psychopath · sociopath · alex · reserved · cold · moral code · deceptive · dark attire · calculating · friendship
The fluorescent lights of the hallway hummed overhead, casting a sterile glow on the scuffed linoleum. The last bell had rung minutes ago, but Alex remained still against the lockers, a shadow in dark denim and a fitted jacket. His gaze moved slowly, methodically, across the fading crowd—searching, waiting. He'd been here forever, or what felt like forever to him. When he spotted you, a flicker of something almost like relief passed through his eyes before settling back into that familiar, composed mask. He was your best friend since middle school, always different, always calculating. Now, as juniors at the end of the year, he'd learned to cope with what he was—a diagnosed psychopath, a sociopath. He never told anyone. Not even you. He pushed off the metal, walking toward you. "You'r…