The Last Scream (Noah Foster/ Scream Series FF)

Chapter 20

*Vex*

Looking into the mirror, I wiped away the steam only to be greeted by someone who wasn't me. Instead of the bright blue eyes that I always saw, there was just dull grey, bags surrounding them. My hair hung limply on the sides, still dripping wet from the shower. My mouth was etched into a permanent grimace as I thought of the nightmares that had plagued me all night. Running a brush through my hair, I quickly just threw it up in a bun, I didn't want to do anything today. Carefully, I reached into my drawer, pulling out the bag of makeup that my mom had bought me months ago. Carefully, I applied some concealer around my eyes, making the dark circles fade away.

Slipping into my sweats and my sweatshirt, I grabbed my phone and my bag, heading downstairs. Mom had already left for work, leaving me alone as I quickly fixed myself a bowl of cereal- only to pick at it as I stared numbly at the table. First, I possibly lost Noah. Now, I was having nightmares. Every little noise in my home made me jump, I couldn't stand being alone now, not after yesterday. With no one around, I was forced into being alone. Dumping the cereal, I grabbed my keys, praying that they would spontaneously cancel for today. Of course though, they wouldn't.

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Pulling into the school parking lot, I grabbed my bag, taking extra time as I slowly trudged towards the school. Flinging my bag over my shoulder, I saw Noah digging through his locker. Careful to not draw attention, I passed him, not stopping at mine as I headed straight for first period. Even then, I could hear people snickering over something. Then it hit me, of course, after that video was shared, they were all talking about Emma. For a short moment, I felt completely terrible. We should never have pried into those files, now a friend was hurting. Sighing, I walked into class, taking the farthest back seat I could reach. Suddenly, a girl sat down in a seat, causing Brooke to speak up.

"Are you kidding me?" The girl looked over at Brooke, her eyes giving the "what the hell look."

"You got a problem?" She asked.

"Yeah, I do. That's Riley's seat. Forever." Standing up, the girl moved. Looking up, I saw Noah turn around, apologizing to Emma for the video. Of course though, she said it was fine. Suddenly, Mr. B cleared his throat.

"Okay everybody. We are still reeling from Riley's death, but we do have learning to do. Noah, I know you two were scene partners." 

"Uh, yeah, I think I'm just gonna sit this one out. If that's okay." He said, looking up at Branson.

"I understand. That's fine. But, we will resume our scene work next week. Let's get back to Hawthorne. The Scarlet Letter. It's a classic tale of hypocrisy, misogyny and female oppression." Suddenly, Jake raised his hand, causing my eyes to snap towards him.

"Mr. Branson, seriously, with all the cyber-bullying and GIFs and mayhem going down... who cares?" Everyone's phones began to beep and chime, including mine. Grabbing it and looking down, I saw that it was GIF of the video. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I glared down at my phone. It happened so fast, a kid leaned over, saying something about the GIF, causing him to react as well as Emma.

"Will, stop! It's enough."

"Will, back off." Mr. Branson chimed in. "Sit down. Emma, are you okay?" Emma looked around the room, catching my eye for a split second. In that second, I gave her a sad smile.

"No, I'm, uh, not okay. Um... I know that our thoughts are all with the friends that we've lost. And so I just wanted to remind everyone there's a candlelight vigil downtown tonight at 7:00. And I hope that all of you will make it." Sighing a little, I watched as Emma sat back down, giving Mr. Branson the go ahead to continue the lesson. Of course though, my mind wasn't on the lesson. My eyes were practically glued to the back of Noah's head, and Audrey seemed to notice. My phone buzzed in my hand, looking down, I saw that it was from her.

Are you okay? You're staring. Closing my eyes, I quickly snapped her a text back.

I'm fine. She instantly responded, my phone buzzing not even seconds after.

No you're not . Closing my eyes once more, I let a single tear slip up before going to text her back, only for another text to role in.

I can see you crying. Looking up, I saw her give me a sad smile before looking back down, moving her thumbs across the keyboards. No text came as I watched her. With a sad smile, she gave me small wink, earning a confused look from me. That is, until I saw him turn around. You could see the sadness in his eyes as he looked at me, noticing the few tears running down my face. Shaking my head, I looked down at the desk, keeping it down until it stopped. He wouldn't get that from me, no, I wouldn't let him see me cry. I'm not weak like those other girls. Sucking it up, I stopped crying, putting on my best poker face. The only way to survive this day was to act like I don't care, something that I was best at. Looking up, I kept my eyes on the board until the bell rang.

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After a long day of classes and avoiding Noah, I finally managed to escape the dread school to my truck. I knew Audrey had sent him a text in first period, he wouldn't have looked back if she hadn't and man, I was going to kill her for it. Suddenly, I heard footsteps pounding up the drive towards me until I was turned around, right into Noah.

"Vex, please, can we talk?" He was pleading, his voice low.

"About what? There's nothing to talk about, you made that pretty clear last night." My voice was hollow; void of emotion. I was doing it on purpose, no weakness.

"I didn't mean to do that to you last night, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." Closing my eyes for a brief moment, I sighed.

"It's fine, we're cool. I don't really care." Of course I cared, but I just couldn't deal with it.

"Wait, what? Vex-." I shook my head, turning back around so I could continue walking to the truck.

"Vex, seriously, stop. Let me talk to you, okay? Is this about that Wes guy and the video?" I stopped in my tracks, my rage level hitting a peak. Riley was his soft spot, Wes was mine. What did he even have to do with this? Was this Noah's sort of sick and twisted tactic? Turning on my heel, I glared at Noah.

"Wes has nothing to do with this! You're the one who led me on that morning only to shoot me down at my own house! Fine, if you don't like me that way, it's cool, but don't ever- ever, bring up Wes again!" He shot back a glare of his own, I could see it in his eyes, he was completely pissed.

"Why? Is he your boyfriend or something? Older brother? Did he leave you just like your dad?" Suddenly, I saw Audrey. She had been walking up behind Noah but stopped in her tracks, she had heard him say it too. I felt the tears pool into my eyes as I tried to keep my composure, my eyes glaring daggers into his. I watched Audrey grab Noah's arm, pulling him back a little.

"Noah, don't-" It was to late though, he had said it. Glaring at each other, I felt the tears began to run and watched as his face crumpled.

"No asshole, they're both dead." I spat. Turning, I walked to my car with what little dignity I had left, leaving Noah and Audrey behind. Hoping into my truck, I slammed the door and revved the engine, slamming the gas as I exited the parking lot. I needed to get out of here, I needed to go talk to him. Setting my GPS for the three hour drive, I hit the highway.

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll talk to you all next time!

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~Lily