Beauty and the Geek

One

Becker Residents 9:45p.m.
Wednesday October 16, 1996

"So, which movie are we watching first?"

Casey looked over at me from where I was standing by the tv. The blue screen glowed, ready for us to pop a VHS into the VCR and hit play. "I was thinking about Halloween," she said. I was lounging on the couch, blowing on my almost dry, freshly painted nails. "That sounds good to me," I said and stood up. "Let's go make some popcorn."

I walked around Casey to head to the kitchen to make some jiffy pop. It was a last minute thing, me coming over and watching a few movies. Steve was supposed to come over but he told Casey at practice he wouldn't be able to make it. Steve Orth was the foot captain, the star quarterback. Casey was the head cheerleader and beside her was me and my other best friend Tatum. Casey had asked me if I'd come over and keep her company. Her parents were going out tonight and she didn't want to be alone. I called my dad at the office and let him know I would be home late and would be at the Beckers. He didn't mind and told me to call my brother to come pick me up when I was ready.

[Ringing]

The phone started to ring as Casey and I walked towards the kitchen, stopping us in our tracks. "I'll get it. You know where the popcorn is," Casey said. "Maybe it's your lover boy saying he can come over," I said, wiggling my eyebrows as I walked backwards towards the kitchen. Casey rolled her eyes and shook her head but had a smile on her face. "Hello?" She answered after picking up the phone. I didn't hear the conversation after that.

I went to the pantry and got one of the jiffy pop tins off the shelf then headed to the stove. Just as I pulled the cardboard tab off the top of it and set It on the stove, Casey walked into the kitchen. "Who was it?" I asked. "Wrong number," she said. "So why did they call back?" I asked. "I don't know. They said they wanted to talk but I told them they have 900 numbers for that," she said. I laughed and jumped up in the kitchen island as she took over the popcorn.

[Ringing]

Casey groans as the phone rings again. "I'll get it," I said. I twisted and grabbed the portable, cordless phone off the counter and pressed the button.

Billy

"Hello, Becker residents."  I froze at the voice on the other end of the line. Stu and I stood in the shadows outside Casey Becker's house. We had costumes that we picked up at the party store in town. Black clocks and gloves, and a white mask that looked like it was screaming. Y/N was supposed to go home right after cheer practice, not to Carey's house. "Hello?" She answered again. I couldn't bring myself to speak. She sighed and hung up for a few seconds.

Turning to Stu he gave me a questioning look. I had a decision to make. I could cancel our plans for tonight to kill Casey and Steve or we went ahead with them and made sure nothing happened to Y/N. "What's wrong?" Stu asked. I gripped the knife in my hand and let out a groan. "Y/N is here. She was the one that just picked up," I told him. "What? I thought she was going home after practice?" He said. "I knew I should have picked her up," I mumbled. "What're we going to do?" He asked. I dragged my gloved hand down my face and groaned.

"We go along with the plan. It's too late to turn back. But I swear to fucking god of my sister ends up if one fuck stretch from you I'll fucking gut you myself. I'll take care of her," I warned him. "How are you going to make sure she stays out of the way?" He asked. "I'll figure it out. I don't want to hurt her if I don't have to. I might need to knock her out." I dialed Casey's number again and brought the cellular up to my ear as it started to ring.

Y/N

I hung up after no one answered. "Wrong number -- again," I said to Casey. The phone rang again and we both looked at the phone on the counter where I set it. I groaned and picked it up. "Hello?"

"You're a different girl. Your friend doesn't want to talk to me?" The voice asked. I looked up at Casey who had walked around the counter and grabbed the salt before heading back over to the stove. "Who is this?" I asked.

"You tell me your name, I'll tell you mine." I scoffed at his answer. "I don't think so," I said. Casey shook the popcorn making the kernels inside rattle. "What is that noise?" The guy on the other end asked. "Popcorn."

"You're making popcorn?" He asked. 

"My friend is."

"I only eat popcorn at the movies." I rolled my eyes. Billy only ate popcorn at the movies too. He never ate the popcorn I made when we would go over to Stu's house for movie night on Sundays. Me and Stu were the ones to eat it. "Well, we're getting ready to watch a video," I said. 

"Really? What?"

"Just some scary movie." I looked at Casey as she walked over to stand beside me where I sat on top of the counter. She leaned on her elbows and played with a knife in the knife block. "You like scary movies?" He asked. I put my hand over the speaker to talk to Casey. "What's he saying?" She asked.  "He asked if we like scary movies." I uncovered the speaker and answered his question. "Yes, we do."

"What's your favorite scary movie?" He asked. "Uh, I don't know," I said. "You have to have a favorite. What comes to mind?" he said. "Halloween. You know, the one with the guy in the white mask who walks around being a creep, stalking baby-sitters," I said. Casey went over to the stove and shook the popcorn again and then grabbed the movies off the counter before heading back to the living room, checking the doors on her way.

"Yeah," he said. "What about creepy mystery man?" I asked. He let out a deep chuckle before saying, "take a guess." I rolled my eyes and jumped off the counter walking towards the living room. "Nightmare on Elm Street," I said. "Is that the one where the guy had knives for fingers?" He asked. "Yup," I said, popping the P. "Freddy Krueger."

"Freddy, that's right. I liked that movie. It was scary," he said. "Yeah, I couldn't sleep for a week after me and my brother watched the first one. The others kinda sucked." I walked into the living room. Casey looked up and she put a movie into the VCR but didn't push it in all the way. "So, does your friend have a boyfriend?" He asked. I again covered the speaker and moved it from my mouth. "He wants to know if you have a boyfriend," I told her.

"Why? You wanna ask her out on a date?" I asked. "Maybe. Does she have a boyfriend?" He asked. She was shaking her head and I rolled my eyes. Casey dated guys but never for too long. She dated Stu for a few months before ending it and going out with Steve. Now Stu was with Tatum. "No. She doesn't," I said. "And what about you?" He asked. "No. It's a little hard to date when you have an overprotective big brother," I said. He gave a dark chuckle.