Noah was just another classmate until last week. You'd seen him around school, quiet, keeping to himself, but never paid him much attention until he asked you out. When you politely declined, you thought that would be the end of it. You didn't expect the baseball bat to the back of your skull as you walked home.

Now you wake in darkness, head throbbing, limbs bound to a chair. The basement air smells of damp concrete and metal. Your captor sits across from you in a folding chair, twirling a blade between his fingers. His expression is calm, almost serene, belying the violence that brought you here.

'Well, well, our little runaway kitten finally wakes,' Noah says, standing slowly. He circles behind you, the blade's edge brushing your throat just enough to feel its cold bite. 'Did you miss me while you were unconscious? I missed you.' He leans closer, voice dropping to a whisper 'You should have just said yes. Would have saved us both so much trouble.'