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She didn't register the pain at first. At first, she just stood there, frozen in shock. Numbness spread through her entire body but otherwise, she felt fine. She could vaguely recall the whip-fast motion of a knife parting the skin of the side of her neck like water. But it was so fast and the edge so fine it felt like a scratch. She could only stare, blinking slowly at the navy-blue haired male who was suddenly gone and behind her.

Her hand reached for her neck, feeling the warm liquid that trickled down her skin and through her fingers. It flowed down her wrist, blooming crimson flowers on the sleeve that quickly shed its petals.

She stared at her hand and then at the silver knife in Jasper's hands. The sharp edge was coated with a thin layer of red. Blood. Her blood.

Jasper's eyes followed hers back to her neck. A flash of regret and pain broke through that stony mask of his—but only for a brief moment before his mask was back in place. He took in a deep breath and let out a shuddering sigh.

"You understand right?" His tone was pleading, almost begging, as he implored her with his eyes. "I can't live without him. If he's gone, then I have no reason to stay in this world anymore. I can't go on without him and knowing his killers are still alive. But I guess..." His gaze dropped down to the knife in his hands.

"You're still my friend, (Y/n), and I'm no mindless killer deadset on revenge. So I won't kill you the same way I'm planning on doing the P4 in by. It might be a little painful, but please deal with it."

Death was not something (Y/n)'s ever considered in her life. At least, not the life she called "the After," which was her new life after what she went through as a kid, "the Before." In the Before, she's contemplating killing herself countless times to quickly end the suffering. But never in the After. There was too much she'd lose in the After, so she never considered the notion of death. Especially not at the hands of her own friend.

Her eyes traced the path of the knife as it fell, a silver blur flashing through the air. Then Jasper's hands were on her, circling around her neck before she could register the danger and bolt. No one suspects a friend, especially not one who was willing to buy food for them when PMSing.

His grip was tight and borderline painful as his thumbs pressed into her artery, threatening to puncture through the skin. (Y/n)'s body pulled itself out of its frozen daze and flew into panic mode. Her eyes widened as her hands flew to the set of hands around her neck, pulling futilely at them in an attempt to free herself.

Jas, stop! She wanted to say but her air was dwindling, and fast. Stay calm, (Y/n). You'll get out of this. Even as black spots began to dance before her eyes, she tried everything she could. Gone were her worries of accidentally hurting him as she kicked, clawed, and snapped her teeth. Jasper either dodged or received her blows without batting an eye.

"Please don't struggle," he pleaded. "You're making this harder for me. It'll be over soon. I promise."

Somehow she was able to remain standing even as her vision began to swim. Adrenaline pumped through her bloodstream and spiked her pulse. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest before it slowed down due to the dwindling air supply.

Nothing good is going to come out of this, (Y/n) wanted to say. You're only digging yourself a deeper grave.

But there was no point in trying to argue with someone who only had eyes for another. As she stared into the amethyst-eyed male's eyes, he was looking towards her, but at the same time not quite at her. He seemed to be preoccupied with something else as he continuously applied pressure to her neck. All signs of the Jasper she knew to be one of her closest friends were gone and in his place was a stranger she'd never met. A ruthless stranger.

It would've been more merciful if he chose to snap her neck. A brutal but clean way of death. Anything was better than this endless torment. Strangulation might be more terrifying than drowning.

The black spots that pricked the edges of her vision jeered at her, pulled a tattered black blanket over her eyes, and danced back. Taunting her. Promising her an inescapable demise but refusing to make it quick. As the clamp around her neck tightened, she could only hear her ragged breathing—or perhaps it was his—and the sound of her slowing heartbeat in her ears. A march of death, a requiem just for her.

It was almost worse than the sound of the beeping of the heart machine.

"I'll bring Reese out," Jasper said, even though he was uncertain the (h/c)-haired girl could still hear him. He didn't loosen his grip. "I promise you that, (Y/n). I'll go find him when I'm done. And your body...I'll bury it. I'll tell your dad, so don't worry. Just go quickly...please?"

She couldn't answer even if she wanted to. Jasper wasn't the strongest person ever, but he was one of the types who was stronger than he looked. And with this rush of rage that gripped his mind, he was stronger than ever. Her computers and blade of sarcasm wouldn't save her here.

But someone else could.

A flash of silver and something flew towards Jasper's head, barely missing his neck. He jerked upright as the knife impaled into the wall behind (Y/n), his grip on her neck temporarily loosening. She took advantage of that weakness and planted her foot into his gut, kicking off with as much force as she could muster with a spinning head. It was a weak attempt, but an attempt nonetheless. Her action caught him by surprise and he stumbled back. It was enough for her to finally break free entirely.

She fell over coughing harshly. Her heart pounded like crazy and her vision distorted and unblurred back to clarity. The air was never more delicious. W-what happened? She held her neck with one hand, conscious of the cut that was there. There were definitely bruises on her skin. Then she looked back, her head still spinning. Who...?

It was Jaehyun. Fury was written all over his face and in the glare he shot at the blue-haired male. In his hands were two knives, one in each hand. He barely looked at (Y/n) as he stalked closer to Jasper, his form oozing hostility and painting the atmosphere in shades of purple and gray.

"You arse," Jaehyun snarled, stopping just in front of Jasper. His hands were visibly trembling. "How dare you lay your filthy hands on her. She's not someone you can just touch that easily—I will cut your hands off and then kill you!"

Jasper dodged the second knife the blond threw at him. "Perfect timing. I was just about to look for you bastards."

"Shut up! I'll bloody kill you! No one...no one can take my (Y/n) away from me!"

Jasper was fast and trained. It was obvious in his movements he mastered the art of self-defense and various martial arts. It was a given due to his family line. But his thirst for revenge had roughened his clean movements and blurred his logical mind. It made him weaker.

Jaehyun was none of that. Anger didn't slow the blond down. It was a part of him. It was what made him so dangerous and unpredictable. He fed on anger and it fed him. Every movement may not be elegant and graceful like Kieran's, but they didn't have any unnecessary movement. They were all strikes meant to kill. Not maim, but kill. It was obvious he'd be the winner in this fight.

And that sinking feeling soon became a reality. Jaehyun's unrelenting strikes knocked Jasper's weapon away and the taller male soon found himself backed into a corner, but no fear touched his face. Only anger. Cold, endless anger. A bitter laugh escaped his lips.

"Are you going to kill me now?" Jasper smiled, all teeth and bite and no joy. "That's what you bastards do best, after all. Fine. Kill me. I have nothing left anyway."

"I'll kill you after, I take your hands," Jaehyun seethed, fisting a hand around Jasper's collar. "Or should I take your eyes too? You've looked at her too long, and you have no right to."

"You're sick in the head. Me killing her would've been better than her spending God knows how long as another one of your toys—"

"Shut your mouth before I rip it off." The boy slammed his knee into Jasper's gut, making him choke and double over. Jaehyun's face didn't change even as he pulled the other male's head back up by his hair. "Don't speak to her. Don't speak about her. Don't mention her at all with your dirty mouth. You have nothing to do with her anymore. You're nothing to her. So don't make me repeat myself again."

Jasper sank his fingernails into the other boy's hand. "Yeah? And if I refuse to?"

"Then I won't make your death a quick one."

He smiled. "I'll take that risk."

Before anyone could react, his hand flew out and he pulled the cup of tea Tristan had been drinking off the table. He threw the still-hot liquid into Jaehyun's eyes. The blond flew back with a screech, his hands going immediately to his face.

Jasper stood over with his lips twisted into a sneer. "I'll go after the bigger threats first. See you."

And then he was gone.

(Y/n) finally regained all of her lost strength as she weakly tested her voice. "P-pi...llows." Okay, her vocal cords were still intact. Then she noticed the boy who had backed into the couch, his hands pressed tightly to his face. Where did Jas go? The entire ordeal had happened and ended so fast she barely realized it through her panic.

"S—Jay!" She made her way up to him, concerned. "Your face—is it okay?"

He whimpered at the sound of her voice and he pulled his hands away, his eyes still closed. "I think I got an eyelash in my eye," he cried. "It hurts."

His skin was slightly pink but not burned. The tea had chilled from sitting out in the open for so long. She swallowed a sigh of relief and checked him for any sign of external injuries. "And Jas?" She prompted. "Where is he?"

Jaehyun's face soured instantly at the mention of the other male's name. "Don't worry about him," he growled. "That a**hole is better off dead for what he did to you." His face cleared and his eyes fell to her neck. He reached out and touched the fingermarks, tears welling in his eyes.

"(Y/n), are you okay?" He said in a broken voice. "I-I'm sorry I was there sooner. Was it scary? I know it must've been...I failed you. I'm so sorry—"

"It's not your fault." Her neck still felt sore and her breath ragged as she spoke. (Y/n) patted his back awkwardly. "Jas had his reasons. He was angry. Obviously that's no reason to...well, try and kill me but honestly, it could've been worse." It really could've, and that was why she wasn't angrier.

If the blond heard her, he didn't show it. His hand slipped away from her neck and he sank down to his knees, shaking his head between his hands. "No..." he cried softly. "I was almost too late...it was going to happen again..."

Pain, loss, regret. Desperation. Innumerable emotions churned through him like a maelstrom, clashing against his insides and battering at the door in his mind he hid behind, threatening to break it down. Images of fake smiles, dried eyes, and scratched wrists. Bottles of overturned white pills and hanging ropes. Sharpened knives and angry eyes. And a gun. A gun loaded suicide.

It almost happened again. Another one of his friends almost left him again. It couldn't happen again. It couldn't. His first friend, the boy, cruelly chose to shoot himself and leave Jaehyun all alone again. His second, (Y/n), was nearly taken away from him by some else.

It can't happen again. It wouldn't happen again.

He'd make sure of that.

The (h/c)-haired girl reached for him tentatively. She was no stranger to panic attacks but never one for helping someone else get out of one. "Jay, calm down," she said. "You're alright. We're alright." He shook his head mutely, shrugging her hand away.

"Let me help you," (Y/n) tried again. "You're hurting yourself more this way. I'd know."

"No...you can't help me," the boy whispered hoarsely. "No one can."

The flashing colors and images were dying down but they still lingered. They stayed at the corners of his eyes mockingly, smiling their cruel smiles and laughing their terrible laughs. Bruises, cuts, and nooses. Tall figures with cold smiles and bloody hands. Hands that reached out and tore his toys in two.

Hands that locked him up and refused to let him go.

He faintly heard (Y/n)'s voice in the background saying something. Words of comfort, perhaps. She was always nice to him. He clung onto those words like it was a lifeline. Even if that lifeline was made out of spider silk and not iron, he'd gladly take it anyway. If it's her...maybe she could make his demons go away. He was willing to bet it all on her.

He leaned into her touch, a pleased smile gracing his lips when she didn't pull away. Maybe she was beginning to accept him too. His arms went around her as he dropped his head into the hollow of her neck to hide his grin.

"You can't leave." I won't let you. "Everyone else is always trying to hurt you." And I'll hurt them. "So you have to be careful of them." And me. "But I'll take care of you. You'll be happy. You'll see."

There was so much he wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her everything about himself and all the secrets he's been keeping from her. Secrets like who really killed her friends. But he wouldn't do that—no, not yet. He knew it could break her, and he couldn't have that happening before she accepted him.

(Y/n) awkwardly returned the hug. "I...don't know what to say." She really didn't. "But don't worry, I can take care of myself—"

"Can you?" Jaehyun pulled back enough to look her in the eye and hold her (e/c) gaze with his. "Okay, I believe you. But no one can do it alone...so can you let me be the person who walks by your side?"

He didn't wait for her answer. He didn't need to. In his twisted mind and overflowing heart, he believed her answer would correspond to the one he was desperate to hear. That she'd say yes. That she'd take the hand he was offering him and never stray from his side again.

Friendship was a fragile bond, broken easily countless times for the sweet, poisonous thrall of love. Love was stronger. Much stronger. It changed people. It made them saints or made them monsters.

It made people whole again.

"Mhm, you don't have to respond. There's only one answer, and that's with me."

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A cool breeze snaked in through the small window high on the wall, set in a place no one could possibly reach unless they brought a ladder into the room. Every echoing sound outside the room melted through the steel bars and door to float into the person on the room's ears. Faint footsteps, he realized. There was no mistaking it. He wasn't sure if he should be pleased or displeased by that fact.

The redhead leaned against the wall facing the door with his arms draped over his knees, looking nothing short of a gangster straight out of a magazine. He listened carefully as the footsteps came to a stop in front of his door. He heard the sound of a key being inserted into the lock and the wooden door swing open.

"Did you bring my pizza?" Reese drawled with a wicked grin as the door opened. He didn't need to look to know who it was. "I'm not giving you a tip either way."

The pair of blue eyes that met his through the bars were filled with displeasure, emphasized by the downwards tilt of his lips. "You never shut up, do you?"

"Why rob the world of my awesomeness? That would be a crime."

Tristan leaned back on the balls of his feet and folded his arms across his chest with the air of a royal. "I could start naming a few of your crimes, but I doubt either of us would like that."

Reese shrugged a shoulder and made a helpless gesture. "You're free to tell whoever you like about my many escapades from Mr. Rayne. I couldn't care less."

"You and I both know that's not what I'm talking about." Tristan curled a hand around on of the cold, metal bars and leaned forward, his icy eyes piercing. "You have a brother, do you not?"

"Yeah, Carter. What about him?"

Tristan searched the other male's face for any crack in his nonchalant mask. He knew the redhead had to be hiding something. Something that didn't fit into the picture. Something that could very possibly threaten his plans. But what?

He had an inkling of what it could be, but there was still a puzzle piece he didn't understand.

"Where is he now?" The blue-haired male asked.

"I dunno, somewhere in Asia maybe. I asked him to get me some souvenirs if he ever went to Japan."

"You sure? Last time I checked, the flight records show no sign of a Carter Grayson. Which means"—Tristan's hands tightened on the bars before he pulled back—"You're hiding something about your brother. Tell me, is he still even in the picture?"

Reese's face didn't change. Tristan had to give it to him—either the male was an impressive actor or he was just another fool he's wasted his time on.

"I don't know what you mean," Reese said with seemingly genuine confusion. "Carter sends us emails and postcards every month. Calls us nearly every week too. He's peachy. Even engaged now."

The story sounded real enough. A diplomat brother who was also a workaholic on top of it. But it still didn't explain the vagueness surrounding his background check on the red-haired boy. Something was amiss, and Tristan never left any rock unturned. He was sure Reese was hiding something about his older sibling, but what?

That was what Tristan was here to find out.

It was obvious Reese wasn't about to give anything up. He'd play the dumb card for all of eternity if he had to and his experience in drama and theater didn't help Tristan get a good read on him either. The redhead met Tristan's searching glare with an innocent grin.

"You finally realized you shouldn't have worn Axe after all?"

If it wasn't for (Y/n) I'd gladly get rid of him. Tristan clenched his fist behind his back and glowered at the boy. "Enough about my cologne. I am being serious here—"

"And so am I," Reese interrupted. "Axe is seriously overrated. It sucks too. You should also change your shampoo and conditioner if you want gorgeous hair like mine. Then again, that's impossible. My hair's too beautiful for anyone to copy."

If Reese was hoping to get a ride out of the stoic male, he was going to be sorely disappointed. "I heard you're incapable of braiding it yourself," Tristan replied with a mocking chuckle. "What use is long hair when you cannot do the simple task of tending to it?"

A light blush settled over Reese's face before his embarrassment faded into anger. "I should've known you were eavesdropping on us, you dirty sneak—"

"Not quite. The walls have ears, Grayson. I'm sure you were aware of that. Or"—Tristan took another. step closer to the bars until he was almost touching it. A dark smile curved his lips—"Were you too occupied with you dear friend (Y/n) to realize anything else?"

The mention of the (h/c)-haired girl was enough to send Reese into a protective rage, just as Tristan had expected. "You touch her, you sicko," Reese snarled, crossing the distance between them easily and slamming his palms onto the bars. "And I will end you. Just because I'm in here now doesn't mean I'll stay here forever. The only reason I'm staying put is because of her. Don't think I'm that weak, Knight. I have no qualms with making you my enemy if it means she'd be safe."

Tristan felt a painful twinge in his chest that only grew as the redhead openly conveyed his care for the girl, something that took Tristan himself so long to do. The passionate glint in the redhead's eye could've been mistaken for protectiveness by most but Tristan wasn't fooled. From like to like, he recognized that glint even if the male didn't himself.

It was love. Affectionate love.

Obsessive love.

It takes a psycho to know a psycho.

He quickly steeled himself before his envy got the best of him. Their bond—a bond of over ten years was going to be difficult to break. He forced the weakness out of his voice and hardened it. He built up his walls again, fortified them, laid down countless traps, and strengthened them some more. All to keep his emotions in check.

"I do not recall asking for your opinion," he finally said. "But your...sentiment is noted. I dislike being threatened and I ensure you there will not be a second time. But," he raised a finger as Reese opened his mouth to retort. "You have my word no harm will come to (Y/n) as long as she is in my care. You, however...I'm not so sure about."

Reese didn't respond for a while. Didn't move, didn't blink. His face didn't change as his gaze roamed across the other male's face. Confusion, irritation, and then shock wrote itself across his face.

Tristan furrowed his brow, displeased by the obvious way the male was trying to read him. "If you have something to say, then say it."

But Reese was shaking his head, a disbelieving laugh escaping his lips. "I can't believe this. You of all people?"

"I don't see what's so funny."

His laughs grew and died down as soon as it came. When he looked up, his emerald eyes had lost their mischievous glimmer. They were now nothing but two, flat, twin pools of bottomless acid.

"You're in love with her," Reese whispered. "You—I don't understand...why?"

Tristan didn't bother to deny it since it was true. He couldn't exactly do so when he had made the most daring confession of his life to her barely a day ago too.

"Does it matter?" He made a move as to step away. "She no longer has anything to do with you. You are nothing but empty threats and broken promises, Grayson. You'd do yourself good to stay out of our lives."

"Our lives?" Reese echoed, shaking his head. "Our lives?! Listen to yourself—do you really believe the likes of you has a chance with her with all you've done? She was supposed to be happy all through high school, surrounded by a bunch of people who weren't a threat. And you're one of the people who came in and ruined all that. You and her—it'll never work."

He bit his lip as if to say more but chose not to. "You're delusional if you think you mean anything to her. You will never be more important than I am. She'd never choose you over me—"

"You better off hold your tongue before I chop it off."

Tristan punched the wall beside the door, the impact making the entire frame shudder. His eyes were two molten balls of hellfire filled with ire and rage. Beneath all that was desperation. Desperation he forced down lower and lower as to quench it. He knew the insufferable male's words had some degree of truth to them, and that was what made him even angrier.

The thought of the female choosing another person over him, valuing another more than him, giving another more attention than him—

It simply would not do.

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A/N: I did this chapter on my phone since my wifi stopped working, which means I won't be updating for a while. There might be a lot of formatting and grammar issues I'll fix later. I decided to use my data to finish this since I did receive two fanarts and I thought it wouldn't be fair to the artists if I waited too long. Otherwise, I wouldn't have done this chapter. I hate writing on my phone and my data's limited so I hope you guys understand.

Anyway, here's some fanart from iilovehentai!



Check out this really cool fanart from leviasher2001! I really like the art style :0