Anti-Clockwise - Chapter 3 - Friendship?

Chapter 3

I stepped back apologising like mad to the tall person in front of me. I sheepishly looked up only to meet the most familiar, most beautiful dark blue eyes. The ones that belonged to my absolute best friend, one of the only four people I'd willingly give my life for.

"Sorry...again." He smiled at me, a genuinely happy smile.

"No worries! Anyway, I'm the one who should be apologising, head stuck in my game as always!" He waved his large green gameboy to the side, grinning like mad at me. "You're the new girl right?" I noted his goggles were wrapped around his neck, not covering his eyes like normal. It was shocking to see him this way: young, adorable, not smoking, carefree, and most importantly - alive.

In that moment, my mind flashed to a memory, a memory I saw every night as I slept.

I was huddled over a boy, cradling what remained of his body in my arms, crying so hard I could feel my heart explode.  My tears dropping onto his lank green hair, his dark blue eyes obscured by goggles, bloodstains all over him - mine and his own. He was covered in bullet holes. I was repulsed, but at the same time broken. I held him to me, willing my tears to bring him back, bring my beautiful laughing boy back to me.

And here he was, shiny brown hair, grinning like always.

"That's me!" I smiled, forgetting my previous sadness over my "first" fallout with Mello. And that memory. I extended my now small, ungloved hand to him. He took it with his own and shook it excitedly. "I'm Kayla." He grinned back.

"Matt! That's not my real name of course, but you knew that!" He winked. "Well, I have to take care of you apparently, so...." He looked around, obviously searching for something. "You know where your room is?"

"Yep." I answered without hesitation. His face fell. I knew he had absolutely no idea now what to do with me.

"Oh.. Erm.. Okay let's go to mine then! It's a little messy, but at least you'll know where to find me! Or Mello, I share a room with him. Maybe you'll meet him later!" He grinned. I smirked apologetically.

"I kinda already met him... And I think he hates my guts." Matt looked at me, serious.

"He's like that sometimes... I'll talk to him." He smiled down at the floor. "Maybe he'll listen for once..." God I'd missed this boy. I grabbed his hand and grinned at him. He grinned back. "LETS GO!" He yelled, and pulled me through the halls towards the dorms.

He finally stopped at a door which was just down the hall from mine and Near's. He flung open the door, exposing a room littered with food packages, comics, discarded video game boxes and chocolate wrappers. And I loved it.

"WELCOME TO PARADISE!" He grinned at me before flopping down on the bed on the left side of the room. He pulled up a comic from it's resting place on the ground and began reading intently. I grinned and sat down next to him, reading over his shoulder, leaning back against the wooden headboard. He noticed after about five pages and began explaining the concept of the comic to me.

"This guy is evil." He pointed to character in red with black hair, and his nose and mouth obscured by a black cloth. "He wants to take over the world, and kill everyone basically. And THIS GUY." He jabbed his finger at a well dressed young man wearing a green jumper. "This guy is my favourite. He's trying to capture the evil guy." He jabbed his finger at the guy in red again. "And bring him to justice. That's what L's trying to do you know... Bring people to justice." He looked at the page again, and for the first time ever, I saw a different side to him. A serious, hopeful side. One I'd been oblivious to before.

It took all my strength not to wrap my arms around him and envelope him in a huge hug. I knew he'd get insanely freaked out if I did, since he didn't know I'd considered him a brother for close to nine years. No, he was beautifully oblivious. Oblivious of the fact he was supposed to be covered in bullet holes and dead. Oblivious of the fact he'd die as a sacrifice to the Kira case. Oblivious to how much I'd missed him over the years.

Oblivious of my regret, the fact I blamed myself for his death. I saw a white shape in the corner of my eye, it was that Near-like figure again. It smiled at me, and I knew. This was a chance to take back my regret, my chance to reclaim my lost boys. My chance to save their lives.

The door flew open, and a weary looking Mello walked in, shoulders sagged, head facing the floor. Without moving his head from the comic page, Matt spoke in his usual teasing way.

"Someone needs chocolate!"

"Shut up Matt, I'm in a bad mood and I don't need you to make it wor-" He looked up and his eyes locked with mine. I shifted myself away from Matt nervously.

"I think that's my cue to go..." I moved quickly and quietly, as was my specialty, away from Matt's bed and attempted passing Mello, who stood in the way of the door.

"Wait. Er..." He looked like he was going to thoroughly regret what he was about to say. "I'm..." He glanced at me before closing his eyes and gritting his teeth. "...sorry."

I was at a loss for words. An apology? From Mello? That was rare. That was VERY rare. I smiled gently.

"Well?" He prompted, impatient as always. I let out a small laugh.

"Thanks Mello, and I forgive you." I let a mischievous grin spread across my face as I lifted my arms up in a "hug me" fashion. "Now. Give Kayla a hug." He stared at me, his face screaming "you gotta be kidding me".

"Go on Mells, what are ya? Scared of a girl?" Matt joked from inside his comic. Mello shot him a very dirty look, before snapping his head back to me, and I was trying to suppress a fit of giggles.

I may have had the mindset of a woman in her twenties, but my body belonged to my teenage self. So I acted and reacted like my teenage self. A giggly, hyper, emotionally unstable, crazy, clever, young girl.

He stepped forward and awkwardly wrapped his arms around me. I giggled, pulling away after a while.

"Was it THAT bad?"

"Yes." He glared at me, electric blue daggers piercing into the dark abysses that were my eyes.

"Then I'll be off!" I walked past Mello, accidentally brushing his arm with mine as I did so. I looked back at him, worriedly. "Sorry!"

"You've GOT to stop apologising so much." He muttered, annoyed. He acted angry, but I knew him well enough. He was smiling inside. I grinned and took off down the hall, into my own dorm. I moved over to the bed that was apparently mine and flopped down on it. I closed my eyes and felt myself drifting off...

...

...

...

"So." A quiet voice snapped my eyes open, and shot me up out of my trance. I stared around the room, my gaze resting on a figure that blended in with the white sofa he sat before. "You're new." I smiled. My most trusted friend.

"Yeah.. I'm Kayla." He didn't appear to be listening. He was busy with his puzzle. Like always. But he knew. He knew I was speaking, he knew what words I was using.

"Kay...la..." He dragged my name out, slowly and eerily. But I was smiling. He knew a lot. I knew he knew, he knew I knew he knew. He was analysing me. Every breath. Every blink. Every thought. He knew.
"You know a lot about me, don't you... Kayla..." I stared at him. How did he know THAT? Near was amazing, but...surely not THAT amazing. His eyes flickered up towards me. "That reaction is enough to confirm it. So how? How is it you know...? Are you..." He tipped the puzzle upside down onto the floor. "...supernatural?"

"All I know is your name... Near, correct?"

"Correct." He began placing the pieces back onto the puzzle board. "But that's not all you know..." The pieces snapped unusually loudly onto the board. "Is it?"

"Y...yes... It is..." I was shaking. I'd seen him use this tactic often, but I'd never been a subject of it. I calmed myself. Remember K, remember who you are...who you were. A small smile played on his lips.

"You fare well...Kayla..." His grey, misty eyes finally locked onto my own.

He stood, disregarding his puzzle and moved towards the other bed in the room. He sat down in the middle of the bed, sitting in an extremely awkward manner. A manner I was used to, but had to make him believe I wasn't. I narrowed my eyes at him, frowning. He regarded me too, more intensely.

I began smiling. He frowned.

"I must warn you Near... I'm good at staring competitions." I widened my eyes in a comical fashion, earning a small smile.

"Not as good as me, Kayla." I giggled and looked down. "See! I won." He moved over to my bed and sat down on it. I was perfectly comfortable with it though, used to it even. "I think me and you will get along well."

"I think so too. In fact-" I sat right next to him. "I'm positive!" He smiled slightly.

"How sure?"

"Ninety nine point four percent." He grinned, a grin that a lot of people regarded as downright creepy, but a grin that I found hilariously adorable.

"How did you know?"

"I'm a good guesser!" He nodded and picked up a robot from nearby. He began playing and I watched, just like always.

***

Almost half an hour later, after Near and I had been talking for a while, mainly me doing the talking, there was a knock on the door. I was leaning against my bed's headboard with my legs outstretched, with Near lying his head on my lap and playing with his toys. He was unusually comfortable around me. I'd never seen him so... Childlike. Yes, he constantly played with his toys, even when he was in his twenties, but never had he interacted with another human as much as he was with me right now.

He had a toy aeroplane in one hand, and three finger puppets on the other, one on his ring finger, middle finger, and index finger. And he was playing interestedly. I knew he was thinking about a case he'd seen somewhere, on the TV maybe, before I'd arrived.

"Come in!" I yelled, nose still buried inside my book, one I'd found in the cupboard that Near said belonged to me. It was a classic, Robert Louis Stevenson's 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde', a particular favourite of mine.

"FOOTBALL TIME!" Matt burst into the room, goggles pulled up over his eyes, red and black striped T-shirt on, with blue shorts. Mello followed, eating a piece of chocolate, like always. He had a black basketball vest on, a white skull dominating the back.

"You coming?" Matt was obviously talking to Near. Then they both frowned, probably noticing for the first time the strangeness of our position. "Why is Near...acting...weird?"

"...er than usual?" Mello finished off Matt's already finished sentence, his pupils dilated, too much of his eye whites showing. Just like normal.

"I don't know, he's...playing...I guess?" I looked down at the white haired boy, smiling slightly. He was making small noises, airplane noises and people noises. Mello frowned even more. Matt spoke up, shaking his head and staring at me.

"You playing?"

"No thank you." Near muttered, uninterested as always. Mello snorted.

"Matt, when does Near EVER go outside? I don't even know why you bother." He shrugged and spoke with a hidden venom. "Kayla, you want to play?" I looked down at Near, who sat up, probably indicating he didn't mind me leaving.

"Sure!" I hopped off the bed and out the door. Then I peeked my head back through the frame. "Sure you don't mind, Near? You should at least come watch?" He looked down at his toys, then slowly picked up three or four and walked slowly towards me.

"Maybe some fresh air would be nice." He murmured. I grinned at him and walked alongside him, happily, to the grand outside.

***

About half an hour later, the game was over. Mello and I had won against Matt and another boy called T.

"Haha! We win!" Mello yelled victoriously at Matt.

"Fine, I'll go get your chocolate Mells." Matt muttered warily. Mello nodded eagerly, and spun around to face me.

"Well new girl, you're not half bad." I smiled weakly at him, still recovering. Matt had accidentally kicked the ball hard, and it landed right in my gut. I was still a little winded. He stepped over, holding my arm to keep me from falling onto the floor. I coughed, trying to regain my breath.

"Thanks." I murmured, standing upright.

"Something wrong?" He sounded genuinely worried.

"Nothing.. Man, Matt kicked it hard!" He laughed. I did love that sound.

"Oh please, I've lived with him for about 6 years now. I'm subject to that pain pretty much every day!" He kicked the ground, a rock skittering across the ground. "But he gets me..." I frowned at him, I'd never heard this before. He looked up, and started stammering. "Gets me chocolate!" He rubbed the back of his neck, flustered. "What did you think I meant?"

"Nothing..." I laughed. "So, you get pretty stressed about school don't you?" I elbowed him lightly in the ribs. He grinned.

"I need to beat Near. That's the only reason! If I study hard enough, one day I'll beat him."  He glanced over venomously at the tree Near was sitting under, playing with his robots. "I was the smartest kid here until he showed up. Then suddenly...I was second. And I can't have that, I need to be first. I need to be L's successor. Or everything I've worked for..." He trailed off. "...would mean nothing." I smiled.

"I bet you can do it, Mello. You're clever, and very motivated... You can do it." He regarded me intently.

"Not half bad, new girl." He muttered, almost to himself. Then he smiled, a small smile, but it was there. Then he nodded and walked off, hands shoved deep into the deep pockets of his black jeans. I watched him walk away and moved over to where Near was playing. I leant against the tree trunk and sunk down beside him, leaning my head against the tree trunk.

"You play very well." Near stated, deadpan as always.

"Thanks Near." I smiled, I'd take any compliment from him, he was always sincere, rarely sarcastic. "So you and Mello have quite a rivalry, don't you?" He lifted a robot off the ground before bringing it back to the ground, towards two miniature action men, knocking them all over onto the grass.

"He sees it as a rivalry. Believe it or not, we were...friends...once. I still consider him close, not a rival. Sadly, as always is the case, Mello doesn't see it my way." I nodded. The white figure was watching me again. I'd need to find a quiet place to talk to it. Alone.