Disclaimer: Nope, dont own Death Note or music by Trapt.

Summary: Matt took the gun from Near's quaking hands and used Mello's shirt to wipe off the prints. "We have to go." Near looked at Matt with surprise. He had just done something horrible and yet Matt was acting as though he had just stolen a candy bar instead of killing someone. MattNear. Character Death, Suicide. Slight yaoi. Songfic

AN: I really suggest listening to "Cover Up" by Trapt when reading this, as it IS the song the fic is based around. And I had the song on repeat as i wrote this, it was the ONLY thing I was listening to when I wrote this. Hope you enjoy.

"Cover Up"

You must have pulled the trigger

Your eyes give you away

The gun in your hand still smoking

Near looked up at Matt with wide unseeing eyes, his hands shook and his hold on the gun began to slip.

You don't have to take the blame

You have to do what you have to do

You know I'd never judge you

Matt looked down at the bloodied body at Near's feet with sadness. He didn't voice his heartache but it was evident in his expression. But never once did he snap; he never yelled, hit or spoke to Near in anything other than a gentle manner.

Still time to close those eyes

Forget what happened, forget you lied

Matt took the gun from Near's quaking hands and used Mello's shirt to wipe off the prints but didn't drop the gun to the floor. "We have to go." Near looked at Matt with surprise. He had just done something horrible and yet Matt was acting as though he had just stolen a candy bar instead of killing someone.

Matt looked back at Near, whose eyes were still showing a multitude of emotions, and sighed. "We can talk later." About how you lied. You swore you would never hurt him. About how you hurt me. You never realized how much I... About…everything.

Although Matt thought all of this he never spoke it.

Put the mask back on, put the mask back on

Don't take it off till everbody's gone

They walked in silence to Near's room where Matt lightly pushed the younger boy in. "Stay here, pretend to be asleep. And don't get up unless one of the teachers are banging on your door." Matt left Near standing in the middle of his room confused. Just why was Matt doing this?

Cover up, cover up

Don't let them see the real you

Near did just as Matt had asked of him, down to the very last detail. He couldn't have slept if he wanted to, so he used his time to fruitlessly search for the answer as to why Matt was helping.

Eventually Roger knocked harshly on his door demanding him to open up. Near blinked his eyes a few times and made himself hold an air of tiredness as it was early in the morning. Very early. Opening the door he eyed the man blankly as was expected of him. "Yes Roger?" he played with a strand of hair and it seemed to relax the older man.

"There has been an accident..." Near wondered why Roger had phrased it so.

If your secrets cant stay silent

All those rumors might just end up being true

The next day, or rather later on that same day, the orphanage was in a state of collective shock. Mello, the number two student, was dead. Dead, as in never coming back. And although he hadn't been the most behaved or even well liked due to his temper, students were still mourning the loss. All except two.

That was when the rumors began.

As Near sat quietly playing with his dominos, setting them up and watching them fall in intricate patterns, students gathered in small groups and whispered to one another.

"Why isn't he even the least bit affected?"

"It's no secret he and Mello never got along; Mello was always bullying him..."

"Do you think Near did it?"

Your free to do what you want

You never thought of consequence

Matt watched as Near never once looked up from his games, never once showed an ounce of emotion that Matt knew he was capable of. If Near kept this up all of his hard work might prove useless if L decided it was more than an accident, well he probably would anyway. Near, it seemed, was even less likely to think things through when faced with a stressful situation than Mello had been.

God how Matt missed his best friend.

You created your own little world were you could always be different

A place were the rules do not apply you could never be denied

You took advantage of a good thing and now the void you filled is empty

Near was always on his own, he placed himself above everyone else and never seemed bothered by it. Never until Mello. Always Mello. Rationale went out the window when the two of them faced each other, though it might not have seemed it on Near's part. He forever looked so calm but Mello forced the darker part of him to surface.

Matt had never really minded Near, in fact he...

He had more than once taken the time to talk to the young albino and found that he rather liked him. He had once asked Near that if given the chance, would he ever hurt Mello. His immediate response had been No. How he had lied. Matt felt betrayed, it was probably his fault that Mello was dead.

He had told Mello that Near was harmless on more than one occasion, and eventually the blond had believed him. Near left Matt all alone. There was a missing space beside him that no one could ever fill, Mello was too special. And yet, Matt couldn't really blame Near.

Put the mask back on, put the mask back on

Don't take it off till everbody's gone

Matt hadn't spoken to Near all day, and even the next two days. Near was tired of waiting. Tired of keeping the facade up for everyone to see. He wanted the truth. So he sought it out.

Pushing open the door he was greeted with the sight of Matt playing a game on Mello's former bed; the two had been roommates. Matt looked up at the closing of the door and shut his game off immediately.

Put the mask back on, put the mask back on

No disguise has ever lasted so long

"Matt, Why?" his voice was so quiet he almost wasn't sure Matt had heard him. But he had.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Near allowed a frown to grace his lips. He no longer needed to hide around Matt. He wasn't sure he ever really needed to. "Where did you even get a gun from?" this was not turning out how he had expected. He had come to get answers, not give them. But he supposed he owed it to the redhead.

"In Roger's desk, I picked the lock. I remember seeing him cleaning it late at night once. Though why he had it in the first place I do not know." Matt nodded to him before slipping off the bed to stand before him.

"Why Mello?" Matt had taken his goggles off so that they hung limply around his neck, like an orange colored noose.

Near felt something burn at the corner of his eyes at the sorrowful look in those deep green eyes. He couldn't place what he was feeling, but it hurt.

Cover up, cover up

Don't let them see the real you

"I couldn't stand the way he looked at me anymore. The way he treated me, like I was the scum of the earth." Near paused for a moment. "Even I have my breaking point." his fingers pulled tightly at his white hair, dangerously close to yanking strands loose. "Your turn, why help me?"

Matt stared at Near with such intensity that he almost looked away. "Because you are also my friend." Matt stated calmly, though Near did find it odd the way Matt said friend, almost as though that wasn't the word he wanted to use. Or that there was a deeper meaning to it that he just couldn't grasp.

"Thank you." Near said genuinely. He didn't need to ask what Matt had done with the gun. He would have disposed of it or at least made sure that if it was ever found it wouldn't be tied to either of them. For Matt was now an accomplice. An accessory to murder.

If your secrets can't stay silent

All those rumors might just end up being true

The weeks passed and Matt became Near's friend, more than anyone else ever had. Matt was always with Near, unless Near was in his room. It was one place Matt wouldn't go.

Out of all places to stay away from Near thought it would be Matt's own room that Mello had once inhabited, and yet it was his own that Matt never stepped foot into. He wondered why. Near had never voiced his question; though he always wondered at it.

Near began to look foreword to his time with Matt, more so than he would have thought possible. He may have had hidden his emotions, but the things that Matt were causing him to feel were strange even for him. It was different from hatred, sadness or apathy like he was used to. It was close to happiness, and close to something else... he just couldn't, or perhaps wouldn't, name it.

Cover up, cover up

Don't question anything you do

The rumors had never stopped, but now they had even more fuel.

"Do you think he was jealous of Mello?"

"Near caught Matt cheating on him with Mello so he offed him."

"Maybe they are secret lovers or something?"

"Maybe Matt helped him?"

It was the last one that had caught the albino's attention. Irrational fear filled him and something far, far darker as well. Near looked around the common room; no one else was around, except him and the boy who had started the rumor. The one who had put doubts about Matt into the minds of the rest of the house.

Getting up Near walked over to the doors and shut them, he didn't bother to lock them, the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. Walking over to a table with a glass vase he used the robot he held to knock it over to the carpet where it broke, but didn't shatter. It had hardly made a sound.

You have always kept it quite

But your conscience haunts you every time you choose

Near picked up a large broken piece of glass, and using the end of his sleeve, held onto it tightly. Walking up to the brunette haired boy, who was sitting close to the television, he raised his arm and quietly brought it to hover at the side of the boys head.

He didn't even notice.

Has anyone ever reached out to you

Has anyone ever seen your real face

Matt walked in just as Near placed his hand beside the other boy's neck. "Near!" Matt said quickly. Near, surprised, lowered his hand and turned to face Matt. The boy also turned, but had yet to realize just how close he had been to dying.

Near dropped the piece of glass and walked over to Matt; the other boy went back to watching TV. "Let's go to your room Near." Near nodded. "Go on ahead and I'll clean things up here."

Near wondered why Matt would choose to go to his room now of all times. But at the same time was filled with something akin to excitement, though he knew not why.

Does anyone know what you've been doing

As the one we used to know fades away

Matt stared at the glass with a broken smile. "Just where have you gone?" he murmured and began to pick up what once had been a vase. "I'm the only one who knows you..." he sighed and placed all the broken pieces in the trash pale that was beside the door.

It was time to meet Near.

Cover up, cover up

Don't let them see the real you

Near waited patiently for Matt to show up, and he didn't leave him waiting for too long. "Near." Matt said as he shut and locked the door behind him. "Why?" why did you almost do something like that again?

"He was starting rumors about your involvement in Mello's death. I felt it prudent to remove him."

If your secrets cant stay silent

All those rumors might just end up being true

Matt stared at Near for a long while before he gave the younger boy a small smile. Moving over to Near he stood in front of him, barely any space was left between them. Matt brought a hand up to gently trace along the side of Near's face ignoring the way the flesh heated beneath his fingertips.

Near shivered but didn't move away so Matt leaned down and brought their lips together in a soft kiss. Near's eyes fluttered shut and he leaned into the older boy allowing him to take control, to give him a moment of bliss.

Matt's arms snaked their way around Near's waist to pull the younger boy flush against him. Near moaned softly into the kiss and Matt choose then to slip his tongue into Near's mouth.

Near's smaller hands fisted themselves in the fabric of Matt's shirt. His heart was beating so fast he thought it might burst. But if that was the price for this moment with Matt then he would welcome it.

Cover up, cover up

Don't question anything you do

All too soon they pulled away from one another, gasping for breath. Near held a smile on his face; one that Matt matched completely. "So this is what it feels like to..." Near trailed off, still unable to speak his feelings. Matt loosely held the younger boy in his arms and placed his head atop Near's.

"Near..."

"Yes Matt?" Near was content to stay like that in Matt's arms, however he did glance up, and his coal colored eyes meeting Matt's green ones.

"I love you."

Near's entire body tingled. It was euphoric. If possible, the smile on his face grew larger. It was then that a blinding pain erupted in his side.

You have always kept it quite

But your conscience haunts you every time you choose

He gasped and tried to free himself of Matt's arms to see the problem, but Matt held him tightly. "I love you so much..." tears dripped from Matt's eyes and Near knew. "I have to stop you before you completely loose who I fell in love with. It has to stop here." The pain peaked again and moved higher; Near went limp in Matt's arms, blood dipped from his mouth.

With the last of his strength Near touched the side of Matt's face and kissed him. "Matt, I..." his vision was darkening, taunting him with the knowledge of his death. "-love you." satisfied that he was understood Near allowed his eyes to slip shut.

Matt held Near's body until it had grown cold. Laying him gently on the bloodstained carpet he forced himself to release the piece of glass that he had taken. With one final kiss, and a tear falling onto Near's cheek, Matt stood on shaky legs. Stepping out of Near's room, luck was on his side, no one stopped him in the hallway. For if anyone had been out it wouldn't have been hard to see all the red that stained his hands and clothing.

When he got to his room he didn't bother to shut the door. Going into his closet and finding the piece of removable wall, he pulled out the previously missing gun. It didn't matter that his fingerprints were now on it, not much else would matter. He figured that L might work out exactly what happened but he ultimately doubted it.

Taking the safety off Matt placed the gun to the side of his head, and pulled the trigger.

Bang

AN: ok I am seriously NOT allowed to have chocolate again, since this is the result... whoops... Hahaha I am really messed up in the head I think. Oh well, as long as people are entertained by my madness I suppose it doesn't really matter. And I enjoy it… (My beta hasn't seen this yet so dont yell at me for errors, i do the best i can)

REVIEW people, I really want to know what you thought of this.