safety ~ b. loomis

three

"You know, you don't have to be here. We can ditch with you if you want...go to the mall or some shit."

Tatum suggests across from my locker door, Stu resting his chin on her shoulder. I reach for my least favorite textbook- calculus. Bleh.

"I can't- I have a test in math today. Plus, I'm fine here. It's school, no one would do anything."

"Why not?" Stu questions as he slips his arms across Tate's waist.

"Because. Serial killers are smart by definition. They minimize their risk. They plan and pre-calculate everything. Showing up here would be like the most lame-brain move they could make." Tatum acknowledges, furthering my point. I stick my tongue out at him and he does the same, except his reaches down to his chin.

"Stu, where'd you get your sweater?" Shrugging,  he looks down at his white, wool knit top.

"I stole it from my grandpa's closet." He gives me his teethy grin as I drop my math workbook into my backpack.

"I want one." I pout, knowing I have barely any comfy sweaters in my closet. Maybe I could steal one from him.

"Too bad, loser."

Scrunching my nose at him, I swing my backpack over my shoulders, almost falling from the weight of my textbooks. My two friends have started sticking their long ass tongues down each other's throats, and I can't tell if I'm disgusted or jealous at their relationship as I slam my locker shut and start walking down the hallway.

"Get a room, lovebirds!" I bump into someone behind me, my pulse rate launching for a second.

"Oh, shit, sorry Jane." Randy apologizes quickly, catching himself from falling.

"No, my bad." He is wearing a shirt with a masked figure, only its mouth uncovered. The man on his shirt is holding  a chainsaw against his black and white suit. I don't have to know the movie to understand its horror. "Nice shirt."

He looks at me with wide eyes, surprise clear on his face. We have never really talked outside of our lunch setting, ever, but he seems chill. So, why not try to talk to him?

"You know the Chainsaw Massacre series?"

I stuff my hands into my jean-jacket, feeling the wool on the inside of the small pocket.

"Mmm, no, but it looks cool."

"Ah." He laughs, causing me to copy his reaction.

"Yeah, I'm not a big horror lover."

He stares at me looking highly offended. "You're joking."

I tuck my lips into my mouth, realizing I should stop telling people that. "Sorry."

Shaking his head he scoffs, people passing by us.

"Are you free after school?"

My eyebrows drop in confusion. "Yeah, why?"

His hand raises to the back of his head, and he looks towards the classroom's next to us.

"Well, I work in the video store 2 blocks away,  so I was thinking I could show you some not-so-scary movies. Broaden your horizion, maybe?" I nod, slightly taken aback by his offer.

"Sure! That's so crazy, I didn't know you work there. I go in there like once a month and I don't think I've seen you. I guess I have to be more aware of my surroundings." I laugh, trying to remember all the times I've gone.

"Yeah, well I guess I'll see you after school then. Make sure to find me."

I nod, starting to make my way with the crowd towards my math room. "Bye Randy!"

꧁☺︎︎꧂

A bell rings above me as I walk through the glass doors of the video store. I see Randy already working behind the counter, stacking different recordings of movies. I make my way through the different isles, scanning for some of my favorites, when I see the Princess Bride on one of the shelves a couple feet down. I grab it quickly as if someone else was conspiring to get it first- I already have so many tapes in my room, all together they could probably reach my roof; which isn't saying much, as my house is particularly short.

I tuck the sacred box underneath my arm and skip to the front counter, slamming it in front of Randy.

"Princess Bride, huh? Not bad for someone who doesn't like scary movies."

I nod, taking this as a compliment from him.

"One of the best 80s movies, I could argue. My mom had it on repeat the year it came out, basically ruining the VHS tape we had."

"Your mom has good taste."

"I'll be sure to tell her." I tap my fingers on the counter, waiting for him to ring it up.

"So, I would give you the friends and family discount, but I've been fired like 5 times already so even I don't get one. Sorry."

I giggle. "Don't worry about it." I take out my wallet, prepared for the expenses.

"Ok, it's going to be $19.90." Handing him a $20, I stop him from giving me the 10 cents.

"Keep the change."

"Wow, how generous." I roll my eyes and put my mickey mouse pouch back into my bag.

"You better not tell me you are a Disney geek that doesn't like horror."

I gasp. How can someone not like Disney?

"I am not a Disney geek, I just like the stories. Yes, they are a little bit sexist, but that's beside the point." He raises his eyebrows at me as he hands me my movie, and I snap it from his hands.

"Only a geek would have a mouse on their wallet."

"His name is mickey, for your information, and it was a birthday gift from my grandma." Now he rolls his eyes, and bends down behind his work station. I lean over, curious what he is doing.

"Okay well, Minnie," I shake my head "I grabbed some movies that I am going to assign you to watch." Randy pops back up and puts a couple tapes in front of me.

"First, The Poltergeist. It's not as scary as people say, so don't listen to the haters, got it?"

"Jane! Scary movie or Romcom?"

Popping the popcorn in the kitchen, I turn to look Casey in the eyes. She is holding two VHS films in front of her, hope evident on her features. She's holding the white and purple Dirty Dancing picture and a black and white Poltergeist video tape.

"How many times have I said Romance, Case?"

"Oh come on. I know Swayze is as hot as this stove, but pleaseee Jane? The Poltergeist is such a classic. You'll love it, I promise."

I shake my head as a shake the pot in front of me, the kernels inside popping. "Never. Nope. Sorry."

"Ugh. You're so lame." She says as she inserts the Dirty Dancing tape into her chunky TV and jumps down onto the couch.

"I love you too!"

I smile as I hear Be My Baby starting to play from the janky sound system.

"Jane?" I look back up to Randy.

"Sorry." I laugh, trying to fill the silence.

"Are you okay?" I stare at him, not wanting to answer.

"Yep, I'm fine. Just zoned out for a second, woops."

"Okay. I know you've had some shit going on, so if you want to talk, just know I'm here. and ready to listen"

I smile, thankful for his sincerity.

"Thanks Randy." 

(A/N: I know this is a Billy fic so sorry he's not in it much rn LMAO 🤸‍♂️ I have a plan (not really) so don't worry, I've got this (again, not really). Hope you all on break are having a great time! I got a cold which is just fabulous, but that means more time writing 🤞 Anyways, thank you to everyone still reading ily <3)