why would you even bother telling someone your secrets before killing them

[self_composed]

By the end of Bio, the halls are full of people eager to inform Bella and everyone else within earshot that her friend is a murderer. They have entirely the wrong attitude to have formed the impression because he just now murdered someone, and also her father hasn't come looking for her yet, so this is probably nonsense.

Bella goes to gym.

Comments

[edgeofyourseat]

"Okay," he says cheerfully.

Which is... not exactly a promise not to antagonize Angela, but might be an acknowledgment of the consequences.

[self_composed]

"If we can factor out the consequences of apparently-you're-a-murderer-now, is there anybody in school who'd be particularly likely to tolerate you and might get along with me?" Bella asks.

[edgeofyourseat]

Alice considers this.

"Dunno," he says. "I don't pay that much attention. What kinda people do you get along with?"

[self_composed]

"Angela's great. Jessica's fine, Eric's fine - although it's possible he has a crush on me too, and it's starting to get kind of ridiculous; do I correspond astonishingly closely to some regionally popular fetish? Mike was okay when he was just showing me how to get to classes and not coming over all creepy-possessive." She shrugs. "And you're interesting."

She gauges how long she has before gym starts before continuing to chat, and decides she's got leeway. "In Phoenix I hung out with the book club and sometimes a cluster of girls from my geography class, but I didn't like anyone enough to have second thoughts about moving when that was expedient."

[edgeofyourseat]

"Yeah, all I can tell you about that is the reason I've got a crush on you is nnnot the same as the reason anybody else does," he says, grinning. "Maybe there's somebody in Art."

[self_composed]

"I couldn't get into art class; this school has different requirements from my old one, Art's pure elective, and I have to spend this semester catching up. May have room for it next year though." She shrugs. "I can get along without a vast collection of friends. It'd just be kind of depressing if I somehow wound up without any."

[edgeofyourseat]

"So I'll look for some," he says.

It's something he's never done before, which is an automatic plus.

[self_composed]

"Not strictly necessary - Angela continues to exist and I haven't yet met everyone in my own classes - but it would be nice of you."

She tilts her head. "What has you convinced that the etiology of your crush is different from Mike's or maybe-Eric's?"

[edgeofyourseat]

"Because I like you for weird reasons," he says serenely. "And 'cause if Mike liked you for the same reasons I like you, he wouldn't act like he wishes he could pee on your leg to scare off all the other dogs."

[self_composed]

"Well, that's a grotesque mental image," Bella remarks.

[edgeofyourseat]

He laughs.

"Yeah, get used to those."

[self_composed]

Bella rolls her eyes. "Anyway. Weird reasons? You're a mind reader now? The inner workings of the median human are transparent unto you, and your own clockwork is wound backwards?"

[edgeofyourseat]

Cheerfully: "You called me a freak on purpose when you knew I hate it; you told me you don't care what I want and you looked like you meant it. Those sound like normal reasons to you?"

From across the room, Ms. Finch calls, "While we're still young, Hammond!"

Alice grins. "Hold that thought," he says, and turns to join the rest of the class.

[self_composed]

Bella smirks to herself and does her stretches and other relatively safe exercises safe on her mat.

[edgeofyourseat]

And at the end of class, there he is again.

"So where were we?"

[self_composed]

"You were explaining how your clockwork is wound backwards, and I could earn your admiration by provoking you to see if you were a physical threat to me, and also by insisting on tailoring my persona to my preferences and not yours," Bella prompts.

[edgeofyourseat]

"No, you already did those," he says. "Hell if I know what you're gonna do next; that's part of the fun."

[self_composed]

"Could is a past tense verb too," Bella says pedantically. "Like, 'I discovered when I was small that I could get more brownies if I helped myself while they were cooling, instead of waiting for Renée to cut me one.'"

[edgeofyourseat]

"Okay. The way you said it made it sound kinda like you were building a list for future reference, is all."

[self_composed]

She shakes her head. "I only needed to do the experiment once, and I think we're clear on who's driving this thing." She gestures at her head.

[edgeofyourseat]

"So that's what the experiment was for? You wanted to see if I'd hurt you?"

[self_composed]

"Before going home with someone whose primary form of recreation seems to be getting into fights? Yes, that seemed like relevant information - information that I wanted to collect under controlled circumstances. And I had a trigger I'd seen work - so to speak - one and a half times." Pause. "What, did you think I did it just to annoy you? Why would I go out of my way just to annoy someone?"

[edgeofyourseat]

"I was kind of too busy falling in love to think about your reasons at the time," he says, smiling. "Makes sense. Not sure it worked the way you meant it to, but it makes sense."

[self_composed]

"Why does it bother you so much?" Bella asks. "Is it only the one word?"

[edgeofyourseat]

"Yeah, just that one," he says. "It's like getting punched in the gut, except I like getting punched in the gut. I dunno why. I mean, I'm not exactly gonna argue that the definition applies, y'know?"