"Hello?"

I am sitting in my foyer, back against my front door. Dex left about an hour ago, and I've been freaking out since. Eventually, I figured out that I probably am not going to move past this on my own. That is a first, since I'm extremely self-sufficient, generally.

"Willow, there was an incident." I notify the girl, who simply hums in return. I hear typing in the background, which gives me the idea that she's probably busy right now. "I think Dex and I are officially friends."

"The neighbor?" She specifies, and I reply with an affirmative. She hums again, and I just wait patiently for her response. She is clearly way better versed in social situations, despite the fact she probably spends more time alone than I do. Still, she used to be a normal teenager. "What happened?"

I sigh, leaning my head back against the door and staring at the ceiling for a moment. Where do I even begin? How should I phrase this? "Well, he complimented me... and I told him that didn't happen a lot, and then he basically said I needed new friends, but I told him I didn't have any, and then... I don't know."

Willow goes silent for a moment, before, "what kind of compliment?"

I purse my lips, and for some reason, I don't want to repeat it. The whole thing just makes me feel... really strange. I've never experienced anything like it, and I find it concerning. I do not need any distractions right now, I need to be focusing entirely on the cons and not getting myself found out, or otherwise slipping up in any way. I've found myself in a fragile situation, I need to treat it as such.

Except... that's a lot easier said than done. "He called me pretty."

"What?"

"I mean— it's not a big deal, I think he was just being nice." I say in a panic, really not wanting this to turn into A Thing. Even though saying it out loud makes me short of breath, and I otherwise can't stop thinking about it, it didn't seem to be a big deal to him. He equated the compliment to friendship, so why does Willow sound so shocked?

"Camilo, he was not being nice. That man wants to fuck you."

Okay, she's being dramatic. That is such an insane conclusion to jump to—what is Willow even saying, right now? What would she know about these things? "Willow, you're a child. You have no idea—"

"Oh, yeah I do. I know you suck at reading people, but pretty? He does not want to be friends, I promise."

I close my eyes. I understand that Willow is way better with people than I am, but that's not saying much. Maybe... maybe to her it means something different. Should I consult someone else? Maybe I should mention it to Kristy.

Except, she already called him my boyfriend. This would not help those allegations.

They can't be right, though. The concept of someone being romantically interested in me, to the point where they're actively pursuing it, is insane. I've barely even known him two weeks! I've been awkward since the second we met, too, and also, let's not forget the fact I'm a fucking serial killer. It's not like he knows that—or will ever know that, if I can help it—but it's something.

I can't let this happen. "Okay, well... I mean, if you're right, what should I do?"

"Uh..." Willow seems to think about this for a moment, and I'm genuinely curious as to what she has to say. She's probably had more romantic experience than I have, as well as compliment experience, so I should trust her. Even if this stuff is difficult to believe and I'm still not entirely sure she knows what she's talking about in terms of Decari specifically.

"I don't know. A friendship with him probably wouldn't be a bad idea, if he's going to talk to you about the progress on the case. It'd be like having an insider." She tells me, after a while. "You should probably make sure that's as far as it goes, though. Even if he's the nicest person in the world, that doesn't mean you can trust him."

She's right, and I know that. Actually, everything she just said is correct and also great advice. So why does it give me such a sinking feeling in my stomach? Why does that final reminder essentially suck any warmth and happiness from my body, which was entirely caused by Dex in the first place?

Wow. I didn't realize that before. This is—was—the best mood I've had in a long time, and Dex was the entire reason for it.

That's probably not good.

"Yeah, I know." I tell her, unable to hide my fall in tone. "Friends and nothing more so I can get closer to the case."

"That's probably for the best," she tells me, and I nod, even though she can't see me. That's fine, that should be easy. It's not like I have a crush on him or something, I just find the guy conventionally attractive. So what? Clearly it goes both ways, and that's not an uncommon thing for most people. It should be easy to ignore.

It should be, but I can't even remember ever having a friend. Well, that's a lie, I've definitely had several people all throughout my life that would've classified themselves as my friends. However, I never saw them that way. It's very difficult for me to have any sort of complex or emotional relationship with someone.

So, this should be easy, right? Just... be friendly, and in time he will tell me everything he knows about The Doctor Of East Hadena. Simple.

"Doesn't mean you can't do other things, though."

This is a joke I actually do understand, partially from her mischievous tone. "Shut up. I hate teenagers."

"Mhm. Come over here, I wanna show you stuff."

"Whatever."

She probably wants to tell me more about the victim she mentioned a while ago, which I haven't followed up on. I've been too distracted by work and Decari, which happens from time to time. I think the longest I've gone without killing someone or something, for the last few years or so, is about a month. My breaks never last, though.

I definitely do not need a break right now. No, I feel weird, and I want to feel normal again. So, I will indulge the one constant I've always had in my life. Seems like I need a reminder who I am, anyway, but that thought isn't comforting. I haven't known Decari long enough for him to have this kind of effect on me, and I blame my lack of experience on the matter. Time to go back to my roots.

So, after feeding and walking Fluffy, I head to the storage facility, and before the night is over The Doctor Of East Hadena's body count goes up to 49.