[4 years ago]

I believe I was 18 years old while my peers were 15, but at that time we were all in the 11th grade of high school.

I was practically an aleinted outcast at the time, fresh out of well, every metal institution the district had to offer, the lone surviver of the infamously feared and hated Shadow Stalker with an MO of kidnapping children and leaving a dark rose at the scene of the abduction.

Those children were never seen again, and even till now, it is believed that I know where they are.

I do not; I barely remember anything about my own past, only the things she taught me.

She taught me that I was different from natural prey, something more. But prey, even though weak, had the advantage of community, and to survive in this complex community, I must learn to blend in, and I have indeed come to enjoy 'blending in'.

The inefficiency of social rituals, the contradiction of morality, the unreliability and complexity of emotion, and even the paradox of "irrational" altruism were topics that fascinated me greatly, topics I came to understand more deeply each day, with the help of the people around me.

Everyone I have met seems to follow, no, live by these invisible social rules; everyone except me, that is. Even though I follow them as best as I can, I seem to lack the internal hardware to do so flawlessly.

But that is a topic for another time, for today is not about me but someone who was the first person I have met that was like me, not in the literal sense but in the sense of being different in her own way.

That someone is the girl I am currently looking at, my neighbor's daughter.

The first thing I noted about her was the simple fact that she was strange. At the moment, her parents were gone, and she was playing with her dog, a golden retriever.

She was currently tying up its maw with a mouth guard, its legs and arms with a rope, and its body with more ropes.

The animal seemed to trust her, watching her curiously, its tail wagging, most likely wondering what kind of game they were playing.

She then went inside and retrieved a kitchen knife, one that gleamed in the sun, and immediately after, she stabbed the animal in the side, a loud whimper sounding as the dog wailed in pain, its form thrashing in the dirt.

"Si! Si! Si!" She repeated her actions, stabbing the creature again and again, blood spewing out of its body, staining her clothes, marking her tender white skin with hints of glaring red.

She would then proceed to stuff it into a large black trash bag. How she disposed of it, I did not know.

This was the third dog that year I had witnessed her kill, and each time I took note of the expression on her face, one of pure undiluted ecstasy.

A sadistic little thing she was.

She would then look upon me from the backyard, with a wide smile on her face, and I would smile back. I always smile back when I'm smiled at; it was at the time the most human thing I could do.

But I soon came to realize that engaging her was a mistake, as she began following me everywhere, trying to get close to me despite the warnings from her parents.

I became an obsession to her and she often rambled about most of her sadistic fantasies to me, risky, guaranteed to get you in jail kind of fantasies.

I found myself persuading her against such acts, not out of care or worry but because of the simple fact that she was an idiot.

She was impulsive, and reckless. In fact, her parents had found out multiple times that she had been killing their dogs, but she would be pardoned after attributing her bad behavior to me.

Like it or not, this girl had, at some point, become associated with me, hence, anything she did wrong would set my quest for normalcy back a few years.

An annoying dilemma.

I did not know if it was because we were alike, but I got the sense that she knew what I really was, and I did not like it.

One day, I came home from school, wet and smelling like chemicals because a student had attempted to pour acid on my face, but got the wrong formula, you know, normal kid stuff, but I found out she had been sent to boarding school.

Apparently, she had been bullied in school because she was a neighbor and a friend of mine, and I never quite heard from her again after that.

Except today.

[Presently]

---------

MY GOD VALEN, WHEN DID YOU GET SO BIG?" Trinity basically shrieked in surprise when she saw how tall and robust Mr. Valen had gotten, her voice attracting the gazes of others.

'Loud, impulsive, and sadistic, Trinity Sinclair, a pain in my ass,' Mr. Valen thought, his eyes trailing to a familiar group of students further down the road.

Of course, this group was Vincent, Alice, and Sophie.

They were looking at a campus map, seemingly lost, and when they noticed him, they all bore similar expressions of surprise.

"Bam!"

A small thud rang out as Trinity basically threw herself at him, forcing Mr. Valen to catch her by the waist, giving her a little twirl to regulate the force before setting her down, a small, strained smile appearing on his face.

"It's good to see you too, Trinity," he chuckled, observing her eyes, which were now green.

"I got some work done on them. You like?" Trinity bubbled, answering his question before he even asked.

"They're certainly... Bold," Mr. Valen nodded, wanting nothing more than to leave this place at once, but he was stuck.

"My god, I love your voice, it's gotten so deep," Trinity continued to speak, her arms once again cupping Mr. Valen's cheeks, completely disregarding his personal space.

'I had forgotten her... unique personality as well,' Mr. Valen thought bitterly to himself, 'to think her parents were worried I would do something to her, rather, I'm the one who's unsafe.'

At this moment, Vincent and the twins arrived, staring at Mr. Valen as one would stare at a strange specimen.

Trinity also noticed the strange atmosphere and stepped aside, watching the group quietly.

"What's up with that stare, dude?" Mr. Valen broke the ice, his voice seemingly breaking Vincent out of his trance.

Clearing his throat, Vincent then looked towards him, his left eye twitching slightly, "Does losing your virginity come with a complimentary growth spurt-"

"Ouch!" Vincent hissed as Sophie hit him in the side, her tone uncertain as she spoke to Mr. Valen, "You look good, Valen."

"The fuck you mean he looks good? He looks like he's on some super steroids," Vincent exclaimed, earning another shove from Sophie.

"Is it that odd?" Trinity asked, her eyes narrowing in confusion.

"Well, a few days ago, Valen was about yea short and less muscular," Vincent responded, demonstrating with his hands.

Sophie also seemed slightly curious, but she just said, "Could be a growth spurt, or are you on drugs, Valen?"

Mr. Valen did not respond; rather, his gaze was locked on Alice, who was currently staring at him with an expression that could only be described as shock and heavy suspicion mixed together.

'She's never taken note of me before; why is she staring at me like that?' he thought cautiously.

Meanwhile, Alice, after seeing his frame, was sure of it, 'he was the one at the club that night!'

She had been following up on the events at the club and saw the atrocities that had been committed after, 'but how is Valen involved in this?'

Her thoughts then trailed back to the words Amethyst had told her during the party 'he's the most interesting guy in the room'.

"Yo, Valen," Vincent's voice broke both her and Mr. Valen from their thoughts.

"You still aren't over he, I..." Vincent wanted to continue but stopped when Alice gave him a look.

"No, it wasn't that," Mr. Valen spoke, deciding to end the feigned infatuation with Alice, "I'm currently with Amethyst."

"The red-haired Asian from the party?" Sophie echoed, remembering Mr. Valen leaving with her.

"What? I thought she was black, with brown hair?" Vincent echoed.

'Wasn't she white with blonde hair?' Alice thought to herself, deciding that both Vincent and Sophie were too drunk to remember correctly.

If Mr. Valen was unsure that Amethyst could alter memories before, he was definitely sure now.

'I need countermeasures for that ability,' he thought to himself before changing the topic, "So, where are we going?"

"Self-defense classes," Trinity cut in, shocking Mr. Valen slightly; he had forgotten that she was even there.

Walking with the group, he listened as Trinity spoke, "We're all studying psychology, like you."

"Seriously?" Mr. Valen asked, his brows raised as he observed everyone.

"Not really," Vincent spoke, his brows raised as he added, "Sophie's the one who wanted to study psychology, and Alice being Alice decided to tag along since her parents would pressure her to go to college anyway, and me, well, I just bribed a professor to get in and since all my friends are studying psychology I just went along with it."

"And I transferred at the last minute when I heard Valen was doing Psychology," Trinity smiled.

Sophie felt a bitter smile appear on her face when their situation was explained so simply, 'My sister and Trinity are geniuses who could take the exam without studying much, and Vincent is rich,' thinking about how much effort it took her to get in, she almost cried.

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