Mark woke up feeling insane, like a freshly picked mental asylum patient.

Smiling, he styled his hair because he was a dapper young chap in a skirt. Should it woosh this way, or floof that way?

He considered all the possibilities, and decided on the fluffiest style. Hopefully this would make senpai notice him more.

Once he was done, he took a step back from his grooming to look at his wall. Every square inch of wallpaper was painted with all the photos he'd taken of senpai, leaving no angle of Jack unadmired.

Needless to say, the bulletin board had proved to be way too small. He blushed upon seeing them, and nervously fixed his hair, as if senpai could see him through the photographs.

His senpai was so dashing in his black uniform. He'd probably be even more dashing without it...

Hehehheheehhehehe

Mark slapped himself to regain his composure, since this fanfiction was not supposed to be rated M, and changed into his uniform. He put on his lacy black panties this time, because he heard from the dark web that they'll make him have less bloody footprints, if that made any sense at all.

He made his way down to his basement to check on his three expendables before he left for his daily rival-killing.

Felix was unconscious, his skin in the same state MatPat had been on the first day. His shirt was also in tatters.

Aaron was idly propped against the wall, watching Matthew try to get out of his bonds with much amusement.

"Why are you still trying, honestly?" Mark sighed, addressing the struggling nerd.

MatPat huffed, ceasing his desperate movements, "It gives me something to do. And really, anything to get Felix's screams out of my head is worth it."

Aaron glanced at Mark, concern in his eyes, "Did you sleep well? You couldn't hear anything, could you?"

"Nah, the walls are completely soundproof," Mark floofed up his hair even more. "How long do you think it'll take to get Pewds Mackenzie mindbroken? I really want to try him out."

"By midday tomorrow," he promised. "I could bring him to school to you."

Mark rubbed his hands together evilly, "Perfect."

"Uh, Mark, can I talk to you?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah, sure."

Aaron led him upstairs, then ran a hand through his brown hair. "So, Mark. I know you're obsessed with Jack and all, but I've liked you for a long time. I helped you a lot; I think you should return the favor."

Mark raised his eyebrows, "And how should I do that?"

Aaron leaned forward and kissed him.

Caught by surprise, Mark didn't respond at first. Then he smirked to hide his cringe, gently pushing him away, "I've got to get to school, dumbass. Save it for nighttime."

Looking half-disappointed and half-delighted, Aaron nodded. "Heh, sure."

Mark watched him go back down to the basement, then hopped out the front door, wiping his mouth. Gross.

On the way to school, he texted Info-kun.

Who's my rival?

Hey

Hello?

I swear, if you want me to give you more panty shots, I'll kill you

Info-kun?

HELLO?

Growling, he continued to stare at his phone while he rode his bike to school (he was great at multitasking). When a message popped up a minute later, he nearly careened into a fire hydrant in his haste to read it.

Sup

I overslept

Why

Because of who I am as a person

Next stupid question?

Who's my rival today you shit

Feisty

It's Ken

Ugh.

I know

Before Mark could shove his phone in his pocket so he could freely throw his bike at something, Info-kun texted him again.

Where's the Swede?

And by that I mean Felix

What, are you concerned?

No it's just weird

I suppose it's not important, huh?

Good luck.

Hm, so Info-kun had noticed the missing footage. Mark didn't completely trust the mysterious texter, so he decided to not mention anything about MatPat. He had a strong feeling that Info-kun did not appreciate MatPat's snooping.

What's the news with Nate?

He was released. He'd actually been talking to his secret girlfriend on the phone when Robert's murder happened. He has alibis for all the other ones too.

Is he back in school?

He apparently dropped out. Most of the school knows he didn't do it by now. You need to be careful.

How long could he keep doing this? He was killing a lot more people than just his rivals, and somebody needed to be blamed if Jack was going to feel safe enough to stay at school. If Jack decided to leave...Mark would be heartbroken.

I have a request

What?

I need a scapegoat

Find one yourself

Will you help me?

That depends. What sort of help?

Help me arrange some fake evidence for this person:

Aaron Ash

Oooh. I hear the sound of sweet sweet backstabbing

Just help me

Two conditions.

First, tell me what happened with the cameras yesterday

I hacked them

Bullshit.

Okay. It was MatPat

I figured. You're not smart enough.

So whatever happened to Felix, then?

Why do you care?

Can an evil sadistic mastermind not be fucking curious? Just fucking answer me

I didn't do anything to him

Mark wasn't sure why he lied. He just had a bizarre feeling in his gut that Info-kun wasn't asking out of curiosity. Mark wanted Pewds Mackenzie to himself, and Info-kun could go fuck himself.

Are you being serious right now??

Yes

Jesus christ.

When the cameras went out I just killed the Canadian

I didn't even see Pubes Mackenzie

Whatever

I fucking hate you.

Second thing.

Kill MatPat.

What if I already have?

Give me proof.

What I mean is: what if I've killed him and disposed of the body?

Then you're out of luck.

Kill him and I'll help you.

Mark shut the phone, thinking about this. He didn't really need Info-kun's help with this. It's totally possible for him to do it himself, but that was risking his own skin, which is something he was quite fond of.

Then he remembered his rival, Mr. Stupid-Hair-Ken-Morrison, and forgot Info-kun's strange behavior. His face purpled at the thought of someone else having a crush on Jack, and he swore that he'd make Ken's death spectacular. Who did the Southern cowboy think he was, anyway?

Ugh, indeed.

He arrived at the school's front gate in record time, especially considering that he'd broken his bike after throwing it at a fire hydrant.

Barely even thinking about it, he ran to the plaza, filled with rage and sadistic excitement. He was so going to kill

OMG SENPAI

Mark screeched to a cartoonish halt to stare at him. Nintendo nowhere to be seen, Jack sat cross-legged on the fountain edge, facing the water.

Mark hesitantly joined him, blinking the pink spots out of his vision. "H...hello." Why could he barely function when he was around senpai? Someone about the Irishman just made him weak in the everywhere.

"Top of the morning to ya," Jack said tiredly. He was poking at the water's surface with his finger, making small ripples.

"What are you thinking about?" Mark asked, because he figured people wouldn't fix such an intense stare at water if they weren't reflecting deeply about something.

"I think I'm going to transfer," Jack whispered to the fountain. "Maybe even move if my parents agree. And they probably will."

Mark sat up, shocked. He was about the ask why, then realized it was a stupid question. Students dropping dead left and right and up and down was an obvious sign to GTFO. "Wha—when?"

"I don't know, I just want to leave. Robin hasn't returned. Felix is still gone. Then all those people who were missing show up...dead. It's just so horrible. I'm starting to think that the suicide last week was actually a murder, and that if we don't find whoever's responsible, we're all going to be killed."

I'm not going to kill you, Mark thought.

"Then I started thinking," Jack continued, looking at him now, "that this school is cursed, or that this is something supernatural. Did you know there's a ghost in the girl's changing rooms who's always crying? I just heard about it yesterday, but I think I believe it. This school's had a long and bloody history, Mark. Superintendent Keemstar tries to cover it up, but my mom and dad...they remember."

Oh yeah, my mom was pretty yandere, too. Such an inspiration.

Mark patted his back, and Jack seemed to relax, just slightly. "Thanks for being here, Mark. I really appreciate it. I mean, with all my other friends gone..." his voice cracked, "you're all I have."

The statement warmed his heart into an inferno. "Jack," Mark started, examining a leaf land on the water. Now it was his turn to think.

"Yeah?"

Mark tried to keep the nervous stutter out of his voice, "Can you meet me after school today? At um, 5 o'clock, under the b-big cherry blossom tree?"

"Of course, but why?"

Mark shrugged, "I just...want to tell you something."

Jack scooted himself around so he was facing him, their knees touching. He stared at Mark for a few moments, as if he had an idea of what Mark planned to do but was unsure if it was true. "Okay, I'll be there." Then he suddenly patted his pockets, "Wait, I don't think I have your number. Let's trade."

"O-oh! Yeah, sure." Mark fished out his phone, and nearly dropped it into the water, making Jack snicker slightly. "Here."

Jack took the phone, and their fingers touched for a fraction of a second. Mark was already memorizing the warm feeling.

They both put in their contact information, then gave the phones back.

Mark didn't need to look at it; he'd known Jack's phone number for months.

Jack smiled at him with sparkling pale blue eyes, "Thanks for being so nice, Mark. Let's get to class."

The two walked to Jack's first period together, which was Biology.

Mark watched him sit down with butterflies in his stomach, then went off to locate the Gaming Club, which Ken had joined.

The first thing he did after closing the door was scream in delight.

HE'D WALKED JACK TO HIS CLASS AND HE AGREED TO MEET HIM IT'S A DATE NOW THEY'RE DATING

He flopped onto the cold floor and stayed there in shock for a few shocked minutes. Did he mention that he was shocked?

Well, he was shocked.

Also shook.

He squealed and slapped at the floor a few times because all the shook needed to be transferred out of him. Otherwise he'd blow up.

A few breathing exercises helped him calm down from his fangirl high.

He shakily got up to look around the Gaming Club. It was time for action. He took note of where the windows were, and then turned on all the computers to find out which one Ken used by noting the desktop backgrounds of each.

Pugs...cupcakes...coffee...a weird white mask...gears...toast—bingo.

The bread was a dead giveaway, since Ken often called himself CinnamonToastKen. Mark thought it was stupid and didn't see the appeal. It was almost as stupid as calling yourself PewDiePie or something.

Ken was another Social butterfly, which made things really annoying. Honestly, Loners were so much easier to kill. Take Robert for example. Mark did not feel like going through the trouble of befriending a rival, so he was just going to straight up murder their ass in a way that left no trace.

Like a ninja ass murderer.

Getting an idea, he walked around the school to get the materials he needed.

Out of curiosity, he checked out the Info Club first. He peeked inside. Ominous static was coming out of some large computer monitors, and in a black office chair sat an unmoving figure.

It was...unsettling.

He squinted and tried to make out the person, but all he saw was red hair.

A small ping drew his attention. He turned on his phone to see a text message from Info-kun.

I know you're there. Run along now. There's nothing for you to see here.

Mark searched the ceiling, wondering where the security camera was. He tried to push open the door, but it wouldn't budge. Strange.

As he walked away, he tried to remember if the school had any redheads. The Info Club hadn't always been here, he knew. It'd just mysteriously appeared at the beginning of the year, and nobody could join. Nobody even thought much of it.

And now that he was digging through his memory, there definitely used to be a redhead at this school. He had no idea where the guy went. Was it even a guy? And maybe he was actually a brunet, and Mark was just going crazy...

He shook his head. Kill the rival first.

The gasoline was by the hedge maze, and he got a box of matches from Info-kun, which would usually cost five panty shots, but Info-kun let him have it for free since he'd said he owed him after he kidnapped MatPat.

Afterschool, Mark stepped into the Martial Arts Club room and saw a nice katana hanging on the wall. He stood on his tiptoes—no, he wasn't short, it was just high up—to get it down.

To his surprise, Tyler Scheid was blocking the door when he turned to leave.

"What are you doing with that?" he asked, stone-faced.

Ethan peeked out from behind him, "Yeah, you're not allowed to carry that out of the club room."

Mark feigned innocence, "Is that so?"

Tyler inclined his head seriously, "It is so."

"Yeah," Ethan agreed, nodding.

Annoyed, Mark walked back inside. "Okay, I'll put it back then." He jumped up and tried to put the sword back up carefully. "Tyler, could you help me?"

Suspicious, Tyler hesitated for a few seconds. Then he relented and ordered Ethan, "Eth, stay there." He came forward and held out a hand, "Give it to me."

Mark swung the blade and sunk it into Tyler's inner forearm.

"ARGGHHHHH!!!" he yelled, clenching his teeth while gripping the wound to try and clog up the overflow of cherry red fluid.

"Ow," Mark smirked, delivering a matching blow to his left ankle.

"Tyler!!" Ethan shouted, rushing forward to glare at Mark and hold his friend upright. "Fuck you! How dare you!"

Mark laughed manically, still idly swinging the blade.

"Ethan," Tyler grunted, trying to hide the crimson blood from sight, "get out of here."

"Excuse me?" the blunette protested angrily. "I'm not leaving you. That's a psycho right there—probably the same psycho who's been killing people, and we're both getting out of here!"

Mark snickered, "Wow, what a hero."

Tyler pushed Ethan away and got to his feet, wincing and pressing his bleeding arm to his stomach. "Put the sword back, Mark."

Instead of complying like a good boy, Mark brandished the sword, and Tyler had to duck to get away.

Ethan started edging towards the wall, where a long wooden bamboo stick was hanging.

Tyler ran forward and kicked with his good foot, nailing a surprised Mark in the side and making the sword go flying.

Ethan used the bamboo stick to whap Mark in the neck, only to have Mark grab the stick and yank him towards him.

The blue-haired boy quickly let go, but stumbled forward and lost his balance, allowing Mark to swing the stick and strike him in the shoulder.

"ETHAN!" Tyler yelled, barreling forward and tackling Mark to the ground. "Ethan, please, go get help!"

That seemed to persuade Ethan, and he fled out the door.

Tyler's face was turning pale, but his weight was effectively pinning Mark to the ground, and his right elbow was jammed against Mark's throat. Mark's muscles strained with the effort, but he managed to free one arm just enough to grab the katana and repeatedly sink it into the flesh of Tyler's back.

In a few seconds, pain and blood loss finally caused Tyler to weaken, and Mark shoved him away. Mark stepped on Tyler's face to keep him down, and brought his sword down straight into his heart.

Then he flew out the door, and looked left and right, frantically wondering which way to go.

Ping!

Mark checked his phone. Info-kun.

Faculty room

Hurry

He shoved the phone into his pocket and raced off. He dramatically threw the faculty door open to find Ethan in a state of high panic and explaining what was going on to Mr. Barnes.

When Mark burst in, the teacher pushed Ethan behind him and fumbled for a box cutter from his desk. "Don't come any closer."

Ethan whimpered at the back, "What did you do to Tyler! Where is he?!"

Mark laughed in delight, "Why, he's as dead as you're going to be. And hi Wade! My favorite teacher!"

Wade glared daggers, steadily holding the knife between them. "Drop the sword. Now."

Normally he would've been afraid of the teachers—especially tall ones—but he had a frigging katana. Nobody was going to get between him and senpai.

With one stroke he sliced Wade's head clean off, which made Ethan scream a little too much for his liking. He slit the little guy's throat and tossed him aside. "That's for copying senpai's hair and saying 'wowie' too much."

He surveyed the bloody room. What a mess.

Mark laughed.

Then he realized he had to hide the bodies. The faculty room was used often, and if the police were called he wouldn't be able to meet his senpai.

He put Ethan's small form in a trash can and covered him with papers. He looked around for a place nearby to hide Mr. Barnes.

Frustrated, he looked out the window.

Ah, a convenient dumpster right below!

Down Wade went, and after cleaning the blood with a spare teacher's outfit, Mark went off to take care of Tyler's body.

Hours passed. At lunch, he picked up the katana from where he'd left it (a bathroom stall). The point was a little dull, since he'd used it to take out the smoke detector in the gaming club, but still useful nonetheless. He journeyed to the gaming club room that the gamers were all obsessed about. He peeked inside to see who was in there. Just Ken, Amy, and Minx.

Easy enough. Hopefully they don't scream too loud.

Mark slid the sword through the handles. The hilt on one side helped it not to slide off, but it probably wasn't enough.

He really needed to work on his planning. He hurried off to the lockers, where he found a random length of sturdy rope that'd been at the top of the locker since last week.

Perfect.

Hehehhehheeeheeeee

Excitedly, he went back and tied the handles together, taking the katana for himself.

He skipped outside and located his target window, which he'd marked with a pink mustache that nobody found suspicious.

Struggling just a little, he slowly pushed open the window right in front of Ken. He waited to see if the Mississipian would notice, but he was staring too intently at his PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds game. Mark shoved the monitor down and splashed gasoline in his face.

"AGH!!" Ken spluttered, momentarily blinded. "WHAT THE FUCK—IS THIS GASOLINE?"

Mark slammed the window down and ran to another, where he tossed the can into the room. He waited under the window and gleefully listened to their panic.

Amy screamed. "Ken! Shit, we need to get out of here. Here, this way. Minx, the door!"

"I can't open them!" Minx yelled frantically, sounding terrified. "There's rope or something tying the handles together! What sick bastard did this?"

Smirking, Mark struck a match and tossed it backwards into the room.

There were more screams. Ken's was particularly anguished. Probably because his skin was slowly being burned off haha.

"Quick, get a window open!" Amy ordered.

"There!" Minx shouted.

Amy was most likely guiding Ken to Mark's window, "Okay, you go out fir—"

Mark popped up like a senpai-in-the-box. "Hi!"

Amy's mouth dropped open, "Mark!? You did this?"

He speared her in the chest, and she struck the ground and was enveloped in flames, her last expression full of betrayal.

"AHHHHH!!" Ken howled, his entire body an inferno. "HELP!! HELP US!!"

Minx was trying to shove open the door with her shoulder, but soon gave in to the smoke.

Mark giggled, a satisfied smile plastered to his insane face. "Stay toasty, CinnamonToastKen. Now you'll never get senpai."

An hour later, when the fire had died down, Mark climbed inside to check the damage. He stepped on Amy's tarred chest as he made his way over to Ken. He stared down at the unrecognizable corpse, the smell of burnt flesh reaching his nostrils.

Ahh, revenge is sweet. And a little rotten. It stunk in here.

Mark went out again so he could undo the rope still tied to the handles, then shoved it in a random person's locker. He'd reluctantly chucked the katana into the incinerator while the fire was burning, so now he was clean.

You couldn't even tell there was a fire unless you looked in through the window. Good thing hardly anyone went to clubs anymore.

❀

At 5:00 PM, Mark patiently waited for senpai under the tree. He didn't come. He sat there for an hour, but there was no sign of Jack's neon green hair.

Disappointment. That's what he felt. It was a terrible feeling, and it ate up his heart until it was half hollow.

An hour later, the police came and investigated, in case there was new evidence. And there was. They found the ruins of the Gaming Club and the remains of Tyler, Ethan, and Mr. Barnes. They sent anyone still there home.

Mark went to Jack's house and saw him lying in his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He wanted to confront him and ask him why he didn't meet him, but couldn't. Maybe he needed space. Mark would have him soon enough anyway.

❀

Mark came home and grabbed a knife from the kitchen counter and skipped down the steps to find the three expendables.

MatPat was huddled in the corner with his eyes shut tight as Aaron casually broke one of a screaming Felix's fingers.

"Hey Aaron," Mark greeted, then walked over to MatPat, who didn't hear him coming, since he had both hands over his ears. He yanked a hand down, making him jump with fright, "Got any more news with Info-kun?"

"I-I figured out the code to open the door," MatPat mumbled breathlessly, eyes still shut tight.

"Code?"

"There's an—an electronic lock of some sorts. That's why y-you can't get inside. There's p-probably some hidden panel along the wall for you to—type it in."

"And what's the code?"

"8-9-6-1-1."

"Is there any other security?"

"I...no, I—don't think so. Mark, please. I don't want Steph to worry. Can you please text her?"

Mark produced a black iPhone from his back pocket. MatPat's. "Make it quick."

MatPat instantly scrolled through his girlfriend's many frantic messages before typing a response.

Matthew!

Did you go home without me?

Haha it's okay. Have a good night xx

Good morning, still haven't texted back?

I bet you lost your phone again

You overslept didn't you :P

Wake uppp

Are you at school yet?

You completely didn't show up today, where are you?

Hello?

Mat?

Are you okay??

If you're sick just tell me

Please answer

Why won't you pick up your phone?

Your parents aren't answering either

I called the police but all they did was say your house was undisturbed

Matthew???

When are you coming back?

This is the second day

I went to your house but nobody's home

Don't scare me

Please answer

Matthew, please be ok

Steph!

Steph I'm okay

Where have you been?!

God I've been worried sick

I've had some things to take care of

I know, I'm so sorry

But I'm fine, I swear

I don't believe you

How do I know this is you?

Clap and a half?

A catchphrase isn't good enough

You have a white cat named Skip

When I came over a few days ago he ate all the fisch on my plate

Okay, it's you

Are you safe?

MatPat meekly looked up at Mark's eyes, who glared at him, daring him to give him away. "If you say anything about me, you both die."

I'm safe Stephanie

Well good, because do you have any idea HOW many people have turned up missing or DEAD?

The police actually thought it was NATE!

Are you sure you're okay?

Don't lie to me

Yes I'm fine

I'll be bach soon, don't worry

I love you Steph x

I love you too xx

Whatever you're doing, please be careful

Of course

Mark snatched the phone back, "Satisfied?"

The nerd looked down nervously, "Yeah."

"Will you stop being a whiny brat now?"

"Yes."

"Hmm..." Mark read through the messages again, fully conscious of how Matthew's breathing was getting ragged with anxiety.

Mark twirled his knife around, and the other boy broke into cold sweat, not realizing he had a weapon in hand. Mark read aloud the two typos he hadn't noticed before, "Fisch...bach..."

The color bled out of MatPat's face, leaving it dead white. "Wh...what are you talking about?"

The handle of the knife struck MatPat across the face, throwing him to the ground. "How dare you," Mark snarled viciously. "How could you get in the way of my love?"

The terrified boy scooted backwards, eyes wide with tears and fear.

"How could you try to be a tricky smartass and try to out me? You're pathetic, and you've doomed your girlfriend. Goodbye, Cordato-Patrick, you fucking idiot."

Sobs nearly rendered his last words intelligible, "Mark...please..."

The sharp blade flashed downwards, sinking hilt deep into MatPat's stomach.

Matthew screamed, bringing a hand up to cover the wound, "Oh my god—Mark—Mark, don't, please don't. Don't hurt Steph—"

All pleas ignored, another stab dug into his thigh. Mark raised the bloody knife and punctured the right side of MatPat's chest. The boy spat blood and yelled in agony.

The fatal blow was an impalement through the top of his head.

He turned around and let the body drop to the floor. Aaron was goggling him with wonderment, "Wow, that was hot."

"Thanks," Mark said dismissively. "I gotta go kill his girlfriend. Don't get rid of the body yet."

He burst into the night and hopped onto his red bike, dropping the knife in the basket. It turns out the idiot had the courtesy to write out Stephanie's address in his contact book. Thank you MatBrat.

He arrived at the house soon enough; she only lived a few blocks away. The only light was coming from a second floor room, but the rest was dim.

It was the first time he'd ever broken into a house, but this would be a great first experience! He tried to open a window, but it was locked.

Plan B was to throw a rock, so throw a rock he did. Thank the gods that he had such plus one biceps, because it sailed through the glass and straight into the house. Quickly, he grabbed another one to break a hole big and safe enough to climb through.

As he dropped inside, knife in hand, he listened hard for noises, but heard none.

Mark flew up the stairs, kicking open the door of the room that he'd seen with the light on earlier.

Ow ow ow ow ow ow owww.

His foot now hurt like hell, but at least he'd entered very dramatically.

The room looked empty, and he noticed a yearbook from last year lying open on the bed, the page on his year. She had obviously been looking for a Fischbach to see if her boyfriend had made the typos on purpose.

"Stephanie..." he hissed in falsetto, "Stephanieeeee..."

No reaction.

Huh.

There was no bathroom, so if she was in the room, the closet and under the bed were the only options.

He swooped his head under the bed but saw nothing. The closet door was open just a crack, and he swiped it open with his knife to...also find nothing.

Well then.

He scratched his head, looked lost for a few seconds, then backtracked to the hallway, stopping once again to listen for movement.

What if she had escaped the house while he was in the room? It was unlikely, given that he'd been pretty quick, but he rushed back into her room and opened the curtains to look out at the front yard.

He was not prepared to see Stephanie Cordato standing on the roof ledge outside the glass — the veranda — clutching a grey and white cat.

"Too easy," he mumbled.

Mark quietly eased open the unlocked window with his elbow—ha, no fingerprints—and crept after her. The cat was meowing in confusion as his human slowly made her way to the edge.

"Hold onto me," she whispered to Skip, putting him on her shoulder. The feline clutched her tightly, seeming to understand the importance.

She turned around so she could hang off the roof by her hands and then drop down.

Mark waved with the knife, "Hi Steph."

She gasped and clambered down the roof, dropping down too fast, with Skip hopping off her shoulder to safely land on the grass midway.

Mark was right behind her. She was back on her feet, cell phone out of her pocket into her hand and about to bolt.

He grabbed her by the back of her blouse and yanked her back, covering her mouth before she could scream.

She bit his hand and kicked backwards, but he held fast, gritting his teeth to keep in the pain. He pressed the knife to her neck, and she stilled. "Drop the phone."

She didn't move.

"I said drop the phone."

The white Samsung thudded into the grass.

Mark smirked. Well now he's Samsmug.

He led her back onto the wooden patio, where hopefully they would be at least a little bit out of sight. Fate had ensured that it'd be dark out.

Then Skip the cat appeared out of fucking nowhere. He jumped straight onto Mark's face and proceeded to scratch his hair out, yowling like a madcat.

He did the first thing he thought of, which was to throw Stephanie's head against the wall. Then he grabbed the animal by his middle and threw him across the front yard.

Wait a minute. Why wasn't Stephanie trying to scream?

She was bent down slightly, and he realized he'd accidentally and skillfully managed to make her neck land right on the sharp ends of the window that he hadn't broken off.

He dabbed. This was just perfect.

He used his shirt to wipe the doorknob, since he'd left his fingerprints on it earlier. Now he was clean again! There was no way he could ever get arrested now.

He ignored the poor cat's terrified meows and picked up the phone. He was horrified to discover that she'd dialed 911 a few seconds ago, and it was possible that the police were on their way.

He fast-walked to his bike, ripping open the smartphone and taking out the battery and SIM card. He snapped both and dropped them down the gutter.

That might've been enough to avoid being traced, but he couldn't be sure, so he rushed home as fast as he could. Back at his house, he broke the phone in two, and dumped the pieces into the trash.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he calmed his heart rate by staring at a picture of senpai for a few minutes. Senpai always made him sane.

Once his breathing evened, he took a visit down his basement.

Aaron was sitting in the corner, stoically scrolling through his phone.

Mark peered at Felix, whose normally stereotypical-Swedish-blue eyes had turned ashen. "Is he done?"

The other American's face was uncharacteristically hard, "Believe it or not, yeah. I guess watching the teacher's pet die was enough to break him. Plus, I found a sweet spot of his."

Mark raised an eyebrow, not knowing what that meant.

"His girlfriend Marzia," he stated, as if it were obvious. "He just falls apart when I mention her."

"Oh. I didn't know she'd dated anyone."

Aaron shot him an evil eye, "Seriously? They were like, the golden couple. You obviously don't pay attention to anything but your senpai."

Mark didn't fail to catch the dangerous tone Aaron was using. "Well, of course. What else is there to pay attention to?"

"Me? Your fucking partner?" He held out the phone, which Mark belatedly realized was his. He'd probably left it when he'd run off to kill Stephanie. It showed his text messages about Aaron with Info-kun.

Mark shrugged, "Oops."

"Is that all you have to say about this?" he demanded, practically screaming as he stood up to get in his face.

Mark backed up, faintly lamenting the fact that he'd left the knife in the bathroom. "Um..."

The words that came spilling out of his ex-partner's mouth was intelligible and unbelievably livid. "I spent three days in this hell dungeon, with torturing two idiots being the only thing I could do. And then you tell me I can't even touch the nerd because he had information, and now you FUCKING BETRAY ME. Scheming my downfall behind my back. I've been so damn loyal to you but you use me like I'm—I'm just one of them!" He angrily flung his arm out at MatPat and Felix.

Oh, Mark thought. That's why he's mad. Aaron was getting awfully close, and he had a switchblade in his hand.

"You know, I thought we had something," Aaron said lowly. "I thought you'd realize your senpai would never notice you, but apparently you're never going to see that. I hate you. I hate you so much."

Mark held up his hands, not knowing how to deal with all these silly emotions being flung at him. "Aaron, man, put down the knife."

Aaron's eyes were open wide, his pupils barely visible, "You idiot."

Oh shit, now he was screwed. That was not a good expression. Oh no no no no no he was going to die and lose senpai. Thinking fast, he blurted, "Felix! Help—kill him! Kill Aaron! Kill this guy!"

Pewds Mackenzie jumped up so fast he could've passed as a white Usain Bolt if you squinted real hard.

Aaron's mouth dropped open as he turned to witness Felix grab him by the throat. He tried to say a command, but the only thing that pushed past his lips were gasps and empty air.

In moments Felix had his wrist in a tight grip, and he swiftly disarmed Aaron of his switchblade.

Mark clapped his hands, egging the mindbroken Swede on like a demented cheerleader. "Yes! Kill him!"

The mindbroken Felix tore open Aaron's throat with the help of the knife, and the American dropped to the ground.

"Thanks, you useful idiot," Mark patted his shoulder. He walked over to MatPat's cadaver and snapped a photo, sending it to Info-kun.

Good work, but don't send me this stuff. I have no use for it.

Excuse me?

Jokes.

Bring Aaron's phone to me tomorrow. A weapon with his fingerprints on it would work too.

Okay. I just have a question

I want to know about Marzia. What really happened to her?

What is there to say?

She made her choice and now she's gone forever. I had nothing to do with it.

Really?

Look, I'm not in the best of spirits right now

I have work to do

Get fucking lost

How cold.

Mark went through his contacts and stared at Jack's name.

He'd always wanted to text his senpai, but the fact that he wasn't supposed to know his number always stopped him. Now he could.

It took him a long time to think of something to say that wasn't stupid, but he managed.

Mark clicked on Jack's name, only to see something bizarre.

Hey Jack, I'm going home early

You don't have to meet me today

OK, no problem

The three messages only showed up for an instant. Then they disappeared, as if he'd previously deleted them and his phone had forgotten.

He did not send those messages.

The timestamps were hard to recall, but they had looked like either 2:00 or 3:00 PM.

With a sinking feeling, Mark put the pieces together. The only people who could possibly know about the meeting was Jack...and Info-kun, since the guy/girl had hidden cameras and microphones everywhere. Nobody in the plaza had been standing close enough to hear.

Info-kun.

Info-kun.

Info-kun.

The made-up name escaped in angry whispers from his mouth all throughout the night.

Mark went to bed, and he dreamed of his senpai...

...and a red-haired corpse swinging from a cherry blossom tree, a cell phone jammed down their traitorous throat.

❀

A/N - I'M SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER

school is a bit overwhelming right now, but it's all good, cuz my birthday's tomorrow

and matpat was originally gonna die a lot more painfully and there was actually gonna be more felix torture scenes but i JUST COULDN'T DO IT TO THEM

i am so not fit to write these

i should just stick to innocent hogwarts fanfictions

lol please comment if you can i want to hear your thoughts and predictions about marzia and info-kun ^_^