But first...

"Welcome to your tape, Riptide Sanford"

It was a beautiful day in mid-October, do you remember? The leaves were falling down from trees and we were officially friends for three years. We met in high school, and astonishingly we continued our friendship for three years.

I had a small crush on you, Riptide.

You seemed, always, so, so perfect— and all the girls from our school gossiped about you. They asked me if they could get your number, which I refused angrily every time.

Your features were unbelievably handsome and your blue eyes and your black hair always attracted me like an irresistible magnet. Your grin was beautiful and your hands matched perfectly with mine when we walked down the hall to get a cup of coffee. That was what you were, Riptide. Perfection. Simply perfection.

But it wasn't entirely your looks.

It was, after all, your well-known personality.

You were always kind to everyone. You always tried your best, and if someone happened to beat it, you didn't get jealous. You were a good team player. Leader. Friend.

You weren't like other people. You weren't fake.

At least, that was what I thought.

You were a light of perfection. Flawless. Beautiful, and untouchable. So good that you were almost not human. Horrifyingly charming.

To me, you, my dear, dear Riptide, were my Camelot.

He pressed Pause. Whoa. Since when did Glory like Riptide? Sure, Riptide had been extremely popular over the years. He had been the school's champion in his freshman year, but everything changed when he suddenly decided to refuse his popularity so that he could be with Tsunami.

He didn't know what he felt— anger? Jealousy? Horror? Confusion?

Was she lying?

Why would a dead girl lie, anyway?

He bit his lip and pressed Play again, his heart heavy. This couldn't possibly be true.

But it was.

To say the truth, I admired you. Another confession— it wasn't a small crush, dear Riptide.

I loved you.

But, after fawning over you for months, after sharing a few heated kisses, I realized that you never loved me.

How? I have no idea. Maybe it was when you looked the other way when I tried to catch your gaze. I tried to do anything and everything. You always had something going on. Out dates were canceled at the last minute.

You started avoiding me little bit. Started flirting with other girls. A hint. A hint for me. A hint that said, back off. If you come this now, you won't get hurt. I don't feel the same way.

I didn't get the hint.

You— my best friend and the only love of my life that time— had used me.

If you had told me straight in the face, I might even had moved on. Deep, deep in my heart— maybe I knew we won't work out. It just wasn't meant to be.

But we didn't end that way.

The night you broke my heart, we were at a party. A Halloween party. And you just had to invite me. You just had to break my heart until shreds.

I—

"Deathbringer?" A knock came on his door, and he whipped his headphones off, startled. He quickly pressed Pause.

"Oh, hi, Mom."

"What are you listening to?" His mother said sharply. Her black eyes narrowed cautiously, her inner side hinting themselves. She eyes her son suspiciously, pressing her lips together in displeasure.

"History," he said quickly. "I....I had to it with Sunny. It's for an extra credit. Y-you know, since I didn't do well in the test the other day." He managed to give a nervous shrug. "I guess I need it."

She still didn't seem convinced. "Ask Sunny if you don't believe me," he said, trying to sound hurt.

She softened immediately, but he couldn't avoid the distrustful look she gave him a moment after. She didn't trust him. Never did. Never would. "I believe you," she said, biting her lip. Her eyes showed the fake love, always fake. But he was used to it. "Deathbringer...I wanted to tell you something. "

"What?" He wanted get back to those tapes.

"Morrowseer..."

Morrowseer. Deathbringer hated that man. He would smoke in the house and use his mother's money restlessly. He always played with her and only stayed with her because of her money and lust.

He was a monster.

"He asked me to marry him," she said, blushing. That explained her almost-good mood. "And I said yes. "

He stared at her in horror. "Mom...?"

"Mother," she corrected him, her sharp self returning almost immediately. "And yes?"

He wanted to say that she was insane, but he kept his mouth shut. No use trying to convince his mother otherwise: she would never listen to him in a million lifetimes. The next few months would be complete horror.

"Nothing. Can I get back to the tapes now?"

She smiled, brightening up. "Sure. Love you. Make sure to get some sleep," she said, her eyes warning up with fake love. But the excitement was clear.

She tried harder, after the incident. Tried harder to get them closer, to get them trusting each other again. Tried to be warmer, more like a mother.

But it didn't help that he dreamed of it almost every night. The scream. The temporary, wild going on her eyes as she dragged him out of his room and struck him.

He was four.

"Gevin," she sobbed. "why have you left me with this? I hate you. I hate you!" She stared at him wildly. He was crying, his whole body red. He was begging her to stop, but she wouldn't listen. He was in agony, and the figure of her mother was a small blur. "You used me! And when I told you about this, you cheated on me...You left me behind...with this thing that reminds me of you every day...!"

Then she took a chair, her eyes glazing with crazed tears, and crashed it onto him....

He shuddered.

He turned back to the tapes after his mom shut the door. Then he waited for a few minutes to be complete sure, then placed his headphones carefully on his ears, making sure only he could hear the tape. He didn't want anybody to find out about these.

I only have you left, Glory, he thought, sighing. His life seemed hopeless right now.

Well, your tapes....

He breathed deeply and pressed Play.

— I was wearing a dress. They had a rainforest theme, with an artificial leaf here and there.

The dress was the best I had ever owned. I wanted to look nice for your party, Riptide, because this day I was determined to make you fall in love with me. How naïve I was. How stupid.

When I went in, I was nervous. So many people were there, but none of them had a full costume like me. They had subtle details— pig ears, eye patch, devil horns, et cetera. But when I went in, with my rainforest costume, people whistled and laughed. Nobody said anything mean, though.

I had authority. I was your girlfriend, after all. I wish I had enjoyed it. It was my last night in the position.

I was extremely uncomfortable. People were making out everywhere. In the hallways, in the pools, in the party rooms. I was eager to find you.

I tried to look my best for you and you only— and there you were, grinning and talking with Tsunami, your arm around her shoulders. You guys were very close, and were staring at each other, half-smile on your lips. Like you were in a dream. Like you were in love.

You guys seemed flushed....like you had shared a kiss a moment ago. Then you guys did kiss. A slow, agonizing one. A kiss, I could tell, that you both meant. And I just stood there. With my eyes wide open.

That moment, my heart stopped. I slowly backed away.

Then you spotted me.

I ran, embarrassed, and my eyes shining with tears. Dread filled me. My heart was suddenly made out of led. I wanted very badly to demand what was going on, I wanted to know if you cheated on me. Was it a dare? Was it a sick joke?

I figured you would run after me and try to explain. I was your girlfriend, after all. Maybe it was one-sided. But I thought I deserved an explanation.

You never did, though.

At the morning at school, I tried to talk to you. But you avoided me, and Tsunami avoided me. I caught you staring at me once, but when I caught your eye, you looked away. Quickly.
But I saw the emotions in your eyes:

Guilt.

And when I finally caught up with Tsunami, she frowned at me, and said, "I wasn't at the party, Glory."

But you were, I wanted to say. I saw you, Tsunami.

I saw you with him.

Your betrayal hurt me. You, the only person I had loved at the time, had betrayed me, cheated on me. Used me like a doll.

And with my best friend.

Tsunami and I eventually made up, of course. We didn't want to let boy drama get between our friendship. We shrugged it off and went baxk to being best buddies.

But I never forgot.

You and I, we never made up. We never talked to each other or did anything of that sort.

I loved you, Riptide. And it took me three years to get over you.

Especially when you were kissing my best friend the night after the  incident.

Betrayal.

You were the first thread, Riptide. Do you feel happy now?

You used me like a toy. You were nice enough— but you had one fatal flaw.

You were a coward.

You never had the courage to apologize for what you did.

And you broke my heart.

~

Sunny was at his locker at the morning, looking grim and her short hair tied back to a ponytail, which he had never seen before. Her brows were contorted into a frown.

"I finished it," he said it as a greeting as he opened his locker. He kept his eyes firmly glued on his blue locker. "And I'm going to kill Riptide."

Sunny looked more upset than ever. "No, Deathbringer. Riptide had his reasons. You....have to hear his side. The tapes — they're pretty one-sided."

Well, it sounded pretty bad for a one-sided story.

"Cheating," he growled darkly, "on her. And he didn't even....apologize..I thought Riptide was a nice guy—"

Sunny pressed her lips together. Ever since Glory's suicide, she had been acting sad recently. She used to be the happiest person in the world, he realized sadly.

"I'll just talk to him," Deathbringer said, trying to make her feel better. He felt guilty. She didn't deserve any of this. He tried to give her an easygoing smile and shrugged. "that's all."

Sunny immediately brightened up, her whole face clearing with relief. "Promise?"

"Promise."

She gave him a grin and ran to her first period class. And when he came in, she was humming a song he didn't know.

The promise obviously meant a lot to her.

However, that was one of the few promises he did not keep.