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Marlon ran his tongue across the top of the spoon, biting down hard on the steel. His icy, cold blue eyes flickered, and he began to observe Clementine, his underclassman and best friend, talking to Louis in the lunch line.He watched as the innocent, naïve girl gave one of her small and sweet smiles, chuckling kindly at the pianist. Clementine said something else before giving Louis a wave, walking away and heading towards Marlon's direction."Fucking cunt," the eighteen-year-old muttered underneath his breath, directing his words at the pianist, eyes darkening when he noticed Louis' gaze fall from her hair to her ass.Louis was a senior just like Marlon, and he pretended to be innocent and light-hearted, but Marlon knew the real him – a lazy, immature person. They were supposedly former best friends, after all. Marlon had always been the independent, mature one, and he rarely had time for games. Perhaps that is why such a wedge had been tossed in between their friendship, and that was the reason they no longer communicated."Clementine," Marlon called out to the junior, "come here for a second."The helpful and diplomatic girl responded by giving him a affable smile and making her way to him, sitting down at his cafeteria table. "Hey, Marlon. What's up?"Marlon bit his lip, gazing calmly into her beautiful brown eyes. "You seem to be getting a little close with Louis there, don't you think?"Clementine stared at him obliviously. "What do you mean?"Marlon pursed his lips, letting out a sigh. "I thought you were my best friend, Clem."Clementine smiled. "You know you're my number one, Marlon. I love you."Marlon felt his heart flutter. "Yeah, I know you do. It's just, I don't really understand the reason why you'd be talking to Louis so much. You know him and I aren't friends anymore."Clementine frowned. "So? Can't I be friends with him? I don't really see the problem."That was a wrong question to ask. Marlon was always quick to anger, and he had quite a temper. He flashed Clementine a glare, immediately making her shrink in her seat."If you do, I'm just going to fucking ditch you," he sneered cruelly. "I'm getting real tired of your shit."Clementine went quiet, the sixteen-year-old struggling to hold back tears. Marlon was always a little harsh, but he had been her best friend for two years, so she thought she had gotten used to it.Marlon sighed. "Clem, you know I didn't mean it. Fuck."There was an uncomfortable silence between the two teenagers, and Marlon gave Clementine a friendly grin."So, you still coming over for movie night tonight?" They had a movie night together every Friday at Marlon's house."Y–yeah," Clementine stuttered before clearing her throat and giving the older boy a fake smile. "Definitely."* * *At the end of the day, Marlon was waiting by Clementine's locker, an impatient look on his face."Such a slow fucking slut," he grumbled underneath his breath. "Fucking hell."Clementine filled his sights a few moments later, Louis by her side. Marlon watched with jealousy as Clementine giggled, her hand brushing against Louis'. He watched his former best friend blush, a shy smile coming over his face."I'll talk to you later, Louis," Clementine sweetly said, parting from the male and heading towards Marlon."See ya, Clem," he said politely, brown eyes flicking to Marlon's briefly. The two males stated coldly at each other before Clementine leaned in and hugged Marlon, taking his attention away from the pianist."I missed you," the female said gently.Marlon smirked. "Ready to go?""Yep," Clementine chirped cutely.When they made it to Marlon's house, Clementine noted his parents weren't home. She smiled, running up the stairs and straight into Marlon's familiar bedroom. She had been here numerous times, and she loved Marlon's bed. It was so comfortable and cozy, and she adored everything about it."Does Lee know you're here?" Marlon questioned, knowing how protective Clementine's adoptive father was."Yeah," Clementine said. "You know he likes you, so he's cool with it."Marlon nodded in acknowledgment, slowly reaching to his dresser and grabbing his familiar switch blade. Naïve, innocent Clementine gave him a confused look."You know you're my best friend," Marlon began steadily, "I. . . sorta have to brand you in a way.""Brand?" Clementine anxiously questioned, nervously gazing at the sharp object in Marlon's hand."Yeah," Marlon said. "Lay on your back."Clementine's lower lip trembled slightly. "U–um. . .""Don't you love me?" Marlon questioned, trying to manipulate the girl. "Come on, Clem.""O–of course," Clementine stuttered nervously, slowly laying back onto the bed. "I–is it going to hurt?""No," Marlon lied, raising up her shirt before he started to make the first deep cut on her flat stomach.Clementine cried out as Marlon quickly and painfully etched an 'M' into her skin, her breath coming out in short, sharp gasps. "P–please stop!"It hurt so bad that Clementine was regretting her decision to trust him. Marlon ignored her request, swiftly cutting an 'a' into her flesh.Clementine tried to fight back, only for Marlon's fist to slam hard across her face, leaving her stunned. Marlon had never, ever hit her before, so she sat there in shock, the tears in her eyes beginning to leak as she sobbed uncontrollably."Quit fucking crying," Marlon sneered once he was done carving his name into her, gazing hungrily at the blood that leaked from her stomach.He leaned down, licking the sensitive wound, groaning in pleasure as he consumed Clementine's delicious blood."I did this because I love you," he whispered softly, watching Clementine's head slump against the pillow as her eyes fluttered shut. "You belong to me."Those words were the last that Clementine heard before she let darkness consume her, taking her away from her agony-filled reality. Marlon knew when she woke up, things would be different.He didn't regret his actions, and the thought of harming the girl more made adrenaline pump through his sick veins – he was going to ruin her. She belonged to him, after all.
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Clementine sniffled to herself, sitting on Marlon's bed the next morning. Her eyes flickered around the room, looking for any sign of the boy, but she found none. She tried not to cry as she reluctantly stood up and approached his mirror that hung on his wall, raising her shirt and staring at her stomach, seeing 'Marlon' carved neatly into her skin in such a sadistic manner. She let out a whimper, dropping her shirt.Clementine quietly gasped when she heard the bedroom door creak open, trembling when Marlon walked in. His blond hair was messier than usual, and his blue eyes were bloodshot and cold. He gave Clementine a calm smile, like he hadn't cut his name into her skin."Hey, Clem," he said. "Sleep well?"Clementine whimpered. "M–Marlon, you . . .""I what?" he asked innocently.Clementine raised up her shirt again, exposing her stomach. Marlon's eyes swept over her skin, gazing at the letters that were callously etched into her tummy."W–why did you do that?" Clementine questioned tearfully, gazing at him sadly.Marlon smiled. "Do what?""C–cut your name i–into me," Clementine whimpered."I don't see what the problem is.""Y–you hurt me," Clementine stuttered as she held back a sob, disturbed by Marlon's lack of remorse. "This is never going to fade.""Our friendship isn't going to fade, either," Marlon stated casually. "There's no problem with having my name on your skin."Clementine trembled. "I-I didn't want you to do that. If L-Lee finds out about this—""Shut up," Marlon instructed in a harsh voice, cutting her off. "You know you fucking like it.""N–no, I don't," Clementine choked out, tears slipping down her face as she began to panic. "I have to live with this for the rest of my life."It was so sudden when Marlon slapped her hard across the face, hitting her for the second time. Clementine let out a cry of pain, stumbling back and falling onto the bed.Being slapped by your best friend was such a horrific thing, and Clementine began to sob from the hit. The fact that Marlon clearly had no empathy made it worse."Clem," he spoke calmly to the crying girl, "you're insulting me. I did it because I love you. Here – look at my arm."Clementine reluctantly opened her eyes, halfway expecting another slap. She saw Marlon's sleeve pulled up, and her eyes widened as she saw her name cut over and over into his skin."It's okay," he said sweetly. "I live with it, too.""T–that's sick," Clementine stated with a trembling mouth. "You need help."Marlon shook his head. "Clem—"Clementine suddenly shot up, making a dash for the door. Marlon let her leave, eyes empty and cold.When Clementine had made it to her house, her phone began to vibrate as it rang. Her hands trembled as she checked the caller, relief filling her once she saw it was only Louis.It was no secret that Clementine admired Louis greatly – anybody with eyes could see that the girl clearly had a crush on the boy. Her face would turn as red as cherries whenever she was with him, her brown eyes never leaving his face as she studied him intently."Yo, Clem," Louis' upbeat voice said through the phone. "What's up?"Clementine involuntarily sniffled. "Nothing."Concern filled Louis' voice as he spoke again, "Uh, it doesn't sound like nothing. What's wrong?""N–nothing," Clementine repeated nervously, wanting to change the subject. "What did you need?""Dude, so, I was wondering if you wanted to go to see a movie with me later," Louis sweetly said. "If you, uh, want to, of course."Clementine blushed. "S–sure!"Louis had a smile in his voice, "Alright, bet. I'll pick you up at around four.""Okay," Clementine agreed shyly. "I'll see you. B–bye.""See ya, Clem."Clementine ended the call, her whole body flushing a hue of red as she shook slightly, delighted her crush had actually asked her to go see a movie with him. Her happiness collapsed, however, as she remembered the name carved into her stomach. She blinked back tears as she approached her front door, hearing the familiar sounds of Lee cooking breakfast."Hey, Lee," Clementine sweetly greeted, hugging her adoptive father.The middle-aged man gave her a kind smile, patting her shoulder. "Hey, Clem. You didn't come home last night."She could hear the beginning of a lecture, and she pouted. "Oh, come on. Y–you know it was just M–Marlon and me watching movies."Lee sighed. "Tell me next time when you stay over, okay sweet pea?""Okay," Clementine chirped. "I love you.""I love you, too," Lee said softly. "Breakfast is almost ready."Clementine smiled, noticing with interested eyes that Lee's phone beeped."Oh," Clementine said as she teasingly smirked, "who's Carley?"Lee immediately became flustered. "A friend. . . from work.""Friend, huh?""Oh, shut up," Lee playfully demanded. "Don't you have some homework or project to do or something?""It's Saturday, Lee," Clementine said, rolling her eyes. "Ugh, don't the remind me about the project thing. The last few weeks of completing that thing has been pure hell."Lee chuckled. "I bet, Clem. You're lucky you had Marlon to help you out."Clementine's smile momentarily faltered before she forced it back onto her face. However, Lee took notice of this."What's wrong, Clem?" he questioned, giving her a concerned look."I'm. . . just tired," the teenager replied."Are you sure?" Lee pressed. "Did something happen, Clementine?""No," Clementine defensively snapped.They were both taken aback by Clementine's tone, and hurt filled Lee's face while regret took over Clementine's."I'm sorry," Clementine said in a guilty tone. "I really am just tired. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."Lee gave her a reassuring smile. "It happens. Now, sit down and eat my breakfast. You're practically skin and bones, Clem.""I'm going to see a movie with my friend, Louis, later. Is that alright?""Yep," Lee permitted.Clementine had admittedly been unnecessarily losing weight, and both of them had noticed. She realized she had been a little tired lately, a tad more than usual. Marlon had been really demanding of her attention, so she supposed she had just been too busy with him to properly take care of herself.The naïve girl should have realized the problem before it was too late, but everyone knows how this one goes. Clementine was in for a ride, and Marlon wasn't going to let her go.
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Marlon waited outside of the movie theater for Clementine and Louis to exit, foot impatiently tapping against the hard pavement. Anger was running through him, pure displeasure at the fact that Clementine had went to see a movie with Louis without his permission. Was she trying to get the annoying pianist to fuck her?In Marlon's mind, she was acting like a complete slut, and he knew that she had to be punished.He was going to hurt her – mess her completely up. His corrupted brain began to spin with glee as he thought of all the ways he could make her regret treating him – her best friend, of all people – like utter garbage.When Clementine finally exited the movie theater, she had Louis cheerfully trailing behind her. Marlon wasted no time, storming up to her, and she gave him a frightened expression."Clementine," he spoke in a controlled kind voice, "there you are. I came to pick you up. Did you have fun with Louis?"Louis and Marlon exchanged brief glances, unfeeling blue meeting apprehensive brown."Yeah," Clementine whispered, shifting awkwardly on her feet, shying behind Louis a little, as though she was counting on him to protect her from the big bad wolf.Marlon gave a fake smile, his stomach twisting with envy and clashing with hate. "Well, we better get going. Remember, we're going to that dinner with my parents?""Right," Clementine said as she thickly swallowed, reluctantly approaching Marlon, his arm sliding possessively around her petite body."See ya, Louis," Marlon called as he walked off, not bothering to give Clementine any time to say bye to the other male."See you later, Clem!" Louis loudly exclaimed, his brown eyes never leaving Clementine and Marlon. A small wave was all he got in return, and he saw Marlon's grip tighten. Louis' thick eyebrows furrowed, biting his lip gently as he contemplated over how weird the two were acting. He could care less for Marlon, however he'd give the world to know that Clementine was okay – his crush on the younger teenager was glaringly obvious, except to the girl herself."So," Marlon slowly started as Clementine and him climbed into his truck, "decided to, uh, spend a little too much time with Louis there?"Clementine surprisingly didn't answer him, and he noticed her hands trembling slightly as she turned and looked out the window of the vehicle."Fucking answer me," Marlon growled out as he started his car, always quick to anger.Clementine still refused to acknowledge him, so Marlon yanked hard on one of her pigtails, getting close to her face. He had to hold back a smile as he saw her beautiful face fill with panic."I–I—" Clementine sputtered, before swallowing hard. "It was only for a little bit.""That's not what I'm concerned about," Marlon bit back, casually raising up the female's shirt, rough fingers tracing over his name that was forever engraved into her skin. "You see this? You're nothing without me, Clem. Nothing. I thought you loved me."Clementine was so, so naïve and always easy to manipulate. Marlon could get away with whatever he wanted. "I do love you," Clementine whispered sadly, giving a feeble smile as the boy leaned over and pressed a tender kiss against her forehead."You know," Marlon began with a coy smile, "I still have to punish you, right?""What?" Clementine blurted."Yeah.""P–punish me?" she whimpered nervously. "What do you mean by that? Are you going to hit me again?"Marlon leaned back, buckling himself up with his seatbelt. "No."Relief filled Clementine's body, her thinking that maybe it wouldn't be so bad. She didn't want to lose her only true best friend. Marlon always said that he was the only real friend she had, so he must be right. She believed every word that came out of his twisted mouth.Clementine felt a sense of dread as she and Marlon made their way to his house, foot reluctantly stepping outside the vehicle. She felt like her guts were going to spill out."Come on, Clem," Marlon said enthusiastically as he quickly stepped out of the car. "We're going to watch some movies. We didn't get to do much of that yesterday.""Okay," the naïve girl chirped, genuinely falling for his words. Despite the reminder of the previous day, Clementine felt her stomach flutter at the thought of spending time with her loving best friend.Marlon was Clementine's best friend, after all. He'd never try to hurt her, right? Her brain began to justify his actions from the day before, thinking that maybe she was just misunderstanding him. Maybe he only did such a horrible thing to her because he wanted to show his sweet best friend how much he loved her. Right?She should’ve known better, and she should’ve followed her instincts. However, the oblivious girl obediently followed Marlon when he led her to his bedroom, the younger teenager eager to watch some movies just like how they used to.“Clementine,” he began with an odd expression as he sat on his bed, “come here.”Clementine smiled, ignoring how she began to sweat as she approached her best friend. The boy turned, blue eyes staring at her softly as he suddenly put his hand on top of hers.Clementine’s eyes widened at the action, but she had no time to react as Marlon suddenly pinned her down hard across the bed with his weight, one of his hands clasping firmly over her mouth.“This is your punishment, which is more like a reward – if I’m being honest,” he hissed in her ear. “I’m going to kiss you, and you’re going to kiss me back.”Clementine’s stomach dropped, and she tried to struggle out of his strong arms. Thankfully, Marlon dropped his hand from her mouth, and she immediately began to speak.“Marlon, I just want to watch some movies with you,” she spoke sadly, tears forming in her eyes.“If you don’t let me kiss you, then I won’t be your friend anymore,” Marlon sneered. “Do you want to lose me as a friend?”“No,” Clementine said desperately, trying to hold back her tears. “Please, Marlon. None of this. It’s weird. You’ve been acting so strange lately.”Marlon smirked. “No, a lot of this.”Clementine could only cry gently to herself as Marlon forced his lips onto her own pair before dragging them hungrily to her jawline and then back up to her lips. He began to pepper her warming cheeks with soft kisses as silent pleas fell out of her mouth."Friends till the end, Clem," he whispered to her, hot breath tickling her ear and causing goosebumps to form along her slender arms as her brown eyes fluttered shut, her face relaxing as she attempted to fall into a deep slumber. She was too exhausted and pained to stay awake any longer.When he heard her breathing slow, he rested his head against her chest and dozed off to the alluring drum of her gentle heartbeat. It was like a symphony, playing only for him.
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Clementine's eyes fluttered open, and her gaze made contact with Marlon's messy hair. For a brief moment, she forgetfully smiled.Then, the events of the day prior came into her mind, and her stomach churned. She felt like she was going to throw up."Marlon," she whispered, shaking him, "what are you doing?"Marlon groaned and shifted in his sleep before letting out a sigh. "Thanks for waking me up.""Sorry," murmured Clementine, feeling Marlon's weight leave her body. As the boy stretched, the girl sat up with a yawn."It's fine," dismissed Marlon. "So, you're not going home now, are you?""I have church," Clementine said. Even though Clementine wasn't religious, Lee was—or at least he said something about trying to be and how if Clementine attended the services with him, it'd make him happy."Church?" Marlon scoffed. "Fucking lame.""You don't have to be so rude about it," Clementine snapped impulsively."Rude?" Marlon questioned. "I'm not being rude. Church is lame.""Says you.""Yep," said Marlon dully. "Says me.""You've been acting so. . ." Clementine hesitated and gulped—she was afraid of the consequences, "shitty lately.""Shitty?""You cut your name into me Friday night. Not to mention, the weird kiss thing." Clementine shivered at the memories."You let me cut you," Marlon shot back cruelly. "Besides, friends kiss for fun all the time.""I told you to stop!" exclaimed Clementine. "You lied to Louis, too—about your parents.""So, what you're saying is I'm some awful fucking asshole?" Clementine shrunk at Marlon's words."No, Marlon," she muttered nervously. "Just kinda mean.""At least my parents wanted me," Marlon suddenly hissed. Even though it was a low blow, he knew it would basically render her defenseless.Marlon just couldn't resist the temptation to use Clementine's parents against her. The thought had been nagging at his brain, and now he finally gave in. It was admittedly interesting to see her crumble.Clementine stilled, her mouth opening in shock and then falling shut. Her brown eyes brimmed with hot tears, the liquid soon beginning to cascade down her cheeks."Fuck," Marlon groaned. "I didn't mean it, Clem. Come on."Marlon attempted to reach out and hug Clementine without any problems, but she pushed at his chest in an effort to resist. Marlon ignored her protests and just wrapped his arms tightly around her, the girl crying into his chest."I'm sorry, Clem," whispered Marlon, his rough hands gently stroking through her curly hair. "I'm here. I love you, you know that?"Marlon felt the girl nod hesitantly against his chest, and his body warmed with affection as a soft smile slipped on his face."I admit it. . . I know I've been acting a lot different, I guess," Marlon said. "My parents have just been stressing me out. It's nothing personal."Clementine nodded, slowly falling for Marlon's words. She ignored the fact that he had literally cut his name into her skin, choosing to focus instead on how he was holding her. It felt so nice."Crap!" Clementine exclaimed abruptly through her tears, a hiccup escaping her. "Lee's going to kill me. I promised him I'd tell him if I stayed ov—""Oh, come the fuck on," Marlon muttered, a bitter edge to his voice that Clementine didn't notice, too lost in her own crying. He softened his voice as he spoke again, "Lee loves you. The most he'll do is give you some stupid dad talk before hugging you. My parents never did that with me. You're lucky.""Sorry, Marlon," Clementine whispered, now feeling guilty. She knew the boy's relationship with his parents wasn't the best."It's whatever. Get going. I know you wouldn't want Lee to kill you." Marlon didn't sound bitter at all, so Clementine smiled innocently and parted from him. Marlon watched Clementine leave, wishing she would just stay with him forever.When Clementine left, Marlon stood up and made his way downstairs. The teenage boy made himself a plain cup of coffee, basking in the warmth of the beverage. He knew when his parents woke up, his pleasure and comfort would fade.Perhaps he jinxed himself when his parents' bedroom door creaked open, and in stepped his father. The burly middle-aged man said nothing, making his way to the refrigerator.Marlon's father opened the refrigerator and peeked inside, a frown settling on the man's lips as his eyebrows furrowed. "Marlon?"The boy in question bit his lip as hard as he could, and he was surprised that no blood was drawn."Yeah, dad?""Where the fuck is the chocolate donut? The extra one I was saving for later?"Marlon truly didn't know what the man was talking about. "I don't know what you're talking about.""Yesterday evening when I got home from work, I placed my chocolate donut in the fridge, and now it's gone. Did you fucking take it?" the man angrily spat."N–no," Marlon truthfully stammered, his shoulders tensing as he adverted his eyes.Although Marlon was telling the truth, his father perceived him as a liar—judging by the teenager's body language.Marlon expected the slap as soon as it happened, but it still sent the boy flying to the floor. He cried out in pain, his cheek burning with a fiery sting.His father stared at him with enraged blue eyes before the man shook his head and walked out of the kitchen and back into his bedroom. Marlon wondered if his mother had heard the commotion, but he doubted that she would even care. The "bitch" was too busy getting wasted on alcohol and sleeping her life away.Marlon crawled to his knees and then fully stood up. He felt embarrassed as he finally acknowledged the slight pressure in his eyes—faint tears that threatened to spill. He cleared his throat and blinked a few times, wiping his eyes.Marlon made his way to the refrigerator, hesitating as his fingers wrapped around the handle. He wondered if his dad would be alerted by the noise, and if he would come into the kitchen again and be angry. However, Marlon decided to take the chance and being as quiet as he could, he opened the refrigerator. He quickly pulled out a cold orange, hands fumbling awkwardly for a brief moment.Marlon slowly shut the door, and when the refrigerator was finally closed, he was able to breathe again. He tiptoed his way to the staircase, making his way back to his trusty and comfortable bedroom.The urge to text Clementine was hard to ignore as he grabbed his phone as soon as he was inside his room, eagerly seeing if she had texted him—ignoring the fact that it had only been a few minutes since she had left.Seeing no new texts, he felt disappointed, but decided to text her himself.hey did you make it home okay?, Marlon sent.Clementine didn't respond for a while, a long while—not after ten minutes, and then eventually an hour.Marlon could feel the rage inside him grow, despite the fact that she was probably busy with the church service. Surely, she could at least spare a moment to respond to his message. He thought he was important to her.He knew he wouldn't be able to let this go, and so against his better judgment, he sent her a series of very angry and abusive text messages.Marlon wished he could stop himself, but he just couldn't. He was already in too deep.