He was so quiet.

Lilly felt challenged by him. Like one of them were going for the Silent Game, world championship. She'd just watch him from the other side of the classroom. Like a hawk. Every move he made. Everything he said. She had to know it. Like a vulture hunting down its prey. And as overused as that saying is, it completely applied to Lilly. She was a vulture. In every sense, silent, scary and high up.

"LILLY! Get off of the table please! You're gonna break your shit all over my homework!" That was Peggy Andrews. Cute, dark-skinned, redhead, pigtails, sexy, easy. A boys dream. Lilly's worst nightmare, and also her roommate.

Lilly looked over at Peggy and hissed.

"BITCH! Did you just hiss at me like a cat?!" Peggy was funny at least. Lilly couldn't help but enjoy her company. "If you want that boy to notice you, standing on your desk in the middle of English is not the way to do it."

Lilly hopped down off the table and sat back in her chair. She squinted at Peggy angrily.

"I don't care how angry you get. You know I'm right. He's not even that cute. He wears an eye patch for shit's sake. That's like an immediate red flag."

Lilly thought the eye patch was charming. He looked like a little pirate boy.

"And he only wears plaid. Sometimes plaid on plaid." Definitely a little pirate. "He has no fashion sense. Which, that wouldn't even be a problem if he brushed his hair, but he doesn't do that either." Lilly really started to consider that this boy was, in fact, a real-life pirate. "But if you're serious about liking him... I guess I could give you a hand if you wanted.' They really should have been paying attention. The English test was tomorrow, but no one gave a shit in Mr. Debacles class. It was more like a second lunch. He taught creative writing. His class was a breeze. No one needed to listen to pass his course because you came up with all of his papers with your imagination. Even the test tomorrow was going to be a writing prompt. Lilly was sure Mr. Debacles was going to kill himself in the next few semesters anyway. He was quite a waste of space. "Lilly, are you paying attention?" Lilly snapped back into reality and looked over to Peggy. "You need to dress better. The emo shit is old. You're in college now, Hunny. You need to brighten up." Lilly felt offended. She loved her black dresses and awesome necklaces. She had secretly been making one out of Human teeth that she was planning on wearing for Halloween, the only time no one would question it. She wasn't about to change her clothes for some bitchy roommate. "Honestly, I think you'd be sexy in red. Like blood red. You've already got that mysterious vibe going. Why not add to it?" Benny had always said she was beautiful in blue. She always hated blue, but a shade of red wasn't too bad. "In fact, I'll tell you what, I'll even purchase some new clothes for you. It's gonna be perfect. We're gonna have a blast. Let's go right now!" Lilly wanted to argue so she could look at her boy some more, but what was she going to say. She didn't talk. Peggy grabbed her hand and ran through the classroom door.

---

The next thing Lilly knew, it was JC Penny, then Forever 21, lots of Victoria's Secret. A pair of panties from Calvin Cline and finally-

Lilly pointed excitedly at a thrift store across the road.

"Lilly... no... You're gonna get ticks or fleas or something there." Ironically, they'd be less annoying than the tick she was walking around with right now.

Lilly looked up at Peggy with a pouty lip. That seemed more Peggy's style. 'GIRLS BEIN' GIRLS.'

Peggy rolled her eyes. "Fine, but it better be something gorgeous, or I'm not buying it." Bitch.

Lilly smiled thankfully and the two of them crossed the road.

The place was bleak and barren and ugly. Lilly loved it. Every aisle held knew treasures and wonders that brought joy to Lilly's heart. Old creepy dolls, antique necklaces, forgotten family heirlooms. And then she found it. An old red prom dress. Blood red. But gorgeous all the same. Lilly walked to it cautiously. It was mesmerizing to her. She didn't even know why. She ran her hand down its hem until her finger caught a loose thread that tore ever so slightly. She hugged the dress and felt its silky exterior against her skin. It smelled of dust and old perfume that had soaked so far into it that it was trapped forever inside the cloth.

"An old prom dress?"

Lilly looked back at Peggy with joy in her face.

"Well, I can't say no to that. Grab it. Let's get out of this musty hell hole." Peggy turned her shopping cart and the two of them walked toward the exit.

But just as they went, Lilly noticed a plastic clown mask that seemed to have been leftover from some Halloween. She picked it up and held it to her face. The empty mask smiled back at her. She took it with her.

"You're buying that, I'll have no part of whatever you're using it for." She probably thought it was sex-related. She wasn't one hundred percent wrong.

Lilly went ahead and purchased it herself.

---

When they got home, Lilly saw a box waiting at her dorm room door. It had her name and address on it. She was so excited! The knife had finally arrived. She opened the box with careful precision as to not damage the weapon in any way. Pulling off the tape was the hardest part. The tape seemed to be stronger than her, no matter how hard she tried to pull, it just would not budge. And she pulled very hard, but it was no use.

"Just use scissors." Peggy intelligently interjected. The scissors would scratch the handle, or even worse, the blade itself. There was no way she was bringing any sharp implements towards her priceless possession. So she ripped it back as hard as she could. The tape didn't stand a chance, and neither did the box that she almost ripped in half along with it. The box fell apart in her hands and inside... A fishing knife. A black, leather handle with a rock strapped to its butt and on the front, a seven inch, one side sharp, jagged, blade. And at the end of the blade was a curved edge which created a hook. It was gorgeous. Lilly nearly fell over before she caught herself and giggled. This was her type of fun. Peggy wouldn't understand.

Lilly grabbed her beautiful red dress, followed by her new clown mask. She strapped it to her face, giving life to the lifeless disguise. Now all she needed was a way to travel unnoticed. She grabbed a black hoodie and threw it over the dress, all that could be seen properly was the bottom of the dress. Just enough to call a little attention to herself to reel in her victim. Lilly shook with excitement. She wasn't even able to keep her hands steady.

Peggy walked into the bathroom to see Lilly. "What are you doing in here?"

Lilly ripped off her mask as quickly as she could and hid it behind herself. She looked over at Peggy and smiled.

"Oh my goodness. You're going for a night on the town with your new clothes. I'm coming too!"

Lilly shook her head aggressively with a worried expression.

"What? Why not?" Peggy said disappointed.

Lilly looked around to try to find a good reason, but there was none. She was in a bathroom.

"I understand, Lilly. You aren't the most social person in the world. That would explain the hoodie." Peggy walked over to her dresser and pulled out her purse. "Well, if you're gonna go out there all by yourself, at least bring this." She pulled out a small pepper spray. "For safety."

The irony almost made Lilly burst into laughter, but to avoid suspicion, she accepted the gift and nodded at Peggy thankfully.

"Alright girl. GO GET SOME DICK!" She slapped Lilly's butt, sending her on her way.

Lilly's face went bright red. She shot a look back at Peggy, but Peggy just laughed.

"Now get out, I gotta piss." And with that, Lilly was closed out of the bathroom.

Lilly didn't know whether she liked Peggy or not, but she was certainly interesting. But that wasn't the focus right now. Lilly had a night to herself and she wasn't about to waste it.

---

There is was. The Pirate Boy's dorm room. Room 654 Shrout Street. She knew exactly where it was, because she followed Pirate Boy home every day. She needed to know the exact route to get in and out as to not get caught. She also knew a few other important things. Pirate Boy had no roommate, no friends and no family that ever visited him. He was completely alone... Which meant that no one would go looking for him. If he went missing, no one would even notice. He was the perfect target.

She walked up to the dorm room door with the knife and clown mask behind her back. She didn't need him screaming until he was safely inside the room. She knocked on the door.

"One moment!" Came a rough deep voice from the other side of the door.

Lilly followed the instructions and stayed put. After a few moments the door opened. Pirate Boy wore an old T-shirt and a pair of pajama pants that looked like he had owned them since he was a kid. The other thing strange about him was his expression. He looked... sad. Not just sad, but... truly alone. Lilly knew that feeling more than most. She knew exactly what he was feeling. And finally, Lilly realized how cute he was. He was genuinely handsome. Eyepatch to old pajama pants. Lilly was speechless. As per usual. But this time, even if she did talk, she wouldn't know what to say. She had never felt like this before. She was completely lost and had completely forgotten why she was here in the first place. The Pirate Boy spoke.

"Um... hi. You're the girl from Mr. Debacles class right? The one who doesn't talk."

She nodded very slowly. She was lost in his one visible eye. It was dark green. And full. Full of unspoken thoughts and feelings. An eye that had seen some things. Some truly terrible things.

"Ok... well, uh... I'm Sam." Ah, Pirate Boy had a name. He gave a half-smile.

Lilly couldn't take that. She was already in love with what he looked like normally. That smile blew her freaking mind. She smiled and giggled.

Sam smiled back. "W-what? What are you laughing at." He blushed.

She pointed at him.

"What did I do?"

She looked away.

This was much different than Jack, or even Benny. Sam felt similar to her. A fellow broken soul. Someone, she could maybe... relate too. Now, that... that was new.

"Do you um... Do you wanna come in? I got my Step Dad's old computer. I'm sure we could screw around with it. I was surfing through the dark web. You know what the dark web is, right?"

She was barely paying attention. She just wanted to keep hearing him talk.

He lead her into his dorm, to his computer. "It's the place you go to buy like, drugs and child porn and other messed up stuff. I go on there to pirate movies." HE WAS A PIRATE! "But, I also like to see what messed up shit exists out there... Is that weird? I think that's weird."

Lilly shook her head. It wasn't that weird when you considered what her pass time was. She also was a fan of the more macabre.

"It's not illegal to go to the dark web. But a lot of illegal stuff happens there and honestly, it's really dangerous."

Legalities were the least of her worries.

Sam pulled a chair up for her next to the computer. "You can sit next to me if you want. Don't worry. I minor in computer engineering so we won't get hacked or anything. That's not actually true, but I do kinda know what I'm doing, I guess."

Lilly sat down, dropping the knife and mask next to herself. Sam noticed it immediately. Lilly realized what she had done and picked it up and hid it in her hoodie. Sam bit his lip and acted like he didn't see anything, but Lilly knew he had. Lilly felt embarrassed and worried at the same time and Sam noticed it. He put his hand gently on her arm. "I've got some dark secrets too. Yours are safe with me."

She was going to marry this man. She knew it at that moment.

"So, What do you wanna see first? There's 'The Family Drug Store' which is mostly heroin. 'Little Bits Emporium.'" He leaned over to her. "Child Porn. So much. Disturbing stuff. I wouldn't recommend it." He sat back up. "The Circus of Horrors. That's a red room. Very messed up."

Lilly looked up at Sam with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh... um... Torture porn." Lilly was still confused, but now much more intrigued. "Oh gosh... um... They tie someone to a chair or a table or something and do whatever the viewers want. The viewers pay a fee to enter a suggestion and then the entertainer fulfills the request."

Lilly's mouth quivered. She licked her bottom lip and looked up at Sam pleadingly.

"Are you sure? It's quite disturbing. It took me like two months to find this site as it is and even I haven't clicked on it yet. I just like getting to the sights."

She nodded excitedly.

"Well, ok then." He clicked the enter button and a video box popped up. A sentence popped up on the screen that sent a shiver down Lilly's back. It simply said-

"Welcome to the Circus..." Sam felt nervous. He grabbed onto Lilly's hand fearfully. She happily took it. "Are you sure about this?" He looked over at her. She scooted slightly closer to him.

Little did either of them know, this live stream was about to change their lives forever.

Suddenly the stream started. A man in a purple hat and a purple suit was visible in an otherwise pitch-black room. A large smile was drawn on his face from ear to ear. He spoke in a heavy Spanish accent and moves around with a brilliant flamboyance. "Hello ladies and gentlemen! My name is Alonzo the Great. Welcome to the Circus. I will be your leading man for the evening, and as a gift for our 100th live stream, you will all be gifted a free 50 tickets. That's right folks! That's good enough for one free suggestion! Yes yes, I know, I know. You're all so excited for the show to begin! Well buckle up ladies and gentlemen, because tonight's performance is going to be a bumpy ride!" Suddenly two men dressed in black, wearing blank white masks brought in a young woman who was tied to what looked like a large pole. A piece of duct tape covered her mouth, and no matter how much she struggled, she could not free herself from the tape. She was trapped. "Here is our Prize Pony for the night, ladies and Gentlemen. Isn't she gorgeous." The two masked men brought her over to the middle of the room where it looked like a flag pole holder was bolted to the floor. They placed the woman's pole into the holder which caused them to hang above the ground and sway slightly from side to side. She tried with all her might to scream, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not pull her mouth from the tape.

Lilly bounced in her chair with excitement and Sam couldn't help but find it cute.

Alonzo pulled a wallet from his back pocket and opened it up. He pulled out what looked like an ID and threw the wallet aside. He read the card allowed. "Jacky Owen Brown, 24. A resident of New York City, ladies and gentlemen. We have us a broadway sensation in a mist. I joke of course. Pulling someone from that high a caliber could get my little show canceled. We wouldn't want that. No, instead, Jacky is a stay at home mom. Or was." Suddenly the woman looked to her right and started to scream. One of the masked individuals brought into the frame a baby, wrapped up in a tiny blue blanket. The masked man handed the baby to Alonzo and Alonzo gently took the baby from him. "Ah, what a sweetie this is, Ladies and Gentlemen. Alright, this is tonight's entre, leave in the comments how you would like it served."

Sam started to feel worried. "M-maybe we shouldn't watch anymore... This doesn't look like it's going to end well."

But Lilly wasn't paying attention. She was completely taken into the stream. Sam turned back to the computer fearfully.

Alonzo spoke up cheerfully. "Oh my Oh my! It looks like a decision has been made. In fact, all but one of you voted. Must be saving your money for something special." He laughed a disgusting laugh. "Well, here we go." And he dropped the baby.

"HOLY SHIT!" Sam turned away from the computer, but Lilly was more than enthralled.

Alonzo jumped up and landed. A squishing sound filled the dorm room. Alonzo slammed his foot down over and over and over and over and over again. Jacky screamed and screamed.

Sam picked up a trashcan and wretched into it.

"Well well well! Now that everyone's amped up and ready, let's move on to the main course."

The live stream played for an hour and a half. Sam and Lilly made it all the way through. Sam felt numb by the end but Lilly felt everything. She felt more than she had ever felt.

Alonzo went into his outro. The corpse that once was a stay at home mother from New York, hung loose from the pole, headless and armless. Her rib cage completely opened and insides leaking onto the floor. Alonzo didn't even seem to notice. "Thank you ladies and gentlemen for 100 wonderful episodes of The Circus of Horrors. We couldn't do this show without you and all of you are the disgusting angels that make this work worth it. Thank you. And to Guest6347 who didn't spend a dime. I hope you enjoyed your free show. If I ever see you on this page again, maybe you'll be the one tied to my pole." He looked blankly at the screen for a few seconds and then the webpage crashed. All that was left was Sam's homepage. His background was a picture of Ian Lober painting a picture of a little boy.

Sam looked away from the computer and didn't speak a word.

Lilly realized what she had done and touched his arm.

Sam looked back at her and smirked. "I think I'm gonna head to bed. I'll see you some other time."

Shit... Lilly stood up and walked to the door.

"Wait..."

Lilly turned and looked back at him.

"I'm um... I don't think I wanna be alone... That kinda messed with my head." She was wrong. He was still a human. Just like everyone else. He was nothing like her. Lilly was still alone. "Would you stay in here with me?"

But he still didn't mind her company. Lilly nodded and smiled at him.

"You can take the bed and I'll take the floor. I have an extra blanket I think, so it should be fine."

She smiled and hopped into his bed. She patted next to her.

"You want us to be in bed together?"

She nodded.

"Wouldn't that be weird?"

She rolled her eyes and laid near the wall. Sam got in bed next to her and the two of them kind of just looked at each other.

"I like your dress," Sam smirked. "What's with the hoodie?"

She didn't want to answer that, so instead, she balled up the hoodie with the mask and knife in the middle and set in on the dresser beside the bed. She closed her eyes and curled into a fetal position.

"Can I um... Can I hold your hand?"

She nodded and held her hand out slightly.

Sam took it and felt safe all of a sudden. He didn't understand why, but he just felt safe. He fell asleep in seconds.