There are a lot of lies the world tells you, such as the fact that a gun is the best weapon to attack someone with. That’s a lie, someone once told me that a knife is better, I asked why. The answer, was simple, if you pull a gun out, they will panic or scream, if you pull a knife out they might get scared but they won’t panic as much, making you safe from being caught, well that’s if you're a criminal and need that information. Honestly, life is all objective, no one thinks or feels the same about anything, that’s why ‘how to commit the perfect murder’ is such a popular topic, because there are so many ways you can look at it, so many factors to think about. And few people know how it would truly plan out, how it would work, step by step, how it did happen.  My name is Nikias grey, and I’m what you would call paranoid. I don’t trust people, after all, who would? They lie, cheat, steal...murder, amongst other things of course. But as much as I don’t trust others, I trust myself even less, and for a good reason. I had never thought my worst nightmare would come true. That I would be standing over the body of someone I had just killed, their blood all over my hands. That I would be...a murderer. But that’s how I found myself a week after prom. I looked down at my hands shaking, the blood was still fresh, dripping slowly onto the ground. 'I need to get help' I thought. I stood there for a few minutes, breathing, until I was finally able to move my hand, I reached down to my pocket and pulled out my phone. I called the only person I could think would help me, my one friend, Xander. He picked up after the phone rung multiple times.  "Hey man, whats up?" he asked casually. I responded in a shaky voice, "I n-need help" I said quietly, staring at the body lying in front of me. "Alright, I'm on my way. What did you do?" he asked and I heard his car start. "I-I..k.." I mumbled, unable to from the words. "Whatever it is, its ok, I'm almost there, you're still at the shed right?" he asked. "y-yeah", I mumbled. After a few minutes, Xander walked into the shed, I heard his footsteps as he walked up towards me. He walked up beside me and looked at the body on the floor, then at me, at my hands, my hands holding my phone with blood covering them. He put a hand on my shoulder making me flinch. "Let's get you cleaned up, alright?" he said taking my phone gently and putting it in his pocket.I simply nodded, my eyes not leaving the body. He pushed me gently to move me from where I was standing, we went outside to the water hose, he turned the water on and ran it over my hands, the water turned red with the blood as it was washed from my hands. After washing off my hands he led me towards his car, and opened the passenger side door telling me to sit there. So I sat down, my hands still shaking, "I'm going to go deal with...that," he said pointing to the shed. I nodded, not quite sure what he meant though. He pulled out his phone and dialed 911, "yeah, so I was driving around with my radio off when I heard a scream coming from this shed, I pulled over to go check it out when I saw someone running from it." he lied simply. "yes, I went inside with my friend to see if someone else was their...that's when we saw a body, we both ran out not touching anything, there is blood everywhere," he continued. "will do officer," he said as he hung up, he put his phone in his pocket and took out my phone, wiping it off he handed it back to me. I took it and put it in my pocket, then looked at him.  "y-your a great l-liar" I said quietly. "of course I am, were partners in crime, remember?" he said pulling out a cigarette. I had always thought he was just kidding when he had said that. I had never thought of him as to be serious when it came to it. He had just lied to the police, and was assisting a murderer, not that he hadn't broke the laws before, he did sell drugs after all. I'm glad we became friends, but I'm not happy of why we became friends. It was January, six months after I had moved here, I hadn't made any friends, on purpose of course. It was right before lunch when I had approached my locker and found the note taped to the front. I looked around to see if anyone was watching me, or if maybe the person who had put it there was around. Not seeing anyone, I took the note off and read it to myself. Four words, thats all it was. Four words that led my life down a dark path. Four words that simply read, 'I KNOW YOUR SECRET' I took a deep breath reading this, I had many secrets, each dangerous in its own way, if someone really knew my secret, I was in trouble.  Suddenly the bell rung and the hall was filled with students. I walked to the cafeteria and looked around. As always, the cafeteria was split into groups, the popular kids sat in the middle, and along the outside was...well...everyone else. Multiple different friend groups took up the larger tables, leaving the rest for one or two people each. I personally sat in a corner away from everyone by myself. I always sat by my self watching everyone, I never ate at school, I never had. Its not like I was starving myself or something, I just felt much to uncomfortable around this many people to eat.  I had always sat alone, every day. Until that day, I was sitting there looking at my phone, when some sat down across from me. I looked up at him confused, neither of us saying anything for a few minutes. "you can see everyone from here, can't you?" he asked me. I simply nodded. "Don't talk much?" He asked, to this I didn't respond, just looked at him blankly. "Whatever," he said annoyed as he looked at his phone. I took a minute to look at him, He had multiple piercings on his face, and green hair. He had like an emo punk look going on. He looked up at me, "I'm Xander" he said waiting for me to tell him my name. "Nikias" I said quietly. "oh, so you do talk, I was beginning to worry. Anyway, did you get my note?" he asked plainly. I looked at him surprised and pulled the not out of my pocket, "this?" I asked. "yep, so now, your my... partner in crime. Or you know I could just tell everyone your secret," He said smirking. "are you...blackmailing me?" I asked confused. "indeed I am," he said plainly.  After that we sort of became friends, I don't know why he decided to keep my secret, until one day I got up to guts to ask him. We were sitting outside of school in his car, he was smoking. I looked at him for a while thinking of how to ask. "What is it?" he asked, glancing at me noticing that I was staring. "You said you know my secret, if you really do, what is it?" I asked finally.  He smirked, "so you finally ask, you know the only time you talk is when you have a question to ask. Well the answer is simple, you ran away from home, away from the police, because you feared you had killed someone who popped up dead, only because you knew them. You have ran away multiple times, never leaving the state, only going to a different, smaller town. Your family end up finding you most of the time, you don't do friends because you don't trust people." he said simply, "how do you know that?!" I said surprised. He simply smirked, "I have my ways, but your reaction proves that I'm right". "...um..." I mumbled, unsure of how to respond. Xander hit the roof of the car, bringing me back to the present. "I'll be right back," he said simply and walked into the shed. He came back with the knife in his hand and but it in the glove box. "why...are you so calm?" I asked quietly. "I've done these kind of things before" he muttered. A few minutes later, the cops showed up. One of them walked to the shed, the other over to us. Xander was standing in front of the passenger side door, smoking, when he was approached. "Excuse me, are you the one who called?" the officer asked him. "yep" Xander said simply. "Can you tell me what the person you saw fleeing the scene looked like?" the officer asked. "nope, I only saw someone running away, I wasn't close enough to see who it might have been" Xander sighed flicking the cigarette bud onto the ground and stepping on it. Ths officer raised an eyebrow at him before shaking his head, "stay here," he said before walking towards the shed. I looked at Xander, "If they figure out the truth, your done for" I said quietly. "Which is exactly why they won't...ever" he said looking at the shed. I got out of the car and stood next to him, "I can't run this time, can I?" I asked. "Running would be rather suspicious, don't you think? Especially when you were at the scene of the crime when the body was found," he replied plainly, watching the shed door. After a while a lot more cop cars showed up, someone came over and asked Xander questions, they would ask me questions too but Xander made up excuses for why I couldn't answer. Honestly, the truth was, I was scared that I would screw up, that they would know it was me. When they were investigating the scene, I saw them bring the body bag out. I looked at the ground nervously, not sure of how I was supposed to react. After a while, Xander put a hand on my shoulder, "we can leave now," He said walking around the car and getting in on the driver side. "good," I mumbled getting into the car and buckling. He started the car, and turned the radio on as we drove away. "you handled that situation pretty well," I said plainly, staring out the window. "Yeah, its not that hard," he said shrugging. "But you know, if we get caught-", I said, but interrupted. "I told you, we won't get caught," He said rudely. I decided to quit talking and stared blankly at the road. "although," Xander said breaking the silence. "mind telling me, how that happened, why did I find you standing over a dead body?" he asked. I sat quietly for a bit, trying to think of what to say. "Or just ignore me, not that the question was important," Xander mumbled. I sighed, "I'm...not sure, I don't remember how it happened exactly," I said quietly. "You'll remember...eventually," He said turning the radio up, ending our conversation. When we got home, well to his house, which I had been staying at because I had ran away from home and he was letting me stay with him. We walked inside and I sat down on the couch with a sigh, "do you know...who it was?" I asked Xander. He set the keys on the counter and sighed, "no." he said plainly. Although, I could tell he was lying, I decided not to bother him about it. He went up to his room, not saying anymore. I wondered why he wouldn't tell me, who could it have been to make him feel like he shouldn't. That night when I went to sleep, or at least tried too. I laid awake for a few hours, unable to sleep. until, finally, I did. Although I wished I didn't, my dreams were not something I would want to have again. In my dream, I was standing over the body again, only this time...it wasnt dead, I could see its chest rise and fall with every breath, I watched the blood run out of the body, onto my shoes. The blood kept coming, until it covered me completely, until I couldn't breathe, I was drowning in the blood. I tried to escape the shed, pounding on the door. It didn't budge. I screamed,the blood filling my mouth. I was panicking, I was scared. It was so real, even though there is not that much blood in the human body, I was sure I wad going to die, that this would be the end, that because I had took another's life, mine would be over as well. Suddenly, the dream shifted, I was no longer drowning and sighed with relief. I could breathe. I looked around, I was still in the shed, but their was no body on the floor, it was empty except for someone who was standing in the shadows. I looked down at my hands, that were not covered in blood. But there was a knife in my hand. "Whos there?" I said quietly. No one answered. I took a few steps towards them, still unable to see the face, "who are you?" I asked again, no one answered. I could feel my anger rising, I clenched the knife tightly, and took another step forward, "who...are...you", I said slowly, gritting my teeth. They stepped forward into the light, their face hidden, but it was him, the person I had killed. In their hand was a knife, I looked down at my hand realizing the knife was no longer in my hand. I took a step back and he took a step forward. "w-what are you d-doing?" I asked. The voice was disoriented but I could still understand it, "you did this," he said holding the knife threateningly. "I d-didn't...I d-dont...please" I pleaded stepping back and hitting a wall, I stuck my arms out and they both hit a wall. He kept walking closer, holding the knife. I was now screaming at him, until he was only a feet away. "how do you like it?" he asked and stabbed me. It was this that caused me to wake up. I shot up in my bed and looked over, there standing in my doorway, smoking, was Xander. I was about to ask him what he was doing there, or how long he had been there. "You scream a lot, its new, probably from the events of today." He said nodding slightly, smoke leaving his mouth as he spoke.  "w-what," I mumbled quietly. He ignored me, "I was contemplating whether to wake you up, or to smother you in your sleep. Then I thought, if another dead body showed up, in my house, after I was at the scene of the crime, kind of suspicious. Don't you think?" asked. "well...yeah..." I said quietly, glancing over at the clock, it read in bright red colors, 3:02 am. I wanted to know who it was, the person in my dream, the person I had killed, but I knew that if I kept on pestering him, I wouldn't get anywhere. Maybe, if I was to wait till he was drunk or something, then he would tell me. But by then, everyone would know, the media would have realized it. I sighed at this, if only he wasn't so stubborn, if only he would just tell me, it must of been someone I knew, for he wouldn't tell me, he just lied saying he didn't know who it was. I shook my head and stood up. I should go back to sleep, I have school tomorrow, but I don't want to sleep, I don't want to dream of...him. I know that once I find out who it is, my dreams will only get worse, more visual. Xander left my room, walking down the hall to his room leaving the door opened, as he knew I was following him. "why are you following me, he said standing in front of his bed, not turning around. "well, I...I don't want to sleep" I said quietly. "makes sense" he shrugged turning around and flopping down on his bed. "however, I was going to sleep, but then I thought, I'll just sleep in class." he added. "your going to fail...again" I said shaking my head. "and then we'll be in the same grade, sit down" he said pointing to his chair as he lit a cigarette. "your never getting out of highschool," I said frowning. "well, it gives me something to do, everyday. so at least it looks like i'm being productive." he smirked. "Your a horrible influence," I said plainly. "how so?" he asked sarcastically, smoke coming out from both his mouth and nose. "nevermind, your never going to listen to me," I said with a yawn. "you should sleep, your not one to sleep in class, or in school period, might be suspicious" He said and walked over and turned off the light, making it so there was little light in the room. I knew I was going to fall asleep, but I was scared I would dream. It wasn't long before I drifted off to sleep, but luckily my dreams were uneventful, I did wake up a few times though, from Xanders snoring. The first time I woke up I went over and woke Xander up and told him he was snoring, he threw a pillow at me in response, I used the pillow though. After that I just tried to ignore his awful snoring.