like Mello (or Matt, for that matter).
He paused. "You might as well be useful if you're going to stay for a while."
"Fair enough," Matt shrugged when Mello clearly avoided his question, instead watching as the other boy tied his hair up into a messy ponytail. Mello cleaned up pretty quick, the blood on his face and hands already washed away, leaving him looking almost like he hadn't just been jumped. Matt? Not so much. He didn't really care about being covered in blood. It would be pretty annoying to walk down the street like this, though... people would be staring, making assumptions, someone might call the cops.. it would just be an irritating situation. But man.. the floor was comfortable after all that.
Well, that was until Mello decided to tap his foot against his head and tell him he was laying in rat shit. "... awesome." Matt grumbled, brow twitching a little as the other continued to prod his boot against his temple. Then, groaning as if having to use the energy to get up was more painful than his new gashes and bruises, the redhead slowly heaved and staggered to his feet.
"By the way, if you don't live here then who the fuck does?? Did we just break into someone's house?" Matt begrudgingly made his way over to the sink Mello had just been at as he spoke, taking his gloves off in the process. Then off came the bloodied vest, followed carelessly by his goggles. No one had ever seen him without the goggles on, and Mello wouldn't be the first, as Matt had his back to the blonde, and the goggles were only pulled down around his neck for a few minutes as he washed his face free from the sweat and blood.
The cold water felt undeniably good against his warm flesh, those bright green eyes of his pinching shut and his tense body relaxing for the moment. And he did feel better without the crusty blood and dry, itchy sweat... Sighing, he quickly snapped the goggles back into place, leaving the gloves and vest on the counter for the time being as he turned to trot on over to Mello.
"Tch... to be honest I don't have the same interest in the project as I did yesterday... But can I at least know what the hell you have planned? I could be more useful if I knew that much." He kinda forgot about the damn project until now, actually. He ruffled his hair as he spoke to re-settle it around the goggle strap, lazily plopping down beside the blonde like they did this every day.
He figured Mello still thought he was just as stupid as everyone else in the class, but whatever. He was being honest when he said he lost interest in the project. It was the idea of getting on Mello'ss nerves that had excited him, but he was a bit worn out right now. And.. really hungry... which was not being helped by the way Mello was munching away at the chocolate bar. Grunting, the redhead pinched the cherry of the cigarette to put it out then shove it into his pocket for later. He wasn't rich and cigarettes weren't cheap, so he wasn't gonna waste a second cigarette today.
But he was really curious...
"... why does someone like you even care about the project? I know you're a genius; I may or may not have gotten into the school's database and checked out your file when you transferred, but you don't seem like the kind of person who would care about grades.. What's the point? " It was what Matt asked himself every day he went to school. He himself had no 'end game' once he graduated high school, or went to college. He wasn't interested in landing some desk job that he'd work for the rest of his life, being some inferior piece of shit that didn't matter to the world.
He was just as 'happy' being a lazy, lowlife scumbag. But he was really curious to know what drove someone like Mello to stay at the top.
call me a s i n n e r, call me a s a i n t ❜ ❜ ❜ tell me it's o v e r, i'll still l o v e you the same
× ××
"Something like that," Mello replied casually, wondering if Matt would actually believe that he had sneaked into an unfurnished sublet knowing it was unoccupied.
The blonde realized halfway into the third question Matt asked how troublesome it was to have a partner constantly mouthing off like Mello was obliged to answer him. At least one of them was more invested in figuring the other person out, while Mello was completely content not knowing too much about Matt... until he was told the redhead was a hacker, a proficient one at that. The school only held information Mello wanted them to know but if Matt knew beyond that source, he would have been truly impressed.
"That's too bad," Mello commented dryly, although he was secretly relieved that Matt wouldn't be one hundred percent dedicated to the project, leaving him more in control of its direction. "A small scale nuclear fusion reactor. The report needs to be written, that can be finished tonight, and the grunt work, well, that might take two days at most. Less if you contribute." It wasn't anything that someone highly educated in engineering and chemistry wouldn't know how to do, but the idea itself was a bit far-fetched for a high school student. To Mello, it was simply appropriate.
He wiped a bit of blood from the cover of his notebook with a scowl. Crimson from the knife was all over his belongings now, even on the pencil he liked to chew on when he couldn't munch on chocolate in class.
Mello glanced over at Matt, not peeved enough by his presence to tell the redhead to fuck off and sit on the rat-shit floor or something. "I don't," he answered truthfully for once. Mello couldn't give less of a shit about grades since he was undoubtedly smarter than the cunt that called herself an educator. Her judgment on his intelligence meant so little to him. "I just want to." There was nothing that forced him to wake up at seven in the morning just to attend the same classes everyday like a drone, but Mello was truly odd in the sense that he craved a bit of normalcy. Being a genius was great, rewarding even, but he often wanted to... tune out.
"You're the enigma here," he said, bulldozing through the advanced calculus worksheet he had on his lap. "You're a hacking genius, aren't you, Matt? Yet, you're willing to be defeated in games you can easily modify and engineer yourself. It's too easy for you if you do that, though." He bit off another piece of the chocolate. "So, you wait for another game to be released, something that you don't have to fuck with."
He flipped through the pages of his notebook slowly after finishing his math homework in under ten minutes. "That's why you keep coming to school. It's too easy, everything's under your control, so you wait. You wait for something to challenge you, because you have a shitty, boring life," he paused. "You wait for someone like me."
"A small scale nuclear reactor?" Matt laughed, lifting his arms to drape them lazily over the back of the sofa. He knew his fair share about fusion power. "That's child's play considered to the kind of shit I was thinking you might suggest.. buuut I guess I understand why you chose it. If you chose anything more advanced, then they might call the cops on us for bringing in what could be a nuclear bomb." Matt shrugged, biting down on his bottom lip as his brain went to work trying to think of the fastest way to get this done. He supposed if he left the thinking to Mello, then it would mean less work for himself. Which was ideal. But if he could think of a quicker (but probably less safe..) way to do it, why not at least give it a thought or two?
However, before he could get too into thinking, Mello answered his question. And it left Matt a bit dumbfounded.
I just want to.
Blinking, Matt turned to stare at Mello with a look of confusion and surprise. He wasn't the smartest kid around because he felt he had to be.. he just... wanted it. He wanted to be the best, and that was why he worked for it. And that was all there was to it?? Matt could never understand that. But it was something he was bound to be thinking about for a while, whether he wanted to or not. Again, though, Mello caught him off guard when he spoke up. This time calling Matt 'the enigma'. Matt's brow furrowed and he opened his mouth to speak, but before he had the chance, Mello was completely calling him out.
Matt arched a brow as Mello described him to a T, earning a small glare from Matt who puffed up when the blonde pointed out that Matt had a 'shitty, boring life' and that he was waiting for someone like Mello to come along.
"Hey, fuck you, Mr. "I think I know everything"! I mean.. maybe you're right about some of that shit," He grumbled, folding his arms over his chest and nearly pouting. He wasn't a huge bragger, but he was definitely one hell of a hacker and computer whiz extraordinaire. He hacked into things that could get him sent to prison for life for the fun of it and messed all sorts of shit up, buuut that got dull when he had no task, so he only did that occasionally nowadays... really Mello was 100% right but why let him know??! Then again, Matt was a really bad liar... the more he tried to deny something, the more obvious it usually was.
"Don't get a big head. I'm only interested in you because-- er, no, I-I'm not even a little interested in you is what I meant to say!" He tripped a little over his words, puffing up as the faintest of strawberry blushes burned into his otherwise bruised up face.
"Just shut the fuck up and give me some paper or something, asshole, s-so I can get started on that damn report for the stupid reactor."
call me a s i n n e r, call me a s a i n t ❜ ❜ ❜ tell me it's o v e r, i'll still l o v e you the same
× ××
Ah, so this was how Matt, the genius under the guise of an idiot, keeled.
A faint hm sounded from his throat when the redhead defensively pointed out his arrogance, a trait that was so trademark of Mello that it almost felt like hearing that the sky was blue and the grass was green. Being accused of conceit wasn't a compliment nor an insult to him; it had never been.
"If you're this annoying when you're only a little interested in me, I'd hate for you to actually be," the blonde pointed out with the slightest semblance of a smirk on his lips. So, maybe Matt was an enigma to others, but Mello thought he was getting closer and closer to cracking him down. Yet, the sensation was new. Riveting, even. Mello had never encountered anyone with so much potential yet so little purpose to take advantage of it and it puzzled him just the same as the other way around.
He didn't think too much of it. After all, his first priority for the evening was to finish at least a third of the project, so the rest of the month could be better spent doing more productive activities. Like organizing his crime syndicate... or restocking on milk chocolate bars.
Mello ripped out a few pages of his notebook and handed them to Matt on top of a hard binder with a chewed-up pen. Well, this was new. The blonde hadn't thought it would be this easy to get Matt, the kid who did fuck all in class, to concentrate on anything. "There's no electricity here, so you have until sundown," he said. "I'll work on the blueprint." Now this... this was what they called teamwork, wasn't it? Mello wasn't unfamiliar with having a partner, but he was seldom cooperative and tended to reinforce the old saying "my way, or the highway" even with those he was supposed to work hand-in-hand with. With Matt, he didn't need to be so aggressive. He could work with this.
By four in the afternoon, Mello had his entire share of the project and then some completed. He wasn't sure how far Matt had gone into that report yet.
He relaxed, reclining like a lazy feline across the couch with his hands tucked behind his head and a skinny leg hauling over Matt and one dangling over the edge of the sofa. He was itching for a cat nap. He sure as hell deserved one after this morning. He yawned. "Why do you wear those stupid goggles, anyway?" he asked purely out of boredom, his gaze flickering up at Matt under his fringe. "You look like a fucking bug."
A cute bug. A bug he'd actually fuck if Matt didn't talk so much.
"Don't you 'hmm' at me!" Matt defended, puffing his cheeks out a little when Matt gave him that look. A look that said he basically knew what Matt was all about. And that smirk... hmph! Matt snatched the paper, binder and chewed up pen as they were offered. Mello looked way too smug for his own good. But Matt was admittedly distracted by the pen, giving it a displeased look with his nose scrunched up. After giving it a short look over, he gave a little shrug and got to writing. Not before letting out an exasperated laugh when Mello pointed out there was no electricity.
"This place really IS a shit hole.." He shook his head and, with that, went to work. What more was there to say? Mello was doing the hard part, which was the blueprints. The rest was cake, including the report. Mos would need to do a ton or research to even know what they were taking about, but to Matt, it was like explaining how to make peanut butter toast. Only he had to be super detailed, which was what took time. Plus his handwriting was shit, so he had to focus on making it legible, which took up a bit more time than he had expected it to.
Admittedly, it was some boring shit. He couldn't help but yawn on multiple occasions, sinking down low onto the couch with his legs stretched out idly in front of him. He even nearly nodded off once, but then Mello casually kicked his leg over Matt's lap, waking the redhead up. Blinking, he grumbled in irritation, but didn't bother with shoving his leg off of him. Wasn't like it was a big deal or anything... plus if he got into a fight now, he would lose his place in the report and that would be more annoying than a leg across his lap.
Come four o'clock, Matt was done. He was just going through, making his handwriting more legible, when Mello's voice snapped him out of his daze and back to reality. With the most random question thus far. "A bug?" He repeated, arching a brow and looking over at Mello, who was lazily lounged out across the sofa (and Matt's lap).
Settling the report aside, Matt reached up and adjusted his goggles as they were brought up. "They aren't stupid! They're cool! As for why I always wear them.." Matt glanced up towards the ceiling and folded his arms over his lap, which was also Mello's leg at this point. "Well, if I took them off, I'd be too smart! The tight strap cuts of some blood circulation to my brain, because without the goggles, I'd be the smartest person alive. And I don't need that kind of responsibility." He joked, flashing the equally tired Mello a grin. That was obviously not the REAL reason... but.. he knew Mello wouldn't understand the real reason. So he kept it to himself, instead making light of the question.
call me a s i n n e r, call me a s a i n t ❜ ❜ ❜ tell me it's o v e r, i'll still l o v e you the same
× ××
Now it was Mello's turn to be thoroughly amused by Matt's childish reaction to his taunting. He hadn't thought the redhead would take it seriously, but it was all the more entertaining knowing he had "struck a nerve" as Matt so pretentiously worded it before.
He had half the mind to snatch the goggles right off of Matt's face because it wasn't like he couldn't but he liked the mystery that shrouded the other male. "You're an idiot," Mello concluded when he became bored of Matt's fabricated explanation halfway through it. If Matt thought his orange goggles were worth keeping a secret, he wouldn't pry.
Mello snatched the papers from Matt and scanned them over briefly. Besides his shitty handwriting, everything else was surprisingly to Mello's standard, which meant he wouldn't have to rewrite the entire thing. To the blonde, someone who knew the same information he did was meaningless, but to find someone who worded that information in a way he would on paper was... special. He would have submitted the essay exactly like this, almost word-for-word, and it astonished Mello how similar their thought process was more so than he was impressed by how bright the redhead really was.
He scrunched his lips to the side and slipped the papers between the pages of his notebook. He would type it up later. "You've got a good head on your shoulders," he praised Matt so nonchalantly that it almost didn't sound like a compliment. But, Mello knew people like him and Matt were rare to find at their age, especially someone who was... like him.
Mello shoved the rest of their work into his backpack and hauled the strap over his shoulder when he stood. Now that the sun was setting, the sublet was getting dimmer and the blonde preferred not to be here with Matt while the rest of his gang prowled about. "I'm leaving," he told Matt.
He wasn't sure where he was headed to. If the mood struck, he'd contact a private "client" to rent a hotel room for him in exchange for some personal services, but nowadays, he wanted to keep to himself. Luckily, he had a place, a tiny apartment confiscated by the loan sharks of his gang, that kept him sheltered for a chunk of the winter.
He thought about stopping for ramen on the way home, the thought of a warm meal on a chilly afternoon churning his empty stomach. At the door, Mello briefly glanced over his shoulder at Matt. "I'll see you tomorrow, then," he said, knowing they would probably just see each other in class next.
"You can't call someone an idiot and then tell them they have a 'good head' on their shoulders." Matt pointed out, though he was inwardly satisfied that the paper was to Mello's liking. Which.. was really weird to him. He rarely felt satisfied. Like.. ever. So why the fuck did he even care if Mello DID like the way he wrote the report?! He himself knew it was good enough, but hearing Mello approve of it just stirred an odd excitement inside of him. Kinda made it more worth it, but he wasn't going to admit that to the stupid, attractive, ill-tempered blonde.
Regardless of that, Matt agreed that leaving was a good idea. He still had no idea who this place belonged to, but if Mello was leaving, Matt figured he should split as well.
"Yeah... see ya." He grinned, grabbing his vest and gloves as Mello took his leave first. Then he left as well, only he knew where he was going. He had nowhere else to go. And, to his relief, Shane (his mom's boyfriend) wasn't there. So he was able to take an actual shower, washing up good so he no longer smelt of smoke, sweat, and whatever other stink that house had held. He spent the rest of his day laying on the couch playing his PSP, then falling asleep barely an hour later, dead tired from the morning activities. He was still starved, but there was no food in the house. He had no cash. So he just went to sleep.
The next morning, he woke up before the sun to the sound of Shane yelling at someone in the front yard. And, wanting to avoid that asshole, Matt quickly got up, got dressed in some fresh clothes, stuffed his PSP into his pocket, and left through the backdoor. He wondered around for an hour or so until the school building opened, then made his way inside to use the restroom. The few students that were there looked at him with wide eyes, their expressions varying from concerned to horrified. And, when he reached the bathroom and looked into the mirror, he found out why.
He was fucked up! His lip was busted and a little swollen, his chin scraped up, and a dark bruise was puffed up on his cheek. There were other marks as well from yesterday's brawl, but those were hidden beneath his clothes. Matt sighed, running his fingers over the dark bruise before shrugging. Well... he couldn't really help it. It was what it was!
So, he dealt with his business and headed to class. He was the first one there, getting there before even the teacher. Usually the classroom door was locked, but he managed to pick the lock with ease so he could just hang out and play his PSP in peace. And, when the teacher did arrive, she was more worried about his appearance than how he got into the classroom.
Matt, on the other hand, was more curious about when Mello was gonna show up. He had been thinking about that blonde bastard all night...
"Fucking asshole.." He muttered as he mindlessly tapped at the PSP's buttons, the lightest of smirks playing at his lips. Who knew that he would actually come to like Mello... Not that he'd let Mello catch on to that.
call me a s i n n e r, call me a s a i n t ❜ ❜ ❜ tell me it's o v e r, i'll still l o v e you the same
× ××
Mello hadn't slept well last night.
He ate a soggy apple before bed and threw it up in chocolate-covered chunks before passing out, the darkest corners of his mind stained with thoughts of Matt. How close he had been to those forest-green eyes in the classroom, how the words written in Matt's shitty handwriting spoke to him like the letters were dancing off the pages. The redhead was competition, but no, not just that... what was he?
The blonde stirred awake to the sleepy murmurs of men passed out in the living room, empty bottles of liquor scattered around like landmines in the space he had just cleaned a few days ago. Mello hated when they barged in unannounced, even more so when the stench of marijuana and cigarettes lingered in the apartment weeks after their rude visitations. He showered, grabbed his backpack, and left before any of them could wake up.
He was early, even if he had taken a brief detour to the supermarket to buy a few chocolate bars and an energy drink for the way home. Mello snacked on the sweet on his way to school to keep his sugar cravings balanced. As the saying went, "a chocolate bar a day, keeps bitchy Mello away." Chocolate was something his stomach could handle, thankfully.
So far, so good. His stomach wasn't acting up, there were no thugs in his way this time, and he'd have eight hours to "tune out" before he'd have to tune back in to the streets. He was usually so unconcerned with his surroundings but he couldn't help but notice the way others stared more often than they normally did, like they were trying to be obvious about gossiping. About how he had done quite a number on Matt after their unsolved conflict yesterday.
He was confused until he walked into a nearly empty classroom and saw Matt looking shittier than he did yesterday with the same cuts and bruises that had been ignored since. No wonder he was attracting so much attention. No wonder he was the talk of the entire school for allegedly beating a classmate. Mello sighed. Boring, uneventful days were too much to ask for sometimes.
He sneaked behind Matt just in the nick of time to hear the 'fucking asshole' from his lips, and he didn't waste a second thwacking the back of his head with the chemistry textbook as if to say "you called?" to the fuckhead. Mello narrowed his blue eyes at the mess of cinnamon-red hair and asked, completely composed. "Why the hell do you look like that, still?" he asked, passively mortified that the idiot hadn't even bathed, then.
Mello glared at a nosy student and returned to his seat before class started, already peeved at how annoying his day was and even more pissed off that Matt held this much power over it.
"Ow-!" Matt hissed when he felt something smack the back of his skull, the battered boy turning to glare back only to sigh when he noticed it was just Mello. "Hey! I can't really wash away bruises and cuts, just the blood! You act like I want everyone staring at me.. thinking a pansy like you kicked my ass." He muttered, rubbing the back of his head sorely. He wasn't covered in fresh blood, and had even bothered to wear fresh clothes, what more could be asked of him?
Matt was just as irritated as Mello, if not more so. This opened a window to the other students.. made Matt look weak. Kids were opening staring at him all throughout class, looking from him to Mello and then back to him. Whispering, pointing, laughing... it was so annoying. This was why he hated people. They were all the same. Even the teachers. They were no different than the annoying student body. They all put on appearances, they were all so fake... But Mello was different than them. He was real. He didn't act any certain way to impress anyone.
Shaking his head a little, Matt just tried to focus on his game as the class droned on, but he was finding it increasingly difficult. He was in a bad enough mood thanks to his hunger and body aches... honestly, he didn't even know why he was here. He didn't have the same drive to just be better than everyone like Mello did. He didn't care about school. But, like Mello said, it was just easy... and he felt like he had control here. But not today.
This was the real reason Matt wore his goggles. He could hide behind them. No one could look him in the eye, and really SEE him. They could stare all they wanted, with his eyes masked, he felt less vulnerable to their disgusting, idiotic stares. It was pretty lame, he knew, but it was just how he felt.
Fidgeting a little in his seat out of pure aggravation, Matt finally looked away from his PSP to glare at the group of girls who were doing the most staring and gossiping. His cold glare was enough to get them to glance away... but he knew he couldn't stop the rumors and gossip.
call me a s i n n e r, call me a s a i n t ❜ ❜ ❜ tell me it's o v e r, i'll still l o v e you the same
× ××
It wasn't like he was completely unscathed from the fight. The thugs had gotten quite a few punches in, too, but the damage they had done to his face was a lot less noticeable when third degree burns covered half of it already. Most of the bruises were underneath his leather outfit, occasionally made obvious by the way he winced when he fidgeted a certain way.
Mello just thought the entire situation was ironically convenient for their classmates to fabricate a story that would have made perfect sense otherwise. How else were they supposed to explain why Mello and Matt had walked into class with a number of bruises and cuts on their faces? Not that Mello cared. He just thought it was annoying how it was ten times more difficult to tune out and mind his own business when nobody was minding theirs.
The only convenient part to having the whole school gossip about him was the fact that it roused fear among his peers which kept most of them at bay. None of the pricks that teased him where he could see dared to do that anymore but the girls chattered on, not that Mello expected them to behave any differently. They thrived off rumors like vultures off carcasses and this particular gossip of the day was hot and fresh for the sharing.
Their teacher asked to see Mello separately after class to "discuss" the matter, even if both of them knew exactly what she thought of the two boys, now assigned partners, walking in looking the way they did. He didn't want any part of it, especially if she was going to give him some "enlightening" spiel about working together. Or suspend him. He didn't give a shit what reason she had to see him after class; Mello headed straight home after first period, weaving out of the suffocating crowds and into the empty streets.
Maybe school really was a futile attempt at slipping into a "normal" lifestyle. It was just too much. Too much drama and idiocy. Mello met up with a couple of his accomplices for a "smoke break" behind a butcher's shop, where the blonde recited from impeccable memory what his perpetrators from the other day looked like. It shouldn't be too difficult, he thought, to find a couple of guys with healing cuts across their faces.
He zoned out for a while, casting an idle gaze towards the school as if he half-expected Matt to walk out of it anytime soon. It was odd and infuriating, the way he cared deep down, but he couldn't help it.
Matt tried to stay at school a bit longer than Mello had, but.. he just... wasn't interested. Why stick around when he was only getting more and more worked up? He had never hit a girl before, but damn if he wasn't tempted to smack a few of this little bitches. So, to avoid that, Matt ended up leaving during second period. Said he was going to the bathroom for a leak.. and just didn't come back. All he wanted to do was go home and sleep. Eating would have been nice, but.. maybe after a quick nap he'd go steal something from somewhere.
So he headed straight up, unintentionally passing right by where Mello just so happened to be, standing where Matt would be unable to see him but he would be able to see Matt clearly.
Matt didn't live far. Just a few blocks away, on the other side of the railroad tracks, which was know as the poorer side of town. The houses were all trashy and old, with little to no police activity in the area. Druggies and hookers commonly roamed the streets, but it was a sight Matt was all too used to. The only thing that bothered him was that, once he reached his home, the drunk bastard as sitting on the porch drinking away.
Cursing under his breath, Matt avoided eye contact and made a move to just walk past him and enter the house, but he was stopped. Shane stood, standing at least a head taller than the lanky teen and weighing easily double Matt's own weight. "Where the fuck do you think you're going, boy? I thought I made it clear.. you ain't welcome here no more!" He growled down at Matt, giving him a rough shove backwards.
Normally, Matt was spry and ready for a fight. Today? He had no energy whatsoever... and it showed in the way he staggered back from the shove, looking winded just from the struggle to stay on his feet.
"Fuck you, asshole. This house belonged to my dad, you can't kick me ou--" Matt was cut off but a rough and sudden knee to the gut, resulting in him doubling over and his vision whiting out for a moment. Long enough for his mother's boyfriend to land a punch to the side of his face causing Matt to spin, lose his footing, and fall from the porch onto the dirt. The fall knocked the air from his lungs, so as he groveled, gasping for breath, Shane slowly made his way from the porch to stand over and glare down at Matt.
"Your old man is dead, you little bastard. And dear, sweet mommy is in prison for at least five more years... no one is gonna stop me from getting rid of you, because you ain't got no one left who cares about you! Ya hear me? No one!" He snarled, getting sick pleasure from the way Matt gasped when he kicked him hard in the stomach once more.
Matt clawed at the ground and glared up at Shane from the corner of his eyes, his body trembling involuntarily from muscle failure as he tried to push himself up off the ground only to be kicked back down.
call me a s i n n e r, call me a s a i n t ❜ ❜ ❜ tell me it's o v e r, i'll still l o v e you the same
× ××
Mello wasn't one to pry into someone else's business nor stalk them but Matt had piqued his curiosity in a way nobody had before and the blonde was drawn to him like a nail to a magnet. Perhaps it was out of concern, or maybe it was just an opportunity to pester Matt about the project (but why did he even care), Mello felt inclined to follow the redhead when he caught a glimpse of the other male trudging away far too early for Mello to believe school had ended.
"Aw, Mello! Where ya going?" one of his accomplices whined when the blonde dismissed himself from the group.
Mello was sure that he would miss a ton of "fun" causing all sorts of violence-happy trouble with the others, but that, he decided, could wait for another day. The other members were sorely disappointed to see him leave, although they knew the type of person Mello was: volatile and unpredictable as a thunderstorm. To stand in his way would mean braving the weather and even the toughest of his gang knew when to leave Mello be.
It wasn't difficult to follow Matt as closely as he did because the redhead was clearly distracted by something or someone while they walked into familiar territory for the blonde. He would have never guessed Matt lived here. Now, this was a shithole if he ever saw one. He stopped and maneuvered behind a dumpster when Matt halted in his tracks, sharply sucking in his breath as if the air was palpable and he would be caught if the slightest of breaths escaped him. Matt had no idea he was there, nor did the man Mello could only assume was his father... or stepfather.
The blonde hardly winced when Matt was tossed around like a rag doll, the events that quickly transpired predictable and disappointing at best. He probably would have guessed Matt had daddy issues back home, but he wouldn't have thought he had mommy issues, as well. Mello pitied the way the redhead stayed down this time, the fight literally kicked out of him until he was sure one more fatal kick would knock Matt unconscious.
Any other time, he would have walked away. This wasn't his business. It wasn't his family. Matt wasn't even a member of his gang.
But Mello believed in returning favors no matter how small... and he thought this Shane guy was an annoying fucker. He stepped out of his hiding spot, a loaded handgun cocked and held steady at the drunken man. He walked closer still, stepping over Matt like he wasn't even there. "I think he learned his lesson," he told Shane. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a science project to work on, and I need to borrow him for the day."
This fight (if it could even be called that) and the fight from yesterday were two totally different things. Yesterday, he had more of a purpose. He had a goal. Which.. he was still a little unclear about. Maybe he hadn't liked seeing Mello get jumped, or maybe he just wanted to fight and they presented a good opportunity. Regardless, he knew the only reason he got involved was because Mello had been involved as well. This, however... this happened all the time. Matt knew how this would end. He would get the shit knocked out of him, wake up, come back, and do it all again. Even if he did manage to get up and beat the bastard into the ground, the fight would just continue he next time they saw one another.
So what was even the point? Why put in the energy he didn't even have for something that didn't matter? It was so boring to keep doing something that never changed... if he just.. gave up, then this nuisance would be over faster. Yeah. He'd do that--
Matt blinked when, suddenly, Shane halted. It was very uncharacteristic of him to stop mid-beating, so what the fuck was up? Grunting, he slid an arm under himself and tried to sit up, only to pause when someone stepped over him. At first, all he saw was a streak of black. And.. blonde hair.
"... fucking Mello.." He sighed, not sure if he felt more reassured, surprised, or embarrassed. He supposed it was a combination of all three, but damn, where did Mello even come from? Why was he here? Shaking the questions off for now, Matt struggled to his feet as Shane glared at Mello and backed off.
"Tch... Take him, I don't give a fuck. Just don't come back, or things are gonna get real fuckin' bad for you." The threat was directed to Matt, who he glared at one more time before heading back inside. Matt just dusted his words off, wiping some blood from the corner of his mouth and sighing.
"Look, I-... didn't need your help.." the redhead muttered, still panting hard with his other hand clutched over his stomach. "I, uh...had the situation under control, just so you know.." Huffing, he glanced to Mello's gun now and gave him a curious look. Should he even ask? In the end, the gun was the least pressing matter.
call me a s i n n e r, call me a s a i n t ❜ ❜ ❜ tell me it's o v e r, i'll still l o v e you the same
× ××
Well, that situation dissolved quickly.
Mello wouldn't have expected any more of a fight from a man who relied on alcohol as fuel and targeted scrawny redheads when he threw temper tantrums. It certainly would have been more interesting if Mello got a good punch in as opposed to intimidating Shane with a loaded handgun that he hadn't intended to fire in the first place, but he knew when to stop looking for trouble.
The blonde narrowed his eyes at Shane, watching him retreat and never letting his guard down. Who knew if Matt's crazy, abusive stepfather thing had a weapon somewhere in that shithole he could grab while Mello had his back turned. "Don't worry, he won't," he said, eyeing Matt's crumpled body on the ground. "I'll make it fucking bad for him if he comes back."
For one, Mello would think Matt was a fucking retard for crawling back to this drunkard only to have his ass handed back to him every single time. Okay, so, he lied. Mello wouldn't stop the redhead from living out his masochistic father-and-son fantasy if he enjoyed this type of torture, but he wouldn't associate with Matt anymore. He would ask to be assigned a different partner in class, explain that they were just "too different" to work together. He wasn't a hero. He was far from one.
So, he wasn't bothered when Matt refused to thank him, let alone acknowledge his help. "All right," he complacently responded. Mello stuffed the locked handgun into a special sleeve sewn into the inside of his backpack where his concealed weapons were hidden. The gun was mostly for intimidation, not that he ever would have wasted a bullet on the waste of space Matt was unfortunately related to.
"Now, if you still have the situation under control, get off the ground," he peered down, his posture still rigid and unyielding to the pathetic sight below him. Then, he sighed, offering an open hand to help Matt up.
Shane may have been an idiotic alcoholic, and even he knew when to back down. And that was when a gun was brought into the situation. Matt simply wasn't worth getting shot over... but being threatened like his on his own property only pissed him off more; humiliated him even! So, if Matt did decide to rear his head here again, he fully intended to take that out on him. Maybe he'd even get himself a weapon to deal with the situation. In the meantime, though, he instead decided to lock himself up in the house and proceed to drink his shitty life away.
While he fled the scene, Matt was busy trying to figure out what Mello meant. What did he mean HE would make it bad for Matt if he came back?! What the fuck... The redhead groaned, wanting to just deflate onto the ground and stay there. He really wasn't good at saying 'thank you'. Besides, not like he asked Mello to show up and 'save the day'! 'Course he did really appreciate it, and on the inside, Mello looked very much like the closest thing to an angel he had ever seen. Annoyed scowl and all.
On the outside though, Matt was still trying to play it cool, like his plan had been to get the hell kicked out of his side all along. He knew that Mello knew the truth, if he was using his sharp deductive abilities. The truth being what he had said about Matt's life was 100% accurate. Matt's life was shitty, boring, and predictable, and he was constantly waiting for something to pop up... for Mello to pop up.
Cringing inwardly at the realization, Matt looked to Mello's extended hand and sighed as well. Then, with only a little hesitance, he lifted his hand from his side and gripped Mello's own hand. Heaving, he bit back a grimace as he pulled to his feet, left slightly breathless once it was done. He moved to try and take a step, but with all the grace he had, ended up tripped over his own fucking feet. And, as one did when they fell, he reached out for something to grab onto to keep from falling face first into the ground. Annnd that something just so happened to be Mello. Matt's arm shot out, latching for dear life around the back of Mello's neck, his other arm flailing dumbly at his side until all movement stopped and he was left leaning completely against Mello, their faces an inch apart.
It was then that Matt's face wen red. Like, tomato red. Those big green eyes wide beneath those dorky goggles of his. Slowly, the redhead forced a crooked little smile and, like the dumdum he was, said the first thing that came to mind.
"Tha-.. that was on purpose, t-too..." He tried to stand back upright, but his body was frozen in shock. Mello was really, really attractive... scar and all, his skin looked so smooth! And, up close, those blue eyes of his sure did look lively and enticing-
Shit. This day was all kinds of fucked up, now wasn't it?
