Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note. If I did Beyond Birthday would have actually shown up in the original plot.

Lunch was incredibly silent and awkward that day. Near was solving a Rubik's Cube over and over again. Mello was absorbed in the chocolate he was eating instead of a meal. Matt was playing a video game like he does every day even though video games have been banned from campus. No one dared to say a word about recent events.

Well, no one dared say a thing until Matsuda sat down, "Where is L?" Everyone stared at Matsuda as harshly as they could manage. Matsuda shrunk back, "What did I do?"

Mello chomped off another bite of chocolate, "Did you hear about what happened to his older brother Beyond?"

Matsuda shook his head, "No. What happened?"

"Beyond went outside after sundown last night." Matt droned without taking his eyes off of his game. Going outside after sundown is not safe in any town but even more so here in Sunset Valley.

"Oh my god. Why would he do that? Is he okay?" Matsuda stammered.

Near twisted the Rubik's cube into something Matsuda perceived as unsolvable, "We don't know for sure. L told us that Beyond did not come home at all. Beyond could be perfectly alive and well at this very moment, but that is very unlikely. With this town's special circumstances it is at less than ten percent. What is more likely though is that his gruesomely mutilated corpse will be found or that Beyond will show up at L's front door screaming to be let in."

Matsuda looked down at his lunch that he no longer had the appetite for, "Mr. Wammy must be a mess right now."

Mello had finished his dark chocolate bar, "I could only imagine what he must be going though." Mr. Wammy was Beyond Birthday and L's grandfather and legal guardian. When L was three both his parents were killed in a car accident. He was too young to remember his parents, but his two older brothers were not. Yes, L had two older brothers. Alternate and Beyond Birthday. When L was eleven and Alternate was thirteen he ran outside in the middle of the night when everyone else in the house was sleeping. The hunters found Alternate behind a dumpster with his neck torn to ribbons. Now that Beyond is practically a goner L is the only family member Mr. Wammy has left.

At least there were other people in town that know what it was like to lose a lot to those demonic creatures. Mr. Yagami lost his son Light to the monsters of the night three years ago. Light had attempted to get invited into the house afterwards and Mr. Yagami had to keep strong and refuse. Misa Amane came home from a sleepover last year only to discover her family's corpses. She now lives with Mr. Mogi. Mr. Aizawa's wife Eriko died five years ago just three months after the birth of their daughter Yumi. Actually Eriko was the second person to be attacked. Back when Eriko died the citizens of Sunset Valley just thought there was some kind of crazy serial killer in town. Now they know so much better. So, so much better.

"So is L at home with Mr. Wammy mourning?" Matsuda inquired.

"Yes!" Matt punched the air.

"No he isn't you dumbass!" Mello also punched something, but it wasn't the air. It was Matt's shoulder.

Matt rubbed his shoulder, "Sorry about that. I just rescued Zelda."

Mello rolled his eyes, "For the last time Matt, we do not care about the fictional characters that you think about when you pleasure yourself." Matt's jaw dropped an almost comical amount.

Mello smirked and turned to Matsuda, "L is at school. If he wasn't here then how would we know about Beyond."

Matsuda knitted his eyebrows together, "Then where is he?"

Near looked up from his now solved Rubik's cube, "He is probably sitting under the big oak tree near the football field. You know, the one he likes to go to when he needs to be alone."

Matsuda grabbed his tray and stood up, "I'll go be with him."

Mello tilted his head, "If he is there it is because, as the brat stated, he wants to be alone. You should let him do that."

Matsuda responded stubbornly, "I know, but he really shouldn't be alone right now. He needs someone to support him emotionally."

Matt laughed, "You really are a pansy aren't you."

"If caring about real people makes me a pansy then, yeah, I guess I am a pansy." Matsuda began his walk to the oak tree. Matsuda was the kind of person that would be there for you no matter what happens and weather you like it or not.

It didn't take all that long to find L. He was sitting under the oak tree that Near suspected he would be. L was looking up at the clouds as they changed shape in front of his eyes. His black eyes seemed to be pondering humankind's very existence. Although that was not such a hard thing to do here in Sunset Valley.

Matsuda plopped down next to L and broke L out of his daze, "Hey. I heard about what happened to Beyond. How are you holding up?"

L turned his face towards Matsuda, "I no longer have to worry about waking up to find dead rats nailed to my headboard." Matsuda certainly wasn't expecting that answer.

Matsuda laughed, "He was a very creepy person."

"He was born with red eyes, you know." L smiled.

Matsuda was genuinely surprised, "Really? I always thought those were contact he wore to scare people. Red eyes make people uncomfortable everywhere, but here in Sunset Valley they downright petrify people."

L shrugged, "It makes sense that you would think that. It sounds like something Beyond would do."

Matsuda bit his lip, "How is someone born with red eyes exactly?"

L bit his thumb, "It is perfectly possible for people to be born with red eyes. If they are albino that is. Technically speaking albinos have clear eyes and we think they have red eyes because we are really seeing their blood vessels as they go through the eyes."

Matsuda smiled, "That is actually really cool."

L continued, "But that is not the case with Beyond because he is not an albino."

Matsuda tilted his head sideways in confusion, "Then how…"

L moved his thumb away from his mouth, "I am not sure. It is a medical anomaly for sure. When I was younger I remember asking him if he was a demon."

Matsuda held back his laughter at how cute L could be sometimes, "Do you remember is response?"

L nodded, "He told me that he might be and walked away."

"Did I ever tell you about the time he threatened to skin me?" Matsuda offered.

"No, Matsuda I believe you have not. What did you do?" L leaned in closer to Matsuda.

Matsuda admitted embarrassedly, "He caught me eating some of his precious strawberry jam."

L shook his head, "Matsuda you idiot."

Matsuda attempted to defend himself, "Hey! I was only ten years old at the time!"

L focused his attention back to the sky, "Beyond Birthday was crazy, but I am going to miss him a lot."

Matsuda put his hand on L's shoulder, "There is still hope."

L smiled sadly, "You know just as well as I do Matsuda: There has not been any real hope in this small town for five years."

~~~~~~~~Time Skip brought to you by Misa Misa's Happy Sweets~~~~~~~~

L left his sixth period history class and began walking to the parking lot where Misa's minivan was parked. Misa got her license two years ago and she has been responsible for driving L, Beyond Birthday (not anymore), Matt, Mello, Near, Matsuda, and Sayu home ever since. She was very well trusted by the adults. She always made sure they were all home before dark, even if it meant that she would not be.

When L got there everybody else was already in the car. He had to sit in the third row of seats in between Matsuda and Sayu.

Misa started the car, "What was taking you so long L? We were all waiting for you."

L sighed, "My history teacher insisted that she must finish her lecture before we could leave."

Mello who was in the second row of seats snorted, "Is she stupid?"

L stated, "She just moved here not too long ago. I do not think she is fully aware of the vampire infestation."

"Why would anyone move here? I can see people wanting to move away, but not wanting to move in." Matsuda pondered aloud.

Near was sitting next to Mello playing with a Jacob's latter, "A steady paycheck. You know how high the unemployment rates are in this country. Besides they probably didn't tell her that the last person who had her job also had all of their blood sucked out of their jugular vein."

Sayu murmured, "They are going to have to tell her soon. Ignorance is a sure fire way to get yourself killed."

Matt, who was lucky enough to be sitting shotgun, paused his game, "I know this is off topic, but does anybody want to stay over at Mello, Near, and my house tonight. It is a Friday." Mello, Near, and Matt were all foster children living with Roger Ruvie.

Sayu spoke first, "I am going to have to decline. My father doesn't really like Roger and he is very wary of sleepovers. Especially sleepovers with guys."

Misa turned left, "Sayu, I thought you liked girls."

Sayu blushed, "Yeah, I do, but mom and dad don't know that yet."

Mello rolled his eyes, "Are they ever going to find out?"

"Of course they will!" Sayu shouted quickly.

"How about you tell them before the end of the world?"

Sayu nodded, "I will."

Matt smirked, "Maybe some other time then. How about you L?"

"Why not? I'll call Watari later to let him know that I am okay." L said.

Matsuda smiled, "That sounds like a lot of fun. Count me in Matt."

Matt turned his head to his left, "That just leaves you Misa. Are you coming?"

Misa hesitated, "I guess Mochi could use a break from me every once and a little while."

Near got bored with his Jacob's latter and put it back in his backpack, "So, that means everyone, but Sayu is coming."

Misa stopped the car, "Sayu this is your stop."

"I hope to see you all on Monday!" Sayu said as she got out of the car.

Misa began driving to Roger's house, "I almost never see you guys at school, let alone talk to you. Tell me what's new."

L began, "My brother is probably dead."

Misa was shocked, "What happened to him? He wasn't in Science class today, but I just assumed he was sick or something."

Matt was playing his game again, "Does Beyond Birthday ever get sick?"

"He went outside in the middle of the night yesterday. He did not come home." L explained.

Misa sniffled, "I am so sorry L. I'm going to give you a ginormous hug the first chance I get. So, anything else new."

Matsuda attempted to brighten up the mood, "I got an A on an algebra test."

Near said in a tone that perfectly displayed his boredom, "I hope you weren't cheating."

Matsuda was taken aback, "I would never. Cheating is dishonest and wrong. I have integrity guys."

Misa cheered, "Good for you Matsu! Anyone else got some news to share?"

Matt put his video game in his backpack, "Actually Mello and I do."

Mello glared at Matt, "No we don't."

Matt laughed, "There is no need to be embarrassed about our relationship Mello. Mello and I are dating now."

"No need to be embarrassed Mello." L repeated sarcastically.

"Congratulations guys!" Matsuda attempted to give Mello a hive five but was left hanging.

"Matt was not supposed to tell anyone." Mello hissed.

Misa rejoiced, "That is great news guys!"

Mello was defeated, "Fine. But Roger can never know."

Misa asked, "Why not? I know for a fact that Roger is not homophobic at all."

Near explained, "Mello and Matt get to share a room."

"And if Roger was ever to find out I would probably have to move in with Near." Mello added in disgust.

Near shrugged, "Honestly, I don't know how he hasn't figured it out by now. You guys are really loud when you-"

Mello cut him off, "Shut up!" Matt was snickering.

Misa parked, "We're here!" Everyone got out of the car as fast as they possibly could and ran to the front door. All except for Near who simply strolled. Roger's house was a nice yellow one-story that was absolutely perfect for the suburbs. One normal thing in a town that wasn't very normal at all. Once they were inside they instantly began jogging down the plush carpeted hall towards Mello and Matt's shared room. All except for Near who strolled again.

Before they could actually get inside the room Roger yelled after them, "Matsuda! Misa! L! Do your parents know that you are here?"

Matsuda shyly acknowledged, "No. They don't."

Roger thundered, "They are probably worried sick right now! Especially you L! Quillish is probably having a heart attack!"

Misa requested in the sweetest voice she could muster, "Could you call all of our legal guardians or parents and let them know that we are okay?"

Roger cooled down, "Fine. It is too late to do anything else anyways. It would be impossible for all three of you to be home before the sun sets." The teenagers continued their short jog to Mello and Matt's room without saying another word to Roger.

Once they were all inside the room Misa wrapped her arms around L so tightly it seemed more like she wanted to break his spine rather than hug him. L protested, "Misa… please let go… you are depriving me of oxygen."

Misa let go and pet L's hair a few times, "Sorry L. I told you I would give you a ginormous hug."

L responded, "That's okay. Besides your beasts felt nice."

Misa took three huge steps away from L, "You pervert!"

L pretended Misa didn't just insult him, "So what are we going to do?"

Matsuda perked up, "I know! I know! How about truth or dare?"

Near countered, "Truth or dare never ends well."

Matt pulled out a box of cigarettes, "I don't know. Truth or dare actually sounds fun right now. Anyone object besides Near?" Silence. "Okay. Let's play." They all sat down in a circle.

Misa started, "Truth or dare Mello?"

Mello simpered, "Dare."

Misa giggled, "I dare you to… um… French kiss Near."

Mello blinked, "Truth. I said truth."

Misa wagged her finger, "No you said dare. You can't take it back now silly. You have to kiss Near."

Near turned to face Mello, "I told you all that truth or dare never ends well, but you didn't want to listen, and now this is happening. I never thought my first kiss would be like this."

Mello hesitated a little bit as he considered his options. Only when he realized he didn't have any options he did what he did. He grabbed both sides of Near's face and pulled him in hard. It looked more like Mello was attempting to bite Near's tongue off instead of kiss him. Although he it is not that unlikely that he was really trying to bite Near's tongue off though.

Mello broke off abruptly and began coughing, "Ew. I never want to do that again. Truth or dare Near?"

Near was wiping his mouth off on his sleeve, "Considering what dares are like I will go with truth."

"What did you think of that kiss?" Mello demanded.

"I hated it and now I never want to kiss ever again." Near replied.

"Good answer." Mello stated quickly.

Near was playing with his hair, "Truth or dare Matsuda?"

Matsuda answered with enthusiasm, "Dare."

Near leaned over and whispered in Matsuda's ear, "I dare you to ask Mello for a piece of chocolate."

Matsuda carried out orders, "Mello, can I have some chocolate?"

Mello gave Matsuda a glare so cold it could have frozen lava, "No way in hell Matsuda."

Matsuda was expecting that, "Okay. Truth or dare L?"

L scratched his chin, "I pick truth."

Matsuda inquired, "What is the weirdest thing Beyond Birthday has ever done to you?"

L was a little taken off guard, "Are you sure you want to know? This is Beyond Birthday we are talking about."

Matsuda nodded, "I am sure. You absolutely have to answer me L."

"Alright, alright if you insist. The weirdest thing Beyond Birthday has ever done to me definitely has to be the one time he attempted to seduce me." L said as if he had said something that was perfectly normal.

Misa awkwardly asked after a few seconds of silence, "Would you care to elaborate a little bit for us?"

L looked Misa dead in the eye, "And you call me a pervert. What happened is that Beyond had stolen money from Watari and I found out. He really did not want me to tell Watari. He told me he would make it worth my while as he played with my hair. Then he tried to kiss me. I pushed him off, informed him that I wouldn't tell, and I left the room. I slept on the couch that night."

Mello bit his lip, "Beyond would do something like that."

L decided to continue the game before things got even more awkward, "Truth or dare Matt?"

Matt grinned, "Dare."

L thought for a few minutes, "I dare you not to kiss your boyfriend Mello at all tonight."

Mello protested, "That is not fair!"

Matt shrugged, "Eh. It could have been worse. Truth or dare Misa?"

Misa answered immediately, "Truth."

Matt asked, "Who was the first person you dated?"

"Raito Yagami." Misa reported.

Matsuda stopped smiling, "Oh, I am so sorry."

Misa said nonchalantly, "Don't worry about it Matsu. It was a long time ago. Sure I was sad when I found out that he had been turned, but I'm okay. Besides he was a terrible boyfriend. He most of his drooling over L instead of paying attention to me."

L looked up, "How long ago was this?"

Misa counted on her fingers as she tried to recall, "Ummm… I think it was four years ago."

L's jaw almost dropped, "I was eleven and Light was fourteen. A fourteen year old boy had a crush on an eleven year old boy."

Misa bit her cheek, "I found it annoying and dumped him. Just asking, do you think it would be wrong if I asked out his sister?"

Mello began tapping his knee, "Under normal circumstances… yeah because it is your ex's sibling, but these aren't normal circumstances. Since he is technically dead I say go for it."

Misa chimed, "Thank you for the advice Mello."

L felt a vibrating in his pocket, "Hold on guys I have a text message." L grabbed his outdated cell phone and flipped it open. As soon he read the text he dropped the phone.

Matsuda picked up the phone and read the text out loud, "Hi Lawli. I am watching you and your friends play truth or dare though the window. It looks so much fun. Can you invite me in so I can play too? Love your big brother Beyond Birthday." Nobody dare to speak. Only vampires need an invitation to enter a place. That text unveiled two truths. First, that Beyond Birthday had been turned. Second that they weren't alone.

Author's note: Right now I am too sick to go to school, so I wrote this to ease my boredom. I started writing this after I tried my dad's homemade medicine (a shot of rum, honey, lemon, hot water, and cinnamon in a glass together) so I apologize if this makes no sense. I don't know if I should continue this. Let me know if you liked this and want me to keep going. Thank you for reading.