A/N: Happy Birthday, Mail! And for those of you who read Golden, the next chapter should be up by tomorrow, Thursday at the latest.

Matt's POV

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. TICK. TOCK.

Damn it! How was the clock getting louder?

TICK! TOCK!

I sighed, resisting the urge to turn around and throw my pencil at the offending timepiece like a complete psycho. Was I a psycho? No one was staring at me. But I had the same out-of-body, mind-racing feeling I always got when my thoughts turned to the problem that had been plaguing me recently.

I sighed and rested my head between my hands, trying once again to make sense of the text in front of me. My eyes picked up the words, but refused to string them together into coherent sentences. I wasn't usually one to stress about exams, even big ones like this, but God. Just glancing around, I could see most people were on the third or fourth page already. I glanced at my blank paper and tried to remember what subject we were being tested on.

I shook my head in a pathetic attempt to clear it. Okay. History, right. I could totally do this. I just had to focus...

Multiple choice... one point each. Not worth it. There was no way I was finishing this; I had already wasted to much time distracted by... stupid things. Stupid things that were never going to happen anyway.

I flipped to the essay section.

In your opinion, what was the most important date in world history and why?

What the hell kind of question was that? I scribbled down an angry 'In fourteen- fricken'- ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue' and sincerely considered leaving it there just to spite my teachers before scowling and erasing it. Much as I hated to admit it, I actually had to pass this thing.

I thought about asking Mello, who was sitting next to me, for answers, but almost immediately decided against it. Sure, he was my best friend, and he wasn't against a little (or a lot of) rule-breaking, but he would never help me cheat. He actually cared about all this- the grades and whatever- and if we got caught, he was screwed. Not to mention, he'd probably want to know why I was so behind, and I wasn't a very good liar. I was not exactly thrilled about the idea of telling him what had been on my mind instead of early African civilizations- he would probably beat the crap out of me.

I bit my lip. If I could just get this question done, I could totally BS my way through most of the rest. I thought back as hard as I could. Were there any significant historical dates? The whole class seemed pretty boring to me.

I finally just ground out a few paragraphs about 462 and the fall of the Roman Empire, mainly because it was the only date I could remember. Halfway through, kids started turning their papers in. Mello finished right as I was moving on to the short answer. On his way back to his seat, he caught the panicked look on my face and raised an eyebrow. He was mocking me, I was sure of it.

Okay, I told myself, just calm down. There's still enough time for the short answers and a good number of multiple choice, even in I have to totally guess on a few of those. Just concentrate.

My brain was not in the mood to concentrate. I pushed my stupid troubles aside as hard as I could, but I was still falling more and more behind.

That was enough. I had to put this thing to rest for good. Frustrated, and not thinking clearly, I slammed my pencil down on the desk and stood up. Nobody paid much attention, thinking it just meant I was finished. When I shouted, "Hey, everybody!", though, they listened.

"I am in love with Mello. Yeah. There. Just thought you all should know," I announced, sitting back down.

Needless to say, a commotion broke out.

"Okay, okay, let's all settle down now," the instructor said desperately. "Matt. Do you have anything else you'd like to share with the class?"

"No, no, I'm pretty much good now," I said, trying not to let my voice shake as I realized what I had just done.

"Alright, then I suggest you finish your exam silently. And please see me after."

I winced, but nodded. It was actually pretty nice of him to let me keep working; a lot of teachers would have kicked me out.

I did as much as I could until the bell rang, staring determinedly at my paper so I wouldn't accidentally make eye contact with Mello, even though I could feel his eyes on me. I rushed up to the teacher's desk as soon as the test was over so he wouldn't get the chance to talk to me. Shut up, cowardice isn't a crime.

I got a lecture on inappropriate behavior and complying with examination rules, and a detention, but whatever. I spent the entire time trying to decide if Mello would honor his routine and go to the library or go back to our room and wait for me. I didn't care if he laughed at me, I just didn't want him to be mad.

I was still turning the whole sickening thing over in my head as I was leaving the classroom, so you can imagine how far I jumped when someone grabbed my arm just outside the door.

"Mello! I- uh... u- um, I don't really know what to say.. I just... I felt like I had to get it off my chest and I wasn't really thinking... I'm really sorry-"

"Shut up," he said. I did. He didn't sound angry, but sometimes Mello was at his most dangerous when he sounded completely calm. "You," he continued slowly, like he knew how much my feeling of dread was growing with each second, "totally stole my thunder."

"I know, I just... um, what?"

He held up the piece of paper he had started scribbling on after he handed his test in. I had figured he was just doodling; instead I saw the words 'Will you go out with me?' in a large heart.

"Oh, uh... but... who is this for?"

He laughed aloud. "It's for you, idiot! God, I guess it's true: you can't be cute and smart."

I was still trying to process this when some guy, apparently having heard about my little outburst, saw us and sneered from across the hall. "Aww, you two faggots planning a date?"

Mello grinned. "Absolutely," he said loud enough for the jerk to hear, and then leaned in and kissed me. By the time we broke apart, we were alone, short of breath, and I walked away regretting nothing except not making a scene earlier.