𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋

𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕤𝕚𝕩

The bathroom door swung shut loudly behind you as you entered. It hadn't been at least five minutes since the final bell had rung and thankfully, it was completely empty inside. With a pathetic sniffle, you threw yourself into the stall furthest away from the door and sat down on the closed toilet seat, your bag gathered up in your arms like a weighted security blanket.

You knew it was a bad idea to show up at school today. You can't believe you ever let Tatum convince you that it was no big deal. Of course, you expected a few people to be less than sensitive. Woodsboro kids weren't the greatest by any means but you hadn't anticipated them going out of their way to torment you. Stu was right when he said the kids at this school were eyeing Casey's murder like toddlers on Christmas morning.

 It made you sick.

You were quickly pulled from your thoughts when one of the pipes above your head began to rattle, hot white steam escaping from beneath a generous wrapping of thin duct tape. The loud hiss made you jump to your feet, your heart beating loudly in your chest. For a split second, you could have sworn you heard the bathroom door open and close, but after a few moments of silence, you were sure that it was nothing.

"Hello?" You called out against your better judgement, taking your bag and swinging it behind your shoulder. You balled up your sleeve near your palm and reached up to wipe away the rest of your tears. There was still no response. "Anyone in here?"

The steam continued to hiss above your head and you hiccuped before reaching down and unlatching the stall door. You were feeling better now, despite your original plans to stay hidden in the bathroom until lunch time.

You pushed the door open slowly, still dabbing underneath your eyes, when suddenly you stumbled backwards and a short, high-pitched yelp fell from your lips. On the other side of the room stood yet another masked figure. Unlike the student earlier, this one was wearing all black robes along with the mask. He was leaning up against the sinks directly in front of you, seeming unfazed by your scared reaction.

He waited patiently for you to compose yourself, frozen still like a statue. At first, you thought it might actually be a dummy that someone posed up to scare you. But then, it cocked it's head to the side and you flinched again before remembering what Stu said and frowning. 

"That's not funny, Randy," you scoffed, crossing your arms and walking closer. "You know you can't be in the girl's bathroom."

You emerged from the stall and shuffled cautiously closer to the hooded figure until you were standing just two short feet away. You planted your feet firmly on the linoleum floor, not moving your eyes away from the two pitch black voids in the mask. "Did that freshman put you up to this?" You laughed nervously. "I thought you were better than that."

Now that you were closer, he had to tilt his entire head down a fraction to look at you. You knew for a fact that Randy Meeks had never been that tall before. In fact, now that you thought about it, you didn't think he was ever even as muscular as he looked right now. Maybe it was just the costume that made him seem more intimidating. "Did you get taller?" You joked, trying to cover up the anxious feelings that told you to bolt right out the door.

The mask slowly shook from side to side in response. You could hear the strain on the flimsy white plastic. Even though you couldn't see his eyes, you knew he was watching you with a knowing smirk. In the back of your mind, you knew that this wasn't Randy. Maybe you knew it the whole time.

You stepped back cautiously, watching as he reached back with one gloved hand to pull a thin, square object out from behind his robes. It reflected the overhead lighting of the bathroom and despite your better judgement, you found yourself reaching out to take it from him. "What's this?" You scoffed, snatching it from his grip. You weren't in the mood for playing along with his little psycho routine. "Wait until Blockbuster figures out you're part-timing as a serial killer."

Once again, he shook his head slowly from side to side. It was almost as if he were mocking you. From beneath the gaping mouth of the mask, you swore you could hear him breathing heavily in anticipation. 

Creep.

Only just then did you finally look down at the object he had handed you. Holding it up to the light, you realized that it was in fact a small polaroid picture. The white frame was smudged with an unknown substance, most likely dirt, and the top corner was crinkled. You squinted to get a better look at what was on the film.

It was dark, mostly blacks and browns. But in the very center was an image of a figure. They were displayed out on a couch, a metallic bowl balanced on their lap. The light from a television was shining on their face and you realized that the photo must've been taken from outside.

The truth hit you like a freight train and you suddenly felt frozen to the floor of the bathroom. It was a photo of you. It was you on the couch with the bowl of popcorn on your lap, the phone to your ear as you talked with Tatum. That was your living room and your window that he had been watching you through for who knows how long.

A sick feeling made itself known in your stomach and you unintentionally let go of the photograph. It fluttered to the tile floor and you tightened your grip on the strap of your bag. "Holy shit," you breathed.

The masked figure's head snapped up to face you, head still cocked awkwardly to the side. He made no move to follow you even as you turned on your heel and sprinted to the door of the bathroom, heartbeat loud in your ears. 

 The door swung back and forth in your wake and still running down the hallway, you shot one last gaze over your shoulder. He was still standing there, arm raised in a motionless wave. 

 (A/N: This one's on the shorter side lol. Bear with me, the next one's a little longer I think. I know this wasn't the most eventful chapter but it's ~important to the story~ anyway, this chapter goes out to that one dude who kept asking me about it. Behold!)