29. SELF-REVENGE

Needless to say, quoting from our bisexual queen, Jayce Brooks, I am here to say "Torture has always been better than killing."

Amber thought that was quite awkward, but proceeded to ignore it, looking back at her sister.

"Why did you do it?" Jayce asked, her foot still on top of his chest. He couldn't really speak.

Ashton went down the bench, bending beside Niel, to intimidate him closely, "You don't really have to lie anymore. We know everything," he took out the camera from his coat and shoved it on his face, "You have nowhere to run, bench kid,"

Niel clenched his jaw, not wanting to speak anymore.

"If that's how you're gonna play," Jayce took off his foot from his chest, "Then so be it,"

Ashton took Niel by his collar, feeling the need to strangle him and picked him up, holding his hands behind his back so he wouldn't move.

"Even if you say sorry, your public image," Jayce started, pointing around everyone, then looked back at Niel, "...is destroyed,"

"What do you want?" Niel asked, grunting.

"Why did you do it?" she asked once more.

Niel clenched his jaw, as Ashton began to bend his fingers the wrong way back, "Answer the question, bench kid,"

"Because I have feelings for you," he finally responded in pain.

Jayce saw clearly through the blurred lines, "Obsession isn't the same thing as love, Niel,"

"Surely, I can say that I'm clearly worried and looking out for you instead of the boy you're dating right now, Ashton, who is just driving you inside the lion's den. Did you know that?" the boy with glasses asked back.

"Bench kid," Ashton started to pull on his collar making him suffocate a bit, "She knows, and yet she still chose me,"

Niel gulped.

"You must hate the basketball team for some reason," Jayce sighed, "You stalked me the other night in the library right? Giving me signs that I should stay away from the boys basketball team," she said rather softly.

"So what if I did? I was giving you a warning, I was protecting you," Niel argued back.

"President, sorry," Ashton curled his lip, "Can I break his neck please?"

Jayce ignored him, and approached Niel, whispering in his Niel, "I'm kind of curious, Niel," she said sarcastically, "What makes you hate the boys basketball team? Surely, you have some proof of a big value but you don't want to tell me 'cause you recorded that proof from a camera that spied on me, am I right?"

Niel kept his eyes low.

"That's all I need, Niel," Jayce backed away from him, "Proof."

"We'll pretend we're going to take you to the police station to stay away from the crowd," Ashton continued Jayce's statement, "And you'll be extremely sorry, bench kid,"

"Okay, we're going to take Niel to the police station," Jayce announced out loud, "Please step out of the way,"

"God, I can't believe he actually did that,"

"Thank God I was never his friends,"

"I thought he was a chill kid,"

"Shy and quiet, yet freaky and a pervert,"

"Stalker,"

"Obsessed,"

Ashton brought Niel out of the court, with Jayce behind him, when suddenly Amber tagged along.

Jayce looked at her sister with sad eyes, "I just found out about it yesterday," she stated, "If you want to help me give him pain," she gave a sly smile, "You can. I'm not the only victim here, I'm sorry,"

Amber frowned, "I'll just sit and watch, but are we actually taking him to the police?" she asked.

"No, he has something that can make us catch Eric's killer. A recording of who stole my pen, 'cause apparently my pen was in Eric's room," she replied.

"Oh,"

~~~

Away from the crowd, the four got into a storage room and locked it, and covered the windows, and turned on the lights.

Ashton helped Jayce tie Niel on a chair, both his legs and arms as well.

Amber sat at the back of the storage room, with nothing but impatience in her to finally uncover Eric's killer.

Jayce took Niel's phone from his pants, and the wallpaper was a cartoonized picture of her, "You're really freaking creepy,"

Niel gulped in return, "What makes Ashton and Jaxon and Eric so much better than me?"

Ashton was about to approach Niel, and punch the crap out of him when Jayce held back his hand and continued to reply to Niel in a calm state, knowing that she was so excited to see him in pain.

"Oh, I don't know," she sarcastically said, "Ashton never spied, stalked or put a camera in my room for his own pleasure," she scowled in return.

His phone was locked with a passcode. Niel remained silent, trying to untie the knots.

"Passcode?"

"Why the hell would I give it?" he asked back.

"You're testing my patience Niel,"

"You've tested my patience," he yelled back, "Do you know how long I waited for you to find Eric's killer by yourself? I've given you a clue that he's from the basketball team and after you finally found him, I thought you would stay away from Ashton and everyone there and I COULD FINALLY DATE YOU. BUT YOU GREW CLOSER TO THEM INSTEAD."

Jayce's ears ringed, "So you stalked me to give me clues about Eric's killer, HOPING I would find him and then stay away from them, and date you?"

"We're only here to find Eric's killer, you don't have to get into romantic personal feelings," Ashton broke in.

"She dated you for what? She wasn't in love with you I'm sure," Niel asked him.

"I dated him because I thought he was the killer," Jayce said, "But I don't think he is. He's given me a suspect but I need more evidence,"

"Then just believe your boyfriend," Niel whined, "Why believe me?"

Jayce took the knife from her basketball jersey's pocket, the same one she used the other day, "You're scared that I'll see what you recorded in that camera of yours right? All the things you shouldn't be seeing, and all the things you shouldn't be hearing,"

Niel swallowed, sweating, seeing the knife.

"Well then, we must do this the hard way, then," she put the knife in front of her face, using her finger to trace the perimeter of the blade, "Do you know what this is?"

Ashton sat back and crossed his arms, knowing that Jayce's plans always gave him and her both the satisfaction.

"A knife," he blurted out.

"Do you know what a knife does?" she asked again, glaring at him now.

Niel shut his mouth.

"It stabs, it cuts, but most importantly..." she gripped the knife in her fists, "...it hurts,"

She approached Niel, taking off one of the ties on his arm and rolling up the sleeves and bending down, placing the blade on his skin.

Niel panicked, definitely, but Ashton, sitting on one of the old tables, just sat there and grinned.

"If you don't tell me the passcode of your phone, then I'll make sure every single inch and curve of your body will be nothing but the bloody writings of who you truly are," Jayce stated, making sure Niel heard it well.

She then plunged the knife to his arm and started carving on it as if it was wood.

Niel screamed out loud, yelling in pain and bringing out tears.

"Ashton, a little help here," she said innocently, asking him to cover Niel's mouth.

"My pleasure, president," he smiled and sighed, approaching Niel and taking the bloody handkerchief from his scar the other day and putting it in his mouth.

"You should know," Jayce said, as she continued to write letters on his arm, craved in blood, "I'm not the only one you should be sorry to...you technically spied on my sister too,"

Niel held back his yells, muffled in his voice, but continued to cry.

Amber sat at the back, not flinching at all, but she was getting quite impatient.

Jayce looked at Amber, seeing she was pretty much staring at Niel's yells, "Don't think about how much pain he's in, Amber, think about how much he's done,"

Amber nodded, "Niel, if you want this to be over with, just tell her the passcode,"

"Do you know how much privacy you've violated and what a crime you've done by just putting a camera in a plushie you gave to me?" she asked Niel, before lifting her knife from his arm, blood dripping on the floor.

Ashton took off the cloth from his mouth and Niel caught a huge breath, panting in pain, "You're crazy,"

"I'm crazy?" Jayce scoffed, "Look who's talking,"

"Just tell her the passcode unless you also want a bruised eye, bench kid," Ashton said.

Niel thought of his decisions, the word that was carved on his arm was 'stalker' and it was still dripping out blood.

"Just kill me already," Niel sighed.

"All that you recorded about both Jayce and Amber without their knowledge or consent are all things you shouldn't be seeing," Ashton said, bringing himself closer to Niel, "And Jayce's plan was never about killing you,"

"It was always about torture Niel," Jayce continued, "If I kill you, you'll just get to live in a coffin with no pain. But when I torture you as you live, you'll just feel pure pain."

"Hurry, please," Amber stepped up, "Tell us who killed Eric, I'm begging. It won't cost you anything just to tell,"

"It'll cost him his dignity," Jayce replied, "That's what he's trying to save,"

"There's no more dignity left to save, bench kid," Ashton continued, gripping on his shoulder with his painful grunts.

"OH DON'T SAY THAT WHEN WE ALL KNOW ERIC WAS KILLED BY SOMEONE OBSESSED WITH YOU AND JEALOUS OF HIM." Niel yelled back with all his might.

Jayce immediately looked up at Niel, but before she could say anything Ashton had already punched his face, giving him a little red blush. Ashton stepped back, "I know I drove the killer to kill Eric, but don't you think that killer isn't so different from you?" he asked back, breathing uncontrollably.

"Hey!" Jayce yelled back at Niel, pointing the knife back at his throat, "If you yell at him one more time, then I promise you the only thing you'll be left with when you get out of here is flesh and blood and your ridiculous cloud hair,"

Niel was getting tired, but Jayce started to draw a small line on his collar bone, making him squirm in pain again.

Ashton just looked at how much fun Jayce was having, and he couldn't be any happier.

"Passcode. Now."

Niel gave up, losing his so-called dignity, "Your birthday," he sighed.

Ashton took the phone and entered the passcode, going to the homescreen and searching through the apps.

"App name is 'Spier'," he sighed.

Ashton clicked the app, and didn't look at what lied in it, then immediately gave it to Jayce.

She saw all the recordings Niel had made, making her sweat and her heart thump. It was scary, but she looked rather calm.

She put the time to October 6, in the morning, where Amber had left for school and no one was in the dorm. It was seen that a boy had entered the dorm, maybe pick-locked the door, and was now searching through Jayce's table for her 'specific' pen.

When the boy found it, he lifted his head and the camera caught it clearly. Jaxon.

"Jaxon did it," Jayce shut down the phone then looked at Amber, who was standing there in shock.

Niel knew it Jaxon was up to no good when he took the pen, and then Eric's murder came on that night. Jayce had asked him to search for her pen and he had stalked her to tell her that someone from the basketball team was up to no good towards her. And she thought it was Ashton, and dated him, thinking he did the murder but didn't.

On Amber's end, she finally understood. Jaxon must have escaped because when Jayce said that there was a camera in their dorm, it must have caught him stealing the pen, and that pen, he had suspected, was in her or Ashton's hands.

She gave a cackling laugh inside of her mind, while tears started to wipe down her face.

"Amber, I'm sorry-" Jayce said.

Ashton sighed, then looked back at Jayce. It all came true.

Amber walked towards the door, "I need time for myself. Don't- Just I'll be in the dorm,"

"I'll give you the time," Jayce nodded, pursing her lips and exhaling.

The younger twin sprinted out of the room, but where she went, it was far from what was meant 'dorm'.

~~~

Eric's murder

Jaxon had dodged CCTV cameras and threw a backpack filled with phones he used for blackmailing into the lake, then went to Eric's house.

Using outdoor stairs, he went down to the garage in the huge house with very few people. He took Oliver's gun.

Eric was anticipating everything. He loved his friends very much, and he wanted to protect Ashton and Jaxon. He had written the suicide notes until Ashton knocked on his door.

He opened it, and was in complete shock, knowing the 'blackmailer' would be there anytime soon. And like what was said, they chatted for a long time.

Jaxon, on the other hand, with his black suit and his skills of dodging all the CCTV cameras, climbed atop to Eric's room through the pipes outside.

He saw Ashton and Eric together, lifting his jealousy up. And it was quite some time until Ashton left that Jaxon went immediately inside his room, with the open window.

Jaxon had a mask above his face, with a black hoodie, and Eric flinched. He took out the suicide notes and placed them on the table.

"Do as you must but please, don't hurt anyone." Eric whimpered, both in fear but he just thought of it as a simple sacrifice for his friends.

The killer put the gun on his head, ready to pull the trigger when he opened his mask first.

"If anyone goes near my Ashton again," the killer spoke and Eric dropped a tear and the sight of Jaxon, "I will kill them."

"Jax-"

The trigger was pulled, and Eric's heart stopped as he dropped down on the floor, blood flowing everywhere. Jaxon quickly put the gun in his hand, and put Jayce's pen as well, then slithered out the window.

He immediately ran out of the neighborhood, as Ashton walked in the room, finding nothing but a dead Eric.

~~~

Amber ran through the camera blindspots, and arrived at the back walls of the school.

She saw a hooded figure there, taking a wooden twig and about to light it up on fire.

"So now, what's your plan?" she asked, making him stagger.

He turned around and took off his hoodie, seeing Amber clearly, "You must have found out,"

"I did," Amber replied, putting her hands in the pockets, "That's why I'm asking why you're trying to light a twig,"

"I want to burn the school, and escape from the town," Jaxon said, bending down taking a rock, "But now I have to kill you too,"

She scoffed then approached him step by step, "There's no need to kill me,"

"Then what are you doing here if not trying to distract and catch me?" he asked.

Amber stood in front of him with a sly smile, "I'm here to help you escape,"