Chapter 1

When the security guard kicked open the door and saw this odd sight, he hastily took several steps back, as though he had seen a ghost.

There was a stir among the crowd before my childhood friend, Selena Shandler, shoved her way through the throng of people and rushed into the equipment room.

Upon hearing the commotion, I snapped my eyes open.

When Selena's familiar face came into view, I sighed in relief and called out in a sleepy voice, "Selena, he was using a pair of scissors just now to—"

Before I could finish speaking, the sound of hurried footsteps rang out.

The campus hunk, Theodore Caldman, had lunged forward to grab Selena's arm before hiding behind her.

Putting on a terrified expression, he said, "Selena, save me! I just wanted to ask him why he kept harassing my girlfriend with text messages, but he suddenly went crazy and started beating me up! He even wanted to kill me with the scissors!"

I was surprised at his move. It figured that a manipulative pretty boy like him would play the victim first.

My eyes shone with anxiety as I turned to look at Selena. "I didn't do that! He was the one who attacked me first! I was just so scared that my illness acted up, I fell asleep, and—"

"That's enough!" Selena cut me off with a disgusted sneer. "Michael Lund, you've been putting on this act since we were young. Aren't you tired of it yet?"

She shot me with a superior look, her gaze cold and distant. "There's no medical illness that will cause someone to turn into a violent maniac when afraid. If Theo hadn't reminded me of that fact, I would've been deceived by a liar like you for the rest of my life."

I froze on the spot, my fingers slowly curling into tight fists by my side.

Selena was my childhood friend. Due to my special disorder, I had always thought of myself as a monster since young, which led to me becoming insecure and isolated from everyone else.

It was Selena who had put herself between me and the world. "You're not a monster. From now on, I'll protect you."

Now, however, my protector was standing across from me, defending the person who had wanted to hurt me.

I raised my head just in time to catch the taunting smile Theodore shot me from where he was hiding behind Selena.

In that moment, countless scenes flashed through my mind.

Back during the beginning of our freshman year, Selena had been busy helping me wipe the table and closet before moving on to placing the bedding.

Watching it all happen from the side, Theodore uttered darkly, "Michael is such an average-looking guy, so why does he get to have such a gorgeous babe wait on him?"

After that, Theodore didn't waste time in joining the student council. From then on, he kept finding or creating opportunities to spend time with Selena.

Eventually, Selena started to stand me up more and more often as time went on.

Saddened at this change, I confronted her about it, only for her to answer me impatiently, "Could you not be so unreasonable? I'm the student council president, so what's wrong with me looking out for a new member?"

Taking in how close the two appeared now, I suddenly found it all rather ludicrous.

The whole "looking out for a new member" thing was nothing but nonsense. It was clear that the two of them had gotten together behind my back long ago and were now simply using me as a prop in their little games.