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Chapter 1

Three years ago 

“What is it about bad boys being…” amira starts, getting your attention then she lifts her arm and points toward Adem before resuming her question “…hot all the time?” 

You pulled her arm back down “Don’t forget that they are assholes too.” 

She rolls her eyes and mumbles “You’re worse than my mother”. 

Adem has always been the quiet, mysterious and intimidating guy, that one kid nobody knows anything about, except his full name, and nobody has ever heard his voice except the one answering “present" to the roll call. 

Nobody knows. 

He never seemed to care about anything. Really. He never seemed to care about anyone or anything at all. 

Nobody cares either. 

The teacher walks into the classroom and looks up at adem first thing. The 24 heads in the classroom follow and look back at him. 

“Adem, principal Zheng wants to see you”. He stands up without sparing a look at the teacher or at anyone else, and exits the classroom closing the door shut behind him. 

You look away from the door when Adem’s back leaving wasn’t visible anymore. The teacher sighs and orders to get your attention back on your textbooks. 

A moment later, only a short while after Adem left for the principal’s office, the annoying sound of the microphone suddenly rang across the classrooms and the hallways through the speakers. 

“BE CAREFUL EVERYONE! ASSEMBLE IN THE FIELD! LEAVE THE CLASSROOMS AND CLOSE THE GATES!” 

You thought it was just another exercise like the ones you do when the fire alarm goes off. But the voice speaking sounded too panicked and shaky for that to be just a simulation. 

You could hear some more noises through the speakers before the voice resumed its announcement “IF YOU COME ACROSS ADEM LARKS, RUN!” 

Suddenly the announcement got abruptly shut off. You felt chills down spine, your hands were shaking desperately holding onto the edge of your desk and your heart started beating ridiculously faster. 

As the students were scared trying to process what they just heard, the teachers had already started rushing everyone outside the classrooms. About half the students were assembled in the field when another loud noise coming from the speakers rang through the hallways, making everyone freeze on the spot in both fear and confusion.  

 “The principal should already be dead by now, probably by someone else’s hands” The voice speaking was both familiar and unrecognizable.  

“You all should thank me…” as the voice gets louder, a hysterical laugh is heard from the other line, creeping everyone out before it continues speaking “You should thank me, Adem, for doing you a favor and-"  

The line gets cut off again before it starts again with some struggling noises and a muffled voice “He’s dangerous! Catch him! Or run for your life! Be careful"  

The contrast between the words in that person’s sentence made it clear everyone ought to be in a state of total panic. The crowd of students desperately trying to reach the field started moving again when amira suddenly grabs your hand.  

She starts dragging you on the opposite way. “Amira, we should go with them to be safe-" you say with a shaky voice. 

“Are you crazy?” she yells “Larks heard the announcement too he will obviously go to field too, if we stay with them we’ll be in more danger let’s use the emergency exit!” 

As you hurriedly try to escape using the emergency stairs, you trip over your own steps. As if in slow motion, you see yourself falling down as you hurt your ankle.  

Amira walks to you and reaches out to your arm trying to get you up “Leila can you walk!?” as she grabs your arm an expression of sudden fear and surprise gets drawn over her face.  

And before you get glimpse of anything you see blood dripping down her up-arm as her back hit the wall from the shock and she let out an awfully loud painful scream. 

When you got back to your senses Adem was there aiming his knife at you. 

Maybe some odds were in your favor, but strangely enough, Adem stops his actions as if some realization suddenly hit him and a brief flash of fear crossed his eyes. Very briefly.  

At that moment some fast paced footsteps were approaching the scene. Probably Amira’s scream drew them in. 

Not giving a damn about anything happening around him, holds your eyes in his gaze and smiles as if satisfied with the expression of terror in your face. 

The footsteps were coming closer and closer reading to barge in the scene anytime when adem mouths your name “leila"

As if not shaken enough your hearts feels like it has stopped beating for a split seconds, chills ran down your spine as your eyes grew wider. Your mind completely unable to process anything that’s happening.  

The two guards who were coming your way stormed in and kicked him on his knees.  

Unbothered by his situation he continues grinning at you “I will find you" he says. 

The guards hold him in place and take his weapon away while two teachers join as well and take you and Amira away from the scene. 

As you were leaving you look back at him still held down and still looking at you with that smile. 

You turn around the corner with your mind blank and last thing you could hear was Adem yelling “Save her!”.