Tate Langdon had honey blonde, curly hair, warm looking lips and dark child like eyes. There was a rosy-ness to his cheeks and a peachy-ness to his skin. And those were my favorite things about Tate. He sat and thought most of the time, and would occasionally raise his head from a book, to stare out the window and watch the birds. We both went to Westfield High, and even shared a few classes. And sometimes, in the middle of class, I found myself writing his name in hearts, and then quickly erasing or scribbling over it so no one would see. But I guess he just had that effect on people. On Wednesday, in science class, we were assigned an ecosystem project. We had to build a diorama of an ecosystem, and explain how each factor affected the organisms in it. "Everybody get a partner." Mr. Gene said, over the chattering voices of every student in the class room. They all got up rushing around to their friends to buddy up with. Before I got up I heard the clomping of boots coming towards me. I looked up. There was Tate. With a slight grin on his face. All I could focus on was hiding my pink, blushing cheeks. He sat next to me. "You should be my partner." He said. I nodded in agreement because of my lack of words. Mr. Gene explained the assignment more detailed. I couldn't pay attention. I just stared at my text book cover. After class, he caught me in the hall. "I guess we should start on the project tonight. I guess you could come over, and we'll find something for the diorama." he suggested, casually grabbing my hand and writing his address on it. I stuttered a bit before managing to speak like a normal person. "Yeah! See you then." He smiled and turned away, whistling a unfamiliar tune. But it was a tune that stuck with me all day. I found myself humming it in the middle of lunch. In Literature. In Algebra. On the bus. As I walked up the steps to my house. It was stuck there. As I struggled with the lock on my door, I noticed a note under the welcome mat. I picked it up and read it. "Going to the store. Be back later. Love, Mom. " I finally got into my house and then remembered Tate wrote his address on my hand. I wrote it down on paper in case it wore off my hand. The address sounded familiar, but I just blew it off. I googled the address to get directions. But I didn't find any map quest or GPS step by step directions on how to get there. I saw news articles. Gruesome pictures. Tate lived in the murder house. I quickly researched and got directions and left. The murder house was a big one. Almost every window was stained glass. It was a beautiful house, but it had something eerie to it. I rang the door bell and almost instantly Tate opened the door. "You should have told me you lived in the murder house." I mumbled. He laughed. "Oh yeah. I live in murder house." he said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes. He sat in the living room and discussed different ideas for the project. He drew a sketch of what it would look like. But then I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I turned and looked. There was a fairly tall man in a sleek, black rubber suit. I turned back around and said, "Uhh, Tate… who's that?" He looked up. "Who?" The man wasn't there anymore. "There was a man in a rubber suit. He had a mask on and everything." Suddenly the grin on Tates face faded. "It's getting late." He mumbled. "I'll walk you home." He grabbed his jacket and we rushed out the door. We were pretty much silent the entire walk, until the end. We sat on my porch for a second. "So, are we going to get some little fake plants and stuff for the… uhh… project?" I asked simply so he would say something. "Yeah. I guess we could." he replied. "I'll see you tomorrow. I've got to get home." I waved bye and went inside. But I didn't see Tate the next morning when I went to school. And even later in the day, in science class. All I could hear was the scratching of pens and pencils on paper and Mr. Gene typing quickly on the computer. We had all just settled in. A few minutes ago everyone had rushed into the class room as the bell rang to avoid a tardy. It was quiet a second longer, before we hear a loud bang! Bang! We looked up. Bang! Bang! There is was again. I got under the table, just as the class room door opened. BANG! Mr. Gene was dead. BANG! The kid next to me was dead. BANG! BANG! BANG! A whole row in of kids in the back were dead. The rest of the room was screaming. People tried climbing out windows and in the supply closet and each and every single one was shot. There was blood. All over the floor. Crimson blood. The room was silent. No screaming or sobbing. But then there was the clomping of heavy boots, and a now familiar whistle. I could see the boots. They stopped in front of me. I tried to resist screaming. But before I could scoot away a hand reached under the table and pulled me out into the open. "No!" I screeched. "Please, no! NO!" I pushed him away and turned around. It was Tate. Honey curls and peachy skin, but something different about his eyes. "Tate! Please! Please don't!" I begged. He pushed me. It wasn't just a little shove but I hard push that send me stumbling backwards onto the table. And faster than I could scream, I heard the bang. I felt shocked. Was I… was I shot? I looked at my stomach and my head began to race. I was shot. I was bleeding everywhere. I was even choking on my own blood. "Tate…" I spat out the blood in my mouth. He walked out, whistling his jolly tune, and shooting.