Someone I'm Not

13. My Killer

When they're done with breakfast, Soroya volunteered herself to wash the dishes. It's not that heavy of a job, primarily that they've only used few utensils since they've ordered for breakfast.

"Oh, please! You're a visitor. Let us do the dishes!" Nico says as he gently tries to push her away from the sink, but it only made her persistent in doing it.

"I'm going to stay here until tomorrow, so let me at least help. I just don't to look like I'm taking everything for granted." 'Which I was good at doing before.' She thought to herself, remembering his evil deeds as the Original Phoenix.

"Okay, fine! But please, let me help." He says as he stands beside Soroya. "So, what should I do here?"

"Okay, so how about I wash the plates, and you clean them with the water?" Soroya suggests as she looks for the sponge.

"Here!" He says as he reaches for the opposite side for the sponge that she's been looking for. He hands her the sponge and smiles.

"Thanks! I was just too blind I didn't look at that part." She chuckles, feeling a bit embarrassed by it.

"No worries. I always experience that myself." Nico smiles at her before they start managing the plates.

"Oh, sh*t," Bret mutters as the rest of them look at him.

"What? Is the fridge already broken? I told you I should have made my parents deliver—" Philip was cut off mid-sentence when Bret threw a death glare in his direction. Nico then chuckles as he looks at Soroya.

"Don't mind them." He says before they continue doing the dishes.

"Oh, please, Phil. We all know you're the richest among us four, so no need to brag about your refrigerator!" He exclaims before closing it. He faces both Phoenix and Philip before talking. "We're out of food stock. And we still have classes at one. So I need you to come with me to shop for food today." He says as Soroya and Nico we're still focused on the plates.

"But that is NOT fair! Nico and I went to the market last Sunday? Phoenix only should go with you—"

"Enough talking, Philip! And besides, you still owe us your canceled food treat when your GIRLFRIEND decided to show up here just to have s*x. . . Phoenix, I'll use the bathroom upstairs, you use the bathroom here. Okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

"But— hey! You don't get to embarrass me like that in front of a visitor!" Philip tried to get both of their attention, but they've already gone with their own ways. Philip scoffs before rushing upstairs, wanting to talk to Bret for long. When the surrounding is already clear, that's when Nico and Soroya secretly laugh.

"Gosh, I can't believe what I've just heard!" She says that makes Nico nod.

"I agree." He says until the shared laughter has died down. Soroya then realizes that their gazes are locked together, making her freeze a bit. But then, she snaps herself out as she clears her throat before shifting her look into the almost washed plates.

"But seriously. Did his girlfriend came here just to have s*x while he's about to treat you all?" She asks that makes him reply with a small smile before shifting his gaze back at the plates.

"That's a half-truth and half lie." He says before lifting a plate and placing it into the shelf intended for the kitchen utensils.

"Why is that?" She asks, more interested in finding out what happened.

"Well, he's not actually HIS girlfriend. . . They just call themselves friends before, but we three have noticed that most of the time we get home, all of the deets he's about to tell us would be just about her. At first, we thought it was just normal since he was her first best friend in college. But as time passes by, we slowly realize that he's falling in love.

We teased him about it until he admitted he had a crush on her. The problem is, this girl has a boyfriend."

"Oh, shocker.", Soroya exhales as she's finishing the last plate. Nico chuckles at her reaction, still continuously drying the other utensils.

"I know. But, if you're friends with him, I mean, friends for a very long time, then you'll know it is unlikely for him to hide his feelings for someone." He admits as Soroya hands her the plate. He takes it in his hand with gentleness as he washes it.

"And what do you mean by that?" Soroya asks as she rinses her hand. When she's finished, she wipes it on both sides of her pants. Nico follows after placing the plate beside the clean dishes.

"Well, he's the type of a man who is TOO showy when it comes to feelings. And what I mean by that is, you'll just find him on the table of girls flirting already. . . You don't find him getting serious with any of his past relationships, so we are just beyond grateful as his friends to come and start taking this relationship seriously. We feel bad for the girls he broke their hearts, but I guess that's just part of his routine. And this one is different."

"So Philip is practically a player AND a heart breaker, huh?" She asks as she leans her back on the kitchen table as she waited for Nivo to finish rinsing his hand. When he's done, he turns to face her and about to tell more when they both hear stumps coming from upstairs.

"Hurry up, Bret! We don't have the whole time for ourselves!" Philip is the one who comes down with his furrowed brows as he clutches his phone in his hand.

"I said I'm coming, you i***t!" Bret shouts back as Phoenix comes down. His eyes then darted on Nico and Soroya that made her sense something. But before she could even ask what's wrong, he decided to turn around and tap Philip on his shoulder, who is standing and waiting for them.

"Let's head out first, bro." He says and walks past him. Philip then nods as an idea pops up in his mind.

"Hey! We should hide from him so that he would panic. It would be a great— Phoenix, wait!"

'That's odd.  What's wrong with Phoenix?' Soroya asks but was cut off shortly from her thoughts when Nico chuckles.

"Philip can be childish sometimes, but I tell you this. When it comes to friendship, he is sure that protective one." He says as he looks down on her. Her height is only by his shoulder, making her realize how short she is. But she didn't let her insecurity be visible just like that.

"Yeah, I think he is too." She says before brushing the thought away.

"Hey Nico, you know the drill, okay? You'll be cleaning the house today. Well, be back by lunch, and we might as well order again. Do you guys have something in particular to order?" He asks as Nico nods.

"Actually, get me that spicy buffalo wings." He pauses as he looks at Soroya again. "Would that be okay with you?" He asks that made her blink thrice before pointing at herself.

"Me?" She asks that made him chuckle.

"Of course! Do you think we'd order food and not including you? That would be unreasonable." He replies. Soroya then turns to face Bret as she nods.

"Yup, that'll be fine with me."

"Then great! You'll just have to pay me by—"

"Actually, Bret. Her lunch is on me." Nico interrupts as they both stare at him with confusion.

"Oh, no! I can pay—"

"It's okay. Besides, this is your first time here, and I just want you to feel welcome and comfortable." He smiles as Bret stares t him like hes examining Nico. But before he could do it furthermore, the three of them hears Phoenix shout from outside.

"Hey, Bret! You might want to come out now because I don't want to get my *ss late for school later!"

"Oh, right!" Bret flinches back to reality before pushing his phone inside his jean pocket. "We'll be going now. See you later both! And oh, please. . . Don't do anything, and I mean ANYTHING stupid. . . Gotta go!"

"What—" before Soroya could react, Bret is already by the door before and closing it behind him. "What does that suppose to mean?" She asks as she lifts her head to face Nico, who has a cheeky smile already formed on his lips.

"How about we clean for now, and we'll do something stupid later?" He winks that made her heart flutter for a second. And before she could even ask anything, Nico is already holding a broom. Soon, they found both of themselves cleaning the whole house. When they're finished, Soroya is about to sit on the couch when Nico calls him from upstairs. She groans in frustration before rushing upstairs.

"What?" She asks as she finds him inside Bret's room. "What are you doing?" She asks as she notices him doing something.

"Well, if there is one thing that you should know about me, it is I always do pranks." He admits as he throws his a side look before going back to doing something.

"Well, why did you call me here?" She asks, a bit confused why she's there. But then, Nico didn't throw him a look but still responds.

"It's because I need your help." He says as he hands him his camera. "Can you find a good spot for this one? I want to document this one." He asks as Soroya nods. "Thanks."

She looks around the room, finding the right spot where the camera might be placed. When she's found the right site, she set it there, hoping it won't be too obvious.

"Done with the camera." She announces as Nico finished what he is doing.

"Great! Now, I need you to pick something for me." He says as he opens Bret's PC. There is a password, but he managed to unlock it after typing something.

"What is it?" Soroya raises the question as she approaches him. She bends over beside him to level her eyes on the monitor.

"Bret does love playing GTA or any games that include guns, fights, and even zombies."

"Like Mafia's?"

"Yup, something like that. But tonight, as he clicks these icons, I want it to run in a different game." Soroya is a bit amazed at how good Nico is. She has never had a friend who is a prankster. "And I want you to pick some games." He opens the game store, and a bunch of games pops up on the screen, similar to the online games that Bret wanted. And Soroya knows the best game she could ever choose from.

Nico allows her to do the searching as she didn't waste any of her precious time. She's too excited and nervous at the same time since this is her first time pranking someone (mentioning that she's only just an acquaintance to the three of them). When she's done, she had picked five games in total to cover-up Bret's top 5 and most played online game.

"I think I'm done with this. And I'm pretty confident that it will immediately hook his irritation up." She says that makes Nico nod. A creepy smile and an evil laugh escape into his mouth, quickly sending shivers down her spine.

"This is going to be awesome," Nico mumbles as he clicks some more before closing his PC. He then stands up for Bret's gaming chair and turns to Soroya.

"Come. Let's get out of here before they could even come back." He says as he takes her hand and walks out of the room. They close it gently, leaning no traces of their planned out prank. He brings her into the balcony. Luckily, it has a cover for them not to be exposed to sunlight. Nico gestured for them to sit down. She's a bit confused about why they go there, but just by seeing the view from there makes her miss home already. But then, she remembers the main reason she's there and that she needs to act already.

"Sorry for bringing you here but, every time I wang just to relax, this is the best way to be. And I think that sharing this space with you is a good time now that we have just finished cleaning the house." He says as he closes his eyes, resting his head to where he is seated as both of his hands were stretched out at the back of his head.

"Hey, Nico?" She asks as she averts her eyes to the view, switching it to the man beside her.

"Hmm?" He asks as he keeps his eyes closed. Soroya gulps before continues to ask.

"I was just curious to one thing. Would you mind if I ask you about it?" She asks him as he nods.

"As long as it won't be about my GREATEST EMBARRASSMENT." He says that made her chuckle.

"Now that you said it, I might ask it someday but, no. That's not what I'm curious about." She says.

"Then, shoot! But I don't promise any answers if I don't like the question, okay?"

"Sure!"

"Then, what is it?" Soroya then takes a deep breath before mouthing her question into words.

"Let's just say, you, Phoenix, Bret, and Philip, we're playing the classic Truth or Dare, but you decided to play ALL DARES."

"Then that would be called The Dares." He quickly answers as she raises a brow.

"That's not what I'm going to ask!" She laughs that made him chuckle. He's still not opening his eye, probably enjoying the heat of the surroundings.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought that is what you're curious about." He explains. "But go ahead."

"So, as I was saying, you're playing DARES, and suddenly, it's your turn, and the question for you is, " how would you kill your friends?"

Nico's eyes finally open as she pops the question. He sits properly as he stares over her eyes, trying to figure out if she's kidding, but not.

"Hmm. . . that's a bizarre question. Why would you be curious about something like that?" He asks that made her think of an excuse. Luckily, she did think of something.

"Well, our school made an Activity for next month called SHORT FILM CONTEST, and each section should provide entries for this activity. . . And I happen to be one of the scriptwriters. The other scriptwriters and I decided to write about a boy squad and that they were stuck at an old house they visited and that only one of them would come out alive. Then, the most desperate one will kill his friends even though the plan should be outsmarting the game. But with the adrenaline of writing, we were now stuck to how one could kill another. And I see you and your friends are an excellent alive example to imagine with. . . So, if you were to put yourself in the shoes of the desperate one, what will you do?" She tries her best to give a detailed explanation to hook his doubt away. And from his grin, she could say that he bought it.

"How about we start with Phoenix?" She follows up as her patience melts thinner.

"Hmm. . . I've never thought about killing my friends, but since I'm mandated to answer honestly, then maybe I'll kill Phoenix by. . ." he pauses as he thinks of a good idea if he is to kill him. He then snaps his finger as he stares at her as if he had imagined the best way to kill him.

"I'll stab his chest and pull out his heart and let it be delivered to you by morning. Isn't that sweet?" He asks as Soroya feels her heartbeat fastens.

"Why would you. . ." she trails off of her own words as she realized something. Nico just stares at her as if he didn't hear his question.

"And how about Philip?" She asks to change her question. And now, she's sure of one thing.

'He is not my killer.'