[  here it is, the final chapter. and if you haven't read my other books, then you don't understand how amazing it is that I actually finished this fic. my adhd and tism make it incredibly difficult to continue if my hyperfixation switches up mid-writing (which is has I'm very into ted lasso right now and not scream). I came very close to putting this on hold after mickey but I stuck through it and am proud of myself even if the ending is kind of basic

thanks for sticking around, and also I've still got a ton of edits in the tiktok drafts and will keep posting until I run out  ]

☆︎

I DON'T THINK I'D BE ABLE TO GET BACK UP IF I GOT ON ONE KNEE.

☆︎ FEBRUARY 5TH, 2000 ☆︎

It was late when Virginia heard someone coming into her hospital room — or perhaps early, considering the sun was an hour from rising. At first, she figured it was a nurse coming to check her vitals, but the awkward shuffling followed by someone whispering 'dang it' under his breath when he bumped into a chair told her it certainly wasn't the night staff.

She peeled her tired eyes open to see Dewey in all his glory. He had a few bandaged wounds on his head and some gauze sticking out from under the collar of his shirt, but he was up and walking, so Virginia was instantly alert.

"Dew?" she asked in a sleepy tone. "What time is it?"

"Hey, shit, sorry for waking you," he whispered, coming to sit in the chair next to her bed. "It's, uh, it's about four, I think. Just got finished giving statements and getting patched up."

"What happened?" Virginia asked while reaching to cup his face, turning his head slightly to look at the new injuries he'd acquired. "How's Indy?"

"Indy's okay. She's alive," he told her, covering her hand with his own. He removed it and then kissed her knuckles gently. "It... it's all over, Sweetie."

She sat up a little bit better. "They stopped the killer? Just now?"

Dewey nodded and cleared his throat. "At Milton's mansion. Soph is — Sophia is dead," he told her, his eyes watering a bit.

"Shit," she mumbled, her chest feeling tight. Already, she was worried about how Jackson was feeling as well as his parents, who were a few hours away. "Please tell me the son of a bitch that did it is dead and not just locked up."

"Jackson shot Roman, and Indiana took out Luca."

Virginia hadn't been expecting that on top of the news about Sophia. She shook her head in disbelief, not so much caring about the first of the killers. "Luca was one of the killers?" she asked, her voice shaking a bit. "What? No, I mean, no! He and Zay—"

"He was the one to kill Isaiah. Soph too — drowned her while Roman was tying some of us up," Dewey told her sadly, squeezing her hand tighter. "Roman Bridger was Luca's half-brother on his father's side... and Maureen Prescott was Roman's mother. He was jealous of the life Sidney had, I guess, and wanted her to pay. Luca helped him every step of the way."

"Oh, god," she murmured, feeling a little sick. "Where's Indiana, Dewey? Tell me everything."

And so he did. Dewey went over everything from the moment he hung up with her on the phone — Jennifer, Tyson, and Angelina dying. Sophia being drowned. Him, Randy, and Gale being tied up and used as bait. Mark showing up and protecting Indiana and Sidney before they drew Roman away. And then he recounted all that Sidney and Indiana told Wallace while in the Emergency Room, which was on a different floor than the one Virginia was on.

"Indiana was stabbed in the side and leg, but she's getting stitched up along with Randy and Gale. Her hand is pretty messed up too," he told her. "And you know how big of a mess she makes in a fight — real bruised and cut up, but she'll be okay."

"How big of a fight are we talking?" Virginia asked, raising an eyebrow. He specified how Jackson killed Roman but left out the details regarding Luca's death.

"Gin, I've been on the force since I was nineteen," he said, lowering his voice. "That boy's body... I've never seen anything like it. Not Billy Loomis or Maureen Prescott. Not even Casey Becker, and she was hanging from that tree. But even still, I don't blame Indiana one bit for taking it so far."

"I need to see her," she said, frowning. She was meant to be released later in the afternoon.

"She won't be admitted, so I'm sure she'll come right here," he told her. "All of them will be out of the ER in a bit like me and then come by — Jackson, Sidney, Randy, maybe even Gale."

"Well, what about Kincaid?" she questioned. Dewey told her about him being stabbed and knocked out, but nothing after. She knew Indiana would be worried about him. "He alright?"

Dewey nodded. "He just got stabbed the one time, but it did some bad damage to his shoulder, it seems. They're gonna take him into surgery in a couple of hours. Then he'll be out of the field for a month or two while he heals."

"Damn," she mumbled, knowing how many important muscles and nerves were in the shoulder. Then she sighed, looking into Dewey's red-rimmed eyes. "Dewey, I'm so sorry about Sophia."

He shook his head and swallowed thickly. "It's my fault," he said, getting upset again, tears welling in his eyes. "You told me to come to the hospital. To not go to the house. If I'd of listened, Sophia would still be alive."

"Maybe so," Virginia said, knowing she couldn't lie. She gently brushed some of the tears off his cheeks. "But you can't dwell on what might of happened if you hadn't been there. Maybe Sidney, Jackson, and Indiana would all be dead too. Maybe not. But it is not your fault — it is Roman and Luca's fault. Understand?"

Dewey nodded his head sadly and then turned his head to kiss her palm that was cupping his cheek. "Well, I'm here now, at least," he said, sighing. "And I'm not the one in a hospital bed this time."

"Thank fuck for that," she muttered. Then it was Virginia's turn to sigh, knowing she had to share the news finally. "Dew, I've got to tell you something really important. It's why I wanted you to come back to the hospital so quickly."

"What is it?" he asked, tilting his head.

Virginia nervously toyed with his fingers, hoping he wouldn't be upset. "They did some standard blood work before I was supposed to get my MRI to see if there was any major muscle damage."

"Yeah, I remember," he said, beginning to frown and worry. "What kind of test? I mean, you're no - not sick or anything, are you?"

"No," she said, shaking her head quickly. "But, um, well, it's a little unexpected, but I'm... Dewey, I'm pregnant."

Dewey froze, his eyes going wide, resembling a deer in headlights. Virginia grew very tense, worried he was going to be angry or upset over it all.

"Preg... you're — oh, boy," he muttered, trying to collect his thoughts. Then Dewey pointed to himself, raising an eyebrow. "M - mine?"

Virginia couldn't help but let out a snort. "Yeah, it's fucking yours," she said, smiling a little. "I know this isn't the best time to break the news, but yeah. And no one else knows — I'll tell them with time."

Dewey's eyes began to fill with tears again, but this time, it was because he was happy. He couldn't help but smile and look down at Virginia's still-flat stomach, wrapping his head around it all. "Wow," he whispered.

"How are you feeling about this?" Virginia asked warily.

"I love you so much, Virginia," he said, grinning. Then he leaned in to kiss her softly, making her smile into it before he pulled back. "And I'm gonna love them just as much — for all my life, if you'll let me."

"Yeah," she said, winding her fingers in Dewey's hair while kissing him again. "Yeah, I'll let you."

☆︎

An hour later, Dewey came back to Virginia's room, this time with all the other survivors, who were all fixed up properly now. But what Virginia wasn't expecting was the huge amount of pink and blue balloons that were shoved through the door. Sidney was helping Randy carry them through since there were so many. Indiana then sprinted in, running right for her sister.

"Whore!" Indiana shouted, coming to lay next to Virginia, who scooted to the side of her hospital bed.

Virginia rolled her eyes and looked at Dewey, raising an eyebrow. "What was that I said about telling them with time?"

Dewey smiled sheepishly. He'd been too excited to keep the news to himself. "Sorry," he mumbled, not really feeling all that sorry.

"Congratulations, Virginia," Sidney said, putting the balloons in the corner. "I'm glad the baby wasn't hurt when Roman attacked you at Jennifer's."

"Me too," she said, rubbing her stomach.

Then Indiana picked up her sister's hand so that she could look at her flat stomach, leaning in close. "I can't believe Goblin is having a little born-out-of-wedlock Golem," she cooed.

"You are not calling them a Golem," Virginia said, scoffing.

"Well, I have to because I'm reserving Gargoyle for when I get a kid."

"You don't get a kid, Indy," Randy said with a smile. "You have them."

Indiana just grimaced and laid her head on the pillow. "My body has survived a lot of shit. No way am I putting it through a pregnancy too. I'll adopt one or wait for Virginia and Dewey to eat it and take on my role as godmother."

"Well, better make sure Detective Dreamy is alright with that," he teased. But then Indiana's expression fell. "What? Are we not allowed to call him that? Want me to pick a nickname based on him being stabbed too?"

She shook her head and sighed. "It's so over with Mark," she mumbled. "I mean, you saw how psycho I went last night. He's a fucking cop. He's probably considering having me locked up after all that. Someone always wants to lock me up after this stuff."

"That's not true," Dewey told her. "It was self-defense."

"No, stabbing him the first time was self-defense," she told him flatly. "We all know the rest was because I wanted him dead. That I was taking out five years of anger on him."

"Indy, if Mark thinks less of you after that, then it's his loss," Sidney told her, walking over to squeeze her hand. "You're a total fucking piece, and you know that."

"Who needs Mark anyway," she said, trying to ignore how much she was already missing him. And he wasn't even gone — just getting his shoulder operated on. "I've got you. I'll just steal you from Randy."

Not trusting that she was only joking, Randy quickly wormed his way between the two girls, making them laugh as he grabbed Sidney's hand and held it to his chest. "Hey, I put in the work to get here! No way am I going down without a fight, Winger."

"She'd win that fight," Virginia reminded him, making his face fall as everyone nodded in agreement, Sidney included. Then Virginia looked around, noticing an absence. "Where's Jack?"

"His parents got here about ten minutes ago," Indiana whispered, leaning her head on her sister's shoulder.

"How are they?" she asked, dreading the answer.

"Falling apart," Dewey admitted, who was the one to call and tell Mr. and Mrs. Martin about Sophia's death. He had to wake them up in the middle of the night and deliver the worst news a parent could imagine. "There's, um, a room near the morgue. The three of them are with each other there."

"I still can't believe she and Zay are gone," Virginia whispered, her eyes watering again. "It doesn't - doesn't seem real."

"Doesn't feel real either," Randy said, leaning against the wall. "At least Roman and Luca got what they deserved."

"They deserved worse," Indiana said, glaring up at the ceiling. Killing Billy had helped ease a lot of her anger over the situation, and killing Nancy was nearly as rewarding. But now, even with Luca gone, she was just still so angry at him and Roman because of every horrible thing that'd happened since Woodsboro was their doing. And butchering Luca did nothing to change the past. Tatum and Cici and Isaiah and Sophia were still gone.

"Um, I kinda don't think it was physically possible for Luca to receive worse," Randy told her in a careful tone. "Roman though? Yeah, he got off easy with Jackson getting him in the head."

"God, and he wasn't even the one to kill Soph," Indiana muttered. "Or Zay. The only two lives Luca took, and it was the two people that trusted and loved him to most."

"But they loved and trusted the side of him they knew," Virginia told her, wrapping her arm around Indy to hug her. "Just like you loved the Mickey you knew, and the rest of you with the Billy and Stu that you grew up with."

Sidney shut her eyes and rubbed over them tiredly. "God, I wish this fucked up shit would just stop happening."

"How about we all agree here and now to not make any new friends ever again?" Indiana asked, only partly joking.

"I second that," Randy chimed in, raising his hand. "And we'll keep Golum locked up in a tower so that it can't make friends either."

Virginia just rolled her eyes. "Do not call them an it, Randy."

☆︎

Mark slowly woke to the constant and steady beep of his heart monitor — he'd been in and out of consciousness for the first few hours after his shoulder surgery, the pain medication and aftereffects of the anesthesia making him quite tired. But this time, he knew he could keep his eyes open for more than a few short minutes.

He blinked tiredly up at the ceiling tiles a few times while shifting a bit to make sure his shoulder wasn't hurting. Then he looked to his right and was surprised to see Indiana at his bedside, curled up and sleeping in a chair that was pulled right next to him. He hadn't seen much of her at all before they took him back for the operation, so he wasn't expecting her to be there when he woke up either.

Indiana had cleaned up since the last time he saw her. The blood and grime was washed off, and her hair was damp and pulled back in a braid, telling him that she'd come right there after a shower and dozed off while waiting for him to wake up. She was also in clean clothes, specifically the blue t-shirt she wouldn't let him borrow at the start of the week.

Fuck, a lot had happened in a week.

Even though she was asleep, she didn't look restful. There were dark circles under her eyes, a frown on her lips — the bottom of which was split and healing — and a deep bruise on her left cheek from someone hitting her. The deep cut left by Luca on her throat had butterfly bandages over it and a few of the ones on her face and arms did too. Her right hand had a thick layer of gauze and bandages around it from attacking both Luca and Roman with a shard of glass.

Mark didn't wake her, knowing how exhausted they all were even if the position she was in didn't look all that comfortable. Though his silence was fairly pointless, as five minutes later, a nurse came to check on him and monitor his pain levels. By the time he left and despite the fact that both men whispered, it was enough sound to rouse Indiana from her power nap.

She rubbed her eyes with her good hand and sat up, letting her feet drop to the floor as she looked at Mark, seeing him awake.

"Hey, Detective Dreamy. How ya feeling?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Probably better than you," he admitted, still looking at all her injuries. "How are you feeling, Honey?"

She hesitated for a moment and looked down at her hands, trying to think about the good rather than the bad — those of them that were alive, what Virginia was going through, that the killers couldn't hurt anyone. "I'll get through it. I'm, um, unfortunately, a pro at getting over this kind of thing."

"I'm so sorry, Indiana," Mark said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry that we couldn't stop this before you lost more people that you care about."

"Not your fault," she mumbled. Then Indiana couldn't help but let out a mix between a scoff and a laugh. "You have no idea how glad I am that this isn't your fault. I know that - I know that I haven't been the kindest to you over the last few days—"

"Don't," he cut her off. "Don't apologize for something that's not your fault." Mark had let every unkind comment from her roll off his back, knowing she needed to protect herself rather than make sure his feelings weren't hurt.

Indiana stared at those green eyes that she knew she was growing to love, not wanting to say goodbye to him — but she had to. "Um, I guess I just wanted to see how you were doing before we left. And, um, to tell you that you mean a lot to me — more than I care to admit — and I'm sorry that things turned out like this."

"Hold on, hold on," Mark said with a deep frown. He then tried to sit up more, wincing as it pulled at his stitches.

Indiana leaned forward to push him back down. "Stop fucking moving," she instructed, feeling a bit like her sister. Then she used the remote on the side of his bed to raise his head up.

He continued to look at her with narrowed eyes. "Why does it sound an awful lot like you're saying goodbye? Like we aren't gonna see each other again?"

"Because we aren't," she said, swallowing thickly. "And I am."

"Like hell you are," he said in a firm tone. "I'm not gonna let someone like you just walk out of my life without good enough reason."

"And last night isn't reason enough?" she asked, scoffing. "Look, Mark, I'm not... the kind of girl that you want in your life—"

Mark quickly cut her off. "I think I'm old enough to know what I want, Darling," he said defensively.

Rather than make a joke about his age, Indiana just shook her head. "You can't want me still, not after seeing what I did to Luca. All I'm good for is getting my friends killed and ruining the lives of those left alive."

"You have ruined my life. I told you that yesterday," he reminded her. "But you'll ruin it even more if you disappear without even giving me a chance."

"Mark—"

"Stop it," he cut her off again. "You're not giving me any real reasons for quitting this. So, stop trying to talk me out of falling in love with you."

Indiana felt her heart pounding in her chest, beating on the bars of her ribs at the closest thing to a confession she could handle at the moment. The first and last person to ever fall in love with her was dead, so it was a little scary to hear the word leaving another man's lips.

It scared her because now that she knew for certain Mark wasn't a killer, she knew she'd fall in love with him too if he stuck around in her life. Rendering someone like Indiana speechless was so fucking hard, but Mark accomplished it.

"Now, if you don't want me around because you've changed your mind or the feelings you had for me a few hours ago disappeared, then fine," he went on. "You'll never hear from me again. But if you're running away because you think you're bad for me — because you think you scared me off by watching you kill Luca — then I won't let you go without a fight, because that's not a good enough reason."

She could tell he meant every word, which terrified her. How could he watch her butcher Luca, leaving him in even worse shape than Billy Loomis, and still want her in any capacity?

"And you're just fine with - with dating someone who is always gonna be the Ghostface Girl?" she asked him, quickly wiping her eyes as they began to water.

"You're not the Ghostface Girl," Mark said with a small smile. "You're Indiana fucking Winger — the same one I met and took home from the bar, which I don't regret for one second."

"I don't regret it either," Indiana admitted. "And I don't want to run from you. Not really."

"So, are you done fighting me on this?"

"On this," she said, the corners of her lips turning up. "I'm sure we'll fight about plenty of other stuff. I'm quite stubborn, Detective."

"Trust me, Miss Winger, I know," he said, smirking at her. "Our first fight can be about what to do on our first date when we both feel a little better."

"Oh, we're doing a double feature of our favorite horror films," she informed him, crossing her arms. "I'll let you decide on what we pick up for dinner, though."

"Ah, so I've reached the coveted level five?" he asked, looking quite pleased.

Indiana just nodded. "Though I don't really consider you a friend, at this point."

"I'd certainly hope not given the things you've let me do to you."

She looked over his handsome features, the beginnings of a five o'clock shadow coming in on his angular jaw. God, how could he look so goddamn hot while the rest of them looked wrecked and exhausted?

"A hospital bed is probably not the best place to start flirting," she said, grinning at him. "And I don't think either of us is in the shape to go riling each other up if we can't follow through."

Mark let out a huff and rolled his eyes, ready to be released, but that wouldn't be for a few more hours after the doctor checked on him. "Honey, I'm perfectly capable of following through," he assured her.

Just because the two typically liked it rough, which ended with knocked-over furniture and bruises all over, didn't mean Mark wouldn't have a good time fucking her slow and gentle until he was all she couldn't think about.

"Yeah, well, until I make sure you don't have horrible taste in scary movies, I'm not putting out," she informed him, very serious about it.

For some unknown reason, Mark grimaced. "Look, my favorite horror film isn't exactly one of the greats, okay? But with the violence I see every day, I'd much rather sit and watch Killer Klowns From Outer Space than some slasher that reminds me of work."

Indiana's mouth parted but she couldn't find the words as she looked at him in disbelief. Surely, he couldn't have been lying — her favorite movie wasn't something that could've been found in his file on her or even read about in a magazine interview.

Mark saw her expression and interpreted it as confusion. He instantly tried to defend it to her — after all, she wasn't gonna let him fuck her again if she hated the movie. "It's a little older, so I guess you've not seen it. The title sounds bad, but you've got to give it a chance," he said, speaking quickly. "It's horror, but it's funny. I love watching it. And I think you'd love my favorite part. They're drinking blood out of a crazy straw—"

His rant was unexpectedly cut off by Indiana kissing him suddenly. But he wasn't complaining as he used his good arm to gently hold the back of her head and kiss her gently in return.

When she pulled back, he looked at her with curious eyes, nose bumping into hers.

"What was that for?" he asked softly.

Indiana smiled and used her unbandaged hand to push some of his curls off his forehead. "You're too perfect for your own goddamn good, Detective."

☆︎ MARCH 1ST, 2000 ☆︎

It was hard, moving on from Luca's betrayal and the loss of Isaiah and Sophia. And truthfully, they never would move on completely. But at the very least, those that were left stuck together, and no one let Sidney hide out in her cabin all on her own.

In fact, it had never been so full before, and Virginia stepped out on the porch to get a moment alone from the shouting going on between Indiana and Jackson as Mark and Martha did nothing to calm them down as they argued about what movie to put in.

Virginia was starting to feel the effects of her pregnancy, getting tired easily and feeling her body change, but she wasn't scared, surprisingly. And neither was Dewey, thankfully.

While she leaned against the railing on the porch, she watched as Sidney and Randy ran around the trail just in front of the cabin, playing catch to make sure the dog got enough exercise. A smile on Sidney's face had always been rare since Billy killed her mother, so it made Virginia happy to see it now.

Soon, she was joined on the porch by Dewey, who greeted her with a kiss on the cheek before standing next to her.

"Look at them," Virginia said, nodding to the twenty-year-olds.

"Yeah, she's doin' great," Dewey said, smiling happily.

"Honest to god never thought Randy would make a move on her," she admitted.

"Oh, I think Sid made the move," he told her, laughing a little. Then Dewey cleared his throat and held out the item in his hand that she hadn't noticed yet. "Here."

Virginia looked at the copy of The Woodsboro Murders, an unimpressed look on her face. "What are you doing with that?"

"I asked Gale to sign it for you," he informed her.

"This book is shit," she told him while glancing back at the house. Gale Weathers was at the cabin too. After getting her word that she wouldn't be writing a third novel about what happened this time around, they reluctantly began to tolerate her. She even bought some toys and books to gift their unborn child. "I'll just sell it."

"Just read what she wrote," he said. "For me?"

Virginia let out a chuckle and took the book, expecting some kind of petty, personalized message inside meant for her. But as soon as she opened the cover, all she saw was the shining engagement ring that was sitting inside the carved-out pages.

"Shit," Virginia breathed out before looking at Dewey with wide eyes.

"I don't think I'd be able to get back up if I got on one knee," Dewey said with a sheepish smile, knowing he was still healing. "Will you?"

"Dewey," she whispered, her eyes beginning to water.

Dewey reached for the hand not holding the book. "This isn't just because of the baby, either, Gin. I've loved you for a long time now and I'm gonna love you for the rest of my life. And your sister is watching through the window 'cause I asked for her permission, so, Virginia Winger, will you marry me?"

Virginia took a second to glance at the window nearest to them and did in fact see Indiana with her face squished against the glass. Jackson and Martha were just as close while Mark and Gale were hanging back like regular people. But then Indiana banged on the window and nodded to Dewey, signaling for her to get back to the task at hand.

She quickly wiped under her eyes and looked at Dewey, trying to fight off an embarrassingly large grin. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll marry you, Deputy Dumbass."

Dewey let out a relieved sigh — as if she'd say fucking no — before taking the ring from the book, which Virginia carelessly tossed into the bushes. He slid it on her ring finger before she pulled him into a kiss, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

Inside, Indiana was squealing and stomping her feet excitedly. After all of Dewey and Virginia's ups and downs, they were finally gonna settle down.

With a smile, Jackson sat back on the couch, tucking Martha under his arm as he did so. It hurt, knowing that Sophia wouldn't get to see Dewey get married and become a father, but he was still happy for the couple. They all needed to cling to the good that was left in their lives if they wanted to survive all they'd been to.

Speaking of the good—

"Well," Jackson said, looking at Martha with a raised eyebrow. "Guess I'll be needing a date to the wedding."

"I guess you do," Martha said, trying to ignore how her face was heating up.

"What do you think, Meeks? I'll get a blue tie to match your eyes," he said, loving how the dimples in her cheeks deepened as she grinned.

"You've got yourself a date, Martin."

And now Indiana was jumping and squealing for a new reason. Mark finally intervened when she nearly knocked a lamp over. He put his hand on her lower back and veered her toward the kitchen.

"Alright, let's make the popcorn before you rupture Tate's eardrums," he instructed. 

"If I warm up enough, I can hit a whistle note," she informed him proudly. "Maybe I'll break it out at the reception."

"Well, I can't wait to see how annoyed your sister gets over that," he grinned while tossing Indiana the bag of popcorn to put in the microwave.

Once it was in and the timer was going, Indiana sauntered back over to Mark, who was leaning back against the counter. She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her chin against his chest, looking up at him. And with his good arm, he pulled her closer.

Mark was on paid leave until he was fully healed from the Ghostface attacks, and he took his little vacation right to Woodsboro, spending as much time with Indiana as he could, getting to know her outside of just hooking up when it was convenient.

And Indiana knew that when it came time for him to return to L.A., she'd follow him if he asked her to — and he was going to ask. It was only two hours from Woodsboro, so she could see everyone she cared about all the time.

She could go see them because Mark was teaching her to drive. Okay, Mark was forcing her to learn to drive because he didn't like that she had to rely on others for transportation, especially given all the dangerous situations she'd survived. But she was driving nonetheless and would be getting a car too once she had a license.

So really, she had no reason not to move away from Woodsboro. Sidney was staying at the cabin with Randy but would be coming and going more frequently. Dewey was moving into the house with Virginia.

And it wasn't as if the band was still around.

Jackson was sure he'd never pick up his guitar again, the memories of The Woodsboro Killers, the band that Sophia named and loved with all her heart too much to bear. And Indiana was sure that she'd never be in another band either — no one would ever be able to make the same magic that they did before Roman and Luca ruined it all.

So, maybe it was time for Indiana to find out who she was and finally take the time to recover from all she'd lost. She'd always make music — Rod said he'd always be there for her when she was ready, but it'd be a while before she was ready. Besides, she couldn't even play her guitar with her hand still healing.

But the first thing Indiana knew she needed to do was move on. She had to move on from Mickey Altieri.

No, she wouldn't let herself forget him. She'd probably never fall out of love with him either. But Mark was good and kind and so understanding of everything she'd been through. He was patient with her when it came to the little things she'd grown to hate about herself over the years — holding on to Mickey's things, wearing his locket, waking up crying from dreams about him.

Mark deserved someone that could love him with their whole heart, and Indiana desperately wanted to take the time to heal so that she could be that person for him.

"What are you thinking about?" Mark asked Indiana, who hadn't said anything as she gazed up at him. Her eyebrows were drawn in as she was thinking deeply, so he smoothed the lines out with his thumb before cupping her cheek.

"Oh, I'm just thinking about some guy," she said teasingly while leaning into his touch.

He let out a playful scoff at her answer, still as jealous as ever over the term. But honestly, he'd put up with her calling him that every damn day so long as it was every day of his life.

"You're on thin ice, Honey," he informed her.

"Hmm, don't tempt me or I might melt the rest of it," she said before standing on her toes to kiss him.

Though he couldn't quite handle her the way he truly wanted to, Mark still moved and pressed her up against the counter as he deepened the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, tangling her fingers in his curly hair as she did so, unable to keep from sighing happily against his mouth. She wouldn't ever get tired of kissing the older man, that she was certain of.

Mark's warm lips trailed from her mouth to her jaw, sucking on it gently. Her eyes fell shut as she pulled on his hair a bit, wishing more than ever that they suddenly weren't at Sidney's cabin and that the microwave wasn't beeping loudly, telling them the popcorn was done — and by the smell, also slightly burnt.

When Mark pulled back, he leaned his forehead against hers, looking into her eyes lovingly. There was an admission sitting on the tip of his tongue, one that he wouldn't let out for another five weeks, convinced that Indiana wasn't ready for his 'I love you' even if she was. But that was alright that he didn't say it because they unknowingly had a lifetime of saying it every day to each other in their futures.

"Alright, Detective Dreamy," Indiana said, her lips brushing his. When he leaned in for another kiss, she slyly twisted out of his hold and moved to the microwave to get the bag of popcorn to put in a bowl. "Let's go ruin Target Practice's day."

Eventually, Sidney and Randy finally returned to the cabin with Tate, having missed the exciting developments between Dewey and Virginia and also Jackson and Martha — though it was rather evident as one girl's hand had a shiny new ring on it and the other's was wrapped up in Jackson's.

"Inside," Sidney told Tate, who ran off to her water bowl. Then she shut the door and looked at the alarm, but much to Randy's surprise, she didn't arm it.

"You sure?" he asked, rubbing her back comfortingly.

She smiled and nodded. "I'm sure," she said before kissing him softly.

"Babe, we've been waiting for you," Indiana said, seeing them come in as she and Mark brought the popcorn to the living room. "We're gonna start a movie."

"What kind of movie?" she asked, looking back at them.

Mark and Indiana both shared a look and then glanced at Randy for a second before focusing back on Sidney. "You have to come and see," Mark said with a coy smile.

Randy instantly groaned and dragged his feet toward the living room. "It's fucking Killer Klowns, isn't it? I can't believe there's two of you now."

They just laughed at him, giving him his answer as he swore under his breath and snatched the popcorn bowl from Mark, who went after him to get it back. Sidney headed to the living room as well but stopped when she heard the hinges on her old door squeak. Looking back, she saw that it was wide open. But rather than get alarmed or paranoid, she just smiled and kept walking away.

"Sid," Indiana spoke up while moving to the door, which she shut and locked firmly. "Love the personal growth, really, but that's letting a shit ton of bugs in and the air conditioning out."

Sidney let out a laugh and held her hand out for Indiana. "C'mon. It's illegal to watch this movie without you."

Indiana grinned brightly and skipped over to her. "Tell Randy you're cuddling with me."

"But of course," she said, rolling her eyes. "You and me, remember?"

"Yeah," Indiana said softly while grabbing Sidney's hand, intertwining their fingers. "You and me."

☆︎

[ INDIANA AND FRIENDS MAY OR MAY NOT APPEAR IN A FUTURE SCREAM BOOK IF I DECIDE TO WRITE ONE IN THE FUTURE ]