"So this is the newest shrimp!"

"I bet he can't even take a punch!"

"Is he crying?"

"Look, he's trembling!"

Mail Jeevas, now known as Matt wasn't trembling or crying. He was simply standing there, eyes on the floor as the older boys looked him over as if deciding wither or not he was worthy prey. His muddy shoes squeaked as he shifted his footing and his scarlet hair fell forward, half covering the orange goggles he wore.

"I heard he was assigned dorm thirteen." one of the boys whispered, so soft that Matt barely heard it. Several of the boys cackled almost evilly "He'll be dead in minutes."

Matt stared at the boys as they laughed quietly.

"What-" He finally spoke but a hand landed on his shoulder and he went silent. All the boys snapped to attention as Watari smiled kindly down at them "Run along, Matt needs to unpack."

The kids scurried off despite the fact Matt clearly had no luggage. Matt could hear them chuckling still as they rounded the corner out of view. He tried not to dwell on their words as Watari steered him through the orphanage. Kids stopped to watch them past, eyes widening as others whispered in their ears. All Matt ever heard was: Room thirteen.

A small blonde girl gave him a sympathetic look as he passed, a brunette next to her. Matt grew uneasy as they finally halted outside a room with the number thirteen printed on it. Fear planted it's self in him, making him feel nauseated.

"This is where you'll be sleeping Matt." Watari smiled warmly at him before he pulled something from his pants pocket. It was a small transparent bottle, it was filled with different colored glass. Sea glass. The one thing Matt had managed to save from the fire that had killed his parents and left him alone.

Watari pressed it into his hands then turned to walk back through the hall. Matt pretend to look into the bottle and examine all the different colors. Really he just wanted to postpone the opening of the door to the room that everyone seemed to dread. But the stares of the other children forced him to finally grip the cold handle and push the door open. He slipped inside quickly and quietly shut the door behind him. It was dark, no one else was there. Matt flicked on the lights and sighed, plopping down into the bed nearest the window. He could see small flakes of snow blowing past the glass. He looked around himself, a small desk sat in a corner collecting dust. A closest sat in the wall, door closed. A small bathroom was also attached to the room. It's door was open but the light wasn't on. Matt's eyes fell onto a small, half open black bag in the middle of the room.

Curiosity instantly sent him across the floor to the bag. He unzipped it all the way and peered in with growing excitement. He expect to see something interesting like a football or some matchs. He was disappointed to see it was mostly full of books. He looked through the rest of the bag. Pencils, erasers, notebooks, books in general, and... what's this? Chocolate? Matt brought the large wrapped bar into the light. It was regular chocolate, not dark or milk, just plain.

"What. Do. You. Think. Your. Doing?"

Matt hadn't even noticed the door had open behind him. An older, blonde boy was standing in the doorway. He looked furious, he held a math book in one hand and the door with the other. Matt straightened up and backed away as the blonde slammed the door behind him and advanced on Matt.

"What were you doing with my bag?" The boy roared, slowly closing in on Matt. Matt held up in his hands, trying to put some distance from the boy and himself.

"Who are you?" The boy demanded and Matt gulped down the lump in his throat but didn't answer.

"Are you deaf? Answer me!"

"I-I'm Matt" Matt finally stammered, almost tripping over a jacket he hadn't noticed before. The boy narrowed his eyes and Matt let out an involuntary yelp as his back pressed against the wall.

"Oh. You. Watari told me you would be coming." The still nameless boy snarled, his hand closing around the neck of Matt's shirt. Matt whimpered in pain as he was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall.

"What are you? Five?" The blonde hissed. Matt's feet were dangling inches above the ground, his hands clutched the boy's wrist, tried to loosen his grip.

"I'll be ten next week!" Matt growled, his legs kicked out uselessly in an attempted to free himself. The boy just snorted and effortlessly tossed Matt to the ground "Your the weakest nine year-old I've ever met."

Matt staggered to his feet, glaring at the blonde "Your a jerk!"

"Get use to it." The boy muttered, dropping the book he was still carrying onto his bag. Only when the boy said that did Matt realized how childish he himself sounded. He was about to sit back down on the bed he had vacated earlier when the boy catch his arm and threw him to the floor again "That's my bed. Touch it and die."

Matt scrambled up for a second time and fell onto the bed near the door. He glared silently at his roommate who was rummaging through his bag.

"I didn't take anything." Matt snapped, bristling. The boy snorted "Am I suppose to believe that crap? If it wasn't for Watari I would have snapped your neck a moment ago. So shut it."

"Is this how you treat all your roommates?" Matt asked, a note of interest creeping into his voice. The blonde turned to glare at him, his blue eyes cold "I've never had another roommate."

"Why not?"

"Go away."

"What's your name?"

"Shut it and leave. I don't know why I'm even talking to you." The boy answered. But Matt stayed, watching the blonde take a notebook from the bag and toss it onto his bed along with a pencil and a social studies book. He was pointedly ignoring Matt. A permanent scowl was plastered on his face.

"Hey." Matt broke the silence.

"Your not gone yet?"

"You still haven't told me your name."

"Go away."

"I told you mine."

"Because I made you."

"I still told you."

"Go away!" The boy snapped and suddenly Matt found himself being throw headlong out into the hall through the recently opened doorway. He covered his head a split second before he slammed painfully into number twelve's door. People peeked out of doorways to laugh at or to pity Matt as he groaned with pain. So this was what those older boys had meant. Whoever that blonde was was obviously feared and known for violence.

Matt rolled onto his back and pushed himself up for a third time. A shot of pain along his back made him clenched his teeth and suck in a breath.

"Are you okay?" The blonde girl for earlier asked. Approaching him carefully, eying the door he had just been throw out of warily. Matt shrugged then winced.

"Who was that?" Matt asked, picking up his orange goggles that had fallen from his face.

"His name is Mello. He's one of the oldest children, he turns thirteen in a month." The girl replied and several on lookers nodded as if to back up her statement.

"He's a jerk." Matt glared pointedly at room thirteen. The girl nodded "He hates everyone! He never smiles or laughs unless it's one of his creepy, idea smiled or his insane laughter."

Everyone that Matt could see, shuddered. One girl even whimpered quietly, clutching her friend's shoulder.

"It must suck to have him as a roomie. Doesn't it shrimp?"

It was one of the boys from earlier. He and his friends walked with swagger, cocky grins on their faces. The boy's friends laughed while Matt just glared at them.

"We all placed bets you know?" The boy in the front smirked "On how long you'll survive."

A boy behind him laughed and stepped forward "Yeah, I bet you couldn't last an hour. Mich thinks you wouldn't last ten minutes!"

The boys laughed loudly while others looked nervously at each other. Matt was about to make an angry retort when a loud thud caused the whole hall to freeze. The thud came from the other side of room thirteen's door. Like Mello had thrown a book at the door.

"You guys were to loud." The blonde girl beside Matt muttered. She quickly rushed into her room and shut the door quickly, so did many others. Just in case Mello decided to come out.

"Well, see you later shrimp." The front boy grinned, his voice a whisper "Or not."

The boys laughed silently as the shuffled away, leaving Matt the only person in the hall.

"You made it through the first hour!" The blonde girl that Matt had come to know as Lily chirped happily. Matt rolled his eyes, raising his spoon to his mouth. Dinner was being held in a large room with a wooden table and chairs stretching through it. Soup was being served and may of the red faced children that had gone to play in the snow slurped theirs down at once while others ate slowly.

"I only made it through because he tossed me out. He was getting really annoyed at me."

Lily stared at him in alarmed, her spoon clattering back into her bowl "What did you do?"

"I just asked him some questions."

"And?" Lily turned fully in her chair to face him eyes wide. Matt suddenly became very interesting in a noodle that was floating around in his soup "He keep telling me to go away..."

"Do it next time!"

"But Lily! If I did that it would feel like giving up!"

"And if you don't then you will be giving up on life a lot sooner than you think!"

"He's not going to kill me!"

"I'm not so sure." Lily looked foward at her chowder and sighed "No one knows if Melllo has any boundaries. He's broken bones and blackened limps! I'm scare to even walk past him...Why do you even what to talk to him?"

"Hn." Matt grunted, swallow a hot spoonful of soup instead of answering her question . Lily glared at him "Matt! You need to take Mello seriously!"

"Don't worry Lily. I'll be fine." Matt rolled his eyes "Honestly, we met today and your already hovering."

"I am not hovering!" Lily protested "I am just... stopping you from being stupid!"

"Hovering." Matt insisted, glancing around the table "Hey, where is Mello?"

"He doesn't usually show up for dinner... or breakfast... or lunch..." Lily poked at her soup "I think if he did come most people would skip meals."

Matt drained the rest of the broth in his bowl in one gulp. He stood and Lily glanced at him nervously "Where are you going?"

"I'm done so I'm heading back."

"Back?" Lily choked on her chowder and sputtered till she could speak again "To room thirteen?"

"Yeah, where else?" Matt answered, pretending to be calm while his nervous jumped to the moon and his heart felt like it was getting electrified. Lily stared at him "Have you even been listening to me. Matt. Matt!"

But Matt had already jogged out of the dinning room and toward the sleeping chambers. Even the fast eaters hung around for their friends so Matt was the only one in the hall.

Despite all his brave talk Matt felt like a little five year old going to tell his mom that he had broken every window in the house. He hesitated outside of his and Mello's room. He gulped then reached for the handle. Before he had even touched it the door swung open and Mello shoved passed him. Matt hit the opposite wall and moaned in pain. He opened his eyes to see that Mello had crossed the hallway and was no longer in view.

"Jerk."

Matt pushed into the room to see that books were scattered all over Mello's bed. A pencil with countless teethmarks on it lay on top of an open chemistry book. A half unwrapped bar of chocolate lay next to it, a quarter of it missing. Matt fell onto his own, recently sheeted bed. Grumbling.

He took the jar of sea glass from the bedside table and held it up to the light. The glass twinkled different colors in the light and Matt soon relaxed. He pulled the sheets over him, not bothering to change into the pajamas the orphanage had supplied him with.

"Good night." Matt said to the room aloud and he was asleep, with the jar of glass in his hand, before Mello returned.

Matt blinked himself awake and sat up, the jar of glass rolling along his sheets. He rubbed his eyes and yawned before he glanced over at Mello's bed. It was empty. For a moment Matt thought Mello had never returned to the room till he was coherent enough to hear the shower running in the bathroom. Matt strained his ears but heard nothing more. He quickly grabbed the jar of glass before it fell from the bed and placed it on the bedside table again. He then dropped down back onto his pillow and snuggled into his blankets. The room was freezing with it being winter and there was no heater. He didn't notice the absents of sound from the bathroom till the door opened and Mello stepped out.

He was dressed in blank pants and a black t-shirt with a gray net shirt over it. A towel was draped over his head but Matt could see long strands of wet yellow hair.

"Good morning."

Mello didn't respond, not that Matt had really expect him to.

"You know what's strange?"

Again, nothing. Mello probably didn't know what was strange nor did he seem to care.

"You don't sing in the shower."

Mello stopped, his hand frozen over a book he had reached for. He slowly turned his head to look at Matt who smiled secretly at getting a reaction. But Mello just dropped his gaze back to his book after a moment and Matt frowned "Aren't you cold?"

No response.

"Good morning." Matt repeated, watching Mello's face carefully. Mello showed no sign of hearing Matt however and he simply began packing his books into his bag.

"I said-"

"I am perfectly aware of you said. Now shut up before I seriously snap you neck." Mello sounded strained like he really was resiting the urge to hit Matt. Matt found he felt somewhat smug at this "Why stop yourself? Threats aren't going to help if you never follow through."

Mello packed the last book into his over stuffed bag that looked ready to burst as he swung it onto his shoulder. Matt was about to speak up again but Mello had already disappeared out into the hall and slammed the door behind him.

"I guess he's not a morning person." Matt mused. He stood up and changed from yesterday's cloths into a pair of jeans and a red hoodie which matched his hair. He put his orange goggles on and drew a comb quickly through his hair. He jogged out into the hallway where many people were gathering, groggily greeting each other. Matt wondered momentarily if Mello had woken them when he slammed the door.

"Morning." Lily yawned, emerging from her room with her freckle splattered roommate following her. Matt nod in greeting and as one the group began to move toward the dining room.

"So what is usually for breakfast?" Matt asked, keeping his voice down as he spotted the older boys that had confronted him the other day. Lily shrugged "There's not really a schedule sometimes it's pancakes or cereal and sometimes it's eggs and bacon or porridge."

…

Matt stared, disgusted at the plate of porridge that the cooks had set in front of him. He wrinkled his noses and leaned as far back in his chair as he could without tipping it.

"Disgusting." He groaned, fighting the urge to vomit as he watched serve kids wipe their bowls clean within seconds.

"Don't knock it till you try it!" Lily sang cheerfully, digging into her bowl.

"I hate that phrase, and I think I'll not knock it before I regurgitate it."

"Ugh, that's disgusting Matt!" Lily protested. Matt childishly stuck his tongue out at her and laughed. But of course, that left his mouth wide open. Lily stuffed her porridge fulled spoon into his mouth and held his nose till he was forced to swallow it. He began to cough and had to gulp down half a glass of apple juice to clear his throat. He glared at Lily who was laughing. He stuck his hand in to his bowl.

"Don't Matt!"

But to late. She got a face full of porridge. She spluttered and launched some at him, which he narrowly escaped contact with. He threw another glob and Lily ducked, laughing. To Matt's horror the ball of grossness smashed right into Mich, who was sitting right next to Lily. He froze, slowly inching a hand up to his porridge covered head. Even though Matt knew this meant bad news for him he couldn't stop the snicker that escaped his lips. Lily giggle and soon both, and half of the table were roaring with laughter as Mich sat stunned.

"You little!" Mich was so angry he couldn't complete a sentence "You!" How dare!" "I'm gonna!" "You'll pay!"

That was when Matt ran, with the older boys racing after him. Matt couldn't help laughing as he ran passed broom closets, a huge library, bathrooms, and finally into the room hall.

"Thirteen!" Matt gasped, lunging for the door knob. He twist it and swung in, slamming the door behind him. He let out a victorious whoop. He danced on the spot, his hair flying all over his face. The boys wouldn't dare follow him in here! Only when he danced in a slow circle did he remembered the reason he had run here for safety.

The reason had, one scowling mouth, two glaring eyes and more than three thousand possible ideas of how to kill someone. Mello lay on his orange sheeted bed, a chocolate bar in his left hand and nothing in his right. You couldn't find a dagger sharp enough to compete with those blue orbs.

Matt laughed nervously as Mello rose from his bed like a cat, with claws and teeth "Get. Out."

"Well, you see Mello, I don't really think I should go out-"

"I don't care what you think." Mello said and Matt flinched at the steel edge to his words. Mello didn't even seemed surprised Matt knew his name.

"Get out."

Matt wonder which was worse. A pissed Mello or a band of boys. Well, if he left now it was a possible the boys would be gone... Matt ran for it.

He sprinted as fast as he could away from Mello. Luck was in his favor and no angry, porridge covered boys chased him.

He ran back toward the library he had seen near the dining hall. It was big enough that if they came after him he could hide well. Matt ran toward the bookcases in the very back. Before he reached them however he almost knocked into a small, white haired boy. Matt stumbled and grabbed the bookcase for balance.

The boy was clearly an albino, he was like a snowman, a very very well sculpted snowman.

"Um, hi." Matt greeted, taking a step back as the white kid looked up at him from the floor where he was skimming through book titles.

"Hello. You Matt aren't you?"

"Um, yeah." Matt blinked. The boy stood up, his snowy hair bouncing with his movements "I am Near."

"Near?"

"Yes. Welcome to Wammy's."

"Um, thanks." Matt mental smacked himself. If um was a catch phrase it would be his. Near's expression was blank "Why are you running?"

"Um..." Again with the um! "I was looking for a book!" This was a library after all.

"I see." Near clearly didn't believe it.

Something about Near unnerved Matt. Maybe it was the mature look to his eyes? Or the way he spoke with confidence like he was the smarted kid in the world?

"Your Mello's roommate." It wasn't a question it was a statement but Matt answered it anyway "Yeah."

"How is it?"

"It's fine."

"Most do not get along with Mello." The way he said it left no place to argue. Matt was starting to dislike Near, just a little bit "Um, I noticed. I've got to go... talk with Lily bye!"

Matt sped off before Near could even take in what he said. Matt sighed. How could such a short conversion give him a full summary of Near. He was probably the star of the orphanage. It was the orphanage for the gifted after all.

"Might as well go find Lily." He muttered, his goggles gleaming in the light.

Author's note: This is my first Death note fan fiction. I know Matt might seem out of character right now, but he will get more like his gamer self as time passes. Please R&R!