More time passed, and strangely enough, Kinzie hadn’t found a new target. Matt wasn’t hanging out with any girls, no one revealed any plans to Kinzie, and most of the time, things were calm. Since the delinquents got disbanded by Matt beating them up, he was down a friend group. He resigned to sitting down on a bench in the courtyard during breaks and after classes, wondering what he’s supposed to do now. He doesn’t have any friends that are available, his parents are still in a different country, and there isn’t anyone he can connect to. Kinzie was still watching him from afar, but he hardly noticed due to having his head in his hands frequently. She kept writing down her fantasies in her notebook, which was almost full by that point. With him at his lowest point and isolated, Kinzie could finally have him by the end of the year. She just had to make sure nothing was able to interfere. She looked away for a few moments when she heard something near her, but strangely enough, there wasn’t anybody there. She just shrugged it off and kept watching from a distance, albeit not in some bushes. All the while Matt was still somewhat depressed, head in his hands as he sat down. Suddenly, a voice came from the left. “Hello? Are you okay?” It asked. The voice was masculine, but still caring. Matt looked in their direction and saw a glasses-wearing student with a green amulet. He recognized him as Frederick von Aegis, a nobleman student that transferred to their school just this year. Due to his name being quite complicated, everyone just calls him FV usually. “Oh, hey there.” Matt said, not really knowing him in person, just knowing who he was. “I’m fine, just trying to think things through.” He continued, hiding what he really felt. “It doesn’t look like it’s just that. Something’s troubling you, I can tell.” FV told him, sitting down next to him. “It’s just… this year’s been pretty bad for me. Two of my friends are dead, and I ended up having to fight off my former group single-handedly. I rarely get to speak with anyone, and even then it doesn’t seem like they want to talk to me.” Matt replied, head back in his hands after explaining. FV looked to the left and tried to comfort him. “Come on, that’s not true. Hey, want to talk about this with me? There’s a pretty nice coffee shop in the city.” He offered, checking his watch and seeing they were finished for the day. Matt looked up and at him, before looking back down, sighing. “Well… I guess it’d be better than just sulking here.” He said, picking up his backpack, putting it on, and standing up. FV did the same, smiling. As they left the area, Kinzie watched them go out of the school, getting feelings of suspicion.

Later on, they arrived at the coffee shop FV mentioned, called Nitro Seven. Their coffee was special, in that it gives you more energy when you drink it without the bitter taste, hence the name. It was a cozy looking place, with a wooden interior, handmade décor, chalkboard menus, comfy cushioned chairs, and a gaming area for paying customers. Matt and FV walked in, and found a nice seat in the corner with couches and a painting on the wall of a little girl with a purple hat. They ordered their coffees when they sat down, a caramel macchiato for Matt and a simple mocha with milk for FV. As they waited for the coffees, the two of them decided to chat a bit. “So, tell me everything. As in, everything. Not the abridged version you told me earlier.” FV told Matt, who currently had an elbow on the table and was leaning against it. “So, it first started near the beginning of the year. Things were cool and all, with me still being with my group. I bumped into this girl named Kinzie at one point, although judging by how she looked at me I think she knew who I was beforehand. Later on, I was chatting with an ex-girlfriend of mine, Emily, when I noticed Kinzie approach me, but then leave abruptly out of the corner of my eye. I didn’t pay much attention to it, but a few days pass, and she’s reported to be missing. They launched an investigation into her disappearance, even named two suspects, but they weren’t able to prove they did anything. Then things weren’t too bad, yet I noticed Kinzie acting a bit fanatical, scribbling in her      notebook a lot and leaving abruptly. After Emily’s disappearance, she was acting weird, but it died down eventually. It popped up again however, but the one time I saw her at her most normal was at the talent show, where she did a performance that managed to beat everyone else’s, even ours. And we learned instruments for weeks to do that, by the way, but by the looks of it, she was practicing for YEARS to pull that off. A few weeks after that however, Rin turned up dead in a dumpster, which meant that Emily would have met the same fate. It shocked me a lot since we spent quite a bit of time together, and when I tried to talk to my group about it, they gave me the cold shoulder. The day after that, I confronted them about it, one of them socked me in the face, and after a fight, I got one of them hospitalized and the rest to stay home, meaning that the delinquents were a thing of the past. Fast forward to now, and I’m this depressed wreck that doesn’t have friends.” Matt finished retelling the events of the past months, and FV had a hand on his mouth from all that. “Wow. You’ve been through a whole lot there.” FV commented. “Ya think?” Matt replied sarcastically, before putting his head on the table. “Sorry. I…” Matt lifted his head back up. “I need a break.” Just as he said that, their coffees arrived. Matt took a swig of his, but FV kept it to a sip. They kept talking about ways for Matt to let off some steam, just so he doesn’t get screwed over by his emotions.

Over the next two weeks, the two became close friends. Matt was able to chat with him a lot since he didn’t really have much to do, taking care of his studies beforehand. FV even gave him some money to add to whatever he had, meaning he could last longer. They visited the library frequently so FV could teach him about stuff he had trouble in, and for Matt to not look awkward whenever he’s alone. Kinzie was watching their every movement, and for the two weeks that they were spending time together, she was keeping an eye on everything they were doing. Every single day she was watching them, she felt a plot to eliminate him come to her mind. They had lunch together a lot, and Kinzie could slip some poison into his food, but it’d make foul play obvious and it wouldn’t take long for the police to trace it back to her. Another one of the “note-then-stab” methods also came to mind, but she already burned her knife when she got rid of Rin’s body. Taking notes of everything they were doing, their daily routes and their homes, Kinzie had plenty of resources, but no definite plan. As she kept stalking them from afar and listening in, she knew she wouldn’t be able to do anything if she just stayed there. One of the days in the week, Kinzie was still listening to their conversation when FV brought up a topic that caught her attention. “Hey, Matt? How’s you and… love?” He asked Matt, who looked up in confusion. “Uh, what?” He replied. “Y’know, how have you been with love this year?” FV asked, sounding curious. Kinzie was listening closely, wondering if she’d have a mention. “Well, I… I’ve had two crushes this year, and one of them turned up dead in a dumpster. The other one, I’m not sure where it’s actually going. We talk a lot, but I’m wondering if that’ll go any further. So, overall, not good…” Matt explained, head in his hands. “Um… I kinda have a suggestion for you.” FV said. “How about you just not get a girlfriend? Be single.” He continued, genuinely trying to help. “What…? What do you mean…?” Matt replied, confused. “Since it’s been causing you trouble, might as well drop out of the game entirely. Live a lonely but solid road, you know?” FV replied. Matt thought about it for a moment, and looked left and right before responding. “I… That doesn’t sound like a bad idea, actually. Maybe… I’ll consider it.” Matt replied to a smiling FV. Kinzie was shocked when she heard that, and rushed to figure out a plan. However, none came to mind. Suddenly, she remembered that one of the vents with a fan on the roof was missing its cover, and she put two and two together. FV visits the roof every now and then, so it was all coming together. She just needed to wait…

The next day, Kinzie was looking somewhat unstable. She was shivering and shaking slightly, her eyes twitching every now and then. Her hair was unkempt too, while it looked clean it wasn’t brushed. Whenever someone asked her what was wrong, she just replied that she was fine before moving on. It was concerning, albeit she just played it off as normal. She stayed silent most of the day, neither presenting in class as usual nor speaking unless spoken to first. Matt noticed and felt slightly concerned, but was forced not to think about it by the other things he needed to take care of today. Later that day, FV headed to the roof as usual to look around the area, classes having ended earlier with not many people left on campus. The door was unlocked, so people were free to go up as they please. Kinzie followed him up there, her shaken appearance not having been changed since earlier. In fact, as she climbed up the stairs her shaking got more intense, reaching almost violent levels. However, once she saw FV up there, it stopped suddenly, as if it all just disappeared. Conveniently, he was standing next to the opened vent, fan inside still running as fast as a blender. Kinzie approached him from behind, footsteps as quiet as possible to not be visible. FV was just staring at the sunset, breathing calmly and remembering Matt. Suddenly, he heard something drop next to him, turning to look at it. However, there was nothing there when he looked. Out of nowhere, he was shoved forward, falling into the exposed vent… and to a bloody death. He was sliced up by the blade, his blood falling down into the vents and out the other end straight into the science lab. On the other side of it, some of the blood was shot out of the vent and got on the floor, the vent’s surroundings, and Kinzie’s uniform and hands. She looked down at her blood covered hands, her sanity temporarily disappearing as she thought about what she just did. She ran off, unaware that someone watched the whole ordeal from the roof’s entrance. Alex, who up to this point was just a friend of Matt’s, witnessed the entire thing. “She was the killer this whole time… I knew it.” She said to herself before reaching for her camera, only to find she didn’t have it. As Kinzie left the area through the fire escape, Alex remembered she left it at home. “Dammit… I could have proven everything I thought right here.” She descended the stairs quickly and made sure Kinzie wasn’t around. Running back home, she realized that if she wanted to take down Kinzie without her repeating what happened several years prior with her mother, she was gonna have to make her reveal it herself. An elaborate plan to take down a killer. She just needed to pull the strings and make it happen. The next three months are going to decide it all, who lives and who dies. It’s all in her hands now…