"I hit it. I hit it!" Lev shouted happily as he jumped. He ran towards Emman and lifted him as if the latter was the lightest person he had lifted in his whole life.

Despite having a slender body, his height could make up for it. Lev was the tallest on their team and with his height, he can block a ball like a gigantic wall. At any rate, it wasn't good for Emman, who was now overwhelmed by his current position.
"Hey! Put me down!" Emman exclaimed as he forced himself to pull away from Lev. He probably didn't have any strength left, since Lev didn't seem bothered by it.
"Waaahhhhh!" Lev shouted happily as he circled Emman in the air.

Emman just gave up and smiled. He has been practicing with Lev for a few weeks already and there were a lot of times that he wanted to give up. Despite being a good blocker, it was the only skill Lev has. That's why Emman was assigned to be his practice buddy. Why was he assigned to be his practice buddy? Why not Will, who’s undeniably a better setter than him? Also, Lev has more energy than he has. He will get tired first before Lev could get exhausted in practice. Emman had pondered.

But Emman remembered Andrew with him. A person who doesn't know how to give up and that was one of the weird things that he liked about Andrew. That's why Emman endured practicing with Lev, even though the latter was too mischievous and noisy. Fortunately, their long practice paid off. Lev finally spiked one of Emman’s sets.
"Alright, let me down!"
Lev finally took him down. As soon as Emman was back on his feet, Lev immediately hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Emman! It's a nice birthday gift for me," he gratified.
"I c-couldn’t b-breathe- L-Lev--"
"You might kill him, Lev."
Lev immediately freed Emman from his grasp and turned around. He saw Andrew standing at the entrance of the gym, staring at them. "Andrew!" Lev exclaimed excitedly as he approached him. "I had my first spike! It was all thanks to Emman!" he grinned at him.
"Oh, is that so?" Andrew smiled widely.
Lev nodded and looked back at Emman, who was already standing next to him. He raised his hand and rested it on his left chest. "I’ll be your minion from now on!" he declared.
"Dummy," Emman commented and smiled. He then approached Andrew.
"Why are you here? I texted you earlier that we might finish late." Emman asked.
"Oh, I’m just worried that Lev will take you away from me," Andrew replied with a blank expression.
"What?" Emman asked with a confused face.
Even Lev went silent at Andrew's answer. Even though he was much bigger than Andrew, he couldn't help but get nervous at his unexpected response. But after a few seconds, Andrew stifled a laugh and held Emman’s shoulder. "Come on, it was just a joke, Emman."
Lev then immediately took a deep breath. "I got nervous!" he exclaimed.
But Emman was still confused. The way Andrew said that sounded real to him. As if it was Andrew’s actual concern. And the look on Andrew’s face. For a split second, he thought he was looking at a different person. But before he could think about it deeper, Andrew slid his hand into his, tugging him.
"Let’s go," Andrew muttered as he pulled Emman on his arm. "It’s getting late."
Emman couldn't help but look at Andrew as the two quietly walked home. Emman distinguished that something had happened, even if Andrew wouldn't say it.
"Andrew."
"It was fine."
Andrew also perceived what was on Emman's mind. He knew Emman was just finding the right timing to ask.
"Did something happen?" Emman egged on.
"Nothing special," Andrew responded in a monotonous voice.
"I see..."

But Emman knew it wasn’t the case. Andrew was unusually quiet and disturbingly calm. He never saw Andrew like that before and it made him anxious.
"Thanks for worrying, Emman," Andrew muttered as he stopped on his track. Emman did as well. He then stared at Emman and smiled. "I love you."
Emman smiled back. His worry vanished as soon as he saw those bright green eyes gleamed under the moonlight. The usual eyes of the man he loves.
"Me too."
---------
"Andrew!" Lev shouted when he saw Andrew sitting on the bench while facing the river.
Andrew turned to Lev and smiled at him, which was not noticeable because of the darkness. It was midnight when the two met in a hangout place next to a large river that separates two cities. Beside the river is a line of benches several meters away from each. A long bridge that connects two separate cities can be overlooked from the hangout place. But the light of the bridge and the city lights from the other side were not enough to light the surrounding. The hangout place was still dark and blocked by large trees. The streetlights are on the side of the road in the park across from these trees. And its light could not reach the benches beside the river. So, no one hangs out here at night.
Lev hugged himself, feeling the coldness of the air. Why on earth did Andrew choose this place? He thought as he sat beside Andrew, who’s holding a box. It might be his present for him, Lev pondered. Andrew just invited him to meet because it was his birthday at midnight. Lev never thought that he was that important to Andrew, who would urge him to meet with him at midnight, just to give him a present.
"You’re bad at choosing a place, Andrew," Lev said with mixed annoyance in his voice. Apart from the darkness, he was also freezing.
Andrew laughed at Lev’s comment. "This is a perfect place," he muttered.
Somehow, Lev felt weird. The same weird feeling he felt earlier.
"Can I borrow your phone?" Andrew asked.
"Why?" Lev asked bewildered.
"Just hand your phone."
Lev felt hesitant at first, but he still handed it to Andrew.
"I heard it was broken," Andrew muttered as he eyed on Lev’s iPhone. The screen was cracked on the sides, with some hint of the color black.
"Yes, it fell last wee-" he muttered, but was cut-off when Andrew suddenly threw his phone into the river. "What the hell-"
"Here."
He was about to curse Andrew but got interrupted by the box that Andrew was handing over to him. He didn't know if he would be happy with the gift or if he would punch Andrew in the face.
"Take it," Andrew egged on.
Lev reached for it and opened it. His eyes widen when he opened the box. Inside it was a brand new iPhone 13.

"I-Is t-this for me?" Lev asked as he held the iPhone in his hand. He could not believe it. It's very expensive, and it's the latest iPhone released this year. He just put up with the used iPhone her sister gave to him as he couldn't afford to buy something new. He couldn't believe that someone would give him an expensive phone and a brand new one.
"Of course, that is yours. Did you like it?"
"Of course! I like it!" Lev responded happily. He then hugged his friend. "Thank you, Andrew! You’re the be-"
But Lev's smile slowly faded as he felt a painful stab on his side.
"A-Andrew--"
Andrew pushed the knife he’s holding even further on Lev’s side, causing the latter to cough off blood from his mouth.
"W-Why-" Lev tried to speak but he couldn’t as he tried to hold on to Andrew’s hand. He tried to pull his hand away from him but there’s no strength left on his hand. He regretted practicing too hard that day. It made him lose strength.
Andrew then whispered in Lev’s ear, "Happy birthday to you," he muttered in a sing-song voice.
Lev felt terrified, but it was too late for that. He doesn’t even know why Andrew did that to him. He has no strength anymore to even think further. And besides, he’s not mentally capable of assessing it. He was just confused, terrified, and pained. Andrew pulled the knife from his side, and blood started gushing from it. He then stood up from his seat that caused Lev to fall on the bench, still gripping his side. Andrew picked up the iPhone and its box that Lev had dropped. He pulled out a handkerchief and swept the traces of blood from it. He stared at Lev, who was now on the grass crawling away from him.
"It’s no use," Andrew murmured. "But I’ll let you since it’s your birthday," he added as he stared at him coldly.
He then walked away, leaving a helpless Lev to crawl his way to life.
The news immediately broke out at Staten High. They found a volleyball athlete dead in a park near the Martin bridge. Investigators confirmed that traces of blood were found from the riverside. The body has one deep stabbed wound on its side from a long sharp knife hitting the young man’s kidney. A street sweeper found the body at around five in the morning.
All Staten High’s volleyball members rushed to the hospital. They couldn’t believe what just happened. It was Lev’s birthday and now they will remember it as the day of his death.
"Who will do such a thing?" Ralph snapped as he punched the wall on the side.
"M-Maybe he got stumbled on to a freak," Troy guessed.
"Why was he out at such a time?!" Yakov exclaimed as he tried to process what happened. He rested his forehead on his hands and lowered his head.
They were planning to celebrate Lev’s birthday that day, but now he’s gone.
While some of them are raising questions about what probably happened, Emman was just standing and leaning against a wall, staring at Andrew, who’s silently sitting on the bench. He was just looking down, gazing at the box of an iPhone. Andrew had told him it was supposed to be his gift for Lev. Emman believed him, but his gut feeling was telling him not to overlook it. Emman knows Andrew more than anyone from that room; he knows everything about him. And when there’s something wrong about Andrew, he’s the only person in that room who could tell. What made him anxious last night was settling on his mind once more. There’s something wrong ever since he went to his mom’s death anniversary, Emman was sure. And what made him even more anxious was that how this thing happened right after that day. He suddenly hates being quick-witted.
‘You did not, did you?’ Emman asked in his mind. And as if his thoughts could not be even worse, for a moment he saw Andrew’s lips to curve upwards. Andrew suddenly looked in his direction with a changed expression, a mourned face. Chills immediately ran down on his entire body. ‘You’re not him.’ he realized.
From that day on, Emman tried to keep a distance from everyone. He only spent his free time with Andrew. He tries to convince himself that Andrew had nothing to do with what happened. He still holds on to what Andrew had always told him, that he won’t be like his father. And so he believed him... yet he couldn't get the idea out of his mind that what he was thinking might be right.

The only person he could talk about this was his only best friend.
"What’s wrong?" Ralph asked. He and Emman were sitting on Ralph’s bed. " Ever since Lev died, it's like you've been separating yourself from us."
Emman heaved a deep sigh. "I don’t know. I think I’m not in the right mind already," he muttered.
"Why? What's wrong? Tell me. I know you have Andrew on your side, but I'm still your best friend. You know you can always tell me everything, right?" Ralph muttered with a worried expression. He doesn't like what he's been seeing with Emman from the past days. It bothered him a lot.
Emman stared at his feet. Yes, he was not a sociable type of person. If there was one person who pulled him first from his comfort zone, it was Ralph. And he is one of the people he trusts besides Andrew.

"I-I think; I know who..." he hesitated. He didn't know if it was right to say this to Ralph, but he felt he would lose his mind not telling this to anyone.
"You know who?" Ralph asked curiously.
Emman bit his lip and went on, "I think it was-"
But Emman was stopped midway when his phone rang, seeing Andrew calling him on the screen. He looked at Ralph for a moment, who nodded at him. He then anxiously answered the phone.
"Where are you?" Andrew asked on the other line.

Emman anxiously bit his lip as he pondered. He certainly did not want to drag Ralph into this.
"I-I’m at home."
"Can I come?"

Emman felt uneasy at what he heard.
"Right now?"
"Yes, I’ll be there in an hour."
"An hour... Alright."
"See you!"

“Hmm,”

Andrew dropped the call. Emman then immediately got up from his seat. “I should go.”

“Wait, you still have something to say,” Ralph said as he held on to Emman's arm.

“I’ll tell you some other time,” Emman responded, as he pulled his arm away from his friend.

“Emman!”

But Emman didn't look back at Ralph anymore. He left the room immediately. He first said goodbye to Mrs. Eseguerra, then he came out of their house. He immediately rushed his way back home, no longer noticing his surroundings. And because of that, he didn't even notice Andrew standing and leaning against the wall, close to Ralph's house.

“So this is your home,” Andrew muttered with a minacious smile, staring at Emman, who’s running from Ralph’s house.



Two days after, they found Ralph dead…