chapter two
harold the octopus

Madelyn looked over at Mindy and Tara with a helpless look. The three girls were sat in Madelyn's bedroom in Nick's house. The girl had moved in with Nick after her dad's funeral so she could finish her senior year with her friends as her mum promptly left for New York once more – calling and checking in every two days.

Mindy and Tara were trying to help Madelyn pick out an outfit for her first date with Nick. The boy had told her that he had it all planned and ready and to wear something casual but in typical Madelyn fashion she had to try on at least six different outfits. Her two friends were unaccustomed to her ways, only knowing how long it takes from waiting around for her on several occasions, considering trying on outfits was something Madelyn always did with her dad.

"Casual, how hard can it be, Mads?" Mindy asked.

"Well if you must know Mindy, very! It can be very hard!" Madelyn snapped, spinning to face her.

"Okay." Tara soothed, standing up and walking over to Madelyn's wardrobe. She pulled out an outfit. "What about this?"

Madelyn turned to face Tara, freezing at the outfit in her hand. It was the same outfit that she wore on her interrupted date with Alex a few months ago. The same outfit that her father told her reminded her of her Aunt Tatum, the same outfit that her mum had sent her, the same outfit that she wore when she found out that ghostface was back except this time instead of it being paired with a demin jacket, Tara had put it with Dewey's dark beige jacket.

Madelyn gulped slightly, forcing a small smile on her face. "It's great, thank you."

She took the outfit from Tara's hands, making her way into the bathroom to change into it. She closed the door behind her, leaning against it for a few moments and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Madelyn put the outfit on before looking in the mirror. She tilted her head slightly with a smile. This outfit had a part of everyone she cared about in it.

She had Tatum inspired clothes.

Her dad's jacket.

Her mum's pearl earrings.

Sidney's butterfly earrings.

Her own converse on.

Rings she had stolen from Nick.

A friendship bracelet she shared with Mindy.

A friendship ring she shared with Tara.

Another friendship bracelet from Chad – one that was horribly made in like fourth grade that Madelyn cherished.

And a necklace in the shape of a buttercup for Wes – since his name meant meadow and the most common flower in meadows were buttercups, and Wes loved buttercups.

And her nails were painted pink for Liv with little lemons on them for Judy.

And of course the taser in her bag was curtesy of Sam.

Everyone she cared for was in this outfit, which is why she smiled as she looked at herself before leaving the bathroom and doing a little spin for the two waiting for her in the bedroom.

"Mads, you look incredible!" Tara exclaimed, fussing over the girl.

"Thanks Tara." Madelyn smiled softly, hugging her friend.

"You look beautiful." Mindy told her best friend.

"Yeah?"

"Definitely." Mindy nodded. "Your dad would agree. And Nick is gonna freak, more than he already does whenever he sees you."

Madelyn sent her best friend a smile, bringing her in for a hug. Mindy let out a small laugh, hugging the girl back tightly. Madelyn then took a step back, taking another breath.

"Hey, don't stress, you've known Nick forever. This will be no different than how you've acted since like middle school." Tara reassured her.

"Yeah." Madelyn nodded frantically. "I'm cool."

"You sure?" Mindy raised an eyebrow at the girl.

"I'm so not cool but I'm dealing." Madelyn corrected herself.

"It'll be okay." Mindy stated.

Madelyn nodded, taking a breath. A knock at her door made her jump, turning to face her friends with wide eyes. "It's not okay."

"Maddie." Mindy tilted her head. "You'll be alright. Nick is you're best friend, remember that."

Madelyn calmed slightly, nodding once more before turning and opening the door. Chad was stood on the other side, a smile on his face as he held his arm out.

"You're carriage is waiting downstairs, miss." He spoke formally.

Madelyn laughed. "This is crazy."

"This is Nick." Chad retorted making Madelyn tilt her head in understanding. Madelyn looped her arm through Chad's, the boy walking her down the stairs, Mindy and Tara following after them. The group walked to the front door, outside to see Nick leaning against his car.

"A lovely carriage." Madelyn commented.

"Exactly, what I thought." Chad agreed. "Like Cinderella's."

Madelyn laughed, hugging the boy before hugging Mindy and Tara and making her way down the porch towards Nick. She stood opposite him.

"Hi."

"Hello." Nick smiled, opening the passenger door to her. The girl waved goodbye to her friends before getting into the car. She sat in the passenger seat, looking over at Nick, who got into the drivers seat and started the car. "You look pretty."

"Thank you."

Nick glanced over at her with narrowed eyes. "Is that the outfit you wore on that date with nerdy Alex earlier this year?"

"Um, potentially." Madelyn pursed her lips.

"Outfit repeater." Nick scoffed.

"Outfit rememberer." Madelyn retorted quickly. Nick laughed softly as Madelyn looked out at the road. "So, where are we going?"

"Nowhere." Nick answered.

"What a rubbish date." Madelyn commented. "You know I hate surprised right?"

"Yes Maddie, I know." Nick sighed.

"Good."

"I got you something." Nick piped up after a moment of silence. Madelyn turned to him. Nick gestured to the bag on the floor. Madelyn picked the bag up, looking inside to see a small box with a bow on it. She opened it up to reveal a pair of pink heart shaped sunglasses. "I remember we spoke about each other's vibes. I said you give off heart shaped sunglasses and I know you don't have some so when I went shopping with Chad the other day because he wanted another jacket I saw them and thought of you."

"That was such a long winded way of telling me that I'm constantly in your mind." Madelyn teased with a soft smile. She put the glasses on her face. "How do I look?"

"Absolutely breath-taking." Nick replied instantaneously.

"Thank you Nick, I love them." Madelyn smiled.

The two drove down the road, mindless chatter between them as Madelyn tried to figure out where they were going. The boy pulled into a parking lot revealing to Madelyn that they were at some sort of funfair. Madelyn got out of the car, a smile on her face as she looked at the place in front of her.

"Welcome to the date of your dreams." Nick announced, stepping in front of Madelyn and gesturing around them.

Madelyn let out a small laugh at his antics. Madelyn grabbed the boy's hand, dragging him towards the funfair. The two spent the first few hours games in the arcade, the racing games, the shooting games, the claw games, any and all games, rivalling against each other as both their competitive nature was fully exposed.

The two were currently playing mario kart. They were sat in the seats, hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. Madelyn had her eyes narrowed slightly as she swerved around a corner, going over the finish line and ultimately coming first place.

"I win again!" Madelyn exclaimed loudly.

"Okay, okay." Nick sighed. "But I won at the basketball game so..."

"Shut up." Madelyn shook her head with a small laugh. "Should we give in our tickets and go on some rides?"

"Yes." Nick nodded, standing up.

Madelyn walked next to the boy, grabbing her phone from her pocket. She opened her phone, going onto the camera and holding her phone above them slightly, pressing record. "Hey dad, it's Mads again. Me and Nick are currently on our first official date and I am crushing him in all of these arcade games."

"That is not true." Nick objected, moving so he was further in frame. "We are both doing as well as each other."

Madelyn moved the camera closer to her face, whispering. "I'm so beating him."

"Maddie!" Nick exclaimed, shoving her slightly. The two went to the ticket counting machine, putting the tickets in and getting the ticket receipt before going over to the counter. "What do you want?"

"The octopus." Madelyn answered immediately.

Nick held an amused look as he looked up at the girl behind the counter. "The octopus please."

The girl got the fairly large red octopus down, handing it over to Madelyn, who smiled widely. The two thanked the girl, leaving the counter. Madelyn held her phone up once more. "What should we name the octopus?"

"Uhhh..." Nick thought for a few moments. "I'm not sure."

"What about Harold?" Madelyn suggested.

"Like Harry Styles?" Nick tilted his head to the side.

"You said it not me." Madelyn shrugged, smiling to the camera. She held the octopus up. "Dad meet our octopus Harold."

Nick laughed as they walked outside and towards the ferris wheel. They queued up for only a few minutes, the line moving quickly as they got closer and closer to the front. When they were there, the man opened the gate for them, allowing them to sit in the seat side by side before pushing the bar down so they didn't fall out or anything. He started up the ride, the two moving backwards up the ferris wheel before coming to a stop at the top.

Madelyn looked out on practically the entire town of Woodsboro, lights lit for Christmas as it was only in a week. She let out a small breath, marvelling in the beauty of her small town. The girl looked over at Nick, examining his features with a soft smile.

He turned to look at her, quirking an eyebrow. "What?"

"I love you." Madelyn told him.

"What?"

"I love you." Madelyn repeated. "I have since the day we met, and I've never told you that plainly. And I've lost one too many people to not tell you."

"I love you too, Mads." Nick told her. "And I'm not going anywhere."

Madelyn didn't say anything, turning back to face the view and leaning her head on Nick's shoulder, a soft smile on her face. The two spent the next few hours, laughing and going on every ride could bear without throwing up from the cotton candy they were constantly consuming.

By the time they had gone on their final ride of the night, darkness had consumed them for a few hours and the air was chilly. The two walked back to the car, Madelyn with her octopus in hand bumping into each other every few steps.

"I had the most fun tonight." Madelyn stated, glancing over at Nick.

"I'm glad." Nick smiled, opening the door for her. "I had fun too."

"Good." Madelyn leant forward, pressing her lips to his before getting in the car. Nick drove the two back to his house. They got to see all of the lights off except the living room light, the two sharing a confused look as they got out of the car wondering who was in the house since it wouldn't be Nick's parents. "Expecting anyone?"

"Nope." Nick shook his head before shrugging and walking up the porch towards the front door.

Madelyn followed after him, grabbing his hand as they entered the house. They walked into the living room to see Mindy, Tara and Chad all sat on the various sofas waiting for them while watching mamma mia on the television. The trio all turned to face the two, smiles growing on each of their faces.

"Hey guys!" Chad exclaimed.

"Hi." The two waved to the group.

"We were waiting for you guys to get back." Chad told them, noticing the confused looks on their faces.

"We're watching Mamma Mia, wanna join?" Tara asked.

"Of course." Nick nodded.

Madelyn laughed softly, moving to sit next to Mindy on the sofa. The girl offered Madelyn some of her blanket as she sat down. Mindy looked over at the girl, a smile on her face.

"How was the date?" Mindy wondered.

"It was so good." Madelyn answered, glancing over at Nick who was practically cuddling Chad on the other sofa. Mindy nodded, throwing part of the blanket over Madelyn's lap. Madelyn thanked her before leaning on the girl's shoulder, connecting her hands with Mindy and Tara's as they sang their hearts out to ABBA.

( 💌 ) isobel's notes
a cute chapter of madelyn and nick
harold is my fav character for reallll
their little family 🥺