• Everyone thinks they have it worse. They all try to be emo, or creepy, or just plain frightening, and they rant on and on about how terrible their lives are, when most of it is lies. That's what hurts the most. Lies. I used to lie, and brutally, too, until somebody lied to me. Brutally. Life is such a beautiful thing, and most people just try to obscure that by lying. Brutally. Enough of this... my tale:

    It was a perfect winter day, January 5, I recall, ice glinting on the ground and reflecting the sunlight like stars in a translucent midnight. As I lightly bounced along, being extra aware of the black ice waiting to scoff in my almost-shameful face, I repeated his words over and over in my mind: I have loved you, will you do the same for me? Without a care in the world, well, maybe except that of a news story of two murdered teenagers, the mental CD skipped again and again, all the way to my undiscovered hiding place: a hidden cave in the park that was cool in the summer and toasty in the winter; my temporary escape from reality.

    As I crawled inside the alcove with my favorite book, (Dracula, if you must know) but I couldn't concentrate because of an unnatural odor that I couldn't exactly name. Mildew? No. Ammonia? Not exactly. I refused to believe it, but I soon after recognized the scent as that of human blood. Right as I thought the word "blood," I was completely distracted by a familiar voice behind me paired with a literally glowing set of emerald green eyes. The voice, inviting and seductive yet dark and upsetting, sneered,

    "Where would you be going, love?" It was Dimitri Zashell, recently known owner of the quote "I have loved you, will you do the same for me?" His emarald eyes just stared. "Oh, what a pity. You've discovered the evidence. Here, let me Just take care of that," and that's when I heard the metallic "shwing" of a dagger.

    "You...you...lied. You told me you loved me, and I loved you back." Or did that just make me gullible?

    "It wouldn't really be considered lying if I was going to tell you eventually, which I already have. Viviana, do not think that I am not going to kill you. It will be painless, I promise. I will make everyone forget you. I promise. The world will be no different without you. I promise. You can even live after death. I promise," he tried.

    "How do I know your not lying about that? Why would I want that over the life I have now, any ways?" I stalled.

    He just shrugged. "You're right." And that's when Dimitri killed me. Although this time he was true to his word, to his final lies to me, I could only think of one word throughout this entire story: lies.