X Marks the Spot

9 - Lauren

The best time of the best day of the week had finally come for Joel: 3PM on a Friday. School was closed for two whole days, and now all Joel had to worry about was staying alive for that period of time. Homework could wait.

During his visit to the library, he'd saved as many interesting links that he could find to a flash drive, hoping they might lead him to something. He planned to read them later, or over the weekend. Even if he couldn't find out who the killer was (he realised his chances were slim), he could perhaps find out more about the history of the murders and what they had in common.

I just wish this could be a bad dream, he thought to himself. You hear about this shit on the news, or read about it in the papers, but you never think it'll happen to you. But why not? What makes me so special that I could be invulnerable to a serial killer? If only I had some way to protect myself. This isn't like a video game, I don't have any kind of weapon. And it's not like I can just re-spawn. And can I tell anyone about this? Would anyone believe me? And who would I -

"Watch out!"

In the short space of a few seconds, he heard a voice scream behind him and a squeal of brakes. He felt blinding panic and a hand clutching his arm, tugging him away from the road.

He was okay. He was back on the pavement, off the road, and he was okay. The man in the car yelled something incoherent at Joel and proceeded to continue driving.

"Damn... that was close." A girl behind him released her grip on his arm as he turned to look at her. "You should really watch where you're going."

"Yeah..." Joel mumbled, still in shock. "Thanks for that."

"No worries. Are you getting the bus?" She glanced at the bus stop across the road and Joel nodded. They crossed the road together. Joel took in her appearance. She had shoulder-length black hair, and she was wearing a school uniform different to his own. The makeup she wore was minimal, and they were approximately the same height.

"So," Joel started, not really knowing what to say. "You, er... What school do you go to?"

"St. David's. It's just down the road." Joel knew that was a private school; her family must have been relatively wealthy to be able to send her there.

"Yeah, I know it. I'm at Shelley's." As he spoke, she swung her bag from her back and pulled her phone out. Joel glanced at the contents of her bag, trying to hide his curiosity until he saw something he recognised: a small plastic bag with the Analogue Co. logo on it.

"You're a gamer?"

She saw what he was looking at and pulled the game out of the plastic bag to show to him.

"Shining Vengeance 2!" Joel had desperately wanted the game ever since its release that morning, but he hadn't had enough money.

"Limited edition," the girl bragged. She handed it to him to admire.

"Wow, how did you get this? I thought all of these would have been sold out by now."

"I went on my lunch break."

"You're allowed out at lunch in St. David's?"

"No," she grinned mischievously. "I just really wanted that limited edition."

By now, the girl had definitely made a lasting impression on Joel and he endeavored to find out more about her. Her name was Lauren, and he started to believe he'd finally found the friend he'd been looking for. They exchanged phone numbers and planned to take the bus to her home, where they could play the game and get to know each other better. Lauren had changed the situation in two ways: firstly, he was beginning to think he could trust her. He knew guys like Eddie who said that most girls were fake because they wore lots of makeup and played mind games. Joel didn't know how much of that was true, but Lauren just seemed pure and genuine. Secondly, the thought of X had melted from his mind. He concentrated on her, and nothing else seemed to matter. They just had an instant connection.

Sometimes, you meet someone and you instantly know that they were meant to be a part of your life. Not because of fate or destiny, but because you happened to meet at the right place and the right time. You fit together like puzzle pieces, like yin and yang. I believe everyone deserves the chance to have someone like this in their life, because they can either make or break you. They can be the best thing that ever happened to you, or your ultimate downfall.

I had a similar encounter with a boy I went to school with. I thought the world of him; he was amusing, intelligent and compassionate. He'd shown an interest in being my friend, which I reciprocated. When you trust someone that much and you think of them as the only person in the world who would never hurt you, that's the worst thing that they can do - and he did.

I take the utmost delight in telling you that Joel's friendship with Lauren did not have the same tragic conclusion. The end of their story was not caused by spite, or jealousy, or betrayal. It would inevitably come to an end, as all stories do, but it was not a result of our tendency to inflict pain on others we care about. The only thing Lauren gave to Joel was hope and happiness. He felt these emotions as the bus carried them away from the stop, but they blinded him. He was so caught up in his joyousness that he hadn't felt in such a long time that he was completely oblivious to the X Killer watching the bus depart.