The sun streamed through the tattered curtains, warming my face and coaxing me out of sleep. I blinked a few times, adjusting to the brightness, and turned to see Stu still asleep beside me. His peaceful expression made me smile; there was something comforting sharing this moment with him.
I brushed my fingers lightly through his hair, the warmth of his skin grounding me in the present. 'Stu,' I whispered, nudging him lightly.
He stirred, eyes fluttering open. 'Morning,' he mumbled, stretching like a cat. A sleepy grin spread across his face, making my heart race.
'Good morning sleepyhead,' I teased, leaning closer and planting a soft kiss on his cheek. He turned toward me, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
'What time is it, love?' He asked rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
'Too early for you to look this cute,' I replied, nudging him playfully.
He chuckled and pulled me closer, wrapping an arm around my waist. 'You know I love you right?'
In a burst of spontaneity, I leaned in and kissed him, our lips brushing softly at first, then deepening as he responded. The kiss quickly turned heated, a rush of passion and urgency igniting between us. I felt his hands slide to my back and up my shirt, drawing me closer, the world outside fading away.
When we finally pulled apart, breathless and a little dazed, I smiled up at him. 'Wow. I could get used to that.'
Stu grinned, h playful hint in his eyes. 'Breakfast can wait a little longer if you want.'
'Tempting' I said with a laugh, but I felt a flutter butterflies in my stomach. 'But I think we should shower first. We can't go to school looking like we just rolled out of bed.'
He raised an eyebrow, a playful smirk plastered on his face. 'Are you inviting me to join you?'
I hesitated for a just a moment, my heart racing. 'Maybe I am,' I replied, a teasing smile on my lips.
We both stood and made our way to the bathroom. I turned on the water, letting it warm up while the steam began to fill the room. The sound of the rushing water was soothing, and I could feel the tension of the morning melt away.
'Let's make this quick,' he said stepping closer, his playful tone hiding the electricity in the air. ' we don't want miss perfect attendance to be late now, would we?'
'Right,' I replied, stepping into the shower. The hot water cascaded down and I sighed in relief. Stu joined me moments later, and I felt a rush of warmth as he stepped into the stream beside me.
We shared a laughter and playful splashes as we washed up, the stream enveloping us. I felt his hands around my waist, pulling me closer as I looked up into his eyes.
'I'd this quick enough for you?' He teased, leaning in and capturing my lips in another heated kiss. The warmth of the water mixed with the heat between us, and I melted into him, the world outside fading away again.
After a few moments, we reluctantly pulled apart, breathless and giggling.
'Okay,okay,' I said, trying to regain my composure. 'We really should get going.'
We rinsed off quickly, stepping out of the shower and wrapping ourselves in towels. The smell of coffee wafted from the kitchen, mixing with the steam in the air.
After a quick breakfast that felt almost normal, we headed to school, fingers intertwined. The drive was filled with laughter and light teasing, each shared moment deepening the connection between us. I could feel the warmth of his hand in mine, anchoring me amidst the chaos outside. As we pulled into the school parking lot, the atmosphere shifted. Six police cars, four news vans, flashing cameras and crowds and crowds of on-lookers gathered just off school campus. Students milled around, but they spoke in hushed tones, and I could sense a sense of strange tension in the air.
Just as we were walking onto campus a finger tapped my shoulder causing me to spin round in a small fright, just to see my best friends, Tatum and Sidney.
'Do you believe this shit?' Tatum said, glancing around as though she was looking for news reporters eavesdropping.
'What happened?' Sidney questioned with an obvious sense of unease coursing through her, as we broke away from the crowd heading further towards the school.
Tatum leaned in closer, her voice low. 'Oh god! You don't know? Casey Becker and Steve Orth were killed last night'
'No way,' I gasped,disbelief flooding through me.
'And not just killed,guys. We're talking splatter movie killed— split open end to end' She whispered theta last bit.
'Casey Backer? She sits next to me in English,' Sidney stated looking as though she was trying to process the information just given to her.
'Not anymore. Her parents found her hanging from a tree. Her insides on the outside.'
I gagged, Stu's grip on my hand tightening as he brushed his thumb softly over my knuckles.
'Do they know who did it?' I asked wondering who could even do such a thing.
'Fucking clueless— they're interrogating the entire school. Teachers, students, staff, janitors...'
'They think it's school related' Sidney interrupted thinking if she didn't the list would just go on and on.
'They don't know. Dewey said this is the worst crime they've ever seen. Even worse than...'
I shot her a glare warning her to shut up before she mentions Sidney's mother's murder around this time last year, knowing it would upset Sidney greatly.
'Well it's bad. They're bringing in the feds.'
Just then the bell rang, slicing through the heavy atmosphere. Students began to shuffle inside, but I felt rooted to the spot. 'We need to go to class,' I finally said, my voice shaky.
Stu nodded, pulling me close for a moment, wrapping his arms around my waist. 'It'll be okay,' he murmured, his breath warm against my ear. I leaned into him, feeling the warm comfort of his embrace.
As we made our way through the crowded hallways, I could feel his fingers intertwined with mine, holding on tightly as if anchoring me in place. Settling into our first class, Math, the air was thick with unease. Whispers floated around, and I could sense the tension growing.
Suddenly the door opened and a student enters with a slip of paper, handing it to our teacher.
'Y/n, dear. It appears to be your turn.'
As I got up I could feel everyone's eyes piercing the back of my head. Looking back as Stu he gave me a reassuring look as I walked out of the classroom to the Principal Himbry's office.
'Y/n, thank you for coming in,' Mr Himbry said, his tone serious but somehow lacking the gravity I expected. ' I know this is difficult, but we need to ask some questions about Casey,'
I nodded, my heart racing with unease. 'Okay.'
He leaned back in his chair, a strange glint in his eye. 'I want to assure you that your comfort is important to me. This school is like a family.' He paused then continued, 'And sometimes, family looks out for each other in ... different ways'
I shifted in my seat as his hand reaches towards my thigh.
Just then, the door swung open, and two police officers entered the office, their expressions serious.
'Mr Himbry,' one of them said, scanning the room ' can we talk to Y/n please'
'Oh yes of course' Mr Himbry replied, adjusting slightly in his seat.
I felt a rush of relief was sober me as Dewey and Sheriff Burke sat across from me either side of principal Himbry.
'So Y/n, we'll be brief but there's a few questions we would like to ask you regarding Casey Becker and Steve Orth.'
❤︎︎❤︎︎❤︎︎❤︎︎❤︎︎
The interview felt like a blur, questions swirling in my mind like leaves caught in a gust of wind. I had talked about Casey and Steve, about the horror that gripped our small town, but all I could think of was the weight of their absence. I leaned against my locker, the cool metal grounding me as the bell rang, its shrill sound breaking the heavy silence.
The hallways of Woodsboro High were bustling with students, their voices a cacophony of laughter and chatter that seemed to swirl around me. As I navigated through the crowds, I spotted the familiar fountain in the courtyard ahead. It was a gathering place for my friends, a spot where we often shared jokes and gossip. I pushed my way through the crowd, my gaze fixated on the fountain with all my friends sitting around it.
Billy was sat on the end with Sidney sat in between his legs, Tatum sat next to her gossiping about some random shit she had heard and Stu was sat in between her and Randy trying to wind up Randy into going off on a rant about Horror movie rules.
'Y/n!' Tatum called, waving me over as I went and sat on Stu's lap placing my arms around his neck. 'So, what kind of questions did they ask you Sid?'
'They asked me if I knew Casey.' Sid replied trying to recount how her interview went earlier that morning.
'They asked me too' I chimed in sharing my experiences with the group but not revealing the truth about my encounter with Mr Himbry.
'Hey, did they ask you if you liked to hunt?' Stu asked, directing his question at Billy.
'Yeah, they did, they ask you?' Billy replied to his previous question.
'Why would they ask you if you liked to hunt?' I questioned slightly confused by the seemingly random question, as I put a green grape into my mouth.
'Cause their bodies were gutted,' Randy quipped earning an eye roll from Billy.
'Thank you,Randy' Billy replied sarcastically, as he placed his hands on his girlfriend Sidney's shoulders, who was clearly uncomfortable with the conversation.
'They didn't ask me if I liked to hunt' Tatum said rather disappointedly feeling like she was slightly overlooked in the interview.
'Cause there is no way a girl could've killed them.' Stu shrugged but I shot him a pointed look.
'That is so sexist!' I said rather offended by my boyfriend's remark.
'The killer could easily be female, Basic Instinct?' Tatum replied, backing me up.
'That was an ice pick, not exactly the same thing' Randy argued, his horror geekiness seeping through.
'Yeah, Casey and Steve were completely hollowed out.' Stu added 'And the fact is it takes a mad to do something like that.'
'Or a man's mentality' I countered, crossing my arms as Stu kissed me on the head to apologise.
'How do you....gut someone?' Sidney asked suddenly,prompting everyone to turn to her.
'You take a knife and you slit them from groin to sternum.' Stu replied menacingly, causing Sidney to look disgusted.
'Hey it's called tact you fuckrag.' Billy interjected trying to prevent Stu from making his girlfriend feel worse.
'Hey Stu, didn't you used to date Casey?' Sidney questioned trying to get the attention off of her.
'Yeah for like two seconds.' He shrugged.
'Until she dumped him for Steve' Randy addded nudging me in the shoulder.
I couldn't resist teasing him about it. 'I thought you dumped her for me.'
'I did,' he assured me starting to massage my shoulders 'he's full of shit.' He added shooting back at Randy.
'And the police are aware you dated the victim?' Randy pressed, a teasing glint in his eye.
'What are you trying to say, that I killed her?' Stu replied, the grin fading slightly.
'It would sure improve your high school Q' Randy quipped.
'Stu was with me last night' I stated wrapping my arm around him.
'Yeah I was' he declared, his lips making their way towards my neck.
'Was that before or after he sliced and diced?' Randy questioned in a creepy voice.
'Fuck you not case!' I replied protectively 'where were you last night?' I retorted.
'Working thank you' he jabbed.
'Oh, at the video store? I thought they fired your sorry ass,' Tatum spat, having enough of Randy's stupid questions.
'Twice' Randy declared, seeming rather proud of himself for being fired twice.
'I didn't kill anybody,' Stu asserted, clearly out of sync of our new conversation.
'Nobody said you did.' Billy confronted, glaring at Stu in a rather odd way.
'Thanks buddy' he said with a quirky grin, the kind that made it unclear whether he was being sincere or not.
'Besides, it takes a man to do a thing like that.' Randy remarked, looking at Stu as he uses his own words against him.
'I'm gonna gut your ass in a second kid.' Stu snapped, his voice raising as he becomes aggravated by Randy's jokes.
Randy got up leaning over Stu to get in his face and in a mocking, childish way asked 'did you really put her liver in the mailbox? Cause I heard that they found her liver in the mailbox next to her spleen and pancreas.'
I slapped him on the shoulder. 'Randy you goon, I'm trying to eat here.'
Randy reached over me trying to grab a grape out of the communal grape bag.
'She's getting mad alright?' He said protectively pushing Randy back. 'You better liver alone. Liver alone!' He kicked laughing wildly at his own joke earning an eye roll from Tatum as Sidney gets up and leaves and a hit in the shoulder from Billy.
'Liv— Ow! Liver. Liver. It was a joke!' He fired back, his laughter sitting down.
I get up off of his lap as he gives me a kiss on my hand and a small slap on the ass as Tatum and I walk off to catch up with Sidney.
'Hey Sidney!' I called after her, concern bubbling to the surface.
Tatum and I hurried to catch up, catching her just before she reached the exit. 'Sid, are you alright?' I asked, my voice gentle but filled with worry. Her gaze flickered back to me, and for a brief moment, the mask of bravado slipped, revealing a vulnerability that made my heart ache.
'Why don't you both stay at my house the night?' Tatum suggested ' Sidney,your dad won't be back until Sunday and sleepovers are always more fun the more people there are'
'Yeah sure sounds good' I nodded, agreeing to the fun idea of a sleepover.
'No prob, I'll pick you both up from Sidney's after practice. You okay?' She asked directing her gaze at Sidney who was completely zoned out of the conversation.
'Uh-huh, it's just the police and reporters just like deja vu all over again' Sidney replied saddened by recounting the events post her mother's murder.
'I'll be there by 7:00 I promise' Tatum answered holding us both by the hand.
'Thanks Tatum' I replied being appreciative of her doing this for Sidney.
'Later' she called as she walked off to go to practice, leaving Sidney and I to walk back to Sid's house.
