1. She's Rose

The deafening din of the music did nothing to disturb a beautiful girl dressed entirely in black. She walked like a Victoria’s Secret model with blonde wig and lips painted a deep maroon.

Her elegant, confident stride carried her toward the bar which already crowded with patrons at one of Portland’s nightclubs. She ordered a cocktail with a bored expression, then sat waiting, oblivious to the many pairs of eyes watching her.

“Got a new target?” a brunette bartender asked, as he handed the girl her drink.

The girl merely gave a crooked smile, with no intention of answering. She casually sipped a bit of the drink. Her left fingers tapped the bar counter in a steady rhythm, as if counting something.

Just as her tapping reached the tenth count, the noisy chatter of several girls grew closer. She smiled crookedly again, looking satisfied with her prediction, which had never been wrong up to this point.

“Oh, look at this clueless girl. She really has no shame.” Melanie, the blonde girl who looked like the Queen Bee at high school, glared at her with contempt. “A slut like you is really deaf, huh? I told you to stay away from Albert, but you’re still itching to come here.”

“It’s truly pathetic. She really wants to challenge you, Mel. Just beat her up like you did this afternoon. Who knows, maybe her brain which shifted from your punch earlier might snap back into place,” Melanie’s brunette friend replied. They burst into laughter, as if those words were funny.

The girl continued sipping her drink casually, as if they weren’t even there. That made Melanie furious. Roughly, Melanie grabbed the girl’s hair, forcing her head up.

“How dare you ignore me after crying like a loser this afternoon, huh? If it weren’t for Albert, you’d be dead!” Melanie shouted, her face flushed. It was clear she was truly furious.

The girl merely raised one eyebrow, then snorted derisively. “Is that it?”

Melanie’s friends gasped, their mouths wide open at the girl’s response. They hadn’t expected her attitude to change so completely—it was worlds apart from earlier that afternoon behind the campus when they’d been bullying her.

Melanie, on the verge of exploding, slapped the girl’s cheek with all her might. “You slut! Take that! You won’t be able to beat me. No one will stop me now."

Before Melanie’s hand could strike the girl’s cheek a second time, her wrist was grabbed and clamped so tightly that she screamed in pain. No one dared to help her as the girl she’d slapped glared at her with a cold stare.

"I don’t want to waste my precious time on trash like you." Her grip on Melanie’s left hand tightened even more, until the sound of something snapping could be heard.

Melanie’s friends were immediately shocked by the sight. They never expected that the girl they’d bullied earlier that day—simply because she’d been approached by Albert, Melanie’s boyfriend—could break Melanie’s wrist so easily. It was a stark contrast to the girl’s reaction earlier that day, when she’d only been able to tremble in fear and cry.

“By the way, I’m Rose,” the girl named Rose whispered into Melanie’s ear, so no one else could hear them. “Report me to the police if you dare. But you’ll never be able to see your mother again, ever. Doesn’t she have to get dialysis every week?”

Melanie’s face immediately paled; she hadn’t expected the girl in front of her to know the secret about her mother that she’d never told her friends in the clique, because she didn’t want them to shun her. All this time, Melanie had always boasted that she was the daughter of wealthy parents whom everyone feared.

Rose smirked happily. “Surprised? You should be. So, you don’t mind pretending not to know me on campus, do you? I’m terrifying when I’m angry. Breaking your hand was just a whim, so you’re lucky this time.”

After whispering those words, Rose straightened her back while playfully twirling the end of her wig. “It’s so nice to run into you here, Mel. We could be good friends. Isn’t that fun?”

Melanie, already terrified out of her mind by the threat, struggled to her feet the moment she heard Rose’s tone suddenly shift again. Her mouth opened and closed, her eyes widened in fear, and she suddenly ran away screaming, leaving her friends standing there dumbfounded.

“Melanie!”

The blonde girl stopped dead in her tracks, her body trembling. Rose chuckled as she approached Melanie, who stood frozen like a statue. She ran one hand over the girl’s cheek from behind, causing Melanie to stiffen even more.

“I suggest you move your ‘favorite things’ to a safer place. Under the bed isn’t exactly a strategic spot to hide cocaine, is it? Tell your sister to change the transaction spot. I don’t want to see your family torn apart because of this.”

Melanie’s face grew even paler. She swallowed hard, then nodded rapidly.

“Smart girl,” Rose muttered with a crooked smile. “Get out of my sight. Don’t let us meet again.”

Melanie immediately ran as fast as she could toward the exit, followed by her two friends who were still confused. A few people who had been watching them earlier went back to their own business. They didn’t want to get involved in other people’s problems.

After they were all gone, Rose returned to the bar to take a sip of her drink. The bartender, who had been watching them the whole time, could only shake his head.

“Is your cousin going to clean up this mess again?” the man asked.

Rose shrugged indifferently. “You must know by now, Brad.”

“How many more do you have to deal with?” Brad asked, surveying the room, which was starting to get crowded.

“One. I’m not in the mood today,” she replied, examining her beautiful nails.

“One o’clock. He’s with his friends,” Brad muttered as he attended to another customer.

Rose sighed in boredom. She was truly sick of being stuck in this position all the time. But she had no choice but to do it; otherwise, they wouldn’t have survived this long.

“When will I ever get to have fun without any interruptions?” she grumbled irritably.

“He’s heading to the restroom,” Brad said again, ignoring Rose’s grumbling.

Rose let out another long sigh. “I hate violence, you know that? I hate you too.”

Brad raised his hand in a salute, while Rose flicked her wig before standing up. She walked with a seductive smile and a mischievous glance at every pair of eyes that looked at her, before heading toward the restroom.

She saw the man, Albert, standing in front of the mirror after washing his hands at the sink. The sound of the door closing made him look up. Their eyes met through the glass.

“Claire!” Albert exclaimed, his eyes sparkling. “I didn’t expect you to be here. You came here on purpose to see me, didn’t you?”

Rose shook her head, her arms crossed over her chest. “Nice try, but you’re wrong. Try again.”

Albert furrowed his brow in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Haven’t you heard about that rumor?” Rose approached Albert slowly, deliberately trying to tease him. “Me, in all-black, with a seductive expression.”

He gasped, his eyes widening as he realized what she was wearing. Quickly, Albert turned around, reached into his back pocket, and pointed it at Rose.

“Don’t come any closer!”

Rose raised an eyebrow, then chuckled. “Why are you so scared, Albert? Isn’t it a bit over the top to point a gun at me just because I’m standing here?”

She moved closer again, while Albert trembled even more. “I said don’t come any closer! Or I’ll shoot you!”

Rose snorted, completely unfazed. But suddenly, her eyes closed for a few seconds. When she opened them, the playful, teasing glint was gone. Only a cold, sharp gaze remained, freezing Albert in his tracks.

"Y-you..."

"Did I mention that I absolutely hate anyone touching my skin?" She said with a strange accent.

Albert felt a sudden chill run down his spine. Instinctively, he rubbed the back of his neck. “Ro-Rose, I didn’t… I…”

“I really like blondes, you know?” She grinned, a small knife in her hand. “And I really like blood. I can’t wait to make you the subject of my next painting.”

His body trembled violently, like a dry leaf blown by the wind that could fall from a tree branch at any moment. His blue eyes widened as he stared at Rose grinning like a psychopath.

"Y-you’re a psychopath! Y-you’re possessed! Stay away from me! Stay away!"

She approached Albert with determined steps and a terrifying grin, causing Albert to tighten his grip on the gun in his hand.

"I absolutely hate abusers."

"Stop! Stop!"

BANG!!