A/N: Review! This is one of the first stories I've started writing since 2013 that I'm planning on making multi-chaptered, and the first thing I've really WRITTEN in a very long time... Even if you dislike it, reviews would mean a lot to me.

Disclaimer: I do not own death note or any of its characters

"I promise, I'll write you every day, and I'll call you every week." Mihael says into his best friend's shoulder, his vision obscured by Mail's auburn hair.

"I don't want you to go, Mello," he whines into the shaggy blonde mop of hair, owned by the 8 year old before him. Mihael sighs.

"I don't want to go, Matt. But, I have to." Mihael says sadly. Mail sobs into his hair, and Mello knows somewhere beneath those oversized goggles, were green eyes, framed by red splotches and tears. He pulls away and reaches into his pocket, pulling out an object, before placing said object into his best friend's palm.

"Don't forget me." Mello commands, followed by a kiss placed on Matt's cheek, and then he turns, running to the car and hopping in before the tears can't be evaded anymore.

Matt watches as the car speeds away, the rain puddles splashing up against the tires, soft droplets of rain dripping from the tree limbs. He sniffs and opens his palm, to find a simple, bronze pocket watch, or so it seems. He opens up the face, and sees a tiny picture of he and his best friend, back to back, with their arms crossed. He smiles sadly and closes the watch, looking up at the sky with his childish, round eyes. He blinks.

"I won't forget you, Mello. Never. I promise."

He stares at the house next door, reminiscing in the fun times shared with his best friend and previous next-door neighbor, and after a while, goes back inside.

Several years pass, and for the first two, Mello keeps his promise. But, gradually, the calls come less and less often, until not at all, and the long, meaningful letters turn into short, quick responses, and then they stop, too.

_10 years later_

An eighteen year-old Matt trudges across the parking lot, putting out his cigarette and tossing it in the trash can. His earbuds blare DeadMau5 into his ears. He hitches his backpack tighter on his shoulder, and picks up the pace as he catches a glimpse of his usual attacker behind him. He pulls his watch from his pocket and reads the face; 7:53. 'Two minutes before I'm late to science', he thought. He glances over his shoulder and curses, shoving the forget-me-not back into his pocket. 'And, about two seconds before Jace Tojodo tries to beat me senseless', he adds mentally. He pulls out his ear buds and stuffs them, along with his phone, into his backpack.

"Hey! Jeevas! What, you're not playing your dweeb games? What happened to your precious Pokemon?" The jock taunts, his strides getting longer until he reaches Matt, pushing him against the trash can. Mail grits his teeth. He drops his backpack gently on the ground nearby.

"For your information, I don't just play Pokemon, and I happen to have a level 100 Charizard that could kick your ass any day." He retorts, knowing his beating was now inevitable. As per usual, the student body rushes inside the school to get to class, unaware of the scene around them, and uncaring at that.

Suddenly, Matt's being thrown into the trashcan. He huffs as he tips it over and crawls out, peeling wrappers and other odd substances from his red hair. 'There's my cigarette butt...'

"No, don't, you look way better with the gum wads in your hair. It suits a faggot like you!" Jace spats. Mail rolls his eyes and brushes himself off, pushing god-knows-what off of his black-and-red striped long-sleeved shirt, and takes off his faux-fur vest, tossing it on top of his backpack. He pulls up his black gloves, and readjusts his goggles, pushing them back like a headband in his hair, hoping they wouldn't get broken.

"At least I look better than you." He mutters. 'If I'm gonna get the fuck beaten out of me, I might as well embrace it.' Jace grabs him by the shirt collar, pushing him against a nearby tree.

"What was that?!" Jace demands furiously, pushing Mail against the tree. Matt spits venomously on Jace's face in response, and receives several sharp blows to the face. His jaw aches painfully, but he doesn't back down.

"I said, 'At least I-'" Matt begins, but is quickly cut off by a sucker punch in the stomach. He grimaces, his organs contracting in pain.

"I... Said..." Matt whispers, trying to get out his words. Jace scoffs.

"I damn well know what you said, faggot, and you must've hit your head a little bit too fucking hard on the bottom of the trash can, because I'm way better looking than you." The jock says angrily, and drops his victim, causing Mail to lose his air supply completely, knocking the wind out of him. The world starts to spin.

"Keep my name out of your dick-sucking mouth." The bully adds, kicking Matt in the ribs. He doubles over, clutching his sides.

"Fuck you, asshole," He chokes out. The bully growls, but decides against pummeling him again, before stalking away. The late bell rings and Matt groans, quickly regretting it as his ribs throb and his chest cavity clenches in pain. He lays there for a few minutes, letting the pain subside, and finally stands, dusting himself off. He grimaces as he readjusts himself, knowing that his face and ribs were well bruised. He gathers his backpack and vest, putting on his vest and slings his bag over his shoulder. He pulls his goggles back down over his eyes, and grimaces. He limps inside, and eventually finds his way to chemistry class.

He pushes open the door, and as it creaks, the teacher glares.

"You're late, Mr. Jeevas." She declares.

"Yeah, I know," he sighs. She narrows her eyes even further.

"Take your seat." She says coldly, turning to continue the notes she was writing on the board. Matt strides to the only empty station, and sits by himself. He taps the person in front of him on the shoulder gently, a flash of white hair spurs by, and suddenly, his one and only friend faces him.

"Yeah, Matt?" the boy asks.

"What is she talking about, Near?" Matt whispers, trying not to attract attention. Near lowers his voice.

"She's explaining how to calculate spring potential energy. I'll let you copy my notes after class." Near says quietly. "But, what happened to your face? Was it Jace again?" Near asks with what might've been a scowl, if it wasn't masked with his generic look of boredom. Matt nods and Near blinks in acknowledgment.

"He's an asshole, and if I were you I would ignore him completely. Did you tell anyone what happened this morning?"

Matt shakes his head. "It wouldn't matter anyways."

Near gives a look of sympathy, before turning back around and continuing to write the notes. Matt glances at the empty chair next to him, and then at the blond girl sitting in his usual spot, next to Near.

'It's that damn Misa Amane that got held back a few years,' he thinks angrily. 'Dumb bitch, she just wanted to copy off of Near because he's top of the class.'

He scowls and stares at the clock, counting down the seconds until he can escape the hell-hole he currently occupies. Chemistry was his worst subject, and to make things worse, he had to sit alone. He eyes the empty stool next to him at his lab station, and frowns.

'What I wouldn't give to have another friend in this school,' he thinks grumbly. 'Hell, even in this town.'

XXXX

Matt drove to school the next morning with the radio cranked up as loud as possible without physically causing him pain. 'Like I need my ear drums to bleed, among my other wounds.' He blasted his Twenty One Pilots pandora station, his phone plugged into the auxiliary cord.

"They don't know you

And neither do I, so

Here's a prime example of a stand-up guy

Who hates what he believes and loves it at the same time

Here's my brother and his head's screwed up, but that's alright"

Matt raps the next first eloquently, mom-dancing in the drivers seat. He reaches his destination, and parks, finishing the song before he turns off the engine. He sighs and makes his way inside, and to first hour.

XXXXX

"Can anyone tell me how to calculate the formula for-" the teacher is interrupted by the classroom phone ringing. She huffs. "Just a minute class." She growls, before answering the phone in a cheerful tone. "Hello? Yes. Yes. Wonderful! I'll send someone right away!" She hangs up the phone.

"Miss Amane? It appears we have a new student. Would you mind showing him around, and bringing him here afterwards? It appears this is his first hour."

Misa nods, happy to be getting out of class. "Yes, ma'am." She quickly rises from the seat next to Near, Matt's seat, and heads to the office.

"Now, class..." She begins again. Matt rests his chin on his palm, tuning her out.

XXXX

"Matt!" A voice loudly whispers, startling the red-haired boy from his slumber. Near glares at him. "The new student is here, and you fell asleep." Matt groans and thanks him for rousing him before the teacher caught him, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He looks up, glancing at the doorway to look at the new student.

Holy.

Fucking.

Shit.

Matt blinked. 'I'm hallucinating. That's the only answer' he thought.

'Orrrrrr maybe I'm still asleep and this is a dream.' He digs his fingernails into his wrist to test his theory.

'Ow ow ow!' He quietly hisses.

He looks back at the boy in the doorway.

'But... How?'

Golden, smooth hair, long, shoulder-length, actually. Bangs that covered his eyes.

Leather boots, dark skinny jeans, and a long-sleeved, plain black tee.

That rosary, God, he still had it... Hanging from his neck like a promise... A promise that Matt had once held with the same conviction as the man before him held his religion.

It was him.

Fuck...

it was Mihael Keehl...

it was Mello.

Matt couldn't help himself.

"M-Mello?" He asked a bit louder than he intended. He bit back a curse as the entire class turned to stare at him. But he didn't care as much as he normally would've. No, he was making eye contact with the icy blue eyes on the other side of the room- eyes that realized who it really was that had just said his name.

"Matt? Is that you?" the blonde asks, eyes wide.

Matt grins. "Yeah. It is, Mells."

A/N: :) If I get reviews I'll write the next chapter. Otherwise I'll assume you all hated it or didn't even bother to read it *sniffles*