Jason wasn't anywhere to be seen the next day. And I longed to see him, to have him close to me again. I walked the halls in a daze, sitting in the recreation room in utter boredom as the others suddenly turned their attention to the doorway. A girl stood there. She had layered platinum blonde hair, with pink highlights at the bottom. Everyone looked away from her as she entered, walking slowly, her movements deliberate. "...it's her. Alice." someone whispered. She was the one who killed the guard. The one everyone was so afraid of. Whatever she did to get sent here must've been bad. Horrible, even. Just unbelievable enough to have the criminally insane afraid of her. Alice had picked up a sharpie, and while drawing on her wrist, sat down next to me. The others moved away, while I raised an eyebrow at them, staying in my seat. "Hey." she said. Her voice was quiet, but it held a lot of authority. I looked over at her, and I saw she was tracing over scars that neatly lined up her wrist. They almost matched my own, but mine were hastily made; I was usually in a hurry to cut myself. "...hi?" "Hm. You're different." she said, cocking her head to the side, studying me closely. "Thank you? No offense, but, what are you"- Alice grasped my wrist, making me fall silent. Her finger traced the scars on my wrist, leaving an icy trail behind. She looked up, locking eyes with me. A smirk crept to her lips. "Ten cuts." "The cuts were for each victim I killed. After that I just cut for the fun of it." I said dryly. Alice's gaze drifted towards my other arm, and she eyed the other scars. Her smirk deepened to a triumphant grin. "For the fun of it?" she mimicked. I narrowed my eyes at her. I didn't have to explain myself to anyone. Why I had a large number of scars wasn't her business. "You know, if we weren't monitored here, I would kill you." I growled. Alice snorted. "And if you weren't suicidal, I wouldn't have talked to you." she said, standing up. She walked to the doorway without turning back to me. "Meet me here after the last room checks." she said, before disappearing down the hallway. Then the conversation in the room started back up. I hadn't realized it before, but it was completely silent when Alice was there. It was like they all had seen a ghost.
Every now and then, people shot me looks in the cafeteria, turning away as quickly as they stared. I sat there reading a book, ignoring the food in front of me. I wasn't hungry, I just wanted to see Jason again. Something about his presence drew me to him. I tried to convince myself the fact he looked slightly like Matthew wasn't a factor in my interest. The thought of Matthew made my gunshot wound hurt. I felt guilty now, I kissed Jason when I didn't even know his name. And Matthew was the most loyal boyfriend ever. He still loved me, even though I was a murderer. Sometimes that made me think he had to be crazy. I heard the chairs around me shifting, and I irritatedly looked up from my book; I had wanted to be alone. Alice was to my right, while two other girls were at my left. The first girl had dramatic emerald green eyes and auburn hair. The second girl had blue eyes, and jet black hair in a long bob. The length of her bob showed she had been here for awhile; her hair growing without getting a haircut to even it out. Alice nodded to them. "Rose, this is Kat, and Daphne." Alice said. "Yeah, sure, hi." I murmured, going back to my book. I didn't feel like talking to anyone. I was used to being friendless. Suddenly being talked to was... out of place for me. Alice laughed quietly, and sat there, intently watching me read. Kat shrugged, the simple motion sending a wall of fiery hair over her shoulder. Daphne gave me a look, and turned, speaking quietly with Kat. I pinched the bridge of my nose, squeezing my eyes shut. "...what do you want?" I murmured. "Hmm? I didn't quite catch that." Alice said brightly. I threw my book across the cafeteria, it hitting the wall with a loud thud. Conversations quieted down to silence as everyone looked at me. "I said, what do you want? What the FUĆK do you want?!" I shouted, fuming. My anger only brought a smile to Alice's lips. "I don't know what you're talking about." she said in a singsong voice. Before I knew what I was doing, I lunged for Alice, tackling her to the floor. Chairs toppled over as we slid into them, one landing inches away from her head. "Answer me." I growled. Alice's smirk only deepened, growing more smug by the second. I struck her across the face, and she reacted by giggling at me. "ANSWER ME!" I shouted, grabbing for her neck. I felt an arm loop around my waist and pull me away from her, while I still tried so desperately to reach. I cried in anger, hot tears plopping on the floor as I screamed in absolute frustration. What the hell was Alice doing?! She was toying with me for some reason. That made me want her to die in the most gruesome ways that I was humanly capable of executing. "Rose! Rose calm down!" a voice said. I looked up through my tears, and saw a blurred Jason, due to my watery eyes. I blinked the tears away. He still had his arm around my waist. Gazing down at me worriedly, Jason pulled me into a hug. "It's okay, Rose. She's not bothering you now..." Jason trailed off. I followed his eyes to Alice, who was walking over to us, still grinning. What did she find so amusing? Her mouth was bleeding. "My offer to meet us tonight still stands." she said, her voice a little lisped. I looked closer at her mouth, and saw a bloody gap where a tooth used to reside. Despite that, Alice shrugged it off as if nothing happened. "Now if you excuse me, I need to go to the infirmary." she said, walking away. Kat and Daphne bewilderedly stared at me before turning and hurriedly following Alice. "Rose, I don't think you should meet Alice tonight." "And why is that?" "Because you look like you're ready to kill her." I smirked. That was a perfectly good reason not to go. And exactly why I would go anyways.