The knife slid out, silver flashing under the weak floodlight. She drove it forward, precise, low into his ribs. His laugh choked off into a wet gasp.
Marcus stumbled back, eyes wide, clutching his side as blood spread across his jersey. "What—what the hell—?"
Lily stepped forward again, steady, silent. Another thrust, higher this time, cutting off his words. The sound he made was more surprise than pain, a broken animal whimper.
Her heart didn't race. Her breathing stayed calm. The rules held.
Marcus collapsed onto the gravel, the field lights humming above them. His hands pawed weakly at the wound before falling still.
Silence rushed in.
Lily stared down at him, chest rising and falling slowly. This was it. The moment she had imagined, rehearsed. He was gone, and she had done it.
Not fear. Not guilt. Satisfaction.
But then—footsteps.
Her head snapped up, knife still in her hand.
Jason.
He emerged from behind the equipment shed, hands in his pockets, his face unreadable. The light cast long shadows across his jaw, catching on his eyes that seemed far too calm for what he was seeing.
Lily's stomach dropped. For the first time all night, her pulse stumbled.
He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't see.
Jason stopped a few feet away, gaze flicking to Marcus's body, then back to Lily. His voice was low, almost casual.
"You should go."
Lily froze, knife trembling slightly in her grip. "What—what are you talking about?"
Jason's expression didn't change. "Leave. Now. Before someone else comes."
Her mouth went dry. "You… you saw…"
"I saw enough." His eyes lingered on the knife, then back on her. "But I won't say anything. Just… go."
Lily's mind spun. Why wasn't he running? Why wasn't he screaming? Why wasn't he pulling out his phone to call for help?
She took a slow step back, then another. Jason didn't move. He just watched her, calm as ever, until she finally turned and melted into the shadows.
Her hands shook only once she was alone in the dark, far from the field. She scrubbed the knife clean with the rag she'd brought, buried it deep in her bag. Her legs carried her home automatically, her mind buzzing.
Jason had seen everything.
And yet… Marcus's body was discovered the next morning in the alley beside the school, slumped and bloodless, his bag gone. The whispers around campus were quick: mugging gone wrong. Police said nothing about knives. Nothing about Lily.
Nothing about Jason.
Lily sat in class that day, staring at the empty desk where Marcus once lounged. Across the room, Jason scribbled in his notebook, not looking at her, not looking at anyone.
Her chest tightened.
He wasn't afraid. He wasn't suspicious.
He was hiding something.