𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍

Chapter 1

RUE'S POV

I'm walking down the hallway and I can't dodge the thoughts. Why does a murderer even kill people? Why does a cannibal eat people?

I stop short when I see my friends gathered together. My friends were popular and they made sure to demonstrate that to the whole school.

It made me feel sick sometimes. I roll my eyes as I make my way to my locker. I hold the cold silver lock and start sliding it left and right, entering my combination. I hear a click and open it.

I grab my books and shut my locker. I walk up to my friend Zale and her other friends but the bell rings before I could even get a chance to talk to her. I quickly head to my math class.

I enter and see the same boring people in the same boring room. God, I hated school. I sit at my desk and immediately grab my phone. I wanted to prevent any type of social interaction if possible. This was the best way. The screen brightens up, adjusting to the light in the room. I see 5 new notifications on my lockscreen.

I look at the contact name and realize it's my friend Neri. That's if 'friend' is the appropriate term. She hardly ever texts me; she mostly only does for advice or help with her problems. I open it and read.

Neri: hi rue! which one of these pics is prettier??

She sent two pictures with her and her boyfriend Sirius. The first one was them at the library. The second was one which I assume Sirius took of her picking flowers and a flower field. She looked breathtaking in that one. I mesmerize her pretty skin and the wonders the sun did for her. She truly was gifted with beauty by Aphrodite.

Me: the first, for sure

I watched my teacher walk into the classroom and turned off my phone.

—

It was finally the end of the day. School was over, kids spilling out of their classrooms. The teenage spirit was quite alive. Too much I wanted to die. I make my way to my locker and practically throw my stuff inside. I couldn't care less about it anyways. Soon after, I left campus. While I was walking home I started thinking back to this murder case I heard about.
It was never solved.
It happened four years ago. A pretty popular blonde, Adira Agnor was murdered. The police spent months searching for the murderer. But clues indicated it was her best friend, Eldoris Singh. Once the police came to his house, they found him dead.

Many rumors went around. It looked like he took his own life. But later it was revealed to the public that it was staged. It was all anyone could talk about.

It was all I could think about. Every minute of every day.

Eldoris Singh had a brother, Dante Singh. He lived in a small town in California, fifteen minutes away from me.

I reach my house and grab my keys from my backpack. I open the door and walk inside, greeted by the sight of my dog on the floor asleep. I walk up the stairs to my room and go in. It was dark and bland, just the way I liked it. Bright colors hurt my eyes.

All except blue. I loved blue so much. It was a color that was anywhere. But it will never compare to red. Red is my favorite color, love can't even cover my feelings for red. With red, everything matched, made sense. Lipstick was red, roses, apples, sin, blood.

I can taste it in my tongue and it's driving me crazy. I dropped my backpack on the floor and collapsed on my bed. I grabbed my phone and turned it on, scrolling through social media. I had to calm down in some way.

I was on twitter when I found yet another post about someone who used to be a missing person.
He's dead now.
I read the caption to understand the case.

It was vague from what I can see.
Just dead.
Murdered.
No matter how much I search, they don't describe the way he was killed but right now a dozen scenarios have come up. Perhaps he was stabbed to death? Gunshot? Run over? Death is so unpredictable yet predictable when it wants to be. That's why I find it so fascinating. A life can be stolen by death in a heartbeat. But the power of taking someone's life? I can't help myself but smile.

Too much of this thinking overfills me of an unknown feeling. It's like I'm about to drop on the tallest ride at the amusement park. Fear, excitement, and anxiety. I should probably take a walk. I put on my shoes and grab my pocket knife from my drawer. I never go out without it. I need it for self protection. I can never be too careful.

I step outside and lock the door. I start walking. At first I didn't know where but then I had decided on the forest. I adored the forest, especially when it rained. It was so silent and wonderful. It started to get dark which was fine to me. I loved the darkness as well, especially while listening to music. I arrive at the forest and let it swallow me. I let the trees take over the dark sky and the trunks become all I can see.

I took a deep breath, feeling the scent of it in every bone in my body. It was beautiful.

My hand finds its way to my pocket when I hear a twig snap. I sharply turn around towards where the source of sound came from. "Did I scare ya?" I made eye contact with this unknown boy. This stranger. His blue eyes were piercing my brown ones. It suddenly made me remember something I had read a few days ago.

People with blue eyes tend to be psychopaths.

My body relaxes but I don't let the grip from my pocket knife go. "Oh, I did, didn't I?" He raises an eyebrow and smirks. He's cocky.

I noticed his attire. He was wearing an oversized hoodie with some washed out jeans and converse. His hazel hair was curly but it looked like a bird's nest. His lips, however, surprised me. They were bright red and...perfect.

I look down at his hand. He's holding his phone and wired earbuds. I let go of my pocket knife and fixed my posture. I find myself grinning, finally processing what he had said. I liked his sarcasm. There was something about him—something different. I couldn't quite point it out. Maybe it was the blood lust in his eyes or the fact he and I were so similar yet so different at the same time. But I wouldn't know this until later.

I wouldn't know about the events that would follow after this encounter. This was a butterfly effect and yet...

God, I loved him already.