A/N I know, I know. Another one? The last one isn't even complete! Buuut I just had a spark of inspiration! I couldn't let this go to waste. This one is more of a comedy than anything, though. And the Rebirth chappies will not stop rolling in! I'm just gonna have to work overtime, Hehehe

I do not own Death Note or any Death Note characters. The only characters I take responsibility for are Kate and Travis.

"One, two, three, four, five, six…" Travis began counting. I grinned and took off. I had a special hiding place. I just found it last night and there's no way he could find me there. He would give up and I would pop out- Wham! Travis would probably wet his pants!

I ran into the giant parking lot. Looking back behind me to see if Travis had stopped counting, I ran faster. I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my face as I ducked behind a supporting column to the underground parking space. Who would have thought that I- a ten year old girl- would be brave enough to go into a dark underground garage? I think it belonged to an old hospital or something, but whatever it was, the sliding door was left up, and the lights were burnt out. When I found it last night, sure I was a little scared of it. What if I got hit by a car? But a quick inspection told me that the last moving thing in here was a car.

As I ran, I went further into the deep levels. The farthest I dared to go was the third, though; I had no idea what kind of dog or whatever might live in the deepest part. I was about to just sit and wait to see if Travis would dare see if I went in here when I saw a car.

It was parked, and it looked deserted. It was red, and it had two black stripes down the hood. Whoever owned it must have recently shined it. It didn't look like the owner was going to come back, though. And the keys were still in the ignition.

I tested out the door, which was unlocked. There were cigarette butts in the ash tray, and the seats were leather. I didn't want to get in front; the shiny keys dangling from the wheel might pose too much temptation, and, knowing me, I would drive myself into a concrete wall. I hopped in back and crouched down in front of the seat, on the ground. Even though I was positive Travis wouldn't come this far, I still knew the basics of hiding; to stay concealed. If I just sat up in the back, I would not only feel like I had a target on my face, but I might as well be saying 'Look at me! I'm in a car, and it's not mine!'

I looked at my glowing watch. Three more minutes. Three more minutes until he would admit defeat and I could come out. In three minutes, the beeping on both of our watches would signal the end of the game. Then I would get his share of ice cream.

We made deals like this every so often; over who would do the next weeks' worth of chores, over who had to walk the dog, over who got the last piece of chocolate pie, the list goes on.

Two more minutes until it would beep. Then I could get out of the dark garage. But I never… ever…would have anticipated what happened next.

At first, I thought Travis had found me. But then the keys rattled and the door closed. Before I knew it, the engine was started and the car was pulling out of the space. I felt my face go white and tingly. Oh, no…

I peeked out from behind the driver's seat. The guy who was driving was wearing a vest with fur on it. I dared to look a little higher. He had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, and his hands were gloved. His unusual red hair was sporting a goggle wearing head. I blinked. He looked like he was barely older than Travis, my sixteen year old brother. But he was smoking! You had to be eighteen to smoke, I knew that much. So he had to be at least eighteen.

I slowly retreated to the floor of the car, lying down on my stomach between the front and back seats. Closing my eyes, I prayed he was a safe driver, at least. I looked up at the window, which had suddenly grown lighter. I saw the sky and a bunch of clouds. Great, it was going to rain. My tulips were going to get a beating if I wasn't home to move them inside.

Just then, the unthinkable happened. My watch beeped. Then again. Then again. My fingers didn't get to the cancel button fast enough, and when it was finally shut up, the car was dead silent. Keep your eyes on the road! I thought as the adolescent stiffened. Don't land us in a ditch! I need my head to survive! Slowly, I felt the car pull over onto the shoulder. I looked up as the boy looked over the seat, his face looking like he expected a bomb to go off in his face. Which didn't seem too unreasonable; my watch had beeped three times. Loudly.

"Hi?" I tried. He just blinked. I slowly sat up. "Uh… my name is Kate. I didn't know this car was yours. I'm sorry; I was just playing hide-and-seek with my brother. That beeping you heard was my watch," I said apologetically. The goggled boy's face loosened up. I saw through his orange goggles that his eyes were bright, maybe brown or green. It was hard to tell through the tint. He closed his eyes, sighing. "What's your name?" I continued.

"My name?" he asked, opening his eyes.

"Yes, you do have a name, don't you? It's very important for getting where you're going in life." I said. He looked at me like he was truly stumped. Oh, boy. This was going to be fun. "You know… the name that comes before your last?" I said slowly. "What do people call-"

"I know what you're asking. You're not scared?" he asked. I thought. True, I had just been basically kidnapped, but he didn't know I was hiding in his back seat. He could be a nerd for all I knew.

"Nope," I said, grinning. "Now are you going to answer my question or can I call you Goggles?" I asked indifferently.

"My name's Matt," he said shakily, as if he had just witnessed a whale do a pogo stick cartwheel. "You should be in shock… You know, screaming, kicking, yelling, begging for me to take you home, haven't you seen any movies? Don't you watch the news?" he asked, partially annoyed. I didn't blame him; you always hear things on the news about child molesters. And granted, on the movies, girls do things like that, usually with pepper spray. But I didn't have pepper spray with me, and to be honest, this guy looked more of a stay-at-home type than a rapist.

"You look more of a homebody than a threat, so I'm not scared." I frowned. I reached up and straightened his goggles, which were slightly crooked. "Sorry," I said. "It bugs me." Withdrawing my hands from his shocked face, I giggled as he just nodded and slowly turned toward the wheel.

"Okay…" he whispered to himself. I don't think I was supposed to hear. "Where do you live, kid?" he asked.

"I'm not going to tell you that! Imagine what my parents would say if I just got dropped off by a strange car! Then I would- hey, are you listening? Then I would have to explain the whole thing to them! No way! You're not screwing this up. I'm going to the place you're going!" I said. Duh! I fiddled with my jacket zipper as he turned back to me.

"No, you're not," he said. He turned back to the wheel.

"Yes I am," I insisted. He dropped his hands from the wheel and sighed, looking back at me.

"No, you're not, now buckle up, I'm taking you back where I found you, you can find your way back from there."

"But then my brother would have called the cops by now, they're probably searching the place. You'd have to explain the whole thing to them, and I doubt they'd believe that I just simply hopped in the car with you," I said.

"But you did!" he said, but still, he turned his eyes back on the road, pulling off the shoulder. "Fine," he said. "I'll take you back with me. But you can't touch anything, and you can't… Well, I'll explain when we get there. And you're sleeping on the couch!" he added.

"Sounds fine to me. You seem like the type of guy who likes cars, what model is this?" I asked, trying to find more information about my unwilling captor.

"1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 450," he responded automatically. So he did like cars. "Why'd you ask?" he asked warily.

"I'm just trying to learn about you," I answered honestly.

"Huh," he said. I tilted my head, running down the list in my mind.

"You like to have fun, don't you?" I asked. He nodded. "You're the unpredictable type, wouldn't you say?" I asked. He slowly looked at me.

"Uh huh," He said cautiously. I went on.

"You like having good friends, don't you?" He looked up. "Thinking of the past, and fighting for things that are worth fighting for. Thinking about the future, planning for what you're going to do. But you don't like loneliness, no, you don't like that very much… You also don't like the promises that people make, but you know they're never going to happen. You also hate the ordinary limitations that people set for you; am I right?" I asked confidently.

"Y-yeah…" he said slowly. "Spot-on…" he said. "How'd you know? We just met…"

"I'm usually good at reading people. Like right now I'm willing to bet you're born around the beginning of the year?"

He nodded slowly. "February first…You're starting to freak me out…"

"Call it instinct. Just try not to veer off the road, 'kay?"

"How old are you?" he asked. "You act like you're twenty!"

"Cut that in half, Matt!" I grinned. "I'm only ten. I'm turning eleven soon, though. This May's my birthday." He nodded. "The 27th," I hinted. He looked at me and half smiled.

"You are smart…" he said, thinking about something. Oh, yeah, I hinted about my birthday. I was a bloody genius.

Instead I smiled. "I get that a lot," well, it was the truth! He rolled his eyes. "So where we headin'?" I asked. He sighed.

"I live in a house with my… partner in… well, not crime, necessarily…" he trailed off. Wait a minute…

"Whoa… crime? Homebody's a criminal? You like cars, I bet you steal those…" I mused. He looked at me funny.

"That's not all we do, but yeah. Careful, I could lock pick any padlock so watch your bikes," he joked.

I rolled my eyes.

Next chappie… she meets Mels.. O.O