Nola POV

Even though she did not need to go to all her classes, she at least went to her favorite class, Forensic Science. A lot of the learning was in the classmates talking about their experiences and why they were interested in that class and/or that field.

Today in class, Ronan spoke about why he was in the field.

"I like science," he said, pushing up the glasses he wor. Still cute as he wanted to be with the glasses on. "I know there are several different fields of science but for some reason, studying forensics was interesting to me. It's mixing science with criminal investigation. And I thought I wanted to be a cop when I was younger, but this way I can kinda mix both of them."

He glanced over at Nola and smiled at her. She could not stop herself from blushing.

"I want to go on and earn my Master's degree and then Ph.D. and help solve crimes. And unlike some of you in class, I guess nothing major happened in my life to help my interest in it. I watched a lot of TV shows. Saw how they solved crimes and found it fascinating."

Yeah, that was kind of a boring story when others talked about losing a loved one, unsolved cases they were into, or having something tragic happen to them. This guy was saying nothing ever triggered his fascination with being a forensic scientist.

She wished she was that lucky to not have any tragedy in her life. She was a walking tragic, toxic case.

Hence why she did not need to think about being in a relationship. Focus on her tough class schedule, hope Victor found some work for her to do, and continue training to be the best she could be.

After class, while she gathered her things to head out of the class, Ronan walked over to her, hands up as if he was surrendering to her.

"Hey, I'm unarmed, not stalking you or anything."

She tsked at him. "That is nothing to joke about."

"My bad." He looked a little nervous, his hands now stuffed down in his jeans pockets. "I was uh...wondering if you would like to go grab a bite with me. You missed a couple of classes, and I didn't get to apologize again for sneaking up on you the other day."

"No, it's all good. I should be apologizing to you for that kick to your chest. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good. I can take a beating."

"Yeah, like I said, I was taking it easy on you."

"So, how about it?"

"About what?"

"Let me buy you lunch."

"No, I really can't..."

"Come on, it's just going down to the Student Union and grabbing a sandwich or something. That's it. Then we can talk about class or nothing at all, just sit there and look at each other."

She laughed at him. "That sounds really weird." No way was she hanging out on campus with this guy she did not know, no matter how cute he was. It was the cute ones that caused problems.

"If not lunch, a cup of coffee, tea? Starbucks?"

"Meet me at Gabbys on National and then it's a yes." Off-campus, but not too far and secluded. Not a lot of Mo State students would be there, and no one would recognize her.

It was a ten-minute drive and she was there first and ordered a Cobb salad, no bacon, extra grilled chicken, and ranch dressing on the side. When Ronan finally arrived, he pulled up a chair at her table.

"How did you even know I have a car to make it here?"

"Profiled you," she said, looking him over. "Nice new shoes, you don't walk a lot. The other day you had your keys in your hand, and I spotted a car key. Also, you look well off, rich kid, not a scholarship kid. Rich parents?"

"How do you-"

"And an only child, am I right?"

"Yes. You're good."

Ronan ordered a bacon cheeseburger and cheese fries with a Coke to wash it down. She sipped her water with lemon and continued to watch him. He was a nice guy, she could tell that as well, but she would not tell him. He did not seem like the type to have many girlfriends either, it was something about how he carried himself.

She started studying the sociology of people, so she liked using what she learned about people she met. He was the first person she tried it on. She had so much to learn. Everybody's book written about criminology she would read. Every book on serial killers she already read. Watched every movie and documentary.

Yet a psychopath could be sitting in front of her. They did not look any different than anyone else and they were the best actors. They could pretend as if they cared but had no empathy for others. Tucker Anderson was a psychopath.

The difference between a psychopath and a sociopath?

Antisocial personality disorder is what they diagnosed someone who was a sociopath. People with that mental health condition showed no regard for right and wrong and ignored the rights and feelings of others. People with antisocial personality disorder tended to purposely make others angry or upset and manipulate or treat others harshly or with cruel indifference. They lacked remorse and do not regret their behavior.

Other characteristics of a sociopath included, they tended to make it clear they could care less. They were hot-headed and very impulsive. Many were prone to fits of anger and rage. Many could not maintain a regular work or family life. While they could form emotional attachments to others, it was difficult and possibly not long-lasting.

Psychopaths were much of the same things a sociopath was and more. They were the ones that committed the crimes, including murder. They pretended to care, a little better than sociopaths. They were cold-blooded with their behavior, with no remorse at all. They failed to recognize when others were in distress. All their relationships were shallow and fake, like how TA could pretend to care for his "cousin" Icee, but all along hated him.

Psychopaths, unlike sociopaths, could maintain a normal life as cover for their criminal activities, like all serial killers. TA was loved by fans all over the world because he could put on a facade as needed. He did not form a genuine attachment to others, maybe his sister, because she was a psychopath as well.

The one thing she did not see in TA that was a trait of a psychopath was that most could love people in their own way. Nothing she learned about him showed he loved anyone. Not even his own mother, who was just as nutty as her two monsters. Maybe he loved her in his way, all his money earned from Fact Iz would go to her and she was sure that woman was living it up with it.

If anyone looked closely at psychopaths, it was more common in men. Hence more men are serial killers, not that women could not be psychopaths as well, AKA proved that theory.

Basically, she could be sitting in front of a psychopath, she was pretty sure Ronan was not a sociopath.

"So how do you like Missouri State so far?" he asked her, with a smile that melted away doubt in her mind.

"It is a lot slower than Wash U. I attended summer classes here so that helped. My sisters went here. I visited a lot for other things, so it wasn't a big deal. Where are you from?"

"Kansas City, well, a little outskirt city called Raytown."

"I've heard of it. Played sports?"

"Football and baseball. Wasn't that great. Our team was not that great."

"Because you went to a private school, right? Mostly white."

"How did you..." He stopped himself from saying the obvious. "Okay, okay, you're freaking me out."

"How are you going to use your forensics degree?"

"Forensic Scientist, obviously. I like examining the material, getting to the nitty gritty of a crime."

"And that's it?"

"Yeah, you?"

She was not about to tell him or anyone else that she planned on going to the FBI. That was the goal, but maybe it would not happen. They were very selective about who they took in. And she had to pass Quantico and it was no cakewalk. So for now, she told people she would use her criminology degree to help the police in any way she could.

She did not think she needed to meet new friends either, but something about Ronan made her interested in learning more about him.

A/N: Now that we know the difference between the two, let's looks out for clues in the people Nola comes across.