━━━━༻ ♢ ༺━━━━ You choose to do nothing ━━━━༻ ♢ ༺━━━━

A large stool slammed against the wall just bare millimeters away from her nose. (Y/n) recoiled at the impact and stumbled backward in shock as the wood exploded into a storm of deadly shrapnel.

It hadn't been meant for her—Leon had thrown it towards Tristan who, by a miraculous stroke of luck, managed to dodge it. But the move proved to be the last straw for his injured leg and he went down onto a knee, his expression the epitome of pain.

The black-haired male spared him no mercy. Before Tristan could get back to his feet, Leon delivered a harsh punch to his defined jaw with a sickening crack, throwing the other male to the ground, unconscious. Not that it would've mattered if he managed to stay awake—once you've been hit hard on the chin, it would be almost impossible for you to remain steady on your feet.

Leon looked like he was about to crush his skull with his feet but another sound drew his attention. It was Kieran who was in the middle of taunting the resident blond and blocking the glass shards he threw his way with a book. Very nice use of a book, Yeti man.

Leon's eyes flickered to hers before he did anything else. "Stay there," he growled, shooting her a sharp look. Then he was off, ripping the white-haired male away from the blond and slamming him into the wall. Surprise filled Kieran's face at the sudden action before his face morphed into a dark smirk.

"Sorry we were late to the party, Leo-chan," he purred. "We had things to do. And by things, I mean me."

"You stupid 썅놈—"

"Kids shouldn't curse, Jay—Woah, easy on the face!"

Kieran angled his head sharply to the side to avoid the fist Leon sent flying into the hall beside his head. Irritation flashed in his golden orbs and his mischievous grin turned into a pissed off one.

"Haven't you learned to not interrupt someone when they're talking? Obviously, a mutt like you never learned a single thing in school. Why do they even bother—"

"I'll f*cking rip your mouth off, you son of a b*tch!"

Kieran ripped Leon's hand off his collar with surprising strength before his face could be smashed in. He danced well out of the black-haired male's reach, careful to avoid tripping over Tristan's legs. "How rude of you to insult my mother. Gotta step up the insult game there."

"F*cking coward!"

Leon wasn't thinking as he let out all of his burning ire and swung his fist back, his thumb overlapping over his other tightly curled fingers, and into Kieran's chest. The white-haired male tried to turn to the side and let the blow roll off his shoulder to lessen the impact, but it was too late. Too fast, too potent. Even when he couldn't feel the pain that ensued, he knew there was going to be a dark bruise later.

Punching someone, especially when they weren't a bloated seal like many of the men his father sent after him, usually hurts. Leon remembered the first time he raised his hand towards someone. That someone was his father. He remembered the younger him, a scrawny boy with developing muscles and a wiry frame, who threw the first punch after a heated argument with the man. It had felt like thousands of iron-hot pokers were jabbing into his hands, leaving his knuckles a bloody mess.

But now, he's grown used to the sensation. It no longer hurt him when his fists found a mark to collide with. The tearing of the skin of his knuckles was his norm. Rarely would his hands be unscathed, always red with raw skin. Veins stood out starkly against his skin. Little scars—not the pretty crescent moon-shaped ones but the ugly, gnarled rips—littering his appendage like the poor work of an amateur tailor.

Kieran massaged his likely bruised skin and stumbled back. "You're especially pissed today, aren't you?" He sneered. "Let me return the favor."

Before he could whip out the gun Leon knew the male sometimes carried under his blazer, the black-haired male sent a sickening uppercut to his chin. And as he went down, he threw another. And another. And yet another. He rained a storm of fists on the white-haired male not caring who was watching him. All he could see was red. Blinding, fire truck red, as if an alarm had exploded in front of his eyes.

In the back of his head, he could vaguely sense a female voice calling for him to stop and that he was killing the white-haired male. But he barely registered it. The voice sounded so distant and faraway to his ears...which was a good thing. It meant she was somewhere safe. Somewhere his fists wouldn't reach her in case he ever lost control.

His rage was like a heavy rainstorm. When he struck, the storm within him rained havoc and everything he could touch, animated or unanimated. It would rain hard and fast, and when the rain let up, there was nothing but miles of destruction around him.

But at the same time, his rage did not ebb. It disappeared quickly. It was short-lived. Anger was built into every fiber of his being but at the same time, he did not wish to hold onto it for longer than he had to.

So he let it go.

And that was his mistake.

"That was super scary, right?" Jaehyun giggled as he pulled out his knife and twirled it between his fingers. "But don't worry, I took care of everything now. They can't scare you anymore."

He patted Leon's shoulder, smiled brightly, and began skipping towards the horrified (h/c)-haired girl. He didn't bother to watch as Leon collapsed to his knees, one hand gripping his gut. Blood pooled between his fingers and stained his shirt a lethal shade of red-black.

His eyes flashed with alarm as he watched the blond near the female who was backing away. He tried to rise back to his feet, yell at the boy, anything at all, but his body refused to obey him. Unlike his previous skirmishes with the blond where the knife wounds he received were often superficial, this one was anything but. The cut was almost as wide as it was deep, made not by a razor this time but by a butcher knife.

There was a reason why Jaehyun was never allowed in the kitchen without supervision.

Blood bubbled up his throat when he tried to call to them. His voice was drowned by the red liquid that painted his lips red as if he was wearing a lip tint. Weak and helpless, he had no choice but to watch the two in horror from the ground.

"I'm sooo glad I waited," Jaehyun said with a relieved sigh as if he wasn't still swinging around an 8-inch long blade. "I had to make myself stay patient and wait for Leon to take care of the others and vice versa, you know? It was super hard to do that but I've never won against Leon—none of us have in a fight—so I had to be patient."

He took a step towards her as she stepped back. He reached for her with the hand that wasn't holding a bloodied knife, his smile crooked and deranged. "I was patient, just for you. Aren't I good? You'll reward me, won't you?"

No... She inwardly flinched as his hand came towards her. Her eyes had been glued to the knife, silver murder married to a spiderweb of bloody red dewdrops, that he held with an expert's ease. Now they stared fearfully at the hand that reached towards her like the ones that came out of the shadows in a horror movie, lying in wait before they snake out to grab its unsuspecting victim.

I need to run. Her leg muscles tensed as she quickly in the span of mere seconds scanned the space behind the blond. The broken window was in clear view. There!

She plastered a fake smile on her face that caught the blond off guard. Then, taking advantage of his momentary hesitation, she barreled past him and began sprinting as fast as she could towards the only exit.

"Oh, no you don't!" He seized her by the back of her collar. The force of her run plus his grab sent her stumbling back sharply, the air seized from her lungs. He pulled her back towards him like a rag doll, a sweet smile still stretched across his face even as she spluttered and choked.

She opened her mouth to tell him off but froze when he pointed the sharp end of the blade at the soft spot under her chin. "You'll listen to me this time, won't you?" He said sweetly and slowly. "Relationships are all about mutual trust and respect. I've given you everything and now it's your turn to do the same."

He pressed the blade harder against her skin, just enough to draw a bead of blood. "Answer me, (Y/n)." When she stayed silent, he flew into a furious rage and shook her, accidentally slicing a thin red line across her neck. "ANSWER ME!"

Trembling, she bit the inside of her cheek defiantly and tipped her head up into the sharpened edge, daring him to finish the deed. She wordlessly tempted him with her eyes to end her anguish there and now. A small part of her hoped he would. Without the people she held dearest, what more was there to live for?

His steadfast grip on the weapon faltered. Agony, and then anger, filled up his angelic features. "You never listen to me...you never do! You always keep doing things that hurt me and I...I can't take it anymore!"

His eyes raised to hers, dark burnt red colliding with clear (e/c). "Well, fine. I don't need the imperfect part of my (Y/n), so I'll cut it all away. Everything. Every single part of you that isn't perfect—the (Y/n) I know would never want to leave me behind like this!"

He lifted the knife the same time she squeezed her eyes shut. The hand she had balled into a fist and the leg she'd raised to kick him fell back down limply. There was no point in living if all she had now was loneliness. A pang of guilt went through her when she thought of her father. He's be surely devastated by her death on top of his wife's, but there was no helping it.

If the world took everything from her, wasn't it only fair to take back? That was something she could not achieve in life, but perhaps she could in death.

She braced herself for the impact that never came. After several moments of holding her breath in anticipation of the pain to come, she cracked open an eye. And then both her eyes flew open.

"H-huh..?" A small gasp escaped Jaehyun's lips as he stared wide-eyed at her. Then slowly, his eyes dropped to the liquid red rose that was blooming on his chest and the tell-tale glint of a silver tip protruding from his shirt. He blinked, once, twice, his mouth opened in a perfect circle as if he's discovered something surprising. A broken vase of flowers, perhaps. Or book with the last page ripped out. Something small.

And then he collapsed before her feet, the knife falling onto the marble floor with a loud clatter. But she barely saw the blood that began to pool around him. Her eyes were locked onto the person whose hands were wrapped tightly around the knife.

They grinned sheepishly at her and scratched the back of their neck. "Sorry I'm late, (N/n)."

Reese.

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish. "Where—what—you...?" She shook her head to clear up her thoughts. "How did you get out?"

"What, no hug for me?" The redhead pouted, lowering the arms he'd extended. When he noticed she was staring pointedly at the knife in his hands, he quickly threw it to the side with a guilty look. "I thought I would grab it just in case I needed it. And"—he glared at the blond on the floor—"It's a good thing I did."

"You still didn't answer my question." Sure, she was happy she got to see her best friend again, but she felt more worry than joy at the moment. What if Tristan had done something to him she didn't know about? "Did they—"

"Treat me bad?" He wrinkled his nose. "Aside from not giving me enough shampoo and manga, eh, it was okay. Terrible customer service though. I rate it one out of five since a zero star rating doesn't exist. Anyway, we gotta go."

He grabbed her hand and began tugging her towards the broken window. "I'll explain everything when we're outta here, 'kay?"

She nodded and moved to follow him, but a tight grip around her ankle stopped her. It was Jaehyun. His face was pale from losing so much blood but he's yet to lose that maniacal glint in his eyes.

"Are you leaving me?" He said in a dangerous tone. "You wouldn't try to leave my side, would you, (Y/n)? Because you're mine. You're not allowed to leave."

She opened her mouth to retort but Reese beat her to the chase. "And you're not allowed to touch her, you creep!" He ran back and kicked the blond away from her. "Come on, (N/n). Let's go!"

"O-okay!"

"Don't you bloody dare!" Jaehyun screamed, dropping the sweet tone instantly. "If you take a single step outside with him, I'll be forced to hurt you in ways you've never dreamed of!"

She stopped to glared back at him. "Funny, since I don't dream. You can't tell someone who's walked through nightmares to dream."

And then they were off. Jaehyun's screams of rage followed them as they ran. Mostly threats—she hoped they were empty ones—and dark promises. "I will find you no matter how far you fun," the blond growled. "And I will kill that bastard right before your eyes. Don't you dare forget that, (Y/n)! You can only belong to me!"

Only once they were outside did Reese slow down. He had been practically dragging the (h/c)-haired girl behind him; he's always been the faster runner out of the two despite his weebness. "Man, those guys are crazy," he winced. "I only saw the part where he was threatening you with a knife so I kinda snapped. I know it's bad to say this, but I hope he's dead."

(Y/n) couldn't help but see an image of a beaten puppy behind him as he bowed his head in guilt and maybe even shame. She sighed helplessly and cracked a small smile as she cuffed his across the head. "You're a big idiot, you know. But thanks."

His entire face lit up before his smile turned into a teasing one. "Since I'm technically the one who saved us, you can't say you're the man in this friendship anymore, can you?"

She made a face at him. "You wish. I'll forever be cooler than you."

"N-not forever!"

After they were well-rested, they began the rest of the run towards the school gates. The distance between the gate and Tempus Dormitory wasn't an easy run, which was why she had to take a helicopter the first time she went there for a school project. Thinking back to those innocent times made her heart feel heavy. They felt so far away even though it had all happened in the same year.

"Anyway, how did you escape?" She asked in genuine curiosity. Maybe June went ahead on her own and opened the door for him? Then she frowned. No way, I'm the one who has the key to the first door. Maybe he kicked it down or something?

Reese shrugged. He'd slow down to a jog to match her pace. "I woke up to an unlocked door. Maybe the arsehole supreme left it open."

"Tristan? Do you talk to him often?"

By now she was out of breath from running so much. Ew, she shuddered. I hate running.

The redhead made a vague sound from the back of his throat and tilted his head in thought. "Sometimes, I guess. When he remembers I'm the rat still living in his basement."

Reese was being strangely vague. (Y/n) would always trust her best friend without a second of hesitation but her Spidey senses were telling her something was wrong. Her stomach began to drop. Maybe they did do something to him he doesn't want to talk about. A quick scan showed her he still had all his fingers. That made her sigh in relief for a brief moment before becoming fearful again. What if they cut off his toes instead?!

She slowed to a stop and made him stop too. She grabbed his shoulders and spun him around to face her. He looked down with a confused face. "What's wrong, (N/n)?"

"What's wrong?" She cleared her throat and fixed him with a serious look. "I'm not going to judge or anything, but this is an important question."

"Okay...?" The poor boy looked so confused.

She took in a deep breath.

"So, do you still have all your toes or something?"

He stared at her, flabbergasted for a few moments before loud laughter exploded out of him. "T-toes?" He wheezed, doubling over from laughing so hard. "What's wrong with my toes?"

(Y/n) huffed and folded her arms across her chest, clearly offended. "Hey, I was just worried, okay?! It's not that funny. Stop laughing!" When he didn't, she rolled her eyes and threw up her hands in exasperation. "Fine. Laugh at me. See if I care."

"Hah..." he swallowed the last of his laughter and wiped a tear from his eyes. "Wait, are you actually mad at me?!"

"No, but I'm not happy with you."

"...That's the same thing."

She changed the subject before he could start crying crocodile tears and began reciting some sappy Shakespeare skit. "What have you been up to anyway?" She asked. "I doubt there's been much excitement for you in a four-poster bedroom, but since you said Tristan sometimes visited you, what do you guys talk about?"

She gave him a sharp look as he opened his mouth. "And don't you dare tell me you guys spent your time bonding over The Promised Neverland."

"Hey, but that's a good series!"

"Great, but I don't care. Now spill it."

Reese muttered something about not appreciating the true greatness of the anime and how he doesn't know why he's still friends with her. She rolled her eyes. That makes two of us. Then in a louder voice, he said, "Fineee, I'll tell you. But do you want the long story or the short one?"

"I'm going to dye your hair green tomorrow."

"Okay, okay, the short one it is!" He clutched his long locks protectively. "Bejeezus, woman. Chill."

That was clearly not the right answer since she threw a twig at him.

"Okay—OW! Aside from the time I spent trying to fix my split ends, I did see arsehole supreme from time to time. He asked a bunch of stuff about my old man. Probably since he's the vice headmaster and sh*t."

"That's it?"

He gave her a bewildered look and then let out an annoyed huff. "What else did you want? Sorry, I turned out to not actually be Spiderman. Did I have to sic a bunch of pompous rich boys for you to be satisfied?" A dark look crossed his face and he glared down at his feet. "I was honestly worried, you know. I was stuck in that stupid cell all the time without knowing that they were doing to you."

"I didn't ask earlier because there was no time, but are you alright?" He quickly checked her with his eyes. "They didn't hurt you...did they?"

"I'm fine." She waved his concern off. "I got my pillows so I was okay for the first part. The second part, not so much."

His jaw clenched in anger as he glowered in the direction they had come from. "Locking you up and even attacking you...that's f*cking messed up. I should've been there sooner and took care of them myself. No one's allowed to hurt my best friend like that."

"Ha, ha, I'm sure you could've taken down zebra man all by yourself," she snorted. "Because that totally makes sense—"

She stopped. He noticed her sudden changed and turned to her in confusion. "What's up?"

"How did you know they did all those things?" (Y/n) said slowly. "I never told you any of that."

He blinked at the question and laughed. "What do you mean? You told me last time—"

"No, I didn't." Something was off. She didn't know what it was, but with all the sh*t she had to go through, it made her take a step back. He was her friend, but Wei Wei was too. And look at how it turned out for them. "I've only met with you two times, Reese, and I remember what I said. I didn't tell you any of that."

"Well, I guess Tristan told me then," he shrugged nonchalantly. "Come on, let's get out of here first—"

"Um, no." She pulled her hand from his. He stopped and turned back to her in shock, his smile faltering.

"What are you doing, (N/n)?" He laughed nervously. "It's me, Reese. Don't tell me that you don't trust me."

"You're putting words in my mouth. I do trust you. But..." Her eyes darted to the undergrowth around them. The shadows seemed darker than usual. "You keep hiding things from me, Reese. You're not telling me everything. When I thought you'd been killed, you weren't telling me what had really happened. You kept brushing it off. And now, you're not telling me the truth either. I don't know what's up with you these days, but you're not acting like yourself. So tell me, what's the matter?"

He looks shocked and pain filled his face. He looked down, his bangs casting a shadow across his eyes and hiding his expression from her. But before she could offer any words of comfort, he was chuckling.

"R-Reese?" She eyed him cautiously. "What's so funny?"

He looked up. Gone was the lopsided grin and the amiable twinkle in his eyes. In its place was a look she was all too familiar with. It was a look the P4 often wore when they were around her, a look she never thought she'd see on Reese's face of all people.

And it made her afraid.

"I guess the jig's up, huh? I can't hide it anymore, can I?"

The atmosphere turned dark. A sudden chill wafted through the trees and raked their icy claws down her arms and neck. The passing clouds across the sky made the kaleidoscope of light on the forest floor shift and warp as if they were alive. The shadows cast on the redhead's face gave him an unsettling edge, making his normally boyish smile that made adults shake their heads and think, Ah, youth would now make them take a step back the same way she was.

"What are you talking about?" She hadn't expected this turn of events. Frankly, she wasn't sure what she was expecting—maybe a confession about a mistake he made—but it would be anything but this. "Reese...you're acting weird."

"I'm acting weird?" He laughed bitterly. "If anything, you're the one acting strange, (N/n). You've never shown any interest in people other than our small group of friends. But then you invited Campbell and his group to lunch with us. I decided to be lenient at first but then you started getting closer to those four a**holes."

His face darkened. "You could've just stayed blissfully unaware of all the things going on in Fortuna Institute, (N/n), but you've poked your nose where it shouldn't have belonged. Now you've ruined all my hard work. It's all your fault."

"Hard work...? What are you talking about?" She didn't want to be afraid, never of him, but she couldn't help it. "This isn't funny anymore. Let's just go—"

"Go? To where? Back to that f*cking golden boy's cage?" A cruel smirk twisted his face as he stepped towards her. "I always knew you were smart, (N/n), but you can be pretty dense. How do I know all this, you ask? Think harder. Who have you told all this to?"

She didn't have to think long. "J-June?"

"Bingo!" He snapped his fingers. "June, or Yeo-Jeong I should say, never existed. I created her to keep tabs on you ever since you met Matthews, even though I've been working so hard to keep you guys apart through freshman year. I didn't think you'd fall for it—and if you didn't, I would've just played it off as a joke—but you did. That part of you is still pretty cute."

She should've realized it sooner. Tracer404. Carter404. Tracer was his older brother Carter's name scrambled.

"You know, it's been pretty rough all these years keeping those bugs away from you." His lip curled and his eyes, which she's always thought were a vibrant emerald, now no longer held the trace of the vibrancy they once had. No trace of the boy she thought she knew. "But they were easy to deal with. The hardest one would probably be my brother."

At her confused look, he chuckled and shook his head. "No, not Carter. He's already got a girlfriend of his own, but he's too nosy for his own good. So I faked a phone call from his boss and sent him off to a warzone. Who I'm really talking about is my other brother. You know, the annoying one who'd keep sticking to you when we played as kids even though I told him we didn't need him. It wasn't fair, so I killed him."

"The other Reese...you only need one of me, the stronger and better me, by your side anyway, don't you think?"

Her numb heart shuddered under his merciless gaze and her legs threatened to give out underneath him. Reese...isn't Reese?

"You know, Jason is a pretty chill guy," Reese said suddenly. "He's smart too. But he has a nasty habit of probing and getting his nose into other people's business. Kinda makes sense since his sister was forced to kill herself because of Mr. Howards, but it makes things harder for me. So I killed him. Just like how I killed Isla."

"I told Mr. Brooks what Mr. Howards' real identity was so I could get them to take out each other. Going up against grown men is a little hard even for me, you know?" He offered her a smile she didn't return. "When that was over, I tried separating you from them by luring Isla away, but the P4, those a**holes, got in my way."

His hands clenched into fists and he bit down on the nail of his thumb angrily. "Even though I struck up a deal with Tristan...I didn't think he'd start to like you, but I guess that's not his fault. I mean, you're so perfect and beautiful. Who wouldn't like you? It still pissed me off but since I was stuck in the basement, I couldn't do sh*t. I could only keep tabs on you using June."

"T-the cameras?" Her voice finally obeyed her although it cracked on the end. "You were watching everything?"

"You're not the only one who knows your way around computers, you know," he sighed. "Who do you think you learned them from? Your mom was my mom's friend, and she worked in software development. Taught me a little too. Good thing she did, since I was able to unlock the second door on my own and sneak out to rig the elevator. Too bad they weren't the one who got on but oh well..."

Her mind flashed back to Leon's distraught face as he crumbled down in front of her after revealing the fact that his little brother was in the hospital. Conan's in a coma because of an elevator malfunction...but it wasn't a malfunction? Her eyes raised to his in horror. It was because of...Reese?

"I've always been your best friend, (N/n)," he sighed sadly. "The one you could always count on to support you and make you feel better. Did you honestly expect me to continue supporting you when you wanted to get into a relationship? I don't want to hand you over to anyone, (N/n). I always want to be by your side. Not to just watch over you, but be someone that could experience emotions with you."

W-what? Her mind shuddered and stumbled over itself hastily as it tried to process his words through her numbness.

"But don't worry, (N/n)!" His smile turned maniacal. "Things are gonna be good from now on. I'd never hurt you like they did. All these years I've been doing my best to make you happy, you see. I even went on a date with Isla—it was all for you. It really hurt me to do that but you know I'd do anything for you, right? So now it's time for you to return the favor."

"I've finally created the perfect world for you. But this time, there's nothing and no one in it that can take you away. We can be together forever for real this time, (N/n)! We could start over, even go to a new country. I've already bought the tickets. I'll take care of you for the rest of our lives together. Just you and me..."

He didn't remove his eyes from hers as his cruel smile softened into a loving grin and he wrapped his arms around her, drawing the motionless female closer to his chest. He pressed his lips gently to the top of her head.

"And no one can get in our way."

He's truly a good actor.