Author's Note: In my last chapter's reviews I had some people mentioning trouble with keeping track of my OC characters and seeing as this is my first update in a few months I thought it would be a good idea to provide a reminder of who everyone is. So if you remember everyone and everything then you can just skip to the start of the chapter and if not, this might be helpful to look over. Also I have included these characters' real names which me and my friend had a lot of fun thinking up (Real name is stated after fake one below. And in case any of you ever wondered why the OC's names are so boring it was because I felt they had to be simple like Mello and Near).

-Lily (Lilaca): Matt's best female friend who's been with him throughout his days in the orphanage and who is now currently taking care of Matt in his Mello-less state.

-Song (Sarah-Fei): Nurse's apprentice who was introduced early in the story as the bitchy-want-to-be-love-interest of Mello's life.

-Pavel (Paulester (Paul-e-ester)): Outstanding Russian student who is no longer in the orphanage, despite being in the running to succeed Near, and is now a professor in Africa.

-June (Jupiter): Not a very notable female student who is no longer in the orphanage and has plans/has married Percy.

-Percy (Percival): One of the more notable member of Mich's gang who often smuggled banned objects into Wammy's such as cameras. He is no longer in the orphanage and has plans/has married June.

-Mich (Melvin): The classic bully who was constantly giving Matt a hard time, backed up by his small gang. He left before Mello did and was Near's former roommate.

-Mike (Maximus): Part of Mich's gang and no longer in the orphanage. No other notable deeds or features.

-Fire (Phoenix): Part of Mich's gang and no longer in the orphanage. No other notable deeds or features.

-Ren (Raylenn): A new addition to the orphanage. A blind girl who Lily has befriended.

...

"Come on Matt!" Lilly said, trying to keep her voice soft despite the obvious frustration on her face.

Matt just starred at her.

Lilly picked up the newcomer's bag, placing it on Mello's bed for the fiftieth time that hour. She let out a growl as once more, Matt shoved it clean off.

"Matt there's no other open rooms," Lilly pushed out through gritted teeth "Can you please just let him sleep here?"

"That's Mello's bed," Matt replied coldly.

"Is that all you remember how to say?" Lilly clicked her tongue, eyes flashing.

Matt, once again, just stared back at her, jaw set.

"Matt...," Lilly continued after a deep breath "You have to share the room. Please."

"I am. Half of it is Mello's."

"Matt."

"What?"

"In case you had forgotten," Lilly threw the bag down onto the bed "Mello is gone!"

"That's Mello's bed," the bag hit the floor again and Lilly used all her will power to turn away from the ginger without punching him.

She then jumped at the sound of a loud knock accompanied with a yell of: "HE'S HERE!"

"That must be Linda," the blond sighed, listening as Linda's loud footsteps faded "Let's go."

Matt didn't reply.

"Matt," Lilly turned to him, "come on."

After a long moment he nodded dully and shielded his eyes before stepping out into the brightly lit hallway.

The two found Linda in the hallway leading to the entrance room. She was crouched out of sight of Roger who was holding the door open, waving an unseen person in.

Linda's camera was clutched in her hands, flash off. She was positioning it carefully, using her hands to judge her shot before smirking and putting her finger on the button, ready to click.

"What are you doing?" Lilly hissed and Linda jumped, luckily not taking the picture before whipping her head around "SHH! I want to get a picture!"

"If Roger catches you you're dead," Lilly frowned, kneeling down beside her and looking round the corner too. Matt remained standing as he leaned forward, carefully balancing on one foot as he lean over the two to watch as a boy came into view.

Linda jabbed her finger down on the camera button, but the click it made had only just sounded when the reverberation of breaking metal and glass came. Something had shot right into the lens, going halfway into the camera and effectively destroying it.

Linda let out a scream, falling backwards into Lilly, making Matt jump back from the two girls to save himself. With shaking hands, Linda picked up the camera and turned it around to see what looked like the end of a pen sticking out of it.

"Miss Linda!" a voice barked and the camera was snatched away from her by an irritated looking Roger "What are you doing with this?"

But Linda didn't answer, her attention sidetracked as she watched a much smaller male hand pull the camera out of Roger's. She leaned forward, craning her neck, so she could see the holder.

The boy holding it was short, and wiry. He looked around thirteen with dark brown hair that fell just past his shoulders, and spiked downward, taking the feminine look out of it. On his face was a pair of square glasses that reflected the room's light, rendering his eyes unseen. But, as he tilted his head down to examine the camera, maroon irises was revealed, focused, and intelligent.

Linda wrinkled her nose in distaste. And that was even before the boy grasped the end of the pen, and with one black gloved hand, pulled it clean out of the camera with a sickening noise. A shiver when down Matt's spine, and he caught the camera as it was thrown back at Linda, right at her head.

"Linda, my office please," Roger cleared his throat, and the three, until recently hidden, students looked back at him. Linda scowled, taking her camera from Matt, and stalked off down the hall.

"As for you two," Roger gestured to the boy who was now spinning the pen around his fingers, "this is Victor, our newest student."

"Welcome to Wammy's," Lilly stepped forward, a cautious smile on her face as she extended her hand. Victor looked at it for a moment before he stopped his pen dead to place the end of it in her hand. Lilly blinked before she hesitantly shook the pen.

"Thank you," Victor replied. Lilly released the pen, and he began spinning it once again, his glasses reflecting the light as he tilted his head back to look at Matt.
Matt didn't offer Victor a smile or anything. He just stared at Victor's glasses, hoping he was making eye contact. Victor gave a small grunt before he looked at Roger "Where am I sleeping?"

"Actually, you'll be bunking with Matt here," Roger replied, gesturing to the redhead who didn't respond.

"I see," Victor simply said, his pen spinning growing faster.

"Show him the way, Matt. I need to deal with Linda," Roger said gruffly. Pushing past Lilly, and Matt, he didn't wait for a reply.

Victor looked expectantly at Matt who didn't move. Lilly, deducing Matt didn't plan on moving anytime soon, beckoned to Victor who shifted his concealed eyes to her.

"Follow me," she said with a smile. Lacing her arm with Matt's so she could drag him, and lead Victor through the halls of Wammy's at the same time, they set out.

She sped up when she reached the dorm hall due to the stares of many curious orphans. Sooner than she expected, she was shoving Matt through room thirteen's door just to get him inside.

The blond gestured to Victor the room, and was beyond surprised when he closed the door behind him.

"..." Lilly blinked "Excuse me!"

No answer.

Lilly frowned, reaching for the handle, and opening it herself.

"Excuse me," she repeated "I was coming in."

"I hadn't noticed." Victor said, examining the space around him.

"Clearly."

"...Do you plan on apologizing?"

"No."

Lilly didn't speak as she watched the brunette locate his bag, which he then quite obviously made to put on the unoccupied bed. Lilly had to admit she was a tad impressed he managed to catch it when Matt sent it flying off the orange comforter.

"That's Mello's bed," Matt said, smoothing out the place the backpack had touched.

"...There are three of us?" Victor arched an eyebrow, and Lilly let out a giggle.

"That's Mello's bed," was Matt's only reply.

"Where should I sleep then?" Victor asked with a push of his glasses.

"Plenty of floor," Lilly offered, no longer feeling an ounce of anger towards Matt, and his stubbornness. But her watch began beeping not a minute later, and she sadly departed without hearing Victor's response to such a suggestion.

Victor looked at Matt, but Matt was on his bed by now, clicking away on his DS. The maroon eyed boy walked over, pulling the game out of Matt's hand easily, folding it closed, and clearing his throat.

Matt looked at his hands that were still positioned according to the body of his DS. He moved his thumb like he was hitting a button before looking up at Victor, eyes dull.

"...Yes?" Matt said after a long moment.

"I am not sleeping on the floor," Victor said, flipping the DS around in his hand "So I suggest you come up with a compromise if Mello's bed is so precious to you."

Matt looked at the orange sheeted bed that belonged to his old roommate.

His chest tightened, but he slowly rose, and moved over to it.

"Take my bed," he mumbled to Victor "I'll take Mello's."

...

That first night, Matt couldn't sleep.

Even though Mello wasn't there, it was Mello's bed.

He was in Mello's bed.

And how exactly was Matt supposed to sleep with that fact hanging over him?

The ginger rolled over for about the fiftieth time that night, and let out a long (and not to mention) loud sigh.

He then jumped. Victor had sneezed, and then muttered something, his old bed then giving a groan after such a sudden movement.

"You're awake?" Matt asked in a raspy voice.

There was no reply expect for a light sigh.

Matt blinked, sitting up before squinting toward the old bed, his goggles over his emerald irises.

After a moment he saw the lump that was Victor shift, rolling over, and muttering something else.

"...You awake?" Matt repeated, pushing back Mello's sheets, and rising. He slinked over to Victor's bed, squinting down to its level, eyes squinted again. He managed to make out Victor's face just a moment before he felt something stab into his nose, hear as ominous crack, and saw Victor sit up.

Matt's old lamp turned on a moment later, Victor leaning most of his body off of his bed so he could reach it. He held his pen in one hand that had a bit of blood on it, and he was holding the lamp switch with the other.

Bewildered, the maroon eyed boy watched as Matt clapped a hand to his nose that was spurting blood.

"What the hell? You sleep with that thing?" Matt demanded although it came out more sounding like: "Waa thaz-" he snorted, and choked at the same time "He-ll? Yoy sleeep wiz fat theng?"

"Well I now know I have a reason to! What were you doing?" Victor scowled, letting go of the lamp, and moving his body back onto the bed, snatching up his glasses to jam onto his face.

"I was seeing if you were awake!" Matt said, but what Victor heard was an accented: "I wazz singing iffff yoy wer awak."

"What?" the new boy blinked, and Matt repeated himself slowly before adding "Your babbling was keeping me up."

Victor snorted "My babbling? What about your creepering?"

"I wasn't creepering."

"Then I wasn't babbling."

"Maybe you weren't."

"Then why are you awake?"

Matt could have punched him, and in the morning when his nose was throbbing, and bigger than a doorknob he wished he had. But it was too late by then, and besides, Victor was out of the room by the time Matt woke up.

Cursing, Matt spent half an hour scrubbing blood from his face. He knew he should have taken care of last night when Victor's pen had broken it, but he had been too tired at the time.

When Lilly found him looking over his bloodstained pillow an hour later she had a two second heart attack, thinking he had gone suicidal. But, he dispatched this notion with an explanation which Victor's blood stained pen proved when the boy returned.

Despite Lilly's rage, Matt found that he had cooled off, and didn't much care anymore. He dismissed Lilly's thoughts of visiting the infirmary, and settled down to begin his daily routine of game playing.

For the rest of the day, Matt had little contact with his new roommate who came, and went regularly throughout Matt's time on the game consul.

When the day reached its end, and Victor came back for the night, he found Matt playing in the dark, six inches from the T.V. screen, and his back hunched.

"Do you realize how incredibly unhealthy that is?" the dark haired boy asked, closing the door with a snap and flicking on the light.

"Do you realize you're not a doctor?" Matt asked, lighting one of his cigarettes without looking at Victor.

The end was snuffed out a moment later, however when Victor's pen went whistling by the ginger's face, taking the tip of the cigarette clean off.

Matt's head snapped back reflexively before he glared at Victor who was moving to retrieve his pen.

"No smoking, do it again, and I'll tell Roger." Victor said, turning to face Matt with his pen spinning around his fingers.

Several responses to this tiptoed onto Matt's tongue, but he just bit them back, and looked back at his game. He paid Victor no more attention as the young boy began to empty his bag that was already filled with text books, and homework despite it being only his first school day.

He then went to collect clean pajamas from his dresser that he carried into the bathroom, the door shutting behind him. Moments later the sounds of the shower started.

Matt sighed before lighting a new cigarette from his pack, inhaling for a long moment before letting out a breath of smoke that he fanned away.

WOOSH!

Matt barely had time to spit his cigarette out of his mouth before he was flipped through the air, landing hard a moment later on the floor near the bathroom.

His sigh had covered the sound of the door opening that signaled Victor returning to the main room to scout out his soap. The wiry boy was soon on top of Matt, who had rolled over, and was getting him in a full body lock.

"Owwwww," Matt groaned as he felt his back crack, and his ribcage press against his chest skin.

"I said no smoking!" Victor snapped, rage filling his tone.

"The hell is with you?" Matt struggled, trying to slam the back of his head into Victor's.

"Smoking is for weaklings, and maggots!" Victor spat, his knees pressing painfully into Matt's back.

If not for Matt's size advantage on Victor, the younger boy may have kept him down, but the ginger was bigger, and taller.

Victor soon was pushed off Matt who got up, pulling his arms forward out of their previous awkward position. He only had a moment of relief before Victor was on him again though, driving his fist down into Matt's thigh with a "Hiya!"

"OW!" Matt fell to the ground, rubbing his leg that was screaming with pain. Out of rage he then kicked at Victor, knocking his feet out from under him, and causing the small boy to land on Matt's now weak leg.

They scuffled for about twenty more minutes 'til Lilly came in to find Victor sitting onto of Matt, both boy's panting with Matt's shirt tore, and Victor's bare chest scratched.

"Sup," they both raised a hand to greet Lilly who presided to chew them out 'til Victor pushed her out the door, locking it behind her. Both him, and Matt were all red but slowly cooled, and Victor soon stopped panting, Matt following suit after a few minutes.

"So, who's win was this?" Victor asked almost casually, sitting back down on Matt.

"Depends, you got any special training?"

"Nine years of karate, and five of judo, you?"

"Nope, just some freestyle fights with Mello. You currently studying anything?"

"Yeah, judo. And I keep hearing that name, who is Mello?"

Matt looked up at Victor, his goggles supplying him with a dark orange image of the boy. Victor's eyebrow arched, and he soon had to scramble for balance as Matt suddenly shoved him off.

Then, without answer, Matt sat back down with his games, and silently, Victor slid back into the bathroom with a bar of soap.

It wasn't until the dark of night covered the room with a soft blanket; when both Matt, and Victor were on the verge of sleep, did Matt actually answer Victor's question.

"Mello was my roommate."

"Hmm?" Victor mumbled.

"Mello, you wanted to know about him. Well he was my roommate."

"I figured that much out."

"Then what do you want to know?"

Victor didn't answer, and after a moment of squinting, and listening, Matt realized his new roommate was asleep, his mouth half open, and his pen clutched in his hand.

The ginger sighed, rolling over to lie against the wall.

...

Matt didn't remember falling asleep, but when he next opened his eyes to find orange tinged light flooding into the room, he figured he must have.

He sat up, surprised to find a bit of drool on his pillow. Sleeping like a dead man was uncommon for him these days, but considering how sore he felt, and how weak his leg was, it didn't seem impossible.

"Bye."

Matt jumped, noticing Victor just before they boy left the room with his bag swinging. That's when Matt checked Mello's old clock to see it was only seven in the morning.

"Weird," he mumbled, getting up, and heading for the bathroom where he took a hot shower, and shaved the slight stumble that was starting to appear on his face.

"Matt?" he heard Lilly call, and he popped his head out to see she was looking a bit spooked.

"You're up?" she blinked at him, and he shrugged, putting his hands into the gesture before replying: "Victor woke me."

"Oh, I see..." She nodded, leaving to get him breakfast so he could dress in peace.

Strangely enough, despite being in moderate pain, Matt felt just a bit better than he had in a while. This didn't mean he would go to class, or eat with the others, or unglue himself from the T.V. though.

But maybe, just maybe, he'd play a whole foot away from the television.

...

Author's Note: Yeeeeeeep, died on you all for a while there... Yeah... sorry about that. I don't know how long it will be until I get the next chapter out but I AM determined to NOT abandon this story. Hope you were all well in my absence, and thanks for all the reviews, especially the ones asking me to keep writing. Actually I wanted to specially thank xAxelx because they recently sent me a private message that really inspired me to stop dying on all of you, and to write this chapter. So thanks! Sorry that some of you didn't like the last chapter, and I hope you liked this one better. Oh, and also I got a beta reader! So thank you to my first ever, and much needed Beta Reader: Teiden! (Who did an amazing job on this chapter.) But thank you also to the others that applied. :3

Victor (Vincent) : A small but strong boy who has a hate for smoking, and girls. Carries around a pen, and specializes in judo, karate, and some other martial arts. Matt's new roommate.

Hope your enjoyed the chapter, and pleeeeeease let me know what you think of Victor! I also really want to know if people want me to develop the years of Mello's absence or just kinda skip along, and cover that pretty fast. So please R&R!