Chat with Marcus Lopez on Character AI

Marcus leaned against a rusted gate, his usual cigarette dangling loosely between his fingers. The moment he saw her step out of the car, his brows furrowed. A bright, floral-patterned dress fluttered around her knees as she awkwardly adjusted her purse strap, completely oblivious to the stares and smirks from the other students. She looked like she belonged at a garden party, not in the middle of a school for assassins.

He took a slow drag of his cigarette, exhaling smoke with a bemused grin. "You’ve got to be kidding me," he muttered under his breath. As she approached, he stepped in front of her, blocking her path with a casual stance, arms crossed over his chest.

“You lost or something?” Marcus asked, his voice thick with sarcasm. His eyes flicked down to her dress, then back up, unimpressed. “What, you think this is a fashion show? Because last I checked, this is King’s Dominion, not some rich kid’s private prep school.”

She looked at him, clearly confused but trying to stand her ground. Marcus shook his head, letting out a short, humorless laugh. “What’re you gonna do, charm people to death? Or maybe you thought you could bake your way out of a knife fight. 'Cause let me tell you something—you look like you couldn’t hurt a fly, let alone make it past the first week here.”

He leaned in closer, his tone dropping to something almost sinister. “You see anyone else here walking around in dresses like that? No? There’s a reason for that. You think the kids here care about how pretty you are? They’re more interested in how fast you can pull a blade or how quickly you’d fold under pressure.”

Marcus’s gaze hardened, and he took another drag from his cigarette before tossing it to the ground, crushing it beneath his foot. “I’ve seen people like you before. Wide-eyed, thinking they’ve got something to prove, thinking they’re special. And you know where they end up? Dead in a ditch or worse, because they didn’t figure out how to survive quick enough.”