There was a long pause as Blake allowed my words to sink in, his expression not giving anything away.

"If you think," he said slowly, "I give a damn what you are, then you're a bigger fool than I am for risking everything I am by choosing you."

"How does choosing me make you a fool?" I asked, a little hurt by the choice of wording.

"You just have no idea the danger it puts both of us in, and I cannot explain it to you." He sighed, pressing his forehead to mine.

Before I could formulate my reply, a scream split the air, and my blood ran cold. I knew without a shadow of a doubt what that scream meant, and so did Blake. Something had killed another student.

The wall opened up with a crunch of rock moving against rock and the school spit us both out of the passageway, so we tumbled into a familiar hallway near the dorms. "Wait, it might not be safe." Blake said urgently, catching my upper arm.

I didn't listen to him, shrugging off his touch and taking off running in the direction the sound had come from.

The screams were louder now, and I was rounding on them when Blake came alongside me. "Stop, I'll investigate. Just go back to your room or something." He pleaded.

I snorted. As if. "You don't know me that well if you think I'm going to ignore someone in distress."

It had been one thing I had struggled with most. On the streets, we pretended not to see or hear anything and we certainly avoided getting involved, but something about screams of terror pulled me in. Just as when the last girl was found, I felt a weirdness in my chest. A sense of wrongness that my body recognised even if I couldn't.

We rounded the corner to find a girl pressed against the wall. The hand over her mouth was doing nothing to muffle the screams as her eyes remained fixed on the body slumped against a doorframe.

It was a boy this time. His arms positioned unnaturally in his lap and his mouth hanging open in shock. I didn't have to touch him to know that he was dead, but I still moved closer. Taking in those wide glassy eyes, fixed on something that horrified them.

Whatever he had last seen had terrified him and whilst that should have scared me, it did nothing but fuel a rage in me. I didn't recognise him, wasn't even sure he was in my year, but I felt a fury for a life cut short.

Up close, I could see the thin spider web of blue veins bursting out around parted lips. A sharp inhale beside me had me glancing round at Blake.

I could hear footsteps hurrying through the hallways now and the screaming girl had switched to sobs, curling in on herself as though hoping the smaller she was, the less real this situation was.

"I need to go." Blake said, eyes fixed on the body and brow pinched with concern. "You should too. We can't get caught out of lessons."

"I'm pretty sure teachers won't be concerned about lessons with a student dead." I pointed out.

"No, but they're going to be concerned about who did it, and I can't get caught up in that." He backed up a couple of steps as he spoke.

I tilted my head to the side and took in his retreating form. "Are you seriously running?"

He shrugged. "Are you seriously not?"

Before I could reply, he took off at a run that made him almost blur. Just in time for the approaching people to round the corner.

I didn't recognise the teacher at the front, but she took in me two steps from the body and the girl huddled on the floor behind me and reacted.

I saw her lips moving, but couldn't hear what she said as my body jerked upright and my arms pressed against my sides.

"What the hell?" I asked as my body floated back to press against the wall.

"Until the headteacher gets here, I must protect the students by detaining any suspects." She told me, almost apologetically.

"Maybe you should have moved faster to detain King, too. I can feel he was here." Enzo said, moving up behind her, eyes fixed on me.

I didn't dare open my mouth to speak and risk incriminating Blake, instead choosing to stare him down. The mix of pity and disappointment in his eyes was enough to throw me off kilter.

The teacher moved away, hurrying to stop other students from getting too close to the body, and leaving me pinned and helpless against the wall.

It was not a feeling I particularly liked, and Enzo seemed to recognise that. Leaning against the wall beside me casually so I looked slightly less awkward. He was silent for a moment.

"So, are you and him a thing now?" He asked quietly after a moment.

"Who? Me and Blake? Not even close."

He was silent again as we watched the headteacher and healer arrive. They both shot us looks but seemed more focused on the body, which was understandable, really.

"But you were with him?" Enzo asked after their attention left us.

I sighed. "We were talking. That's not a crime Enzo."

He barked out a laugh that seemed totally at odds with the situation. It was weird how unaffected some people were by death here. Like they had seen it so many times, they were almost desensitised to it.

I had noticed it watching the other students. Some were broken and horrified, but others were merely concerned, as though wondering if it was likely to happen to them.

"I could be with him."

"What could be with who?" I replied, distracted by my thoughts and the crowd.

"Talking to Blake could be a crime. You don't understand how deep the darkness in their family goes."

"Neither do you. Look, I'm not defending him and I'm not getting into this stupid fight you have going on. Confront him and talk it out if you want, or just be my friend, but I'm not being in the middle of whatever this is. There's enough going on in my life right now."

"You know I wanted to be a hell of a lot more than friends."

If there was ever a moment I wanted the floor to swallow me, this was it. Why wasn't the school helping me when I needed it to?

"I'm sorry Enzo. I just don't see you like that. You know I've got a lot going on and I thought we agreed to just be friends?" I mumbled.

"A lot going on, but somehow you're seeing Blake?" He snapped.

I took a deep breath, fighting to keep my cool. "I told you, it's not like that. Do I like him? Yes. Am I attracted to him? Sure. Am I looking for something with him? Hell no. I just like his company right now and am seeing where things take us. It doesn't have to mean or be anything more than that."

Enzo scrubbed a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, ok? I know you don't see me that way, but it's difficult for me to just switch off how I'm feeling. Perhaps I should have been clearer from the start that I like you. Knowing you're not even interested in exploring that fucking hurts, but I get it too. You can't help who you like and I need to respect that. Sorry if I've been a bit of dick."

My mind drifted to Nancy. "I get it. You can't help who you like. But just because I'm not the one for you, doesn't mean I don't like you or that you're a bad person. You're just a hurt one. The perfect person is out there. You might even know them already. Just be open to it."

He shook his head and chuckled, "When did you get so wise? Maybe I should change your nickname from Trouble to Cupid. Feels like you're trying to set me up with someone."

I laughed awkwardly. "Not trying to set you up. But I might help steer you towards some good eggs if I can."

Before he could reply, the thing holding me against the wall released me and I let out a sigh of relief as I stretched all my limbs. I would never take my own freedom of movement for granted again.

"Ms Winters, Mr Parker." Mrs Kennedy joined us, her face serious.

My eyes flicked to the now covered body, and I realised, for all my judgement of the other students not being seriously affected by the death, I had just been discussing love lives within feet of the dead boy.

I winced slightly and sent up a silent apology to wherever he ended up.

"I didn't have anything to do with that. I just found him when I heard her screaming." I gestured with my head to the practically catatonic girl who was being spoken to by the healer.

"I'm aware. I know exactly where you were when this took place, despite your miraculous escape." She replied with pursed lips.

I thought about asking how she knew, but decided that was a question for another time. "What happened to him?" I asked instead.

Her expression turned grim. "We are investigating it, but as of right now, we don't know. It's like nothing we've ever seen before."

"Is it safe for us to be here?" Enzo asked.

"As safe as anywhere right now. I know it doesn't feel like it, but we are doing everything we can to protect you all and I am calling in every expert I know. We will get to the bottom of it." She glanced over her shoulder at the crowd, eyeing me with a mix of fear and suspicion, "But for not Ms Winters I am afraid you may have to deal with some unwanted attention as many seem to believe you are the cause."

"How can I be the cause? I don't even know what I am, let alone how to actually do anything."

"People are not known for trusting what they don't understand. You are no different right now." She said sadly, turning to face the crowds, "As of now we cannot confirm the cause of this. I need everyone to go back to class or their rooms. Right now we have no formal suspects for this so there will be no loitering in the corridors until we get to the bottom of it. Dismissed."

I took a step towards the away from the wall, and people hurried to obey.

Fantastic. They might as well have painted a magic cross on my back. I knew how quickly fear could turn to fury, and when it did, I was the most likely target.