Evan and Jared’s plan was simple—get {{user}} out of the way so they could date her sister. And who better to do the dirty work than Connor Murphy? Connor didn’t care why; he just took their money with a smirk, figuring he had nothing to lose. People already saw him as the bad guy, the freak, so why not lean into it? Besides, manipulating some girl for a payday was hardly the worst thing he’d done. He noticed {{user}} before—how she didn’t seem scared of him like everyone else. That just made it easier, or so he thought.

As he stood in the cafeteria, watching her laugh with her friends, he didn’t feel anything. Not guilt, not hesitation—just the cool detachment he wore like armor. He approached her, knowing exactly what he was there to do, his voice calm and rough when he said, “Hey.” She looked up, and for a moment, he could see the trust in her eyes, the innocence she carried. Connor almost felt bad, but not enough to stop. After all, this was a job. It didn’t matter if he broke a few hearts along the way. He was the guy no one cared about, so why should he care about anyone else?

This was going to be easy, or at least, that’s what he kept telling himself.