I bet you're wondering how I got to this point, how I ended up standing over the body of someone I thought was previously a friend. A knife in my hand, with his blood smeared across my face. 

There's no easy explanation for how we ended up here. Mark quietly rocking in the corner, whispering to himself that everything is going to be okay. Jackson pacing back and forth in the tiny room of his studio apartment, trying to figure out if we should call the police or just bury the body and hope for the best. Lucas standing beside me, his face ghost white, his body unmoving due to shock. 

Things weren't always this complicated, a year ago we were almost all normal University students, doing our best to survive the tortures of school, hoping that whatever path we chose was the right one and not a mistake. 
I, for one, knew in my heart that accounting was what I was supposed to do. My family had always been big into academics, instilling in me from an early age that my grades were always to be high, there was absolutely no room for failure in school. When I entered highschool, that's when I learned numbers were my thing. It came easy to me, I didn't have to think or try to figure it out. I heard the equation and the answer popped into my head like I had just typed it into google. 

Unlike most, I ran with my gift. I entered competitive math competitions, my parents always tested out my ability. When they finally realized that I hadn't been making it up and I was actually gifted with it, they pressured me into choosing accounting when applying for university. I had already been tossing the idea back and forth but with their pressured encouragement I just went for it, and I had no regrets. 

Jackson, on the other hand had always had a one sided relationship with any type of school. High school was not as easy for him as it was for me. Maybe it was due to the fact that this school was in the tiest neighborhood of his hometown. Maybe it was because the teachers didn't care, or weren't motivated into trying to help him to achieve greatness, which he undoubtedly had. Maybe it was because of his ty father who fathered use violence than words. His mother protected him from his father the best she could, but one day when he woke up in the morning, his mother was gone and his father was acting a little more suspicious than usual. When Jackson pressed his father on information about where his mother went, he was always met with a fist to the face. He quickly stopped asking, and only wished in his head for her return. A few months after she vanished, her body was found dumped in a river, and his father was being ripped from the house in handcuffs, during which he spewed about how ungrateful she was, how she was a dirty and unworthy of her life. 

Despite everything, Jackson still graduated, although with the poorest grades. He moved to a new city, attended some underground boxing matches which is where we met him and where he found his passion. 

Mark was like me in how he was raised. Although my family had along line of brilliant academics, Mark came from a family full of doctors. He had a good life and was able to make almost any decision for himself, except when it came to his career and what he would do. His father was very strict on what that was to be, and he would not allow Mark to up the train of Renyolds doctors that had been around for years and years. It was a legacy that he was forced into, even though he didn't want it. He knew being a doctor was good, he loved to help people and the money was good, so he knew he would be financially stable. Was it worth it though? He tried to force himself into believing that it was for the best, that his parents knew best and that he was meant for it. 

Although he never admitted it and would never admit it, deep down he knew it wasn't what he wanted to do, but his father would never entertain the idea of him studying anything else. So he buried it deep down inside, never breathing a word. Mark and I had been friends since grade 9 and I always knew he would have so much resentment towards his father but would never act on it because he wasn't one to defy his father. 

Lucas had always been a mixture of Jackson and Mark. We met Lucas at a party a few weeks into being at University. From what he had told us, he didn't know what he wanted to do, or if he even wanted to remain in school. He was a drifter most of his teenage years, never staying in one place too long. He had a nice home with his parents, food in the fridge, running water but most of the time he didn't enjoy being alone. His parents cared more about their work than they did about him. They were money hungry, obsessed with making more and more. They loved money more than they loved him and he had a hard time trying to cope with that. 

When Lucas and I met, it was supposed to be strictly a one time hookup. We had left a party together, went back to my apartment and hooked up. It wasn't supposed to be anything more than that, but he managed to somehow weasel his way into becoming friends with Mark, Jackson and I. Truthfully I didn't mind, he ended up being as loyal as the other two.

Near the end of our junior year, a transfer student appeared in one of my math classes. Despite there being a multitude of seats available, he sat down next to me, making me feel obligated to clean my things off the previously vacant seat beside me to make room for him. 

He had introduced himself as Alex with a hard glare pointed directly at me. I nodded my head, introduced myself and went back to paying attention to what our professor had been saying. 

Even though I was no longer interacting with him, his harsh gaze never left my face. I could feel the awkwardness glide through my body as he continued to stare at me. 

"You know, Eden" he began, clearing his throat as he leaned in closer to me. "I believe we're going to be great friends. Maybe more." he finished. I turned my head to face him, his eyes blank yet sinister. My mind raced as I tried to think of a reply, but instead Alex turned his head to face the professor, the chilling smile never leaving his face. 

The moment class ended I packed my things as quickly as I could, pushing my way through the mass of people attempting to leave. I quickly make my way to the hallway, where I've never been so happy to see a familiar face. Walking over to Lucas, I look him in the eyes with a serious look. He almost immediately senses the tension radiating off my body. 

"What's going on?" He asks, placing his hand on my arm. 

"There's a new kid in my class, and the way he spoke to me and looked at me so uncomfortable" you explain. 

"What'd he say?" Lucas asks. 

"Hello there, friend" I hear from behind me. Even though I had only met him once, I knew exactly who it was. 

Alex. 

Turning around, he's wearing the same chilling grin he had inside the classroom. 

"I'm Alex" he says, extending his hand to Lucas, who takes it without hesitation. 

"Lucas" he replies, cocking an eyebrow to you. 

"Is this your boyfriend?" Alex asks, looking at you, his grin never faltering. 

"No we're just friends" Lucas replies for you before you can speak. 

Mentally, you're smacking Lucas on the back of the head for his answer. 

"Good. That's good" Alex sighs, still staring at you. "I must be going. I'll see you soon, Eden" he says, walking away from the two of you. 

"He seems strange" Lucas shrugs, wrapping his arm around your shoulders. Neither of you were aware of what would come in the future, with knowing Alex.