Cand(y)ice

3

Day two of mom's business trip. I sat in the school yard, going through my phone as I waited for Layne to arrive. Bored, I went through some new true crime files that had popped on my feed.

"LA serial killer strikes again, leaving frightening drawings.", the title held my interest, as I clicked and started reading.

"Forensic police has investigated the crime scene for the past 10 hours, and it is recognized to be more sadistic than the last. Nail clippers were used to decapitate both hands from the victims, and their hearts were missing. It is thought that these acts were committed by the same criminal as last time, as the techniques used were similar. But, this time, instead of simply pentagrams, we also found drawings of human hearts. How twisted could someone be to commit such heinous acts?"

Someone who was written by me. I smiled slightly, day dreaming about this killer. Could he be on the same level as felons from the 80s? Maybe I had underestimated him, but then again, if he was this capable, he should have shown it earlier, instead of starting off with boring pistol wounds. Blades felt so much closer to the heart, closer to the flesh... in a way, a cut could also be romantic...

"Long time no see.", I felt a tap on my shoulder. Layne. I smiled, offering her a seat.

"Your fever got better?", I pressed my palm to her forehead, to which she frowned. Knowing her, she was probably thinking about whether I had sanitized my hands in the last 24 hours. She was a bit of a hypochondriac.

"I still feel faint. But as long as I take my medicine, all should be fine.", she answered, looking over me to my phone. "How dirty the crime scene must have been, blood can be the dirtiest thing, though it is closest to us."

I felt her shiver, and I giggled.

"It's because it's close to us that I love it so much. Just like true crime."

"No, you just like Richard's cheekbones.", the brunette smirked. In a way, her bored gaze reminded me of that of my half sister, but the way her eyes melted into honey made it almost impossible for me to compare the two.

"Don't just say his name. It's Richard Ramirez.", I pouted, frowning.

"I meant the other one.", Layne winked, and in some way I wanted to pounce onto her and choke her to death. Use that long hair for something other than her ridiculously long braid.

"He's my half brother. Don't speak nonsense. I have enough rumors spread about me.", I sighed, as the bell rang.

"So you'd rather people think you're a school shooter, than realize you've been in love with your half brother for all these-"

Before she could finish her sentence, I got up, leaving her to her madness. For once, I would rather she go on about how unhygienic I was for licking my fingers after eating candy.

Me, and Richard? Ridiculous.

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"Again, very good work, Candice.", Mr. Delettre handed me my homework, smiling. I awkwardly returned the favor, before waiting for him to leave. As he turned his back to me, I went through my paper, this time feeling my lips tug up on their own.

"Blondie got a good grade? I'm not surprised.", Elan lazily looked over, his eyes even more unpleasant with their more apparent dark circles.

"Better than yours. Though you seem to have stayed up all night for this essay.", I teased, referring to the lakes of black under his eyes.

"I didn't."

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At the end of the day, I slowly packed, before leaving the school, after saying my good byes to Layne. It was a good thing she was back, for I could have quality social time now, instead of talking about human anatomy with social leftovers like Elan.