The Devils Bargain | stuilly | billyxstu | stuxbilly

Chapter 5

After scrubbing away the grime and sickening thoughts, Billy and Stu returned to campus, back in their 'inconspicuous' wear, which thankfully fit the very sunny day. Billy painstakingly found sunglasses for Stu that didn't look ridiculous, and they continued in their recon without any trouble.

They also noted for themselves that they needed to figure out money before they went back to the motel today. It was a lot, but with the help of both of them, they'd figure it out.

The grounds were now filled to the brim with reporters. Most were small-time broadcasts, some were major broadcasts. The air crackled with tension, thickened by the relentless media presence. Billy could feel the pulse of the reporters' anticipation, their hunger for the next big scoop almost tangible in the air.

Billy nudged Stu forward as he came in front of him, stopping him in his tracks, gripping the loose material of his jacket, and poking a finger into Stu's chest. "Stay low-key, Stu—seriously."

Billy jabbed his finger into the meat of Stu's chest, causing him to flinch slightly. "If a camera catches you or anything, I'm out. No looking back."

Stu scoffs, doing so with his face turned away from Billy, his gaze locked on the ground next to Billy's shoes. Despite wanting to seem tough, Stu was still just a coward. "Why do you always have to get on my ass?" Stu retorted, his gaze moving up to weakly try to battle Billy's steadfast gaze.

Billy didn't bother replying, fixing him with a stern look and waiting until Stu inevitably broke under it. Stu put on another weak attempt at a reassuring expression, putting his arms out and letting them drop back to his side limply. "I've got it, alright? Won't happen again, man."

Billy gave him a once-over before nodding, letting his hands drop back to his side, and dropping the intimidation. Stu recovered quickly, like he always does. His expression gave the impression he was thinking for a second, but he seemed to drop it fairly quickly. Billy didn't care either way.

The boys stuck to the edges of the campus, knowing the basic structure of the college by now, thanks to the silent tour they did yesterday. They knew everyone should be in the dining hall for lunch, and despite the crowd, they moved relatively freely, unnoticed amidst the chaos of hungry reporters.

With all the buzz, they were just another face in the crowd, nothing is better camouflage.

Billy hesitated briefly as he spotted a swarm of reporters encircling someone they'd deem important enough to harass, pondering whether it was worth the potential risk and effort to approach. However, curiosity got the better of him, and like a cat drawn to mystery, he opted to take a chance. With deliberate steps and hands in his pockets, he sauntered over, adjusting his cap to obscure his features as best he could.

Stu trailed behind him, noticeably less enthusiastic about Billy's choice.

"Do you have any suspects for this Gale?" One reporter shouts, and another pushes in to try and get whatever Gale said in reply.

Billy was wondering when Gale was going to show up. Her hair was shorter. Seemingly keeping to the running theme. Gale appeared visibly stressed, an air of frustration thick in the air as the reporters continued pursuing her as she shot out some snappy reply. Billy found it oddly poetic, if nothing else.

"What about that ex-cop, Dewey Riley?" A reporter's voice pierced through the commotion, causing a momentary stagger in Billy's mind. "Could he be involved?"

His heartbeat quickened inexplicably, compelling him to draw nearer without meaning too. Everything around him faded into static as an unspoken need pushed him forward, urging him to confirm something his conscious mind wouldn't dare give life to.

As Billy inched closer, his focus consumed by the scene as he tried to get over the taller reporters obstructing his view, Gale responded, prompting the reporter to interject once more. Her voice.. She sounded just like–

Stu had grabbed or more gripped his shoulder, not painfully, but there was alarm in the way his fingers twitched into the fabric of his black overshirt, pushing him back slightly. Billy spun around quickly, turning to anger as quick as rain, until he realised just how close he had gotten to the group now, and it all washed away, leaving him dazed.

Stu was looking at him with an expression he'd typically see on himself when Stu was doing something stupid. Seeing it on Stu was uncomfortable and alien. Stu rarely needs to reign him in; he nearly got them caught. Maybe he should have told himself to not be stupid.

Billy turned, hoping to catch sight of the person who had stirred an inexplicable reaction in him, but to his dismay, the group had scattered. Frustrated, he redirected his gaze to the floor, puzzled and perplexed. Sensing the moment's tension, Stu felt compelled to speak up. "Whoa, man, what was that?"

"I thought we were going low-profile. Charging into a bunch of reporters doesn't exactly scream 'under the radar,' you know?"

Billy broke his glare off the ground and looked back up at Stu. "I thought—yeah, no."

Billy pulled his hat up, rubbing his forehead with the back of his hand and pushing his hair back before putting his hat back in place. "I thought I recognized one of the reporters."

"Who? Gale?"

Billy punched Stu's arm. "Don't be stupid, you ass; I'm obviously not talking about her."

"It doesn't matter—just let's move on."
Stu didn't reply; his expression was weirdly serious, and he looked at Billy like he was searching his very soul for answers. It almost seemed like concern. Billy wasn't in the mood for Stu's fucking concern.

He walked off, his mind still wracking around who he thought he heard and the impossibility of it. He swore he heard his mom. But that was impossible; she was gone, and really, what were the chances of her being here? At this college, at the same time as them?

He didn't even know what happened to her when she left.

She left without saying goodbye, packing her bags when he was asleep, leaving a painful, angry note denouncing his dad because he couldn't keep it in his pants. If anything, it was more that Prescott couldn't keep her legs closed.

The point was, he didn't even know if his mom was still alive. He remembered trying to look for her. Sid even helped at one point, but she just disappeared. It was easy to do that when you left no tracks.

Billy doesn't know what he'd do if it were her. Would he be mad? Is he mad? He never really thought about his mom's part in leaving, throwing his blame all on one person or more family members. He doesn't imagine he's mad. He couldn't really blame her for leaving; he'd be pissed too if Sid cheated on him, even if he didn't actually have any feelings for her. Which was hypocritical of him; he knew but didn't care.

Perhaps he was just as bad as his dear old pa. Maybe that's why he was never angry at him. Though that didn't feel right, There were so many questions, and he wasn't really feeling like breaking down his trauma or whatever this was, so he decided to tuck it all into a box and move on.

That wasn't his mom, just some woman who maybe sounded a little like her. Maybe he's finally going mad, like how Jason could hear his mom in his head despite her just being a mummified head in some nasty ass shack in the woods.

It was all funny in its own sick and twisted way, knowing he had caused the exact same thoughts and worries not 24 hours ago for Sid and Randy. It all just made his head spin.

"What exactly is the play here, Billy?" Stu spoke out of the blue, and for once, his questions were doing some good, not the question itself—the question was ill-brained and obvious. But it gave him something else to think about, which Billy needed right now. "What do you mean? We're looking for clues on our copycat."

Stu shook his head, sticking his hands into his pockets mindlessly. "Nah, I'm with you on that."

"I'm talking about after we take down this impostor. What comes after that?"

Billy didn't turn back to look at Stu. He'd been thinking about that. It hurt to actively ignore the fire that came over him when he thought about Sid. Sidney Prescott, someone he knew was in this very college, is within walking range of him right now. He had a second chance, and if this ghost face wasn't going after Sid, he'd probably focus on her.

But since they were, they threatened his revenge. They needed to be dealt with first.

"Why does that matter?" Billy deflected, keeping his pace in a direction he wasn't actually paying much attention to. Too much is going on in his head to focus on their original plan of sneaking around.

"It matters –"

Billy abruptly turned, positioning himself squarely in front of Stu, who jerked back at the sudden halt. Grasping the side of Stu's face, Billy twisted it slightly, donning a facade of a smile that clashed starkly with the annoyance simmering in his eyes.

"Stu, stick to your strengths and lay off the questions. You'll know what's happening when you need to." Billy snapped, slapping the side of his face lightly and dropping his hand, which now felt horribly warm. Stu's expression didn't get any better as he brought his hand to his cheek to rub it, mumbling something inaudible to Billy.

"What was that?"

Billy's train of thought was broken by the sound of clapping and was that... singing?

The boys turn their attention to the pending noise complaint coming from the dining hall. They snuck over, peaking through one of the larger windows, with Stu pushing his face into the glass. What they saw was straight out of some stupid, cheesy musical movie.

The new guy was standing on a table, singing to Sid, and while most people in the room looked confused and some were laughing, it quickly became a whole party in there. People were clapping, and instead of laughing at the guy, they started laughing with him. Who actually bursts into random fits of singing? Billy was beyond confused and slightly mortified.

"What the–" Stu spoke slowly, pushing his face further into the glass. Billy, for a second, spared a look at him in disgust. Stu looked incredibly entertained, which just didn't surprise him at all.

The dancing stopped, and the dining room blew up in applause. Billy narrowed his eyes as the boy came down, talking and being all close to Sid.

Don't get him wrong. He wasn't jealous. Sidney could be with whoever she damn well pleases. It won't change the ending he had planned for her. It just meant he needed to add another element to his plan. Just another face in the background—a forgettable character. Like Gale's camera guy.

A person who meant nothing but to get in his way and to increase the kill count.