2 of 3?

I couldn't believe I was called into the teacher's office. Motherfuckers really didn't know how to appreciate anything good, huh?

And my math teacher seemed way too determined to talk to me.

"It's good that you didn't just leave," she said, smiling like she hadn't dragged me here herself under the threat of detention.

Bitch.

"What do you want?" I scowled, not bothering to hide how irritated I felt.

"I'm not exactly sure what happened to you, but I think you've changed a lot over the summer." She leaned forward slightly. "So I have something to ask of you. Do you think you can do it?"

"No." I answered immediately. "Do I look like a charity worker?"

She sighed, like she expected that response but was still disappointed by it. "Jack, you've got a lot of the other students quite scared of you already."

"And?"

"So I just need one favor from you. I'd like your help in keeping one of my favorite students from being bullied—Jared Jameson."

"Who the fuck is Jared Jameson?" I asked.

"I heard from him earlier at the nurse's office. Though he didn't tell me much because he was scared, he did say that you saved him," she said.

The punk who slapped me across the face?

"He often feels like he's not allowed to fight back. If he does, and someone is petty enough to take action, his entire family will suffer."

I leaned back in my chair, thinking that over.

Yeah, that kid was definitely in a position to be taken advantage of. This school needed some serious fucking cleaning up.

[New Mission: Talk to the Weak Classmate!

Reward: New Ally

Penalty: No Sleep, 72 Hours]

An ally, huh? I could appreciate that. No commitment to friendship, but maybe I'd feel a little less like garbage if I helped him out.

After all, in my past life, I used to drink with guys like the ones I beat up today—never giving a second thought to their victims or their circumstances.

I exhaled sharply. "Where is that Jared kid?"

"I sent him home for the day already."

Figures.

"You know that Jared gets bullied often along with the other scholarship students, right?" she continued. "Even though we've tried counseling him many times, he's very passive. It's too difficult of a situation for him to take care of himself. I fear he's reaching his breaking point. I've seen how you've helped Damien these past few days, so I thought—"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." I waved a hand dismissively. "But are you sure you want to leave something this problematic in my hands? I'm not exactly an authority around here."

"It's not even a question now," she said firmly.

I groaned. "Fine, whatever. I'll make sure no one fucks with him either."

She smiled. "That's wonderful—"

"But I need something in return."

She tilted her head. "What is it?"

"What's my grade looking like?"

"You already started this year with a 4.0 GPA, and I can't change grades for you anyway," she said.

Ugh. That wasn't going to work for me.

"Why do a good thing if I don't get anything in return?"

"Because doing the right thing is good for your soul." She smiled brightly, as if that was supposed to mean something to me.

I scoffed. "I just puked in my mouth a little."

She only laughed. "This will be worth it, Jack."

I highly doubted that.

"Whatever. I'm leaving," I grumbled, turning on my heel and walking out of her office.

What a hard day. High school life for the first time in over twelve years. How the hell was I going to get through senior year?

As soon as I stepped into the hallway, Damien was there, waiting for me.

"Did you get a detention?" he asked.

"No." I sighed. "She just asked me to help someone else."

Damien's brows furrowed. "Who?"

"The kid from earlier."

His expression darkened slightly. "You refused, right?"

A little too eager for me to say no.

"If the kid needs help, he should apply for a teacher aide," Damien said firmly.

I rubbed my temples. "It was help or get detention." I obviously couldn't tell him that I didn't even have a choice. Not when it was a system mission.

Damien crossed his arms. "But—"

"Don't worry." I smirked. "I'll still protect you, Damien."

His face immediately turned red.

"That's not what I meant!" he whined.

I laughed. "I know."

"I just don't think it should be your problem to deal with," Damien muttered.

Me neither, Damien. Me neither.

***

As Damien and I exited the school gates, I spotted a familiar shaggy blond standing awkwardly in the distance. Jared Jameson.

Now that I got a better look at him, the kid was pretty tall, maybe even my height, but he had a frail frame. The kind of delicate, pretty-boy look you'd expect from someone who got pushed around too much. His skin was pale, his cheekbones high, his soft features making him look almost fragile—like a porcelain doll that'd crack if handled too roughly.

At least he looked better than he had earlier.

"Let's go the other way," Damien muttered, clearly not thrilled.

"No."

I walked straight towards Jared, stopping only when he finally lifted his head to meet my gaze.

"Are you fucking slow or something? Why didn't you go home?"

Jared coughed slightly, shifting on his feet. "J-Jack Spencer..." He hesitated before continuing, "I just didn't want to go home early."

"Whatever." I crossed my arms. "There's no need to skip school after what happened. No one else knows, so don't do anything stupid. I'll also make sure you don't get bullied."

His eyes widened. "Why... so suddenly?"

"Are you seriously questioning my help?" I snapped. "I was threatened with detention because of you, punk! Take a good thing when it presents itself!"

Jared lowered his head slightly before nodding. "...Thank you."

[Mission Accomplished! You have successfully prevented your classmate's suicide.

You've gained a new ally]

I exhaled sharply. Well, at least I saved a life today. That's more than a lot of people can say for themselves in a lifetime.

A bar suddenly materialized over Jared's head.

Love: 75%

Hate: 1%

...Just over the friendship threshold?

A bad feeling settled in my stomach.

[Second Love Interest Unlocked: Jared Jameson

• Age: 17

• Stamina: 20/100

• Strength: 30/100

• Charm: 90/100

• Intelligence: 100/100

Oh, no. No, no, no!

I don't want this guy as a love interest! Remove him now!

[Love interests cannot be removed until their love reaches 50%]

Shit.

Is it too late to bully him?

...No, I can't bully someone suicidal. That'd be too cheap of me.

Dammit! First Damien, now this guy?! Why do I only get the weak ones?

I glanced at Jared's stats again.

Why the hell is he so weak?

And more importantly—just how strong is Damien if his Strength is at 100?!

Before I could think about it too much, Damien tugged at my arm.

"Let's go home. I'll give you a ride," he said.

I turned back to Jared. "You'd better show up to school tomorrow, or else I'll kick your ass!"

Jared blinked in alarm.

Fuck.

"Ugh, not that. I won't kick your ass. Just come to school." I said.

Jared smiled a little. "Okay. I will."

I sighed. This is a mess already.

"Let's go, Damien," I muttered, turning to follow him toward his car.

"I think that kid likes you," Damien said as we walked.

"I think you're right," I groaned.

"I don't think you should hang out with him too much," Damien added.

I smirked. "Are you jealous or something?"

"I am!"

I snorted, laughing as I playfully punched his arm. I didn't know what else to do. It's not like I could just stop hanging out with him—I didn't really have a choice in the matter.

And I really didn't like the way my stomach felt all tingly hearing that.

"You won't be replaced, Damien."

He frowned. "Do you like him?"

I scoffed. "I'm just doing the teacher a favor."

We reached Damien's car, and I slid into the passenger seat. I had to admit, his car was nice.

A sleek, elegant sports car—black, with dark red leather seats and an interior so clean it looked brand new. The kind of expensive model that only rich kids could afford to drive to school, completely wasted on people who didn't know how to appreciate it.

As soon as Damien turned on the engine, the radio blared to life.

"Early this morning on the 27th, the search for a missing nationwide gangster has come to an end. The body of Jack Spencer has been recovered and identified, the cause of death being multiple stab wounds. The funeral will be held—"

My hand shot out, turning the station to classic rock.

I clenched my jaw.

Fuck.

My bodyguard was found?

Not in the woods where I'd actually died—but in the river? Those fucks moved my body?!

I shouldn't have changed the station. I didn't even know if they had any suspects.

Not that I was going to snitch. I was just going to kill them at a later time.

But if there's a funeral... there's a grave, right?

I inhaled deeply.

"Hey," I said, turning to Damien. "Can you drive me to St. John's Church?"

Damien glanced at me, confused. "What? But that's the bad side of town. Why do you want to go there?"

"There's something I need to go see."

If there was a funeral for me, then everyone would be there.

Eli. Emily. All the guys who had betrayed me.

I couldn't think of a better time to kill them all.

"If you don't feel safe, stay in the car. I won't be long."

Damien hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Well... okay then."

He turned down a side street.

I exhaled slowly, gripping the armrest.

I had zero plan. But I went through most of my past life exactly like that. And all I knew was this—

Everyone who gathered at the funeral today had no right to live another day.