2 days ago. 7 August 2025.

"R-Rose…?" Belle whispered, her voice trembling, eyes wide with disbelief. Her gaze fixed on Rose's lifeless form, half her head blown away, lying motionless on the floor.

Lyra and Clay turned towards Belle, their faces mirroring her shock. They recognized the janitor's face, vaguely familiar, but couldn't quite place her. They hadn't expected Belle to know her personally.

"Nononono…" Tears streamed down Belle's face, blurring her vision. Rose… dead. Her sister, gone.

"Wh-what did you do…" Clay's voice trembled, a wave of dread washing over him as he looked at Belle.

Belle could only whimper, tears streaming down her face, unable to form coherent words.

Clay, fueled by fear and anger, stormed towards her. He grabbed Belle's neck, pinning her to the ground. His eyes blazed with fury.

"WHAT DID YOU DO??! HUH?!" he roared, his grip tightening. "B-bitch-" He struggled to regain his composure, spitting out curses laced with rage.

"I…I don't know… I don't know…" Belle sobbed, her voice cracking, desperately struggling to breathe. "Please…"

Clay's fury only intensified.

"YOU RUINED ME! YOU RUINED US!!"

"Please-…stop…" Belle gasped, fighting for every breath, her cries turning into muffled whimpers. Clay's choking grip stole her voice, leaving her gasping for air.

Lyra, her face etched with shock and disbelief, watched Clay's descent into rage. She hardly knew him, yet this sudden explosion of violence shattered her perception of him.

"Clay…" she whispered, her voice strained with concern, "Stop."

Clay’s face was contorted in anguish. He snarled, momentarily lost in a haze of primal anger. Slowly, his focus shifted back. Lyra's frightened face mirrored in his, then Belle’s tear-stained, trembling face. Belle wasn't fighting back.

'Belle doesn’t mean this...' Clay whispered to himself. She wouldn’t...'

Fear, sharper and colder than anger, replaced Clay's rage. I'm terrified.

Suddenly, with a jerk, Clay released Belle, stumbling backwards.

Belle gasped for breath, clutching her throat, coughing violently, her face red from lack of oxygen. Tears streamed down her face.

Lyra let out a shaky sigh, her relief tinged with apprehension.

Clay's fear was a physical thing, squeezing the air from his lungs, leaving him trembling, unable to think. His mind was a blank slate, overwhelmed.

Then, a sudden flicker of light from the neighbor's room window pierced the darkness. All three of them turned, their faces pale, their eyes wide with terror. Someone was awake.

"We're fucked," Lyra whispered, tears threatening to spill. She choked back a sob, "We're gonna get expelled—"

"Expelled?!" Belle screamed, her voice raw with grief and rage. "My sister just died by my own doing! My ONLY FAMILY LEFT, and you think about getting expelled?!"

"Y-Your sister…?" Lyra stammered, her voice barely audible.

"ROSE! MY SISTER!" Belle shrieked, her eyes fixed on Rose's lifeless form. She collapsed back onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. "My sister…no…it's all my fault…all my fault…"

"We're dead," Lyra whispered, her voice cracking. "Dead. When that neighbor sees…" Her voice trailed off, the unspoken horror hanging heavy in the air. Murderers. That's what they'd become.

Belle's cries intensified, echoing through the silent apartment, amplifying the sense of impending doom. Clay, caught in the whirlwind of chaos, desperately tried to regain control. He couldn't afford to panic. Expulsion wasn't an option.

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They couldn't be branded murderers.

"No," he breathed, shaking his head. His voice was barely a whisper, but it held a flicker of resolve. He had to think. He had to find a solution.

They needed a plan.

Clay's stomach dropped. They were screwed. Cameras. Of course. The Teacher's Council wouldn't leave anything to chance. He'd spent months trying to find the damn things, poking around, looking for wires, anything, but they'd vanished into thin air. Those guys were pros, even smarter than a Cipher like himself.

His eyes darted around the room, searching frantically, but there was nothing. Just walls, furniture, the dead weight of Rose's body.

Then there was the neighbor. Maybe they hadn't seen anything, maybe they'd slept through it all. But maybe, just maybe, they'd seen everything. And if they hadn't, someone else probably had.

Lying. Yeah, that's what they'd have to do. Lie to the police, lie to the Council, lie to their parents, lie to everyone.

It was a total nightmare.

Clay felt sick. He couldn't get expelled. Not now, not ever. His parents wouldn't even let him live it down, they'd freak out. It'd be worse than jail, they'd treat him like a failure, and that was the worst punishment of all.

His mind raced, searching for a loophole, a way out. Anything. This was impossible, right? They couldn't just… Could they?

Clay checked his phone, 11:56 PM. An idea, a crazy, twisted idea, slammed into his brain. Technically, maybe it was possible.

He immediately pushed the thought away, nausea rising.

His mind screamed 'No,' refusing to go there. To frame someone else, especially...well, you didn't frame someone especially innocent. Right?

He hesitated. His head pounded. How would the neighbour react? Knowing Clay, probably suspicious, scared. Murder wasn't exactly neighborly behavior. Were they better off trying to cover for themselves and hope for a miracle, or risk painting someone else as crazy?

This was insane, morally bankrupt... but maybe necessary.

It was a leap, a reckless one, pushing logic and compassion aside. Maybe the neighbor had some secrets themselves. Maybe fear would outweigh their morals? Maybe desperation was a convincing motivator?

They had seconds, maybe minutes before someone showed up.

Clay knew in that moment the decision wasn't about safety, it wasn't even about justice anymore.

It was simply survival.

"What are we gonna do…" Lyra asked, fear lacing her voice.

Belle, still crying, moved slowly towards Rose's lifeless body, like she wasn't even aware of the walls anymore.

"Belle, wait-" Clay reached out, stopping her abruptly. Belle almost bumped right through the wall, confused.

"Wait-" Clay spun, racing to the mini-kitchen, throwing open an upper cabinet. He grabbed a black bag, filled with the typical Cipher arsenal: laser guns, smoke bombs, gadgets straight out of Batman.

Grabbing a laser gun, he stuck his arm out the window, aiming carefully at the neighbour's window, identical to theirs.

"Clay, what are you doing?" Lyra asked, completely bewildered. Belle, equally confused, echoed Lyra's question.

Clay fired.

The window shattered, glass spraying everywhere, sending a jolt of fear through Lyra and Belle.

"Clay!" Belle blurted, her voice shaking.

"Listen!" Clay hissed, keeping his voice low, "We weren't the ones who killed the janitor. It wasn't Belle's lasers that hit the janitor, it was my neighbour's. Our neighbour, that's who did it. He's an Ascensus-"

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Lyra asked, still trying to piece together the craziness unfolding before her.

"My neighbour's name is Griffin Rhys. He's-"

"GRIFFIN? THE GUY WITH DOWN SYNDROME?"

"Shhh!"

"No, no, no, no. Are we…are we framing Griffin for murder?" Lyra asked, a tremor in her voice.

"It's..." Clay stumbled, searching for the right words.

"Framing someone?! Are you freaking kidding me?!" Belle cried, panic rising in her voice.

"Crazy? Bitch, you were the one who shot her, and I'm the one figuring out how to get us out of this mess!"

"No, no, Griffin…he's innocent," Lyra said, shaking her head.

"Listen!" Clay's voice softened slightly, "Look, it's either him or us. Think! Do you really think Griffin will help us cover this? Huh?!"

Lyra stared down at her feet, speechless. Clay was right. She couldn't even argue with that. But framing Griffin…the sweet guy who everyone treated like crap, who Clay treated like crap.

"No… I can't do this," Belle whispered.

Clay's frustration grew. "Listen! If…if we get caught by the police, just tell them I threatened you, said I'd kill you if you didn't help me. If we get caught, you two might get off. It's my neck on the line. Deal?"

Lyra and Belle exchanged panicked glances.

"Clay…please…" Lyra mumbled. Clay's words echoed her own fears.

Belle knew what Clay was talking about. He'd told her before, how his father would react if Clay got expelled. It wasn't pretty.

Lyra chuckled, the sound hollow and forced. Griffin. His innocence, her only friend in all of this mess. She could imagine the disappointment on Weaver's face, the way his eyes would bore into her. Weaver, already blaming her for his wife's suicide. What would he do knowing this?

She felt a crushing weight of guilt.

She knew what Clay was asking.

She felt like a failure.

"No…" Lyra shook her head, trying to push the thought away. "Just…don't think about it. Don't think about it…"

Belle nodded, her eyes wide with fear, "We gotta save ourselves. We gotta save ourselves…"

Clay's voice cut through the panic. "Okay, which one of you can lie their way out of a paper bag?"

"Wait, the camera footage!" Lyra blurted, staring up at the ceiling frantically.

"I'll take care of it!"

"How?"

"I said I'll take care of it!"

"Wait- no… a guard out there might've already seen us- oh god-"

"They haven't! Not right now! Trust me…"

"WHAT?! HOW WOULD YOU KNOW-"

"JUST TRUST ME! OKAY?! Now, which one of you is good at lying?!" Clay demanded, his patience wearing thin.

"I… I…" Belle shook her head, her eyes darting nervously between Clay and Lyra.

Lyra’s mouth went dry.

“Me?!” Her voice cracked.