Indifference

[nateriver]

tick. tick. tick. tick. A large round clock on the wall was attempting to keep time, however, it had been broken for about a week now. tick. tick. tick. It wasn't surprising that the clock was broken, it was the playroom clock, after all. Someone had knocked it from the wall by accident one day, it was no big deal. It was annoying, how hollow it sounded, the way it always thought it was 3:23. Though many of the children never really bothered with keeping the time, they just listened to whoever was in charge, went where they were told and did their lessons, well, most of them, anyway. The room itself was quite empty, except for the boxes of miscellaneous toys, abandoned, and one person, sitting oddly on the floor. The broken clock with its cracked face only added to the lonely atmosphere. Though, the building itself being an orphanage was bound to have a negative feel to it.

The boy on the floor wasn't bothered at all by the quiet, it would be almost enjoyable if he weren't so bored. He stared at the old puzzle he's completed dozens of times before. The puzzle had lost its charm for the moment, and the boy was perplexed as to what he should begin next. He scanned the room with his dark eyes, finding nothing of particular interest. Defeated, he turned back to the puzzle, and began to twirl a lock of hair between his thumb and index finger. He slowly traced the edges of the pieces with his eyes. It was completely white, except for the edges of the pieces themselves, and black L in the corner. This wasn't his favorite thing to play with, but it kept him occupied for a little while. He turned his head to the hallway, the shouts of children from outside was slowly growing closer. The boy quickly dumped the puzzle and began it again, giving him an excuse not to have to talk to anyone. He turned his back more toward the playroom entrance, preparing for the masses of children who would soon be filtering in.

[Mello]

Cold hands slid along the wall, fingertips tracing over the texture, then slowly coming to a halt at the start of the doorway. His hand curled over the edge holding onto the frame of the door, green eyes looking over at the white haired boy. He didn't know how long he had been standing there, but he knew it had been well over twenty minutes. His free hand was dropped at his side holding the same half eaten chocolate that he held when he started.. I guess you could say staring 'obsessively' over the boy. But not in a good obsessive way, he hated that boy with everything he had in him. How could someone like 'him' be placed first,his inner-voice hissing at him. The hand holding the near to melted chocolate rose, and his teeth seized the chocolate perfection once more. "That twit." A small mumble sounded from his parted lips, and his body turned with his back facing the wall.

Orphanages always managed to give that feeling of being alone. With all the kids here, Near still managed to find himself alone, and still lacking the social skills that Mello had. The blond even had a partner in crime! A small nod of agreement to his thought. Although, despite the way the albino was, everyone would still deem him number one.... For the moment he was winning this competition.

He glanced back to where Near was, it seemed he had started that puzzle over. He must have done that puzzle a million times, how could he still not be bored? Then he returned to the way he was standing, no longer looking at him. Maybe Near had yet to notice him? Maybe he was still safe, he could pretend that he was never... Dare he say it? Wasting his time by watching Near from afar, did he seem a bit stalkerish? Crunch He took another bite from his chocolate... Yep it was melted.

[\ Sorry if it seems like rambling. /]

[nateriver]

((no worries, I like reading your posts :3))

The little boy - Nate, it had been a while since anyone had adressed him by that name. Here, everyone knew him as Near, it never bothered him to be called Near, either. After all, a name was just that, a name, something you went by. Names don't define people, people defined themselves. Near rested his head against his hand, which rested on his knee, the other one picking up the pieces of the puzzle and carefully putting them into place. His sitting position was odd, but he was comfortable, and that's all that really mattered. He was hardly looking at what he was doing as he put the puzzle together again, almost remembering where each and every little white piece fit. He kept his head turned away from the door, he could tell someone was there watching him, but wasn't really keen on talking much. He had an idea of who it was, but Near just didn't feel the need to adress him without reason.

Mello. It had to be, nobody else would stand there so quietly for so long. This simply gave Near better reason not to speak. Near knew Mello well enough, he didn't need to adress Mello for a conversation to begin. Even if Near were in the mood to talk, a simple hello would be met with something Mello thought witty and insulting, then things would just escalate from there. Near didn't think anything negative about Mello, it was a shame that Mello didn't think the same of him. The only things that could almost be seen as negative were just that Mello was quick to temper and act, but that wasn't just opinion. Jealousy that's all it really was, the desire to be first. He was jealous of Near, only jealous because Near was better. Near on the other hand thought it superficial, what did it matter? It wasn't as if Near was terribly ahead of Mello,either. From Near's view, he was just ahead by a bit, but it must've been a big enough gap to cause Mello to hate him.

He continued to work on the puzzle quietly, his back still turned, he liked how all the pieces fit together so snugly, almost clicking into place. Normally the pieces together would have made a picture, but in the case of this puzzle, it was almost blank, a stylized L in black was all that it had. What was the use of solving a blank puzzle? ..it was something to do.. that's all. Even true investigations make pictures, why did these people in particular choose to create an almost blank puzzle? Suddenly turned off ot the idea of it, Near pushed the puzzle aside and simply pulled a curl in his hair and let go, naturally it sprung back into place. He waited there, pulling his curls, to see if Mello was going to speak, afraid that if he attempted conversation it would be interpreted as mockery.

[Mello]

[\ Thank you x) Just wish mine could be as good as yours. /]

The small clicking noises of the puzzle pieces stopped, he must have stopped, or finished the puzzle. He was definitely fast with that, something that normal people would easily get irritated with Near would be able to do it in an hour. Another angry like bite to his chocolate bar, this seemed to be the thing that could calm him down, or at least make him feel less angry as he moved the melted piece around in his mouth. Sweet bliss.

If he knew Near, and he did. The boy probably already knew he was there, or at least could feel somebody watching him. Mello already knew the boy wouldn't talk first, he never did.. Of course he didn't talk first, he would never be recognized as first in the blonds mind. His hands moved back to the door way, holding on to the sides as he slid himself into the room quietly. Both of his arms at his sides, hanging limply. Green eyes narrowed at the white haired boy in front of him. He would make the first move.

With his free hands moving behind his back, and both of his hands being clasped together. "So, Near. I see your alone... Like always." The tip of his foot tapped the boys back, both eyes glancing at the puzzle that was pushed aside. Show Off His eyes rolled, then resumed looking at Near, who seemed to be having as much fun curling his hair as he was with the puzzle.

[nateriver]

Near kept pulling at his curls, still staring at the puzzle, now off to one side. "It's better than causing trouble..." He was right about it being Mello standing by the door, but who else would it have been? No one else here would have just stood around and said nothing, no one except Mello. Near thought it was a shame how much time Mello spent simply staring at and hating him. Near turned his head slightly, and looked at the other boy over his shoulder. "Don't you think, Mello?" His tone was level and bland, devoid of any emotion except maybe boredom. His expression matched his tone, his eyes simply scanning the other boy's face before Near turned his head around and looked at the wall, instead. He didn't mean anything by what he'd said, but after saying it, he wished he could've taken it back. It sounded like he was accusing Mello of starting trouble, which he usually did, but it didn't need Near's say so.

He pulled a curl from his head holding onto it for a bit and let it go. He wanted something to keep his hands busy, but unfortunately there wasn't anything nearby. He sighed in his mind, and dumped the puzzle, again. This time, instead of actually solving it, he began stacking the pieces into little white towers. "So, what brings you ever here? Did you lose something?" He asked this quietly, blandly, he knew Mello didn't lose anything, he was simply there to be there.

((sorry, bad post. D': ))

[Mello]

[\ Your posts never suck D: /]

His hands still remained behind his back, palms clasping tighter together, the chocolate in his hand was starting to feel more watery then it should have. But this was his was of keeping himself from acctually hitting Near, although that would feel good. He walked around Near so that he was in front of him instead of being to the side, or behind him. It was easier to see what kind of expression the other would hold, even though Mello could already tell by the tone in his voice. It was the same, expressionless look he held.

Was the boy in front of him accusing him of causing trouble? Of course he was, this was a ploy to make him feel more comfortable in the first place seat he had. "Tch." The Wammy's perfect angel, Makes me sick. His inner thoughts even held a mocking voice towards Near. "Depends, if playing with old toys is better." A smile grew from the corners of his cheeks. "What are you, five? Why do you still play with these toys?" In his mind, every thing he said was cleaver, and well thought out. Even though most of the stuff he can say might sound a bit stupid.

He had watched him dump over his puzzle again, but this time instead of acctually putting the pieces into place he started to stack them up, Near had seemed to be able to occupy himself very easily. Mello's hands unclasped from behind his back, and he took another bite from his chocolate finishing off the last bits before it started to melt all over his fingers. Putting a warm digit to his mouth he started to lick the sweets from his skin.

He heard Nears last question, but had decided to ignore it.. Because well, he didn't know the answer to that at the moment. Why did he come here? Was he that obsessive over hating Near that he had to form a conversation with him? His weight shifted from leg to leg, and his finger was still in his mouth. No, he wasn't obsessive, he was just bored. Thats it, bored.

[nateriver]

Near continued to play with his hair, pulling out the curls and letting them go, repeatedly. His free hand was carefully stacking pieces, making the tower of puzzle pieces as straight as a tower of puzzle pieces could possibly be. The irregular shapes jutted out, making for poor construction overall, but it didn't particularly matter how well made it was, he was just keeping busy, staring at what he was doing, rather than up at Mello. Near carefully picked up his shoddy tower by its base by his index finger and thumb, raising it slowly and holding it to eye level. Mello's insults didn't bother him at all, really. He maintained his tone and expression as if nothing had been said at all. "I play with them, because I want to." He replied, simply. He suddenly let go of the pieces he was holding, and watched them fall and scatter as they hit the puzzle's frame. The soft clatter wasn't as satisfying as Near had hoped it would be. It was quite disappointing, actually.

"It really is a shame, Mello.." Near sighed softly and tilted his head to one side, his eyes almost lazily rolled up at the older boy. "..That you have nothing better to do than stand around and insult me." He was just pressing buttons on purpose, now. He might as well have fun with Mello, since he was insisting on just being there for no reason. "Really Mello, I thought you had better things to do than play with me." Near made for a melancholy look in his eye, a slight whine to his voice. It was all very subtle, though inside he was very tempted to smile. Tugging Mello around for a bit was much more fun than some old puzzle.

((Shameless flatterer.))

[Mello]

The abrasive ticking sound from the broken clock seemed to be in sync with every hair pull Near did. Somehow Mello found a way to find everything that Near did annoying, the small twist and curls of the piece of hair between his index and thumb, the way he stacked the puzzle pieces up. The urge to kick the boys work over was rising in this ticking time bomb of a person, but he didn't have to wait long for the albino boy to knock it over himself. The faint noise of the puzzle falling wasn't what he had expected, just maybe a silent 'bam' would have made him content. For now he shared something with the boy he hated, he held the same disappointment.

He had licked the skin clean of any melted chocolate that could have been left on his finger, to bad he didn't have another bar with him, more chocolate was starting to sound good to him. Green orbs trailed the pieces on the floor, each one looked the same except for the few pieces that had a faint black line on them. The puzzle looked like it had started to fade. His eyes drifted from the puzzle back to Near. He was holding a content look on his face, of course it wasn't because of Near, just more for the chocolate that he could have inhaled in a matter of a few minutes. But that content look would change, in that same amount of time. "Play.. With.. You?" A small noise left his thought, it was a chuckle, a laugh. Oh, how pathetic, he thought I came to play with him.. Although it wouldn't take him long to figure out that Near was in fact insulting him. The small laugh turned into a low growl in the back of his throat, oh, it was on. The games of insults, even though it was more of Mello getting mad, then Near somehow keeping the same expression he entered the game with.

" You Twit, No one ever wants to play with you." Of course the voice in the back of his head would shout, then why are you still here? Why was he? Finding out new things he could hate near for? "And its a shame that you have to be such a child!" His tone started to raise, he was so easily angered, his palm formed a fist, and his fingers still remained slightly sticky, sticking to the skin on his palm. This was his threat, and he was compelled to use it.

The outfit Mello wore matched the attitude that he had carried with him, the black shirt, and matching pants.. Everything that would counter what Near was wearing...White. Kind of ironic that the two wore opposing colours.

[\ x) /]

[nateriver]

Near looked back down at the scattered pieces that lay on the ground, one in particular caught his eye, it was almost completely black. Near wasn't quite sure what about it caught his attention, but he pushed the thought aside, deciding it was probably just the contrast. It was obvious what the piece made when the puzzle was together, but it seemed so alien among all the little white pieces. There were of course a few more that were black as well, but they didn't stand out as much, each of them at least half white, the piece in question stood out much more. Nonetheless, they all looked quite lonely, spread out with so much white between them, little islands all on their own, floating on a sea that was the orphanage floor.

Near was growing sick with himself and his thoughts and slowly began gathering them up. It was boring, horribly boring, how repetitive he had decided to be. Though, it was the course of action that caused the least amount of trouble for him, personally. Near picked up each piece slowly, placing them almost where they were supposed to be. It made no difference whether he was immediately right or not, he wasn't going to move and get the pieces that had bounced beyond his reach. At least, not until Mello left.

Mello just kept giving Near opportunities to heckle him, and now with the many bothersome little pieces covering the floor, the task at hand had shifted from simply finding some fun in the situation, to getting Mello to leave without injury. Though, Near highly doubte Mello would just come out and hit him, but it was always better to play it safe. In short, a change of rules was all that really occurred in Near's mind. Mello had his turn and now it was Near's turn to talk."I'll grant you that I'm a child, Mello. I'll grant that you hate me, as well." Near clicked a few pieces together, the puzzle wasn't even close to being completed but he went on. "But yet, you're the one standing here, for no reason..." Near pulled a curl from his head and let it go, it springing back to place. "..Simply getting angry..." Near paused for a bit and connected a few more pieces, with one hand, the other twirling a lock of hair. "...Would it be wrong for me to think that you're being childish, too?" Near looked up at Mello, his face blank, but inside he smiled. He continued to stare for a while, longer than he should have, but quickly turned his attention to what his hands were doing.

[Mello]

Mello didn't take his eyes away from Near, even if that meant he was only staring at the top of the boys head. Nothing could change the fact that he was still ticked with what Near had said, and what he was about to say would only make this time bomb explode. He couldn't hit Near, there was this invisible forcefield around the boy, and that forcefield was called Roger. If he did in fact hit the boy, this would be the third time he would have been in trouble in the past two days. It wouldn't be the same 'Boys will be boys' or 'Just don't do it again.' He figured he would get punished this time if he did, and everyone disliked punishment, just Mello saw it more than others.

The small, soft clicking of the puzzle pieces started to kill the silence that was forming, then Near spoke. He was right, Near had started to say things that would get to him. The other started to pull curls again, the curls and twirls, and the small clicks of puzzle pieces. With each moment, his irritation only grew more. A roll of his eyes away from the others stare, and he extended his foot kicking the puzzle that Near was working on away from him. This was all an attempt to get this boy angry, to see if he held some emotion at all. I guess Near was right, he was standing there..'Simply getting angry' Without a reason, but obviously it seemed that he knew he had nothing better to do. He bent down, so that he was now crouching in front of Near. "Yes, it would be wrong. Because I am not a child." His tone was short, and a smile started to creep along with face. Mello was like a bully, but at least it gave Near some social interaction. "Have fun picking up the pieces." That smile still stayed on his face. For now I win, until you can think of something witty.

[nateriver]

Near held the little black piece of the puzzle in his hand, running his fingers over its smooth top, and the rough cardboard underneath. He had picked it up, prepared to put it into place, but since Mello so rudely interrupted him, he had no place to put it, now. He wasn't startled by Mello's sudden movement, nor was he surprised by it. Any sort of mockery toward Mello was always met with an overreaction, it made no difference how small the matter was.It didn't have to be mockery, either, someone could just happen to be in the way and still witness the full force Mello's rage. Near, however was more annoyed than anything, it was bothersome seeing someone get angry over so little, even though he was the one who provoked it. He was thoroughly annoyed, but it didn't let it show on his face or anywhere else. He carefully placed the piece on the ground where it would have went if the rest puzzle was still there. He was going to restart and continue with what was nearby.

Near turned his head upward slowly and calmly looked at Mello, who had gotten quite close to his face, and blinked slowly, meeting the blonde's eyes with a half-lidded stare. "...You don't have to be a child to act immature, Mello." He pulled a curl and held it, his eyes wandered away and stared off to one side. He didn't care too much for eye contact, all he was being matched with was a glare. He let go of his hair, it going back into place. "Also ... I never called you a child to begin with, I called your actions childish." Near was being very blunt now, getting thing across indirectly wasn't proving effective enough. He met eyes with the other boy for a moment, again, then turned to look at the ground. He started putting the puzzle together, yet again, with what was nearby, and that wasn't much. Had had already done much of it, but that was all kicked away. Most of what was close didn't go with anything, so Near simply arranged them to where they would've gone. It looked like random placement at best, which wasn't much.

[Mello]

Mello had a feeling that Near wouldn't get worked up over a kicked puzzle, I mean, this was Near we were talking about. The kid who could spend a numerous amount of time playing with little toys. His green eyes watched the pallid boys fingertips along the puzzle right before he placed it down, he didn't have a lot of puzzle pieces near him, the few black pieces had been scattered along the floor next to the board that Mello had kicked.

The urge to smack the boy for his little quips was rising. It sounded like the boy was calling him stupid, and childish. His eyes narrowed, arms extending grabbing onto Near's shirt collar. Maybe the way he was acting was slightly childish, but he was tired of being talked down to by this child who was younger than him. He wasn't going to sit there and take it anymore, the least he could do now was scare him, or maybe even hurt him. He still held that glare on his face, with this action he had hopped to catch Near off guard, or perhaps he was expecting it.

"Shut up, Near!" He was yelling at the boy, pulling him closer as he stood up. He had the advantage, he was taller than the boy he was holding. Now realizing that his emotions now had gotten the best of him for the moment, but it could be worse.. It wasn't like he had punched the boy, even if he had wanted to. It was Mello, the one who had started this problem in the first place, surely now he would get in trouble for the third time this week. He started to wonder for a moment if this was the right choice of action, he simply could have just walked away.. But that wouldn't had been as fun, of course he couldn't go back now, the only thing he could do now was wait for the other boys reaction.

[\ Sorry, at the moment I'm slightly braindead ee; If anything doesn't make sense, I'm sorry. xD; /]

[nateriver]

It was an automatic reaction, that's all it was. If he could, Near would have stopped himself and just listen quietly to Mello yell at him. Instead, Near had wrapped his hands around the other boy's, trying to press his fingers in between Mello's palm and his own shirt, aiming to pry him off. He wasn't showing any fear of Mello, because that's what Mello wanted. He wanted to scare Near, feel like he's superior somehow. If Near were to look scared at all, that meant Mello would win. Mello winning meant Near's losing, and that wasn't going to happen. He stared up at the other boy who'd yelled at him to shut up, the smell of chocolate thick in his breath. He narrowed his eyes slightly, showing annoyance, rather than fear -though he was a little shocked at how Mello decided to be a brute and actually touch him. -A little afraid of what the unpredictable Mello would do next.

"Let me go, please." a simple request, but there was no telling how Mello would react to it. He kept his voice steady, bland. Near kept a loose grip on Mello's hands, though he'd given up on trying to pry himself free. The whole event was getting on his nerves. Why couldn't Mello just let go and leave? Why wouldn't he just leave Near alone? Then again, what an uneventful day it would have been if Mello hadn't stopped by.

Near kept staring up at the other boy with his dark, empty eyes. Scanning, seeing how much Mello really hated him. It was curious, though, why did Mello always watch him so carefully? What did he hope to gain from it? It was a curious thought. He dropped his head, the collar of his shirt being held by the other boy covering his mouth and nose. "Let me go." he repeated in the same bland tone.

[Mello]

Mello had never intended Near to win, it wouldn't matter how small the problem or situation would be, Mello always had to win. This was all like a one-sided case of sibling rivalry.

His hands were clasped tight around the younger boys shirt, green orbs glaring back at Grey, emotionless ones. The only emotion Mello would hold for the moment would be anger, how he hated that Near was always able to keep his calm... How he always kept his emotions under control, and how he always would find a way to beat Mello at his own game. This time Mello had been wining, if only slightly. He could feel the younger boy trying to pry his hands off, but to no avail.

Let go? Is that what the boy had wanted? Oh, he would be let go alright. There was a moment of silence after the boy had spoke, with thoughts swarming around in the blonds head, of course he would never act upon any of these dangerous thoughts. His hands opened, to let the boy fall. "As you wish." Still being the same smartass child he was, but Near never said how he wanted down.

[\ Bad post ee; I couldn't think /]

[nateriver]

Near stumbled backwards, quickly getting his footing before he could completely topple over. "...Thank you." Near said softly, it wasn't the best way to be released - or rather, simply dropped in his case, though it could have been worse, Mello could have shoved him.It was curious why he didn't, but Near pushed the thought from his head, it was unimportant what Mello could've done. Near looked up Mello breifly, how could someone be so angry over nothing? Near knew Mello was angry at the lack of reaction, it made Mello's skin crawl. It was like that's what Mello hate most of all, he had an obstacle that Near didn't. His own emotions against him.

Near took a few steps back, since was on his feet he thought it would be best move away from Mello. Mello was being particularly brutish that day, and Near had already had enough. He turned and walked to the other side of the playroom, settling among twenty different robot models, some finished, some not, others simply broken. His walking could hardly be called that, it was more of an awkward shuffling, his knees being bent the whole time and his feet barely leaving the floor. His body folded itself back into its odd position when Near lowered himself to ther ground. He was turned halfway toward Mello, watching him from the corner of his eye. His hands hovering slightly over the toys on the ground.