BLACK DAHLIA

FAYE

"Everyone gasped when they heard the gunshot. Ethan's squad is halfway to the man's unit, but since they started a bit late, they have to catch him red-handed, so, despite knowing that it would be almost impossible to save the man, the squad continued until they reached the third floor. They got welcomed by the silent and empty hallway leading to the apartment unit seven— the man's residence.

Ethan stopped a few feet away from the partially opened door and signaled his squad for a surprise entrance. But, all of them were stunned when they found the man's corpse and his open window. On the wall are blood-painted words saying,

"He loves girls; I love his kind." -Bad Guy. "

[Bad Guy and the Lawful//inka]

***

It was a peaceful noon when I decided to sit in my favorite spot in the library, where no one could bother or disturb me from reading my favorite book. I enjoy the silence because it makes me feel like I am inside the world from the book I am reading. But, just eight minutes and forty-three seconds after I rested my butt on the chair, someone rushed inside the library and shouted,

"Faye! I need you to come, quick! Akabane's killing Roxas!"

Just hearing the name made me slam the book close and look at her with an annoyed face. Seriously? How many times had it been this week? Three? Four? Damn him!

If only I could kill Jyo with just one sharp look, he's probably found dead right from the very first day I met him. Of all high-profile schools in this damn country, why Elton High School? And worst, why did he has to be in my class? That darn loser!

I shove all of my things back inside my bag involuntarily and stomped my way towards the door where Kate— the vice president of the class slash the girl who came rushing to inform me about the problem— stood, panicking as always. I walked past her, not bothering to say anything since I also hate her as much as I hate that jerk, Jyo. She's the vice president, for heaven's sake! She's second to me, yet she couldn't handle that one damn kid. Oh well, Jyo's not just any high school kid; he's a devil residing on the fifth leaf of a clover. Ugh! I guess I'm watching too much anime. But, yeah! Whatever!

My classroom's two hallways away from the library, so it only took me less than a minute to get there. When Kate told me Akabane's killing Roxas, I thought it was just hyperbole, but turned out it was exactly the case.

Jyo Akabane and Kier Roxas are two people who are most likely to be the first two people I would kill if I would end up losing my mind because of too much frustration.

The whole classroom's a mess. The tables and chairs are telling me that there had been violence before I came. The rest of the class was either outside or huddling in every available safe space inside the room. And I was infuriated when I saw how the King of all devils is stepping on the face of another devil lying on the floor. Both of their faces have minor scratches, which I assume would look good if it is something a little more severe. At that moment, I knew that I won't be going to take this situation lightly like how I'd been handling all the mess previously. This fuckery has to stop.

"What do you think you're doing, motherfuckers?!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, slamming my hands hard on the open door. It was painful, but I couldn't care about the soothing pain in my palm because of the sight in front of me. "What do you think of this school, a place for some underground boxing match, you imbeciles!"

Everyone in the room fell silent with my sudden and aggressive entrance. I understand since I always appear to be the gentle and soft class president, and no one expected that I could raise my voice like this. But since Jyo had already seen that side of me many times, it's not surprising to see his unbothered face when they hear those unpleasant words coming out of my mouth. He's the only person who deserves to see that side, anyway.

Jyo glanced at me over his shoulder and then sighed before taking his right foot away from Kier's face. "Here comes your princess knight, loser," Jyo mocked as he slid both of his hands into his pockets.

Kier sat up and glared at me while wiping the blood off of his face and said, "Don't get in the way, miss perfect. This is none of your business," Then he stood up and tried to attack Jyo, lifting his hand to punch that moron but stopped midway when a 600-page-thick book flew in his direction and hit him on the face.

"I'm your elected class president, you moron."

Everyone in the class gasped when they saw how Kier fell because of it, and worst, his nose started bleeding. I didn't mean to hit his face, but there's no point in regretting what I did or saying sorry since he disrespected me as a person of authority in the class and the entire school. Aside from being the class president, I am also the captain of the Supreme Student Council of Elton High School, which means I have the authority to impose rules and discipline on all my subordinates, and no one is allowed to disrespect me.

"You shit!" Kier screamed when he saw the blood in his hands from his nose. He looked at me with so much anger, and judging from the look, it seems like he forgot rather than remember who he is talking to. "I'll kill you!"

For a moment, I forgot about Jyo because Kier started approaching me, holding a pen he randomly picked up to be his murder weapon, and only remembered he was in the picture when he grabbed Kier by the shirt and threw him back to the floor where he was lying a moment ago.

"You're such a loser," he commented with a poker face and then turned his back to walk away.

Jyo walked past me as if I wasn't there, but he stopped when I said, "You can't leave, Akabane,"

"Says who?" he responded in a low voice.

"Says me," I turned to look at him. "I'm still the captain of the SSC and your class president. Will you defy me again?"

There was a long moment of silence before Jyo answered, "First, my name's Jyo. Second, since when did I ever acknowledge your authority?" he looked at me peculiarly and then left.

I watched him as he walked out of the room. He's a Filipino-Japanese, deviant step-son of a well-known businessman. His mother died two years after marrying his step-dad due to some illness, and ever since then, rumors about Jyo circulated in the city. And the day he entered this classroom, he had become the pain in my ass. Whenever I see Jyo's face...my blood boils.

I heard the familiar clicking sounds of someone's high-heeled shoes walking in the front hallway, and I didn't have to look at the person coming to confirm it was her when a classmate of mine called her name.

"Miss Stacey,"

I looked down when I heard our homeroom teacher's name. As the SSC captain and Class 10-A president, I couldn't face her when she stopped in front of me.

"I apologize for leaving the class unattended, Miss Stacey," I said before glancing at the panicking Kier because his nose won't stop bleeding.

Miss Stacey looked at Kier and sighed. "I do understand, Miss Nase. However, we need to take disciplinary actions because you're the SSC captain. You're supposed to be a role model,"

"I apologize, Miss,"

She's a person everyone in this school respects, and she's the head of the school's disciplinary committee. She deals with the school's worst students, and among all people with authority in Elton High School, she's the one who has dealt with Jyo the most. However, even she couldn't handle Jyo.

"Kate," Miss Stacey called, so Kate walked in our direction.

"Yes, Miss?"

"Would you mind bringing Mr. Roxas to the school clinic?"

Kate nodded and immediately walked towards Kier and helped him get up. I chose not to watch Kier's dramatic exit because I knew that I messed up— big time.

"The rest of the class, go back inside and fix everything. Your afternoon classes are in 15 minutes," Miss Stacey then looked at me. "I'll see you after class, Miss Nase."