[matt+near]so heartless

[cottonball]

The hallway was rather dreary on a day such as this. The windows seemed to be painted grey as the clouds rolled in, and the lush green scenery was dampened by fog and rain. Even the lights that shone from the walls seemed to be giving off a sort of sickly light. It was in the evening, and the students had all returned from their supper already, except for a few stragglers who soon disappeared into their rooms. All except for one.

Near looked around the dimly lit hall. He seemed to stand out in the dank light, his outfit pure white, as well as his hair. Even his complexion was glowing bright in the gloom. He wore no shoes, no one heard him as he stepped lightly on the cold stone floor. He curled his toes up, feeling the chill through his thin socks. There was a nip in the air, certainly. Being the observant fellow Near was, he saw a crack in one of the windows in the array left of him. He would have to get that fixed- he never had liked the cold.

[M4ttyB43r]

Matt sighed casually, holding onto joystick for dear life, his tounge jutting out of his mouth from his concentration. After a few moments of button mashing he sighed angrily, Mario did not want to cooperate today and defeat Bowser. "Stupid Plumber." He muttered under his breath as he turned off the console. He strechted, letting each bone in his spine and fingers crack before gettting up.

Matt walked out of his room towards the kitchen and shivered slightly.How he wished that his vest wasn't in the wash right now. Matt and cold just did not mix. As he walked, he took a lighter out and quickly lit his ciggarette, taking a few long drags until he noticed someone a few feet away from him. "I see you're enjoying yourself, Cottonball." he joked.

[cottonball]

A voice sounded not far from Near, making him look up from his quickly-numbing toes. It was another orphan, Matt was his name. The dark-haired boy was lighting a cigarette and puffing opaque smoke into the air. Funny, the smoke mixed with the boy's breath as it condensed in the cold hallway. Green eyes narrowing, Near pondered the nickname for a bit. Cottonball, eh? Obviously Matt was referring to the hair and attire of young Near, who gazed at him, lost in thought. He was about to retort with a nickname for Matt himself, although two differences did not make it the same. Deciding against a stinging comeback, Near shrugged. "Its cold." He stated simply, his voice rather high pitched for a boy, even if he was young.

"What are you doing?" Near asked, shuffling forward a little bit in a weak effort to warm his feet up. He'd have to get thicker socks. You see, it was not that Near was completely against socialization and conversations with others, he just tended to be antisocial most of the time. Most all other orphans seem to overlook this fact. He looked at the boy closer, and blinked. He seemed agitated about something, by the way his shoulders were hunched and his jerky movements. Not to mention the fact he was smoking- that usually was a sign of some level of stress.

[M4ttyB43r]

"Getting some coffee and tylenol, staring at a TV all day does wonder for your eyes." Matt adjusted his goggles and set them to the top of his head, he took another puff of the ciggarette casually and then snuffed it out with a gloved hand. And of course he would probably sneak in one of the candy cabinets and grab a few chocolate bars for his best friend, Mello. He'd already gone through double his rations last week, and was acting like he was suffering from a severe case of PMS, which he often liked to take it out on Matt. "What're you out here out here for? Lost a puzzle peice or a die?"

[cottonball]

Near shook his head at Matt's remark about loosing some of his puzzles. No one should joke about those with little Near, he did not approve of it- nor did he take it well. He was sure what the others thought of him, it was not hard to tell. He didn't care much, they could think what they wanted- but he did find it rude to joke to one's face about a sensitive topic. "No." He replied shortly, his soprano voice ringing in the silent halls. "I wasn't tired." He added an even shorter explanation, which was only half true. He was returning late from supper, but his hindering in the halls was all due to his lack of sleepiness, despite his freezing toes. Thinking about what Matt said, Near blinked bright green eyes once more, looking up at the taller boy. "Don't sit so close, then you're eyes won't hurt. In a matter of days you will need glasses at this rate." Near told Matt plaintively, doing the calculations in his head. It would be maybe ten days tops before Matt's eyes would lessen their ability to see if he sat so close to the TV so often.

[M4ttyB43r]

"That might work, but I've been doing it for years and it hasn't damaged these babies at all" Matt grinned slightly, and leaned against the wall.

This Near kid was starting to give him the creeps. it felt like he had no soul behind those eyes, just hardware. Matt started to stare off into space, completely ignoring Near if he said anything else. All those wires and motherboards, intertwined together in a beautiful dance of electronics. matt sighed dreamily and snapped back into reality. "You say something, Fluffy?" A chill ran up his spine as Near gazed at him, or it could've just been the creaky window. Instinctively he rubbed his hands against his arms

[cottonball]

Near blinked once more. He often did this, preferring the physical reactions to the verbal ones. He watched Matt's shoulders tense up, and watched him shiver, his hands rubbing the opposite arm. "Yes, I did." Near informed Matt, though made no effort to explain what his comment was. With a short glance at the kitchen door down the hall, he let a small, childish grin spread across his face. "I want some cookies." He told Matt, and started forward, shuffling his feet soundlessly across the chilly stone floors. He was not sure Matt would follow, but he did say he wanted some tylenol and coffee. That would certainly be found in any one of the numerous kitchen cabinets, he was sure.

[M4ttyB43r]

Matt entered the kitchen a few steps behind here, looking around at the cabinets and opening a few, hoping to find some tylenol behind one of them. "Everytime I come in here they rearrange it." Matt mumbled under his breath. Finally after searching through about 7 of them, he found a large bottle labled extra-strength tylenol. he eagerly grabbed two capsules out of the container and swallowed them, no water at all. [[OOC: oh yeah;; Matt's gifted! XD]]
He opened the fridge and grabbed the milk, while pouring some into the mug he had grabbed. Matt then grabbed the pot of coffee, which was a bit cold, but it still would do the trick, poured himself a glass and then grabbed two chocolate bars. He sipped the liquid out of the mug and finished it.

[cottonball]

"Maybe they are more clever than we think. They must know we sneak in at night." Near muttered, swiveling around and walking the opposite direction of Matt, towards the east end of the kitchen. There, in a ceramic jar, lay the stash of cookies. Quietly and deftly, Near plucked the lid off of the jar, and reached his other hand in, grabbing two cookies. Both were chocolate chip- his favorite. Once he had them safely in his grasp, he placed the lid back on the ceramic cookie holder and turned about to see Matt swallowing two pills without even sipping some liquid. "You must do this often." He remarked, blinking those wide green eyes once more. He continued to watch as Matt hastily grabbed two chocolate bars and poured his coffee- drinking it swiftly. But he didn't eat the chocolate, he merely stuffed it in his pocket. "Who're those for?" Near asked bluntly, raising one index finger to point to where Matt has squirreled away the chocolate bars.

[M4ttyB43r]

Matt just grinned when Near remarked about his pill-popping.

"In case if I get hungry." Matt quickly lied, he would never say they were for Mello. He'd never rat out his best friend, even if it were for something so small as two chocolate bars. "Staying up all night gives you the munchies, so I'll need the caffeine" Matt washed the inside of his empty cup out and placed it inside the sink. He looked up at Near again, incase if the cottonball decided to say something again. Matt didn't want to be rude to the 'little fella', but he knew if Mello found out he'd probably chuck chocolate bars at his own head. No, scratch that, In Mello's eyes chocolate would be too precious to be thrown, more like one of Matt's prized video games, like donkey kong, or Grand Theft Auto, which was his favorite.

[cottonball]

Near nodded, his green eyes wide. "Sensible." He spoke with that high pitched voice, letting it split the silence in the kitchen. Matt was looking at hm once more, and Near just stared. There was nothing more he had to say now, though there were things that could be said. Ability and necessity were two different things, in a sense, and Near relied on necessity. Besides, he didn't talk much anyway, perhaps this was the first time he really held a conversation with anyone.

A creak to Near's right made him look over his shoulder. The door seemed to have moved a slight inch, and he blinked at it. That crack in the window must be fixed- it was causing more grief than not. "What games do you play?" He asked, turning back to the auburn haired boy. If he was to hold a conversation, he might as well get some information out of it, instead of small talk that would mean nothing in the long run.

[mellodramatic]

Mello woke up at about the same time Matt had met Near in the corridors, though he was not aware of it, obviously. He stretched and yawned, but jumped at the sound of a book crashing to the floor from his bunk. 'Uugh....' he sighed as he looked down at the crumpled mass of what was his once emaculate literature book, but now had folded pages every which way. He had stayed in his shared room throughout dinner, studying for a test that was coming in weeks, but hey, he had to at least start now if he wanted to beat Near's score. The little runt always seemed to be able to beat him by a few points, the highest score always just out of his reach. It frustrated him to no end and he grumbled as he climbed out bed, getting head rush as he did so and stubbing his toe on the desk that was adjacent to the bunk bed. Cursing loudly, he kicked the desk in retaliation, only to recieve another zing of pain through his foot, causing him to yowl again. "God, Matt! Why can't you turn a few lights on once in a while?! I mean how 's a guy sopposed to-" Only then did he finaly look around and realized the Matt hadn't come back from dinner. He must have fallen asleep while studying...wouldn't been the first time.... He pouted at his best friend's absence. Mello never liked being alone, but he made to sit down on Matt's bottom bunk, deciding to wait anyway. He'll just give Matt the guilt trip when he came back, that's all. But as he found a clear spot on Matt's messy bed, his stomach growled loudly, only then reminding him of his skipped meal. 'Great...' he thought, 'Now i gotta go all the way down to the kitchen...it's freaking cold out...Roger, that old fart, is gonna catch me ...prolly..eh..maybe not.' So he slipped on a sweatshirt and left the room, closing the door as quickly as he could, to prevent any squeak-age from echoing through the corridors.
He hopped through the corridors; they were colder than he thought they would be. 'Should've brought shoes....' Just then he thought he heard someone talking, maybe Roger? 'It's possible, the old man is a bit senile....Though, the voice sounds a little too high,...wait. There's two. Two voices in the hallways at night. huh...Roger must've caught some other kid roaming the halls..' Mello hid, smirking to himself at the thought that he was better at sneaking than whoever was getting scolded around the corner. He waited until he could no longer hear a conversation then crept toward the kitchen door. But just as he was about to push it open, he heard another conversation....'What the hell?....I thought the old man went to bed!!...wait...Matt?...and who else....' He pushed the door open slightly, and to his dismay, a loud squeak erupted from the hinges and the conversation stopped inside. 'CRAP!....oh, whatever!' he thought as the conversation started back up again...something about games? He pushed the door open with full force and stepped inside, met by two other orphans , 'And no Roger.....thank you, God!'
"Matt? What the bloody hell are you doing down here at this hour?" His flame blue eyes shot over to Near and he raised an eyebrow. "Tch."

[cottonball]

Near started as the door creaked, and his gaze shot over to it, watching it open a bit more. Alright, so maybe this time it was not wind, but something else. Probably another hungry orphan or something. Narrowing his green eyes, Near could see a lock of blonde hair peek around the door a moment before it let out the loudest creak. Mello! Automatically Near frowned, eyeing the door with wary green eyes. Sure enough, Mello strode in, and his gaze darted directly to Matt, his blue gaze like fire. Oh great.

Near just there, and blinked once more. He watched as Mello soon noticed him as well, and contempt filled him at the rude noise the blonde made. He glowered at the older boy, his glare gleaming in the dark kitchen. He and Mello had never gotten along, though Near was sure they had more in common than either were willing to let on. Just why the two disliked each other with such a passion not even L could know, so they left reasons behind for once, and just disliked one another.

[M4ttyB43r]

Matt's head quickly shot up. It took a second for him to realise what Mello had said. "uh.. I was gettin some coffee, and some tylenol" he stated casually. "You fell asleep, and I wasn't gonna wake you." Matt shifted his weight to his other leg and watched the tension build up between the standing in front of him. "Do you need some food?" Matt asked Mello, and started to open up the cabinet with the hidden chocolates, hoping that it would distract Mello from a potential chance of violence with Near.

[mellodramatic]

Mello's gaze shot over to the cabinet Matt had opened, remembering that certain squeak as the 'chocolate cabinet' squeak. "Yeah I'm actually really hungry. I suppose I appreciate your not waking me up, only, now I'm freaking starving." He walked towards one of the fridges. "I just didn't expect anyone to be in here at this hour." he said harshly as he bumped into Near on his way over to Matt and the food. "Oh, pardon me." he sneered down the length of his nose at the smaller child. He stopped in front of the fridge and the floor squeaked loudly. "God! Why does everything in this place squeak?!?!" he fumed as he opened the fridge.