I'm actually really excited about this fic. I've always wanted to do a high school AU. So here is L and Light as teenage dorks.

Warning: child abuse, depression, eating disorders, and maybe some other triggers.

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Blue Boy

Chapter One

Light Yagami was never one to break rules.

That was why it came as a surprise to all when Light broke the biggest rule of them all on the first day of Junior year.

He spoke to him and that's when things changed.

Light entered the relatively empty class ten minutes before the bell, seating himself at a desk near the window.

It was going to be a long day filled with new, nervous teachers trying to look cool for their students and older, jaded teacher going through the motions once more.

Going through the motions, that's what Light felt he was doing.

Something tugged at the back of his eyes and made his head feel like a room filled with smoke. A weight pulled at his heart, wrapping around it like a snake. He felt burdened by boredom, it weighed heavy on his shoulders. Trapped by certainty and predictability, nothing excited him anymore.

Light felt old at sixteen. He watched the other students chatter animatedly amongst themselves, briefly contrasting himself with them. They appeared so young and vibrant, bursting with hope and potential. Light was aware of his own potential, he had the power to do whatever he pleased. Yet, he wasn't excited like the others. The future, for Light, seemed so easy to predict.

His intelligence was a curse but yet, it was something he would never exchange, not even for a more exciting life. He would rather stay cursed.

Light unzipped his back pack and pulled out his supplies.

The feeling of shiny, new plastic and unused pens brought Light a sense of peace. He grabbed a black sharpie from his pencil pouch and labeled the cover of his college ruled composition book .He spread the book open, fingers gracing unused pages waiting to be filled. The smell of paper and the sharpened wood of pencils was soothing. New school supplies was always Light's favorite part of coming back, perhaps the only favorite thing about coming back to school.

As he labeled his supplies, Light waited for class to begin.

"There he is," the girl sitting across from Light whispered to her friend. It sounded like a warning, a cautionary sign that clearly said stay away.

Without lifting his head, Light knew who they were referring too. He felt the change in the room. It was like the quiet before the storm, sky humming with potential and electricity. Something to be avoided.

With only a few seconds left on the bell, a strange boy shuffled into class, appearing glacial and aloof. An over-sized black jacket rested heavily on his shoulders, his thin frame swallowed by the fabric. He turned toward the class, surveying for an empty desk among the sea of hushed students. Amongst all the faces, he caught Light's curious, wandering gaze and met him with black hole eyes. Light smiled politely at him.

The boy and his all-seeing stare stirred something in Light. Light coughed into his hand, and returned to the task of centering the already neatly organized supplies on his desk. He felt him approaching the empty desk beside him, moving past him like a silent phantom. He soon regretted smiling at him. It only encouraged the freak to sit next to him.

The boy settled in the desk beside Light in a crouch, looking like an unruly, feral child who escaped its care taker and wondered into the class. Light ignored him, turning toward the window as he cradled his cheek in his hand, his other hand twirled a fountain pen between its fingers.

His new neighbor didn't start any conversation, so Light relaxed, content with being left alone. But the giggling coming from the small group of girls clustered at the front of class put him on edge once more. He felt their gaze moving from him to the boy beside him.

He turned his head toward them. The girls smiled with wide, eager eyes as they patted the open desk near them, offering it to him as if it were a lifesaver and he was a man thrown overboard. Light declined the seat with a smile and gentle wave of his hand before turning back to the window.

Light knew people in the class, spoken with them and eaten lunch with them before, but at the moment he couldn't be bothered by greetings and questions about how was his summer. He kept his gaze out the window, becoming untouchable looking just like the boy beside him. Untouchable. That's who he was.

After a couple minutes, a teacher entered the class, effectively quieting the students to an awaiting silence. The short, dark-haired woman introduced herself as Mrs. Belfort. She was the AP Literature teacher.

"You've guys have been in school for long enough," she said as she passed out papers to the class. "And you're in an AP class so I'm sure you're familiar with class rules. Here's your syllabus. Read it over tonight and get it signed. I don't feel like wasting time on basic manners today. Instead, let's do something a bit more interesting."

Once everyone had their papers, she walked back to the center of the room. "Now, I would like all of you to get out a sheet of paper and pair up with the person next to you. This is a way to get to know each other. On your paper, I want you to write ten facts about your partner. Hand it in at the end of class. I have paper on my desk if you need any."

The class seemed reluctant but soon complied with the assignment. Light hesitated before bringing his desk closer to the feral child beside him. He wasn't in the mood to deal with others, especially the boy sitting next to him in particular. No one talked to him. Not since what happened freshman year.

Light witnessed the event, the memory was still vivid in his head. He hadn't thought much about it until now, with that boy in front of him. What happened was something the whole school tried to bury, even students collectively agreed not speak of it. Thus, he became the elephant in the room wherever he went. Something known but ignored.

Light felt the quick, spreading chill of goosebumps on his skin as he tried to push the memory from his head. Before he faced the boy, he put on a polite mask that would've made his mother proud.

"Hi," Light greeted once he got seated beside him. "I'm Light."

"I'm L," he replied in a voice much deeper than Light expected it to be. There was a faint accent to his voice but Light wasn't sure from where.

Even after all his infamy, most people still didn't know the boy's name. They settled on referring to him by his nicknames, Blue Boy or Boy Blue which were earned in freshman year art class when a couple of students splattered bright blue paint on his hair and clothes as a joke. The students who splattered him with paint claimed it was in tasteful reference to the painting they were analyzing earlier that day, The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough. The name stuck.

The prank was before things changed. No one would try pulling a stunt like that after what happened. Blue Boy became someone to be left alone.

Light raised his brows at the one lettered name, it seemed to be another nickname. He hoped for an explanation but got none, "Alright, L. What are some facts about you?" He went straight to business. There was no need for purposeless conversation by some likely psychotic stoner kid.

L tilted his gaze to the ceiling with his thumb at his lip. He looked like an over-sized kindergartener trying to think really hard. Light waited patiently at his seat, pen poised ready in his hand, a bit unnerved by L's strangeness.

"I like sweets."

Light nodded. "I don't like sweets very much," he commented as he wrote the fact down. "Anything else?"

"I'm a Junior. I have a dog. My favorite dessert is strawberry shortcake. I like the rain. My favorite color is blue," there was a pause and his lips lifted a bit, it was a ghost of a bitter smile. Blue Boy. "…I speak seven languages, not including English. I like to travel. I enjoy mystery novels and ride a motorcycle."

"You can speak seven languages?" Light asked curiously. It seemed far-fetched coming from the dead-eyed boy.

"Yes, I speak Spanish, Japanese, French, Italian, Chinese, German, and Russian."

"That's pretty cool." He smiled. It was a charming smile used to win over girls and befriend others, it was an important weapon. One he wielded expertly.

L became a little more interesting with the more facts he revealed about himself. Light grew curious. Who was this boy, really?

"Oh."

"Okay, so facts about me now," Light began. "I was born in Japan and moved to America when I was eleven. I have a younger sister named Sayu, she's in middle school. I know three languages: English, Japanese, and French. I've never traveled to a foreign country on vacation but I'd like too. I'm the tennis captain, tryouts are today by the way, if you'd like to join. My favorite color is red. The only junk food I like is potato chips, barbeque is my favorite flavor. I like tea. I want to work for the FBI."

"I enjoy playing tennis as well."

"You do?" Light said, surprised. It didn't seem like L was the sporty type with his gangly frame and pale skin. "You should try out." The sentence rolled off his tongue before he even realized what he said. As team captain of the tennis team, it was his obligation to convince people to join.

"I'd rather not."

"Why? We need more players on the team. You look pretty tall so that could definitely be used as an advantage."

Someone's height was always used as a valid argument to join. 'Oh, you're so tall you're probably good at sports' or 'you should play sports it would be a shame to waste all that height' were lines often used to guilt trip students.

L still seemed unconvinced. Light mentally groaned but didn't want to back out on the challenge of persuading a stubborn student. Also, there was a part of Light that was curious about L. The whole school knew of the event, yet not anything was known about L himself. He was a mystery better left untouched and Light was just bored enough to investigate.

"Come on, L. Just come with me to try outs after school so you can meet the team and we can see you play. If you don't like it then don't join the team. But at least give it a try," he tilted his head slightly to the side while softening the look in his eyes to appear more trusting.

L hesitated for a bit. "Alright," he sighed. "I'll go to try outs."

Ligth gave him a wide smile. Got him.

"Great. What's the last class you have?" He leaned over, trying to read the schedule L had on his desk. They were all AP and advanced classes. That was surprising, considering his disheveled, careless appearance.

"AP Biology with Mrs. Rodriguez."

"I have the same class. We'll go together to the gym after class ends, alright?"

L nodded in agreement and said nothing else, leaving Light to worry what topic to speak about next before they plunge into awkward silence. He wished everyone else would hurry the hell up so they can go back to their normal seats.

Light caught nosy students staring at them. A few of the shot him sympathetic looks and others gave him wide-eyed stares, seeming to warn him to get away from L as if the other boy was diseased with a deadly plague. Light just gave them a shrug and a small smile to show them he was alright and not being held hostage. They hesitated before returning back to their assignment, seeming to be worried about Light's well-being.

"So, when did you start playing tennis?" Light asked, watching L pull out his phone and begin to play Candy Crush.

"When I was eight," L answered as he played with his phone. He didn't even bother to meet Light's eyes.

Rude.

"Where do you play?"

"I haven't played since I moved here from England when I was twelve."

"So, that's were your accent's from? Why is it so faint?"

L visibly stiffened, pausing his game and turning off his phone. Light unconsciously shifted away from him.

"I try to hide it, it brings too much attention. Since it's been summer, I haven't practiced in a while, you can hear it better."

"I understand. Before I even moved here, I practiced my American accent. I didn't want people judging me from the way I spoke."

"I can barely notice it…your accent."

"Thank you, it took a lot of practice."

"Well, your efforts have surely paid off," L said as he unwrapped a bright, red candy and plopped into his mouth.

Before Light could speak again, the teacher announced the assignment was to be turned in and for everyone to return the desks to their normal positions. Soon after, the bell rung, and students hurriedly shuffled out of class. Before Light walked out the door, he shot L, who was still at his desk, a smile.

L blinked.

As soon as Light stepped into the loud hallway, he was swarmed by students, all eager to know about L.

"What was Blue Boy like?" A tall boy asked for everyone. The group leaned closer to Light, ready to snatch up anything he had to say.

Light was quiet for a moment, his eyes sweeping the group surrounding him. In the corner of his vision, he noticed L slink out the class door. He stopped by the water fountain and met Light's eyes, as if asking 'So what are you going to tell them?' It almost felt like a dare.

Light knew L was probably used to rumors being constantly spread about him. Everything about him was twisted and turned into something ugly. Even though L didn't seem to care, the boy didn't need any more bad news about him spreading around.

"He was quiet," Light said, before he begun to walk away. The crowd kept asking him questions, begging him to answer but he denied them answers. "I'm going to be late to class."

Light would like to think there was a look of surprise on L's face.

It turned out that L shared most of his classes with Light. And in every one of those shared class, Light asked L to sit beside him.

Light couldn't help but be charmed by L's surprised wide-eyed expression when he first asked him. He ignored the incredulous stares he received when he asked but a part of him was reluctant about getting close to L. He didn't know anything about him- no one knew anything about him. Except for the fact that he was potentially dangerous, someone to be wary about.

But the whisper of a shy 'thank you' from L was more than enough to convince Light that he probably wasn't as bad as the rumors made him out to be.

There was almost sense of pity in Light's chest as he watched L take the seat beside him.

There was something about him. He was such a sad creature, pale faced and dead-eyed- nothing more than a corpse of a boy. Looking into his dark eyes felt like peering blindly into a moonless, starless night. There wasn't a flicker of life, no fire to warm the hearth. It seemed that fire had been snubbed a long time ago, leaving nothing left but ashes.

Light hoped the boy would find something to restore that warmth within him. Something to put the light back in his eyes.

But for now, Light could do nothing more but watch L navigate through the day with his strangeness and unorthodox mannerisms. From the way he stood, to the way he ate, L was different. To most, it would seem like L didn't care about what others thought and Light agreed on that. However, there was the way L would always keep his head bowed and stare with a dead look in his eyes. There was a sadness about him.

Light believed he found another meaning for his nickname.

He was Blue Boy because he always looked so sad.

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I know, it's cliche as hell but I love this trope. So yeah, stayed tuned for the tennis game next chapter.

Please comment, follow, fav, etc. Critique is always welcomed too