Detective || Scream1996 x M!reader

Lunch

After all those classes, lunch had finally arrived. Tatum told you she and Stu would meet you outside your classroom.

When the bell rang, you quickly exited the room and found them making out in the hallway. Tatum noticed you and broke the kiss and waved at you.

You walked over, and Stu immediately threw his arms around both your shoulders, pulling you into their little circle as you all headed toward the lunch spot where he and his friends usually gathered.

"Continue with the Casey Becker murder thing," Tatum said, her tone shifting from playful to serious. "Got any suspicions on who it is?"

"She used to sit next to me in English," Sidney added, her expression darkening.

"Well, not anymore," Tatum replied

A tense silence hung in the air until Sidney broke it with a blunt question. "How do you... gut someone?"

Stu jumped in without missing a beat. "You take a knife and slice from groin to sternum."

You raised an eyebrow, thinking, *Great, just what we needed—Stu's gruesome knowledge.*

"Hey, Stu, didn't you used to date Casey?" Sidney asked, leaning in with curiosity.

"Yeah, for like... two seconds," Stu replied with a casual shrug.

"Yeah, before she dumped him for Steve," Randy chimed in, his grin widening.

"I thought you dumped her for me," Tatum said, her tone mockingly hurt.

"I did!" Stu protested, clearly flustered. "He's full of crap!"

"And are the police aware you dated the victim?" Randy asked, leaning forward with a smirk.

"What are you implying? That I killed her?" Stu exclaimed, looking genuinely offended.

"It would certainly boost your high school Q," Randy said

"Stu was with me last night," Tatum interjected, her tone defending him.

"Was that before or after he sliced and diced?" Randy shot back, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Fuck you, nutcase. Where were you last night?" Tatum demanded, narrowing her eyes at Randy.

"Working, thank you very much," he replied, waving it off.

"At the video store? I thought they fired your ass," Sidney asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Twice," Randy confirmed, looking unfazed.

"I didn't kill anybody," Stu insisted, his expression sincere.

"Nobody said you did," Billy pointed out, feeling the need to back him up.

Stu flashed him a grateful smile. "Thanks, buddy."

"Besides, it takes a MAN to do something like that," Randy added with mock bravado.

"Well, I'm about to gut your ass in a second," Stu threatened with a playful grin.

"Tell me something," Randy said, suddenly serious. "Did you really put her liver in the mailbox? I heard they found her liver next to her spleen and pancreas."

"Randy, you goon!" Tatum shouted, exasperated. "I'm trying to eat here!"

"Tatum's getting mad, alright," Stu said, pulling her close in a playful attempt to diffuse the tension. "You better leave her alone!"

Sidney, clearly fed up with the macabre jokes, stood up abruptly and stormed off, her frustration palpable.

"Get it? 'Leave her alone,'" Stu said, attempting to explain the joke, but his humor fell flat.

Billy just shook his head at Stu's antics, clearly over it. The moment hung in the air, a mixture of laughter and tension. You couldn't help but feel the weight of what was happening outside your little group, but for now, you chose to focus on the familiar banter of friends.

As you settled into your lunch, you couldn't shake the feeling that the laughter was a thin veneer over something much darker looming just out of sight. But in this moment, surrounded by friends, you felt a fleeting sense of normalcy amidst the chaos.