Woohoo! Chapter 2 updated pretty much on schedule!*pats self on back*
Before we begin, I just wanna say something: please don't get offended by Mello's views on subjects such as music. I won't try to lie by claiming that his opinions aren't based on my own, but however unlike Mello I believe everyone has the right to listen to whatever they want. Even if it's shit.
Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, nor any of the bands or lyrics mentioned.

Chapter 2: Bow Ties on Dead Guys by Fearless Vampire Killers

Mello POV

How hard is it for me to get a little time by myself before school?

Fucking hard, evidently, considering the morning I've had.

And apparently I suck when it comes to avoiding people too. There I am, rocking out to My Chemical Romance's 'Thank You For The Venom' when some new guy has the nerve to come up and interrupt me, his goggles on his head flashing in the morning sun and clashing horribly with the fur vest he had on over a stripy top.

What have I got to do to be alone round here? Evidently, being an antisocial bastard wasn't working. Could he not tell by the earphones that I was busy?

It didn't help that I jumped when I realised he was standing less than two feet away from where I was standing. Either he's a fucking ninja or my music was too loud.

I already knew the new guy's name: Matt. It was all everyone had been talking about for the last few days: "I wonder what Matt's like?" "I wonder what instrument he plays?" "Ooh, I hope he's really fit!"

You know… shit like that.

I like to avoid those kinds of conversations. I'm not one to big up other people and to be honest; I didn't give a fuck about the new pupil. I was pretty certain that he was going to be another pop loving loser. Either that or a classical musician. Hell, someone singing opera was more common here than another rocker.

My name is Mello. If you're clever enough to know that this isn't my real name, good for you. I'm not telling you if you're not. I'm 16 and starting my second year at Wammy's, after missing the last month of the previous summer term, for personal reasons. Aka none of anyone's business.

If you haven't figured out already (Jesus you're slow) I hate pop. And RnB and hip-hop, in fact any genre that isn't part of rock or metal. As far as I'm concerned, if there isn't a proper guitar rift or some kick ass lyrics or a decent vocalist, then it isn't music at all.

So when he tried to introduce himself to me after giving me the fright of my life the poor bastard was walking right into it. But I did manage to contain my anger and brush him off quickly.

Luckily L came and saved the day by calling over Matt to give him a tour of the place, essentially giving me time to get back to listening to my iPod which the redhead had so rudely interrupted.

Redheads… what is it about redheads? I mused. It was my biggest weakness when it came to my tastes in men, and the look on his face as I laid into him (an adorable pout) was seriously increasing his appeal to me. I should've been nicer to him. Maybe he hates me now? I wonder if he's taken…

…

I'm starting to sound like some lovestruck idiot. Jeez… love at first sight isn't real, for fucks sake! Ugh, I needed music to distract myself.

I scrolled down to my playlist of my favourite songs and set them to shuffle. As some Bring Me The Horizon blasted in my ears I checked the time- 8:15am. I had half an hour left before registration and I fully intended it to be spent in musical bliss.

Of course, this is when Near turned up.

I swear that the dickhead in the sky created the twat just to annoy me. The albino nerd was polite, calm and stoic, whereas I'm unpleasant and over-emotional. Three guesses to which one of us everyone preferred. We were like oil and water- we just couldn't mix.

So when he began walking over to the tree I was currently leaning against, I instantly went into Ignoring-the-idiots-around-me mode.

It didn't work.

"Hello, Mello," he said, purely because he knew it irritated me beyond belief.

"What?" I snarled between gritted teeth after yanking one of the earphones out of my ears (not both. No way Near was worth that).

"I just came over to say good morning."

I snorted. Yeah right Near, I thought. And I'm Justin Bieber's biggest fan.

"And I also wanted to ask if you are ready for the exam this afternoon."

…Yep, sure enough. This was his real reason for approaching me.

Basically, Wammy's House has an exam at the beginning and end of each half term as a way of keeping our progress as musicians. The exam consisted of each student performing one song or piece in front of the other students and staff. Mr Gevanni, the music teacher (who for the record is a biased dickhead) alongside our head-teacher Watari decides on the marks. To make things 'fun' Mr Watari decided that the exam was to be a competition with the results published as ranks.

I've been coming second since I first started here.

Near was always first.

So as you probably figured out, we're not best buddies.

"It's none of your business." I snapped. Of course I was ready! I'd been learning the vocals and the guitar chords to the song I was performing over summer, and I knew it perfectly. Every chord, every note, even every scream had been practised over and over to the point where I could play it in my sleep. Probably.

Near began to twist one of his white locks around his finger, looking at me indifferently. "Which song will you be performing this time?"

I scowled. "It's not like you'd know it anyway."

"That's probably true," he said neutrally, "As like the rest of the pupils here I have no time for your so-called music taste."

At this point I was two seconds away from punching him. This coming from the guy who thinks that people like Damian Rice are the world's greatest musicians? No way. Indie in my book is almost as bad as pop, except whilst pop is annoying indie is just plain boring. I've never understood the genre, but Near fancied himself as a one man Mumford & Sons or something.

Unfortunately, so did everyone else.

"Actually, for your information L has a pretty good taste in music." I retorted. Believe it or not, whilst L wasn't quite the die-hard metal fan I was he had a pretty good taste in music, which I discovered after stealing his iPod because I wanted to see what music he was listening to (don't judge). He had a good range, from Sleeping With Sirens to Panic! At The Disco. The only thing missing was the metalcore and screamo, but I let that slide.

So, there's your mind-fuck for today. Enjoy.

Near's face didn't change its usual stoic expression. "That may be so, but it doesn't change the fact that not many people are big fans of it."

"Like I give a shit." And honestly, I didn't. I don't really care what other people think of my music taste, and if they have a problem with it they can fuck right off.

"You still haven't answered my question." Near pointed out.

"And I'm not going to, so why don't you run off back to your toy robots and leave me alone?" Yep, you heard right. Near had an odd fascination with toys from all over the ages, from dolls and wooden blocks to toy cars and dice. Personally that kind of stuff creeps me out- the way dolls stare at you when you enter a room? No thanks.

Luckily I've never been inside Near's dormitory room, so I've never had to experience the terror of multiple glass eyes glaring at you as you walk by.

I guess I should be thankful that I live close by enough to not room here, after all for all I know those toys are gonna come to life and murder all the inhabitants one day. Hopefully starting with Near, partially because the irony of that situation would be fucking hilarious, and partially because then I would be spared the effort of killing him myself.

"I could, but I find spending my time with other people is much more stimulating. Toys, no matter how well made, do not provide decent conversation." He explained, his finger still twirling the lock of hair.

"And I do?" I questioned in surprise- I thought Near ranked no one above his precious pieces of plastic crap.

"No. I just wanted to know what song you were performing, in case I have actually heard it before. An unlikely situation, but it's always best to be prepared, don't you think?"

"I'll prepare something painful for you if you don't piss off." I muttered under my breath whilst mentally counting all the sharp objects I could use to wound him fatally- knives, spears, swords, a biro to the jugular vein…

Near shrugged. "What a shame. I must've made a mistake believing that you might actually talk to me properly for once."

"Oh, I'm so sorry that I ruined your little hope." I responded sarcastically. "What do you want next, a hug? A kiss? Or maybe you just want to skip the foreplay and start shagging right here?"

He stared at my blankly.

I facepalmed. "You cannot possibly be so naïve that you don't know what the word shagging means."

"No, I was just mildly horrified at the idea of any kind of physical contact with you, let alone sexual."

That's it! I'm gonna punch him so fucking hard the blood will stain his hair permanently crimson.

…I'll leave you with that pleasant image whilst I beat the crap out of him.

Near was just standing still as my fist homed in on his face-

"Don't even think about it, Mello!"

Fuck! Fucking fuck. I must have the shittiest luck on the planet.

Mr Rester the P.E. teacher, aka Near's guardian angel, was storming towards us at high speed, his ridiculous football socks falling down his ankles. And here I was about to beat the shit out of his favourite pupil. Despite the way he looked Near was actually pretty good when it came to sports. He wasn't the best for once, or even second best, those titles were always jostling between L and Light. I wasn't too bad myself, but obviously Near was better, thus gaining himself a precious little fanboy along the way.

Okay, precious BIG fanboy.

I have no idea why Mr Rester was so big on Near, but the rumours were that Near's family (who are stinking rich apparently) sent him here as a bodyguard to look out for their beloved son. And it was a pretty shady coincidence that they both arrived here at the same time… Of course I wasn't here when they started, thank God.

"What's going on here?" Mr Rester demanded as he eyeballed me- obviously having little effect, there's no way I would ever be intimidated by such a fat idiot- whilst Near stood by, smiling a little as he waited for the huge scolding I would no doubtedly receive.

I scowled, praying in my head that the little shit wouldn't rat me out.

No such luck.

"Nothing much sir, I was simply inquiring about Mello's song choice for this afternoon's exams," Near said innocently. The little creep. "I must've provoked him somehow, and he began to attack me."

"That's not-" I attempted, before Mr Rester cut me off with a wave of his hand. "That's enough, Mihael Keehl."

"That's not my name," I said harshly, trying to prevent my temper from exploding. I fucking hated it when this happened, people referencing me by my real name. Ever since the events last summer involving my brother, I have refused to use that name. "It's Mello. Not Mihael Keehl, bloody Mello!"

"Language!" Rester said sharply. Like he had room to talk, whenever we did track running he called us every insulting name under the fucking sun, minus any cussing because we might report him. I had every mind to, but I'm no snitch.

Unlike Near.

"For your insolence and your behaviour, I'm giving you a detention. Come to the sports hall after school finishes, there are plenty of muddy kits and lost property that need sorting through." Mr Rester commanded as I imagined all the ways I could torture him to death. Slowly.

I groaned inwardly- I've been on detentions in the sports hall before, hell I'm normally in detention once a week, but this was definitely the worst I've received from Rester.

What's the worst I've ever done you ask? Three words: Cleaning. Fucking. TOILETS. They love me here, evidently.

Mr Rester, satisfied that I'd shut up for good (like that would ever happen) walked away as I flipped him off from behind, whilst Near had a smug little grin on his face.

"Fuck!" I cursed as soon as the overweight douchebag moved away. "Bloody motherfucker, I didn't do anything wrong!"

In case you haven't figured out (again, your fricken slow) I swear when I'm angry. Not the most intelligent thing I know, but it stops me from exploding with rage every time someone winds me up.

Tragically, it didn't work against wool-headed geeks, aka Near.

I took a deep breath and counted to ten before skulking off to the entrance of the school.

"Good luck later Mello!" Smugness filled Nears voice and I clenched my fists, wishing I could pound him to next week. He was laughing at me, I could tell.

One thing was for sure- I'd win today, no matter what.

On my way to the form room I found Matt engrossed on some game on his iPhone. Evidently L had left him whilst he went upstairs to do 'something'. I suppressed a snort; he was probably going to Light's room.

Yeah, you heard right. Light Yagami, son of the English and History teacher at the academy, boy genius and musician, is gay. Or is at least bisexual. And his lover was, out of all people, L Lawliet, the panda-eyed drummer with a habit of freaking the shit out of everyone with his weird little kinks.

Not that anyone knew. Light was currently 'dating' fellow student Misa Amane, an aspiring pop sensation and the reason the word bimbo was invented.

I only know about Light and L because I went to L's dormitory room one day to lend him a Fall Out Boy CD and I caught them making out on his bed.

If only my camera had been with me. But then again, whilst photos on my pathetic excuse for a mobile only took grainy shots, it was enough to see who they were and what they were doing.

They practically begged me not to tell anyone, and because I'm such a nice guy I haven't. Besides, it is useful blackmail material, and they still don't know about the photographs.

But I digress. Back to Matt, who was now currently staring at me with a look of curiosity on his face as I stormed past.

"What?" I hissed at him and he jumped slightly, some small little voice in the back of my brain cheering because he had done the same to me about fifteen minutes earlier.

Matt didn't answer; he just shook his head, his face betraying his nervousness. I sighed, I really wasn't making this easy for him, and I needed to regain any dignity I had left after this morning's events. I wasn't ready to face anyone, let alone a cute newbie who had only seen the worst of my personality.

I brushed past, stomping along the corridor to the form room. As I reached the door I stopped and groaned, letting all my emotions out as I punched the wall in frustration.

Fuck my life.

Seriously, fuck it. I'm tired of straining to beat people- Near at school and my older brother's legacy around my family.

They just couldn't accept the fact that my brother was gone forever.

I shook my head of my current thoughts, and they returned on to the exam coming up this afternoon. I'm gonna win this time, I thought grimly. Near can go piss off, it's my turn in the spotlight.

The twat's laughter was echoing through my head as I finally opened the door to the form room.

"Just you wait Near," I spat under my breath. "We'll see who's laughing in the end…"

So kick and scream all you want,
And burn down my favourite haunts, yeah
We'll see who's laughing in the end
Light up the funeral pyres,
But you know what you get when you play with fire
We'll see who's laughing in the end

Well, that's chapter 2 finished :D By the way, speaking of Bring Me The Horizon, anybody out there a fan and heard their new album, Sempiternal? *coughsandpit-turtlecough*
I think it's their best yet. XD
Review please, and thanks if you do! :D