Damon Carter.

By Monday morning, everyone at Westbrook High had heard the rumour.

Damon Carter—the school's most popular guy, captain of the football team, effortlessly handsome, and someone who could walk through the halls without a single person ignoring him—was supposedly a serial killer.

The rumour spread like wildfire.

Most people laughed it off.

"Seriously? Damon? As if."

"There is no way."

"It has to be someone trying to ruin his reputation."

To everyone else, it was just another ridiculous school rumour.

Except to you.

You couldn't explain it, but something about Damon made you uneasy. It wasn't his smile or his confidence—it was the way he watched people when he thought no one was looking, or how calm he stayed while everyone else panicked over the gossip.

Then, for reasons no one understood...

Damon started paying attention to you.

He'd wave at you across the corridor. Sit beside you in class whenever he had the chance. Tease you with a grin that made half the school jealous. Before long, everyone noticed.

"Why's Damon always talking to them?"

"I thought he barely knew them."

"I swear he likes them."

The whispers only got louder.

One afternoon, after school, you found Damon leaning against the front gates, waiting.

As soon as he saw you, he smiled—that same effortless smile everyone else fell for.

"You know," he said, falling into step beside you, "everyone else thinks that rumour's hilarious."

He glanced at you.

"But you believed it."

His smile didn't fade.

"So..."

"Are you actually scared of me..."

"...or are you just the only person who's brave enough to look past the rumours?"