[He doesn't care whether she apologizes or not. It doesn't matter.]
No, I did not. [His contempt had been reserved for those unable to keep up, and those that would fawn over him in attempts to be in the good graces of the top student in an institution where intelligence had been everything. Mello had been able to keep up, and challenged him instead of praising him.]
Why? [ It could just have been another one of those feelings things he doesn't seem to have, or maybe it was because he never had to be the one fighting to come out on top. ]
[It's true that he never had to fight very hard to stay on top; he is naturally gifted and makes no apologies for that. That perhaps is part of it.]
Why should I? That someone could compete was refreshing. [Nobody else could measure up. Could Matt have, if he'd bothered? It doesn't matter. And Near had never held any contempt for him either as he hadn't been a member of the fawning crowds. Indifference, but not contempt.]
Ah. I'm guessing you never told him that back then? [ Things have changed between Near and Mello now, she knows that. It kind of seems like their whole relationship could have been different if things were just done... right, whatever right really means. Maybe as children they were just too different. Even now, they may as well be as different as night and day. ]
I should not need to spell everything out for him.
[There is more to it than that. It would have been showing a weakness, a crack in the armor. Not something he had been about to do back when they'd still been competing, and something he'd been loathe to do even here.]
You're telling me you expected him to catch on to clues that you didn't even realize you were leaving? Someone needs to sit you down in front of a television and put on some PBS.
[ you need some social skills near and only elmo can do this right ]
Why? [Look, it's not that he hasn't heard of PBS, he just doesn't know what kind of programming is on it. Why should he? Nobody at the House has had a normal childhood to the point where it's arguable none of them have had a childhood at all.]
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[But the contempt had never gone both ways.]
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[ Even as disconnected as he seems, surely that kind of pressure bred some form of dislike for his fellow. ]
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No, I did not. [His contempt had been reserved for those unable to keep up, and those that would fawn over him in attempts to be in the good graces of the top student in an institution where intelligence had been everything. Mello had been able to keep up, and challenged him instead of praising him.]
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Why should I? That someone could compete was refreshing. [Nobody else could measure up. Could Matt have, if he'd bothered? It doesn't matter. And Near had never held any contempt for him either as he hadn't been a member of the fawning crowds. Indifference, but not contempt.]
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[There is more to it than that. It would have been showing a weakness, a crack in the armor. Not something he had been about to do back when they'd still been competing, and something he'd been loathe to do even here.]
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[Yes, he is defending this by framing it as respecting Mello's intelligence. Which he actually does.]
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[One or two, perhaps. But even those he more expected Mello to take as taunts or attempts to hold leverage.]
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[ you need some social skills near and only elmo can do this right ]
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Why? [Look, it's not that he hasn't heard of PBS, he just doesn't know what kind of programming is on it. Why should he? Nobody at the House has had a normal childhood to the point where it's arguable none of them have had a childhood at all.]
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Sesame Street is a children's show, by the way, to help children develop important skills like counting, and how not to be a total dick.
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[Yes he's deliberately leaving it at that because he thinks it's funny.]
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...You're a little bit of an ass, aren't you?
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