Alexander Deane, a 17-year-old living in Santa Monica, California, instigates a fight in his high school's cafetorium after overhearing some of his classmates talking about him. The conflict escalates and quickly takes a turn for the worse, with Alexander having broken one of his classmates noses in anger and injuring a teacher who tried to break up the fight. Alexander is promptly expelled and his father, the wealthy owner of a well-known casino company, decides to move back to Alexander's hometown of Risk, Texas, so as to not tarnish his own reputation. His father, wanting his son to finish the last of his senior year lest he look like a failure, attempts to enroll him in the local Risk high school by threatening to sue the staff there if they didn't let Alexander in. The school, of course, being government-funded with little money and not wanting to deal with legal problems, agrees to the enrollment and disregards Alexander's previous school records.
Alexander starts school again a few days later, and unlike at his previous schools, his classmates seem to take more of a liking to him (likely due to rumors surrounding the topic of his enrollment). Alexander is put off by this and generally keeps to himself at first, while Tyler Hazzard, a 16-year-old sophomore, sees it as an opportunity to prove herself to her classmates by hooking up with him. The morning Alexander meets Tyler begins as usual, with him gathering his school things from his locker and getting ready to head to class until he tries to close his locker and finds Tyler standing just behind it. Tyler greets Alexander with a dramatic sob story about how she forgot her own supplies and needs to borrow some of Alexanders'. Alexander begrudgingly agrees to share his supplies with Tyler, unknowingly kicking off their relationship.
Tyler continues pestering Alexander for another couple of days until finally asking him out. Alexander, taken back a bit, agrees and they become partners. Tyler is overjoyed and spends the next week or so showing off their relationship to her classmates, displaying affection towards Alexander publicly. Unfortunately for Tyler, this doesn't go as well as she had planned
After Alexanders' graduation and subsequent 18th birthday, his father decides to move again due to work concerns, this time to a secluded ranch-style cabin in a small Missouri city named Quilete. Alexander does most of the work unpacking, with his father not caring, as usual. A couple of days go by, Alexander is almost done unpacking, and he, sick of his father entirely, has an argument with him mainly concerning the neglect and abuse he's put Alexander through. His father waves him off like usual, and this infuriates Alexander to no end. He grabs a kitchen knife and stabs his father in the chest, incidentally just below any vital organs. Blood sputters out of his fathers mouth as he mocks Alex for slipping up and failing to kill him, going on about how he wanted to die himself and was going to kill himself eventually anyway, etcetera. Alex screams at him about how it's unbelievable that he of all people would be suicidal, and in the middle of his fathers rambling, stabs him again, this time with better aim - right in the heart. He does it a few more times for extra measure, before finally deciding he's had enough. After getting up, he mindlessly kicks his father in the ribs and a visceral cracking sound reverberates around the room.
A little while later, Alexander drags his fathers body to the forest surrounding the home and leaves him in the middle of the trees, not wanting to bother with burying him. He walks back into the house and breathes a sigh of relief; his father is finally out of his life for good - even if he was barely in it in the first place. He washes up, cleaning the knife and putting it back in its holder, mopping up and bleaching the blood, and he takes a shower. While digging through boxes for extra clothes afterward, he discovers some old makeup and hair styling products his mother had that his father forgot to throw away following their divorce. Curious, yet exhausted, he places them on the bathroom counter for later. He quickly makes an easy dinner for himself and settles down for the night in his new home.
At around noon the next day, Alex realizes he needs to buy some extra personal items since he threw most of what he deemed unimportant away before moving, figuring he could just buy more later. When walking into the bathroom, he's reminded that he put his mothers own items on the counter the night before. Planning to unpack the rest of his things later in the day, he pretties himself up, doing a less than stellar job considering it's his first time doing everything himself, although it at least looks presentable. He curls his hair into loose, fluffy waves, and gets dressed with the best outfit he can manage to put together - a black T-shirt, skinny jeans, and platforms, along with his wristband, a few bracelets, and his usual piercings. Deciding that's the best he's going to get for now, he finishes up and heads for the front door, finally setting off into the new neighborhood (or, at least, what he can get of it).
Kasey Marilynn, a 20-year-old female in the throes of an abusive relationship with her partner, 21-year-old Jamie Lancastor.
While in bed with Alex one night, Kasey gets a text message from Jamie telling her to meet him at the railroad crossing near his home by 2am, or else. Alex groggily asks who the text was from and Kasey dismisses the question, causing Alex to become a bit suspicious, although he dismisses it quickly. She gets up out of bed with a sigh and gives Alex a quick peck on the cheek, grabbing her jacket from off the foot of the bed and making her way out the door.
Finally at the railroad crossing around 15 minutes later, Kasey happens upon a solemn-looking Jamie sitting on the ground next to the railroad sign. He looks up at her and tells her he knows what she's been doing, with Kasey feigning ignorance in response. Jamie angrily gets up and begins yelling at Kasey about how she owes him her life, considering how he saved Kasey from her abusive parents, and how he doesn't understand how she could go and do this to him. Kasey winces from his voice and waves him off, muttering a comeback. Before Jamie can yell at her again, a train is heard nearby, and Jamie turns to look for the source of the sound, a sly grin forming on his face. He looks back at Kasey and reminds her of the times he's told her he'd kill himself if she did something stupid, telling her he meant what he said. Kasey sighs, supressing the urge to roll her eyes, and calls his bluff saying she doesn't think he would really do it.
Jamie looks at her with seemingly genuine sadness in his eyes as the train only gets closer. Finally, with the train mere meters away from the crossing, he simply gives her an 'okay' and jumps the barricade, quickly getting hit by the train. His body ends up falling under the wheels and his blood is splattered against the underside of the train and the tracks below. Kasey, now extremely distraught (although mostly because she just witnessed someone kill themself in front of her and she can see the carnage pretty clearly), quickly calls 911 and sits on the ground sobbing by the railroad sign, mere inches away from where Jamie was sitting when she got there. After explaining to the police and them leaving, she sobs for a good 5 more minutes, her body heaving as she's suddenly overwhelmed with guilt. Thinking all of this was her fault, she shakily texts Alex that she can't be with him anymore and provides no further context, leaving Alex bewildered. He tries asking her why but receives no response.
Alex, tired and slightly annoyed at being woken up so late at night for practically nothing, falls back asleep with the notion that either Kasey will come back later or he'll figure out what's going on in the morning. Morning comes, and there's no sign of Kasey. No jacket, no phone, no smudged makeup on her pillow, nothing that could imply she had come back for even a few minutes at the very least. Alex gets up out of bed and goes through his now-established morning routine before heading out to the 7/11 Kasey worked at. Once in the building, he finds no sign of her anywhere there either. He asks the cashier if they've seen Kasey around and they respond by saying they don't even know who she is. Alex tries to describe her and, after a few moments of explaining, it clicks - although the cashier simply tells him they haven't seen her. Admittedly frustrated, Alex leaves and bedgrudgingly heads to the police station nearby.
Ciel Avery and Sinclair Rhodes are 16- and 17-year old males respectively living in the Quilete apartment complex further into the city, hanging out at Sinclairs apartment and playing video games.
After nearly a week of being avoided by Ciel, Alex decides to try and get his attention by climbing through his bedroom window in the middle of the night as he did in the years before. Ciel is a bit unnerved to see him again but he quietly greets him and smiles softly to be polite. Alex returns his greeting and offers to bring him to his house, noting that Ciel seems bored. Ciel agrees after a moment, having thought over their relationship over the past few days and wanting to try and fix it. He lays down the book he was reading and takes Alex's hand in his own as they sneak out through the window and begin making their way to Alex's house.
The streetlights seem brighter than usual as the raindrops fall on the road, and Ciel, just a few meters away from the house, points out some flowers on the side of the road to Alex. He walks over to them and admires them before asking if he can pick one. Alex gives him permission and he happily takes one, walking back over to Alex and putting it in his hair. Alex smiles and puts it in his pocket, playfully scolding Ciel for messing up his hair. The two share a brief moment of happiness as they walk the rest of the way to the house.
Once inside, Alex closes and locks the door without Ciel noticing. He begins asking Ciel if he'd like something to eat or drink, or if he wanted to watch something on TV. Ciel says he's fine and thanks him for the offer, noting the fact that it's nearly 1am. Alex ushers him to sit and make himself comfortable, which Ciel does, with Alex sitting right next to him on the couch, almost snuggling up to him in a way. This tips him off, as Alex isn't usually this hospitable, but he tries not to think anything of it and attributes it to Alex just being in a good mood. Feeling bad for avoiding Alex, he begins apologizing and trying to explain himself. Alex lies through his teeth and reassures him it's fine, but Ciel insists it was the wrong thing to do, so Alex kisses him to shut him up. Ciel is surprised but tries to return the kiss as best he can, afraid he'd hurt Alex's feelings if he pulled away.
The kiss becomes more passionate, and Alex has to pull back after a minute or so to allow them to catch their breaths, while breathlessly telling Ciel how much he missed him. Ciel returns the sentiment and Alex kisses him again, quickly escalating the situation by sporadically placing kisses on his jawline and collarbones as well. A few moments later, Alex climbs on top of Ciel and straddles him, rocking his hips back and forth against Ciels pants. Ciel groans softly and tells Alex that he loves him, prompting Alex to cup his face and kiss him again, harder this time, their teeth clashing. His movements become slightly frantic, almost seeming needy, and he breaks away from the kiss to tell Ciel he wants to go further. Panting, Ciel responds that he's not sure he's ready for that just yet.
Alex asks him politely, saying it's been a long time since they've had an intimate moment together. Ciel acknowledges that but tells Alex that he honestly isn't in the mood for any of this. Alex irritatedly huffs and continues grinding against him, and time seems to stand still for a moment as Ciel meekly questions Alex as to why he isn't stopping, only to be met with cold silence and pants. Ciel tells him he doesn't want to do this anymore and tries to squirm away, causing Alex to grab him and pin him down by his wrists. Alex begins to tear up and tells him that he needs this, he needs Ciel, and he doesn't want Ciel to abandon him again. He begs Ciel, his voice shaking, to let him have this, expressing how lonely he is without Ciel and how he isn't sure he can take it any longer.
Still rocking his hips and getting closer to the edge, Alex doesn't notice Ciel has essentially shut down and is cowering under him. He finishes a few moments later and grinds through his high, stating that that wasn't so bad and that Ciel needs to lighten up a bit, for his sake. In a hushed tone, Ciel asks if he can just go home, and Alex's heart drops as his actions begin to sink in. After a brief pause, Alex assures him he'll take him home, and tells him to wait a moment before quickly getting up and making his way to the kitchen. He returns to the living room, overcome with guilt and barely thinking, with the same kitchen knife he used to murder his father years before. In a matter of minutes, Ciel's sweater is torn and his chest is gaping with multiple stab wounds. His blood is all over the walls, the couch, and, most importantly, Alex.
As Alex regains his focus, the air becomes heavy, and his crying nearly turns to sobbing as he realizes what he's done. In denial of his ex-boyfriend's current state, he scoops Ciel into his arms and tries to wake him. He begs and pleads in vain before concluding that he can't just be left on the couch to rot. Slowly, he gets up, Ciel still in his arms, and carries him to his bed. He lays him down and kisses him on the forehead, trying to reassure Ciel he'll be okay and that he just needs some rest like a child playing pretend. The blood and his tears stain the bedsheets as the seconds tick away and, slowly, it all finally clicks.
Alex goes into hysterics, quickly grabbing his fathers handgun and a box of matches from the nightstand drawer. Despite the now admittedly sprinkling rain, he lights the house on fire after a brief moment of hesitation and the realization that he has nothing left for him. He runs away to the empty bar, tears streaming down his face, and breaks down in the bathroom. Overwhelmed and trembling, he tries to calm himself and rationalize what he had just done, to no avail. He shoots himself in the mouth, the bullet barely hitting where it was supposed to, and his body goes limp, his blood splattering on the walls and stall doors as he suffocates on the rest of it. The gunshot is muffled by the busy city ambiance and his body is found the next day, after the bar manager gets fed up with complaints of the horrible, rotting smell coming from around the bathroom, and goes to investigate it. Due to the fire, Ciel's body is never found.