You were sitting next to a psychopath. Your new friend, Helen, had your arms pinned to the window of the bus, his bright blue eyes staring you down intensely. His comment was hanging in the air, it felt like a weight on your chest.

"I only target people that hurt me. This time, I targeted those that hurt someone I care about."

What did that mean? He hardly knew you. Although you couldn't help but feel... Flattered. Having been in a school that treats you like trash all the time, to have someone treat you so kindly, to say they cared...

Oh God you had attachment issues.

How could you confirm this? Literally the second day of Helen's arrival and you had been looking for him all day, worried about him, even though all he had done was be kind to you the day before. But really, could you blame yourself? Having someone treat you as a friend was the best feeling ever, and you didn't want to lose that.

Which brought you back to your senses. Helen was still watching you, waiting for your answer. What was the question again? Your heart was beating quickly in your chest as you thought of what to say.

"W-Will you... Will you hurt me...?" You asked slowly, quietly, almost flinching away as the words left your mouth.

"No." He shook his head, "Never, I can't ever imagine hurting you (Y/N). Which is why when someone else does, I stop them."

You nodded slowly, licking your dry lips, "U-Um... Okay."

"So you won't tell anyone?" He asked, tilting his head.

"N-No..." You said, shaking your head. There was no way you'd risk getting on his bad side. And there was definitely no way you'd risk losing a friend.

Man...

He let you go, taking his place back on his seat. A smile spread over his face and he gave an innocent chuckle. He looked so young when he did that, and you really couldn't believe someone as cute as him could ever kill anybody. You remember him saying he had been bullied at school as well, and you remember him telling you he'd seen worse than what he had here. You wondered if that meant he had snapped, what had caused him to break and murder people?

"Ew, you two are so gross." You snapped out of your thoughts, raising your (e/c) gaze to see the blonde bitch from before. She was staring down her nose at you, checking her nails, "Really you two, you should get a room. Or maybe a stable. Animals."

You frowned at her, "Did I just hear fake crocodile leather talk?"

Her eyes widened and she growled at you, reaching down and grabbing your shirt, "You watch your mouth you disgusting pig. I could slaughter you and serve you for dinner in seconds. Don't even try to one-up me. I will fucking bury you."

You glared at her, about to comment on her fish lips before someone cleared their throat. Helen grabbed the girl's arm, prying it off your shirt.

"You should learn your place." He said to her, and she recoiled with a hiss.

"Ew! He touched me!" She yelled, causing half the bus to turn their attention on you.

"Why would I touch a filthy garbage bag?" He asked, staring at her in boredom, "Sorry, but I'm not the one that takes out the trash."

It was silent for a moment; the tension could be cut with a knife. And then the whole bus burst out in a fit of laughter. Even you couldn't stop the smile from spreading over your face. The girl could only sit there, tears threatened to fall from her mascara covered lashes. Helen glanced at you, before chuckling slightly as well and turning back to face the front of the bus.

"That was new, and cool." He said, "I've never really stood up to a bully before."

"Yet you...?" You dropped off, not wanting to say it out loud, now that you weren't talking in a hushed whisper.

"It's... Different." He shrugged, "That was definitely fun, and I felt powerful when everyone laughed but... There's something exciting about..."

He stopped too; you both knew what he meant. Although now you were curious again. It felt exciting? How? It sounded terrifying to you; you couldn't imagine being able to take a life the way he did. Although you could imagine how it might relieve the stress and anger you feel towards the person.

Though you were still... Freaked out by the thought of this boy sitting next to you, killing people that you saw yesterday.

"You should give it a go." He said, once again staring at you, "I feel like you'd understand it better. And it will get rid of the people that make your life hard."

"But... I'm going away on a holiday soon." You said, remembering the trip to Paris your parents were now planning, "I don't think there's a point."

"No no. That's even better!" He said, grabbing your arms, "If you do it the night before, you can be out of the country the next day, and no one will guess it was you!"

You blinked. That was... Really smart. But still...

"It's illegal."

"Not if you're not caught." He chuckled, wrapping an arm around you, "You know (Y/N), I feel we're going to get along very well once you do it. I think you'll see it the way I do."

You bit your lip, before nodding slowly, "O-Okay... I guess I could try it. You promise I won't get caught?"

"Do you see me behind bars?" He asked, and you shook your head, "Exactly. Just follow what I do, I'll make sure it's all covered up."

"O-Okay..."

Your bus came to a stop, your stop. You jumped to your feet, before telling Helen you had to get off here, he nodded and stepped out of your way, before following you off the bus. You gave him a confused look and he only smiled,

"I hope you don't mind. My house is across town, and the bus doesn't go back that way."

You gave him a smile in return, before offering to take him to your place. He happily followed you, and you completely forgot about the conversation you just had on the bus. He looked like such a normal person, and he sounded genuine when he said he wouldn't hurt you. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad...

~NEXT WEEK~

School was finally open again, the short 5-day holiday over, and you returned back to the hellhole that was school. All the other students seemed to be over the deaths of the jocks. A small memorial sat inside the gym, but other than that, it was if it had never happened. People were back to being themselves. And that meant what you feared.

People were back to being mean to you. However, this tim, you had a special enemy.

The blonde girl from the bus. Her name was Holly, and she had a very large mean streak; if you became her enemy, you were considered dead. So, you went out of your way to avoid her, and Helen agreed to keep your head down for now; he didn't have anymore witty comments to make to her.

So you both kept quiet and close together. The only time you ever split was for a bathroom break. Which you were currently having. Since it was before school, you still had your school bag, and although you were used to the mean comments thrown your way, having a 5-day break felt like it had softened you up. So, reaching into your pencil case, you held your doll close to your chest.

Then you heard heels clicking as someone walked into the bathrooms,

"I know you're here (Y/N). Get your stupid ass out here." It was Holly, and she sounded pissed, "It's time I put you back in your place. Both you and your stupid boyfriend."

You frowned. You didn't care much for what she said about you but hearing her talk about Helen like that spiked something inside you. All he'd done was stand up for you. So you quickly, but gently put your doll back into your bag and, now finished, flushed the toilet and stepped out. Slinging your bag over your shoulder, you ignored the girl to wash your hands, before trying to walk past her. She stepped in your way just as you shook your hands dry, and gasped loudly as you wet her shirt.

"You bitch!" She yelled, shoving you back, "This is my favourite shirt."

You stumbled back, leaning on the sink, "Maybe you shouldn't step in my way then."

She growled, before stepping towards you and grabbing you by the collar, "You're dead." Was all she said, before slamming you into the wall of the bathroom. You grunted, pushing back on her shoulders as your bag fell to the floor. It opened, and your doll fell out onto the tiled ground. Your eyes widened as you saw it, and this caught Holly's attention, she turned her dark brown gaze to the floor.

"Aww, what's this?" She asked, reaching for the doll.

"No!" You pushed her over, snatching it off the ground quickly. She fell forward with a yelp, one of her heels snapping.

"My shoe!" She yelled, before her face filled with rage. She was on her feet in seconds, kicking off her heels and storming towards you. Once again she shoved you into the wall, before forcefully prying the doll from your fingers, "You stupid whore! I'll show you what happens when you break my stuff!"

"No!" You reached for her, only for the girl to hold the doll above her head, "Give it back!"

"Why don't you go fetch?" She said, before tossing the small hand-made doll into one of the toilets.

You stared in horror as it splashed into the bowl of the loo, before scrambling over to it and reaching inside. Ignoring the thought of it being toilet water, you grabbed the doll, hugging it close to your chest. You shook slightly as you fought back tears. This is why you had to protect it, and they managed to get to it.

"Dumb bitch." Holly said from behind you, before you felt a hand on your head, and suddenly you couldn't breathe.

She had pushed your head into the water, flushing it as that it wet your hair. Then she pulled you back and did it again. You choked on water, trying to break free before you were yanked back. Arms wrapped around you, and the sound of a teacher yelling filled your ears as you coughed up water. Tears streamed down your face, the only reason you knew was because it felt warm as they fell down your cheeks, and you leant into the chest of your saviour, holding your doll close.

"They got to it..." You heard Helen say, "(Y/N), I'm sorry."

"Helen, get out of the girl's bathrooms now!" The teacher yelled once again, "And Holly, to my office now! You won't be getting off this lightly."

The boy sighed, before helping you stand to your feet. A towel was wrapped around your shoulders, and the teacher and your friend lead you out of the bathrooms. A crowd had appeared outside, and everyone was watching with hushed whispers. You felt humiliated, only hiding your face in Helen's chest. The boy pat your head slowly, his fingers tangling in your wet hair, though you didn't mind. His comfort was nice, and you cried harder.

Once you were in the office, your parents were called, and Holly was suspended for the rest of the term. The teacher offered you some fresh clothes and offered to let you use the teacher's bathroom to change while she talked to Helen.

"Wh-What did he do...?" You asked quietly, glancing back at the boy.

"He ran into the girl's bathroom." The teacher said, "And although his intentions were good, and I will praise him for it personally, I can't let it slip by."

"Wh-Why not...?"

"The rest of the kids will see that, and I can tell you now. The boys will use it as an excuse; I don't want that happening."

You nodded slowly, understanding, "O-Okay..."

Once you were dressed, you walked back out to find your parents sitting next to Helen. They were currently thanking him for being brave, and scolding the teacher for suspending him for 3 days. You walked over, and they stood and hugged you, you hugged back, still surprised by their change in attention, but accepting as well.

"We're going on this holiday right away." Your father said, turning back to the teacher, "We were going to wait until next week, but I think (Y/N) needs a break now."

"I agree." The teacher nodded, "I'll have her teachers send her the work she will need to do while she is away, or they can discuss with her over email and she can catch up when she returns."

"Good." Your mother said, a hand resting on your shoulder, "We'll go home and pack right away. Thank you."

She gave Helen a smile and a squeeze on his shoulder; he smiled in response, but then turned his blue eyes on you. A look of concern flashed through them, and he tilted his head,

"Will you be okay?" He asked.

"Yeah..." You said, pulling the doll out of your pants pocket, "I... I guess so..."

His pursed his lips, before giving a small nod, "See you later I guess."

"Yeah... See you later."

It was later that night, after you had finished packing for your 2 week trip to Paris, that Helen had meant. A knock on your window made you jump, and once you opened it, the boy stuck his head in. His black locks fell in front of his eyes, before he blew them out of the way.

"Hey." He said, climbing into your room.

"H-Hey...? What are you doing here?" You asked in confusion.

"Just checking on you. Are you okay?" He asked, looking around your room before he took a seat at your bed. He kicked his feet slightly, laying back on the mattress, "How is the doll?"

"Destroyed..." You said sadly, "It... It fell apart after it dried..."

"Then it's a good thing I made this." He sat up, holding up something small.

You tilted your head, before sitting next to him. It was a small figure, it wore black pants and a blue jumper. A black mop of thread had been sewn into it's head, and it wore a white mask with a large red smile and blue eyes. You took it from Helen's hands gently, turning it over in your hands. It was beautiful, adorable.

"That's me." He said, sitting up and pointing at the mask, "That's what I wear when I kill people, want to see?"

"U-Uh..."

He pulled a backpack off his back, before fishing around in it for the mask. A moment later, he pulled out a large white disk; it was covered in blood red paint -you assumed it was paint, though it's flakiness told you otherwise- which had been spread out in a smile, black eyeholes peered at you, and the rest of the mask had red splatters all over it. It was... Actually kind of cool.

"You use this to hide your face?" You asked, putting it over your own; it smelt like blood and sweat.

"Yep! And I made you one too." He said, before pulling out another one. This one had a frown on it, which made you frown in return.

"Thanks.."

"Oh no! Don't take offence to that." He said, raising his hands, "It's just so I can tell them apart, you know? Kind of like the theatre masks."

You smiled, before nodding and handing his mask back. The other one was on your face in moments. It felt cool, fresh, barely used. You couldn't wait to dirty it up.

"How do I look?" You asked, pulling a ridiculous pose.

"Fantastic." The boy chuckled.

You laughed, before taking the mask off and resting it on your lap, "Thank you Helen, really... It means a lot to me. The mask, and the doll."

"I'm glad you think so." He smiled, before taking your hand, "So, you're going to Paris tomorrow... That's cool."

"Yeah... But I'll be back in two weeks. It's just a holiday." You held his hand in return, "Plus, we can message."

"I know that but... Well..." He looked sheepish, "We were going to kill someone before you left."

"I'm all packed." You said, almost too seriously, and excitedly, "I have time, where should we go?"

"That blonde bitch... Want to target her first?"

"Yes. Most definitely." You smiled. A strange feeling of excitement filled your stomach at the thought of getting rid of that horrible skank.

It was time that bitch paid for what she did.