This is my first story in TWEWY universe, so I hope that it's all right. Seriously, this is one of those games that everyone should try at least once. It's that good. Anyways, the influence for this story is A) there being way too few Beat stories and B) there being way too many Joshua/Neku ones. I really, REALLY don't like Joshua.

Anyways, I'm kind of nervous about this story, partially because this is a new universe for me, and partially because of Beat's dialect. I'm fairly certain that I screwed it up in parts. My only defense is that I tried my best, and I humbly ask you to forgive me.

Disclaimer: I own a copy of The World Ends With You, and that's all I own of it. Also, if boys dating each other bothers you, please don't flame. You're reading this of your own free will, so you are fully capable of stopping at any time. If this does not bother you, then please enjoy.

You Are Who You Are

Beat looked down at the city streets below him. He never was the type to people watch, that was more of Rhyme's thing, but right now he didn't know what to do. He was confused and frustrated and really just wanted to hit something, but even he understood that that wouldn't help and just get him in trouble. The last thing he needed to end his night was for his parents to get a call from the cops that he had assaulted someone or caused property damage.

His parents…to be honest, he wanted to blame this whole mess on them. He knew that they shared a piece of the blame at least. Still, he couldn't help but feel that most of this was on him. He was the one who wanted to force the issue in the first place. He was the one who lost his temper. He was the one who had stormed out of his home and came here, despite Rhyme's protests.

Beat focused on the ground below again. He hadn't been here since the Game. Funny how those three weeks in the UG felt like so long ago and just yesterday at the same time. Then again, he did spend those three weeks saving the world, so maybe that had something to do it. Still, it had been a little over a year since then. His life was supposed to be nice and easy now. He'd like to think that he had grown up a good deal during the Game and the year afterward, so why was everything getting screwed up again?

"You know," a very familiar voice spoke from behind him, "you're quite possibly the only guy I know that would climb up to the roof of the 104 building just to think. Do you have any idea how long it took me to come up after you?"

Beat didn't turn around, he just sighed. He wasn't sure if this was the person he wanted to talk to the most right now, or the least. "Hey, Neku," he said over his shoulder. "How'd ya find me?"

Neku frowned. Beat had called by his actual name, not the "Phones" nickname he was accustomed to. That wasn't a good sign. Neku knew that his friend was depressed, but he didn't think that it'd be this bad. "I've been following you since you left. Alright if I sit down?"

Beat just shrugged. "Do what'ya want, yo." He watched as his friend sat next to him on the ledge of the building. He had really cleaned up for tonight. His usual headphones were hanging around his neck, but instead of a sleeveless shirt and shorts like he usually wore, he had on a light, pale purple t-shirt and a nice pair of black jeans. Beat, by contrast, hadn't seen the point of dressing up for people he saw every day. He had his usual wife beater and baggy pants on, along with his favorite skull beanie that he had grabbed on his way out.

Both boys were silent for a long time, looking out over the Scramble Crossing. Neku knew that they'd have to talk about it sooner or later, though, and while he was a little apprehensive about doing this on top of a building this high up, stubborn Beat probably wasn't going to move down from here anytime soon. Neku took in a big breath, and asked, "You alright, Beat?"

"…Been better," was the eventual answer. Beat still wouldn't look directly at Neku, opting instead to stare at the ground below. For a very brief moment, the thought occurred to Neku that he might actually be considering jumping down, this time without a psych-powered skateboard. "Sorry 'bout the 'rents, yo."

Neku just shrugged. "Don't apologize. We both knew that this might happen if we came out to them, and it did." Beat nodded in agreement, and both boys fell into silence once again. And, once again, Neku was the one to bring them out of it. "There's something that I need to ask you, though."

Beat gave him a sidelong glance. At least he was looking at him now. "Sure, s'up?"

"Why did you run out like that? I mean, I know that they're your parents and all, but I don't think that I've ever seen you turn tail like that before. You usual run into fights, not away from them, so what happened?"

Beat didn't answer right away. Before he did, he changed his line of sight from the streets below to the stars overhead. "…You remember what I told ya in da UG, yo? 'Bout me an' my folks an' all?"

"Yeah."

"When we got back, yo, I really wanted ta fix things. I wanted ta find some dreams of my own, an' ta get my folks to believe in me again. An' I think I was gettin' it, too, yo. My grades been pickin' up, an' Rhyme's been really proud a'me lately, an' I hadn't been in any really bad brawls all year. Jus' felt like I mighta messed it all up again by fightin' wit the 'rents again. I…I panicked, is all."

Neku raised an eyebrow. "So pleasing your parents comes before me?"

Beat finally looked right the boy next to him, looking angry. "Course not! Ya know dat!"

"Then what are you worried about?" Neku asked, now smiling. "You're allowed to stand up for what you believe in, you know."

"B-but…"

"No buts on this one, Beat. Look, making peace with your parents doesn't mean you have to be meek. That straightforwardness of yours is part of the reason people like you. I like that you're not afraid to confront your problems. I know that you're a good person, and so do Rhyme, and Shiki, and a bunch of other people in Shibuya, so show your parents how far you've come. Show them how you stand up for what you think is right…" Neku briefly stopped his speech in order to smirk. "…yo."

Beat began to crack up. "Usin' my own words ain't gonna work forever, yo."

"Hasn't failed me yet."

Beat finally let out his laughter. "Aw, c'mere, Phones." Beat wrapped an arm around Neku and pulled him closer to his side. Neku chuckled, not at all minding the contact. He was very much relieved that Beat was back to using nicknames again. Without that nearly suffocating energy of his, Beat just wouldn't be Beat.

After the laughter died down, both of them looked over the city, now a lot more relaxed. "You know," Neku commented, "this is a pretty cool view up here."

"Cooler durin' the day, yo. Rooftops look like part a the sky. We should see it sometime."

Neku scoffed. "No way we could get up here during the day without being seen, Beat. I don't want to end up on the nightly news."

"Pfft, you wuss."

After a few minutes of admiring Shibuya at night in a comfortable silence, Neku once again spoke up. "You know that we have to come down from here, right?"

Beat sighed. "I know, but," he said gloomily, "I really don' wanna go home right now, yo."

Neku nodded in understanding. "Hang on a second," he said. He pulled out his cell phone and began dialing. He placed the phone to his ear as it rang. Beat could hear three rings, but after whoever his boyfriend was dialing picked up, he could only hear Neku's side of the conversation. "Hey, Mom, it's me…Yeah, everything alright. Listen, can a friend of mine spent the night?…It's Beat…Yeah, the kid with the beanie. So, can he come…Great, thanks…No, we're coming home now…Yeah, I love you too, Mom. See you soon, alright…Later." Neku hung up his cell, and stood up from the ledge. He looked down at Beat. "My mom said you can spend crash with me tonight. So, you ready to go?"

Neku offered his hand to help Beat stand up, and Beat took it. "Yeah," he answered. "Let's get goin'."

"Good, because it's going to take a while to get down from here."

A/N: Well, there it is. Hope that I didn't butcher Beat too much. If you have any advice/critique/comments, then please review and let me know. I'd really appreciate it.

By the way, even though I wrote this to stand alone, this is a twoshot. Part two will show up in a little while, but don't hold your breath. It might be a while before I get to work on it, and I definitely want to get some feedback on my Beat before I start. So, see you all then!