A Dangerous Game (Hizzie)

Curiosity Killed The Cat

Lizzie was a lot of things. Some would call her paranoid. Some would call her rageful. Many would even call her impulsive.

But most?

Most would call her dangerous. And maybe they were right. Maybe that was what she was.

But she wasn't always. No matter what people say about her.

Lizzie had never wanted to hurt anyone. At least, not on purpose. It was strange how the tide shifted. How someone, who used to fear hurting anyone, could ruthlessly watch someone die. Could have a hand in it.

She had helped Hope kill the carnival vampires. Helped her torture Aurora. While she hadn't been a willing participant in the second, she had in the first.

She killed them mercilessly. Found amusement in their fear. In their pain. She was becoming the one thing she had sworn she would never be.

The monster that her fellow students betted she would always become.

No matter what she did, that was how she would always be viewed by them. She remembered something Emma Tig had told her once.

"First impressions set in stone how people view you. Once a person has formed an opinion, it is very difficult to change it."

There was never anything more accurate. There were only a few people who had ever truly seen the effort she had put in. Her mom, MG, and Hope.

They saw her, but the thing is, maybe they were wrong to believe in her. Whether that was true or not didn't matter anymore.

She was tired of changing. Of being the better person. If she had known how this would all end, would she still end up here?

Maybe. She was dead, but she'd never felt more alive.

A question raged in her heart. Why couldn't she kill Aurora?

Aurora wasn't a good person. Lizzie knew that. She was likely as bad as Hope's dad had been yet she couldn't strike the final blow.

Not even for Hope.

Was it pity? No, it wasn't that. Maybe it was because they were alike in many ways. Except they were also very different.

They both may be bipolar but her disorder wasn't what was controlling her actions. Lizzie was bipolar but was also something else.

Something that had nothing to do with her mental health. Being bipolar didn't make someone a killer or lack empathy.

That came from the darkness that lurked in her blood. No, not just her blood, but her bloodline. She wasn't the only one it affected.

Josie had it in her as well. Hers was just different.

Lizzie found it ironic. Everyone thought that one day she would snap because she was bipolar, but that wasn't what made her 'dangerous'. It just made her more obviously unstable.

She knew what she was. She had always known.

They called her paranoid. Lizzie called it cautious. Aware of the cruelty of the world. Knowing that if she wasn't watching for it, it would come for her. She hated being caught off guard.

She knew the dangers of the world more than most. She and Josie had faced death before they were even born. Then, again, when they were mere children.

Maybe that was why she watched the shadows. Waiting. Always waiting. For what? Something that would try to hurt her. To hurt Josie.

She remembered her dad telling her about Kai Parker trying to kill them when they were four. She didn't remember it, but when she focused, she could feel glimpses of fear and of uncertainty.