The blade that robbed her best friend of his life also robbed Lilly Johnson of her childhood.
At the age of just 15 the school girl is enduring a heartache no teenager should suffer.
Lilly lost her closest friend Gordon Gault, 14, when he was fatally stabbed near home in Elswick, Newcastle, last year.
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Today, six months on from the deadly attack, brave Lilly has lifted the lid on the grief that now casts a dark shadow over what should be some of the best years of her life.
And the Sacred Heart RC High School pupil has told how the stabbing left her terrified to go out in her local area.
Lilly said: "When I found out Gordon had been stabbed it was just such a blur. It didn't feel real. While he was in hospital all I could have was hope and when he died it was just such a shock. I had never lost anyone close to me before.
"Gordon was the most happy hyper person you could ever meet. All he wanted to do was to make everybody laugh and make everybody happy.
"It happened at the bottom of my street so I was scared to leave the house. Knowing it could happen to Gordon means it could happen to anyone. There's no reason why it was Gordon, that's the most scary thing."
Gordon, from Benwell in Newcastle, was allegedly stabbed near Elswick Park just half an hour after going out on his bike, on November 9.
He died in hospital six days later.
Thirteen suspects arrested in connection with the teen's death but no one has been charged.
Since Gordon's death Lilly has struggled to cope with the loss of such a big part of her young life.
"I had known him for quite a few years and we were very close. I met him through Snapchat. Because I lived so close to him we had the same friends and then we started to go out with each other. We were boyfriend and girlfriend at one point, but after that we were still very good friends," she explained.
"He was the most hyper person ever, he would never sit down. He was like a fly, he was always buzzing around. He was so fun to be around, there was never a dull moment.
"He was such a big person in everybody's life. He wasn't just an ordinary boy, he was just so different.
"He was the one person you could always count on to be there for you.
"It's been really difficult. When Gordon died, school wasn't what I was focussing on. I didn't want to go to school because people were talking about it."
But determined Lilly has tried to channel her pain into something positive and recently wrote a moving essay about Gordon's death and knife crime as part of her GCSE English work.
The piece prompted teachers at her school to hold an assembly about knife crime.
And despite her young age Lilly has put her own pain aside to help support Gordon's grieving mum.
"I go and see Dionne most days to try and keep her going," she said. "It's hard, every day it gets harder."
Lilly's mum Jane has told the Chronicle of her pride at the way her daughter has coped with the tragedy.
The 39-year-old said: "All I can do is be there for her and Dionne. I'm so proud. She's been so mature and I'm pleased Lilly and Dionne are supporting each other."
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