Chapter 11
“Escape”
-WEDNESDAY-
The next day in art class, Mello was already sitting at their table when Kaori entered the room; Near was sitting next to him, but she had no idea if they had been talking about anything.
“Hey,” she said, sitting down beside them.
Mello looked tired. “I have a Language test today...I just know I'm going to do awful.”
“Really? And what's your idea of 'awful'? An A minus?” she asked.
“I'm serious...” he moaned.
“Well I'm sure you studied all you could, you'll do fine,” she assured him.
“Yeah, maybe. What Language course are you taking, anyway?”
“German. It's been fairly easy so far.”
“Hell, I would've taken German, but you aren't allowed to take a language you already know....” Mello sulked.
“You'll pass,” she repeated. “Don't worry so much. Right Near?”
“Oh, um...right. You're smart, Mello. You'll definitely pass. Worrying will only make it worse.”
Mello's face turned a light pink. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.”
“No offense, but you look a mess...were you really up all night worrying?” Kaori asked.
Actually, Matt had kept him up all night; from another nightmare. But he wouldn't get in to that. “Yeah...I look pretty bad, huh?”
“Just take a nice nap after classes are over and you'll feel better.”
“I might.”
At that moment the teacher came in the room and called them to silence.
It was hard to tell yet, and maybe it was just Kaori's imagination...but it was almost as if Mello and Near seemed to actually get along....
“Sorry about last night,” Matt whispered to Mello during Science class.
Mello shrugged. “Don't worry about it. You can't help your nightmares.”
“Yeah, but...I shouldn't still be having them. It's my own fault, and it's affecting you. I'm sorry...”
“Don't worry about it,” Mello repeated. “It's no big deal.”
“You mean you aren't mad?”
“...No, not really.”
Matt smiled. “Can I sleep with you again tonight, then?”
“No.”
“Wh-why not?”
“Because I'm going out tonight...” Mello said with a grin.
“For real? But last time you almost got caught....”
“Yeah, but I didn't,” Mello reminded him.
“Well...can I come?”
“Of course. And...I was thinking of inviting Kaori, too.”
“What?! But...what if she got caught?” Matt said in disbelief.
“As long as I'm with her, she won't. What do you say?”
Matt hesitated. “...Alright. Just be sure you know what you're doing.”
“Don't worry,” Mello replied, turning to Kaori. But before he could ask her, the teacher came into the room and silenced the class; he supposed he would have to wait until after class.
“Kaori.” Mello grabbed her arm as she stood up from the table. “I want to ask you something.”
“What is it?” she looked over at Matt, who was standing beside Mello, waiting for him.
“Well, Matt and I were thinking about skipping out tonight, you know...sneak out....” Mello began.
“You mean someone like you would actually risk getting in trouble?” Kaori said with a laugh.
“As long as you don't get caught, you don't get in trouble,” Mello replied. “Anyway, we were wanting to know if you wanted to come. Don't worry, we've done this before. It's perfectly safe.”
“Alright...” Kaori started, crossing her arms. “Where exactly do you guys plan to go?”
“Just around town...if we see anyplace that looks interesting, we'll go there.”
Kaori was silent.
“Well, do you want to come?” Mello prompted.
“Fine. I'll go - just to see what you two could possibly want to do at night.”
“Alright. My room is downstairs in room nine. Be there at eleven-thirty. By then they'll be done with room checks and everything,” Mello instructed her.
“I will.”
That night, Kaori waited until eleven thirty, and then crept downstairs and into the boys dorms. She wondered why they had invited her along, but she didn't really care the reason; she was just curious as to what they would do. It slightly intrigued her, and besides...she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep soundly tonight.
She reached room nine and knocked on the door; it opened just a moment later, and Mello pulled her inside.
“I was kind of betting that you wouldn't show up,” Matt said from his place on the bed.
“Well I did; so tell me, how do you two plan to sneak out if the doors are locked?” Kaori asked.
“That is where the beautiful invention of 'windows' comes in handy,” Mello replied, pulling up his own window as he spoke. “Then we just climb over the wall over there.” He pointed way out in the distance.
“Let's go,” Matt said, putting his own foot out the window, and then his whole body, jumping down to the other side.
Mello went out next, and Kaori put her foot on the windowsill. As she prepared to climb over, however, her foot slipped and she fell out completely. Mello caught her before she hit the ground, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he helped her stand.
“Thanks...” she said, blushing a little as she pulled away from him.
“No problem.”
They hurried away from the windows in case someone happened to look out theirs and see the three of them.
When they reached the wall, Kaori looked at them like they were crazy. “You expect me to climb this? I don't see how you do it yourselves...”
“It's simple,” Matt replied. He gestured at a tall tree that was planted beside the wall. “We climb to the top of this and then pull ourselves up onto the wall...” He began to work his way up the tree, calling to the others when he was at the top. “Come on!”
Mello let Kaori go before him, so he could catch her in case she fell. She managed to make her way to the top without any problems, and Matt stretched out his hand to pull her up onto the wall with him. When Mello came up, they slid down the other side of the wall, Kaori nearly falling and landing in Mello's arms again. Maybe she had done it that time on purpose...?
Kaori had seen glimpses of the town when she had been riding with L on her way to the orphanage, but never had she seen it up close.
“This place is beautiful!” she said in wonder. “I've never gotten to see England before, but I read about it a lot back home.”
“So where do you want to go?” Mello asked her.
“W-what? I don't know any buildings here....” Kaori said.
“Alright, then how about we go sight-seeing?” he suggested.
“Sight...what?”
“You'll like it, trust me,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her along with him and Matt as they began walking along the street. None of the other civilians noticed them; they didn't seem to stand out at all, and no one stopped to ask who they were.
“We'll be able to find our way back to the orphanage, right?” Kaori said nervously, moving closer to Mello to avoid bumping into any of the strangers.
“Don't worry, Matt and I have this place memorized.” He squeezed her hand. “You'll be fine.”
The sight-seeing Mello had spoken of was at the top of a large old-fashioned building in the middle of the city; it had huge marble pillars and a vast balcony at the top where tourists could go and see the whole city. Mello pulled Kaori along as they went up the steps and out onto the balcony.
“Oh, wow!” She immediately went over to the edge of the rail to see below. “This is beautiful! I never knew that a city had so many lights!”
They both laughed. “You've never seen a city before?”
Suddenly she was quiet. “I didn't go out much...” she said.
“Well here's a chance to catch up!” Matt said brightly, walking over beside her. “When I was little, my mother would take me to a building almost just like this at night...and we would look out at the lights....” His voice faded.
“Stop getting caught up in your memories,” Mello said to the both of them. “We came to enjoy ourselves, didn't we?”
“Mello's right...” Kaori said, smiling again. “Let's escape from everything else!”
They walked around for hours, laughing and talking. For a little while, Kaori could almost forget that this wasn't how her life was; she could almost pretend that she was like any normal teenage girl. She could forget about the girls and about the test and everything else. Like a sweet escape from reality....
By the time they decided to head back to the orphanage, Kaori was beginning to yawn.
“I'm exhausted,” she groaned. “Mello, carry me.”
“Why me?”
“Because you dragged me out here and made me tired,” she laughed. “Now let me on.”
To her surprise, he stooped down and allowed her to climb on his back. She locked her arms around his neck and rested her head on his back; she rather liked having him close to her; his body was warm. He carried her like this all the way to the orphanage, never complaining.
“Carry me too!” Matt whined.
“Shut up,” Mello replied.
“Alright, we're here,” he said, once they had reached the wall to the orphanage, forcing Kaori to stand on her own. “Climb up.”
Mumbling to herself, Kaori pulled herself up the wall, and the two boys quickly followed.
Instead of climbing the tree back down, however, Kaori waited until the two boys had reached the ground before jumping right off.
“What the ---!” Mello caught her instantly, the force of impact nearly knocking him down. “What the hell were you thinking!?”
“I didn't feel like climbing, and I knew you'd catch me,” she said, standing back up.
“At least warn me next time!” he said.
“Fine, fine....”
They all climbed through the window to Mello's room, and Kaori collapsed on the bed. “I'm exhausted...” she moaned.
“You two should go on to your rooms,” Mello told the other two. “Before Roger comes and catches you.”
“Alright,” Kaori said. “I'll see you guys tomorrow.”
“Goodnight,” they said as she walked out the door.
“I hope she makes it back to her room without getting caught,” Matt said uneasily.
“She'll be fine,” Mello assured him. “What about you? Going to your room anytime soon?”
“Nope.”
Mello sighed. “You're such a baby.”
Matt stuck his tongue out. “You know you couldn't live without me,” he teased.
“Guess you're right,” Mello smiled. “You keep me sane.”
“Then I guess it's a sleepover!” Matt said, opening Mello's closet and digging through it.
“What are you doing!?” Mello asked.
“Looking for clothes to sleep in.”
“Just sleep in your clothes!”
“No way, they smell like outside. Besides, your clothes smell like you!” he grinned.
Mello rolled his eyes.
Once he had changed, Matt turned around and walked towards Mello. “Mello....” Matt grabbed the front of his shirt and pushed Mello down on the bed, straddling him with his legs. His breath was hot against Mello's face as he roughly brought their lips together. Mello slid his tongue into Matt's mouth and pulled him closer, his arms wrapped around the other boy's neck. Mello could feel the familiar sensation of his heart pounding in his chest; this was more than just a simple kiss tonight. Roughly pushing Matt down on the bed, Mello rubbed hard against him; he could hear Matt's breathing quicken and this only made Mello move faster. Matt turned over and pulled Mello down with him, bringing their lips together again. Instantly, Mello parted Matt's lips with his tongue and sucked the breath out of him. Matt broke the kiss, gasping for air. “M-Mello...ah..h...”
Mello kissed him again, this time going gently, his body on fire; he pressed Matt flat against the bed and straddled him with his legs. Even in the dark, they could see their faces were flushed. So many memories flashed before them, and Mello could feel his heart pound faster with each one. The touch of Matt's hands, his breath on his face, all of it brought back so many emotions Mello had tried to suppress....
Suddenly, as though coming to his senses, Mello broke apart from Matt and sat up, breathing hard. “Dammit, Matt - you know the rules of the game. Don't try and score free.”
Matt sat up, panting, his whole body longing for Mello. “I'm sorry...” he said, his voice shaking.
“Go to your room,” Mello ordered.
“But...”
“GO!”
Matt jumped up and stumbled to the door. “Mello, I...”
“Just go.”
Silently, Matt opened the door. “You used to let me,” he said softly, before going out into the hallway.
Mello sat on the bed for a minute, thinking over what had just happened. No...I-I didn't have control that time! I can't let that happen, he's the only thing I have control over! If I lose that.... He could feel himself shaking. No! I...I have to keep control. I have to. However much that hurts the both of us....
-End of chapter 11-