if you never try, you'll never know
just what you're worth

The feeling of someone gripping Willa's arms gently caused her to jolt awake, and she jumped in shock as she looked up at who'd grabbed her.

Wes stood above her, a worried and upset look on her face as he stood on the side of her bed, uncaring that three sleeping bodies were in the room.

Willa's brows bunched together, her hand moving to her eyes as she rubbed the sleep away. "W-Wes?" She asked, sitting up in bed.

Glancing over, she looked to see Anna still sound asleep next to her. She then looked to the couch in her room where Oliver had fallen asleep, in the same position he'd been in before she'd fallen asleep as well.

"What are you doing? What time is it?" Willa asked after Wes hadn't said anything.

Noticing her brother's silence, she looked at him to see the same worried look on his face as before. Tears glistened in his eyes, the words he wanted to say failing to come out.

"What's going on?" She asked, sitting up further.

"It-it's Tara." Wes finally breathed, a stray tear falling down his cheek.

"What about Tara? What time is it?" Willa asked again, looking at the alarm clock on the side of her bed.

11:38 pm.

It wasn't too terribly late, meaning she hadn't been passed out for long. But it was odd that Wes had come to her room at almost midnight, talking about Tara without explaining anything.

"Tara was attacked," Wes finally managed to blurt out.

Willa's blood ran cold. Her eyes widened, before looking down at her hands that sat in her lap. She then looked at Anna, who was still sleeping soundly, and then to Oliver, who was the same. Both asleep, both unaware of the horrible, terrible news that Willa had just received.

"Sh-she was attacked?" Willa managed to breathe out, "By-by who? Who would do something like this."

"I don't know, not yet anyway. I just got the call from mom." Wes sighed, running a hand through his blond hair. "She's alive, thank God. I don't know what would've happened had the news been worse." 

"Is she awake? Are we going up there? What's going on?" The questions left Willa's mouth, one after another.

She stood from her side of the bed, not caring she was being insensitive to the sleeping girl next to her. She then moved past Wes and switched the light on, the action causing Oliver to stir awake from his peaceful sleep.

The boy sat up, rubbing his eyes before looking to see Wes and Willa with upset expressions. He didn't say anything, though, and instead just focused on reading their lips to try and gather what he could of the situation in front of him.

"We need to go up there!" Willa exclaimed, rummaging through her dresser.

"Mom specifically said not to," Wes mumbled. "Not until tomorrow."

"Fuck that," Willa spoke as she shook her head angrily. She looked at her twin, tears glistening in her eyes as she stared at him in disbelief. "Tara's our- your friend." She corrected. "She's been there since we've been little. Someone attacked her and I guarantee it was a sick fucking joke by one of those fuckers that like to dress as Ghostface for Halloween."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Wes muttered as he looked at the floor. He quickly shook his head, looking back up at Willa. "I doubt it. Those jokes have always been stupid harmless jokes, Wills. Tara's in the hospital - barely made it out, at that. This doesn't sound like the same sick jokes we've dealt with."

"Doesn't matter," Willa muttered, turning her attention away from Wes. "All the more of a reason to go visit her. She doesn't have anyone right now."

"We don't even know if it was a Ghostface attack. Mom said no anyways," Wes sternly said.

"Fuck what mom said!" Willa exclaimed.

That shout alone finally woke Anna up, who sat up as she squinted in the light. "What the fuck is going on in here?" Her eyes then snapped to Wes, who still stood on the side of the bed Willa had been sleeping on. "W-Wes? Hey..." She trailed, pulling the covers up over her chest as if she had been indecent.

"Hey," Wes mumbled, before turning his attention back to Willa. "Will, we can't. You know the moment we go up there mom's going to be waiting and will make us come home. She's up there with Tara, she's not alone. I just-" He stopped, holding a hand in the air. "I had to tell you."

"What about Tara?" Anna asked.

Anna and Tara hadn't been super close, but more so acquaintances. They weren't super friendly but were nice to each other when they were in passing or both groups hung out.

"She was attacked," Willa snapped, pulling at the shirt she'd been holding.

"What?!" Anna exclaimed, looking between the twins. "Why?"

"I don't know," Wes answered, looking at the girl. "She just- was, okay? I don't know what happened yet, and my mom said we can't go see her until at least tomorrow. She needs rest, it just happened."

"She can't call us with a bomb like that and not expect us to come up there," Willa argued.

Wes didn't respond, knowing Willa was just as stubborn as he was. Neither of them would change their stance on it, Wes immediately listening to his mother whereas Willa didn't care if Judy said no, she wanted to be there for someone she'd known almost her entire life.

Oliver stood from his spot on the small couch, glancing at Anna, then at Wes. His attention was then focused on Willa, who stood next to her dresser as she ran her hands through her hair.

He hadn't gotten the full story of what happened, he just read the words 'Tara' and 'attacked' in the same sentence. This was more than enough for him to catch onto the fact that something bad had happened, and it was affecting Willa greatly.

Touching her shoulder, he quickly caught her attention. Willa looked up at him with tears in her eyes, causing the light color of her eyes to shine a little brighter than they usually did.

His brows pushed together in concern, but he didn't move to say or sign anything. He just looked at her for a moment before pulling her in for a hug, a much-needed one that Willa would've never asked for.

Willa hugged him back, thankful for Oliver at that moment. She hadn't intended to make it seem about her, as this was probably bothering Wes much more than it was her. She just couldn't forget the last conversation they had, and how Tara had every opportunity to run to Wes and tell him everything about how Marcus had been treating her.

But she didn't. Even if they weren't that close of friends anymore, it was obvious that Tara still loved and respected Willa. And it was the same for Willa, as well. She'd do something like that for Tara if it meant something so big to her.

Willa pulled away, nodding at Oliver as if her way of thanking him. He nodded before moving back to his spot on the couch, pulling himself out of the conversation he had no involvement in.

"I know you want to go see Tara," Wes finally spoke up, stepping toward his sister. "And I'm sure she'd like to see us too. But mom said no, and she's kind of in charge whether we like it or not."

"Right," Willa mumbled, leaning against the dresser. She dropped the shirt to the floor, not really caring she'd just dirtied a clean top. "Assuming she won't let us skip tomorrow either?"

"Nope," Wes spoke as he pursed his lips. He stopped right in front of her, a hopeful look on his features. "But there's always after school. We can go together."

Willa nodded with a small smile before the smile eventually fell. "I... can't."

"Why not?" Wes asked.

"Marcus called me tonight," She started. "Said he wanted... he wanted to take me out." It was a lie, but Wes didn't need to know.

He didn't need to know that when Marcus called, it was because he was extremely angry she hadn't been giving him enough attention. He didn't need to know that he had somehow found out about Anna and Oliver staying the night, and how she was purposely excluding him. He didn't need to know the words that left Marcus' mouth, or about how he said she was going to spend the entirety of after school with him the next day whether she already had plans or not.

And knowing Marcus, he didn't care that Tara was now in the hospital. He was selfish enough to want her to himself, attack or no attack.

"Well maybe I can call you then," Wes mumbled. "When I go see Tara I can call her and you can talk to her then."

Willa nodded but didn't like the idea. She wanted to be there in person. She'd be there now if she were able. But knowing Marcus' wrath, she wanted to avoid that.

"Let's get some sleep, okay? I'll- I'll make a little pallet on the floor and sleep in here." Wes offered, looking at the ground.

Willa wanted to tell him no, knowing that she wouldn't sleep now that she knew about Tara. But she didn't want to worry Wes, and so she just nodded.

He walked out of the room to gather his things, leaving Anna, Oliver, and Willa in the room. It was silent before Anna decided to speak up.

"I can't fucking believe that Wes is going to be sleeping in the same room as me."

++

Willa sat at the table, her eyes focused on the ground in front of her. She paid no mind to Mindy and Christian's rambling, the two going on about something that didn't matter to her. 

Her mind was on Tara. She felt horrible. She didn't sleep a wink the night before, but after calling Tara's phone twice then calling her own mother three times and getting a scolding, she'd given up.

She wanted to go see her in the morning, but before she could even walk out of the door she'd received a text from her mom telling her to not get any ideas.

Then, when she got to school - she got the news that classes the next day were canceled. News got out, and it made her day ten times harder.

Wes reached out to Sam, Tara's older sister as Willa was too shaken up to do it. This left the others to chatter, the two groups merging due to Willa clinging to Wes' side as if her life depended on it.

But then again, maybe it did.

"Dear Panthers," The sound of the Principal's voice spoke over the intercom. "A reminder that all classes and school activities are canceled tomorrow due to public safety concerns."

Willa sighed, hugging her backpack closer to her chest. She glanced at the others, who were now patiently waiting to find out what Wes said as he'd just gotten off of the phone.

"That was Sam," Wes clarified, although everyone pretty much knew.

"She's coming?" Amber asked.

"Yeah," Wes shortly replied.

Amber, looking irritated, shook her head. "Watch everything get worse."

"Get worse?" Christian asked, scoffing.

Wes sighed as he looked to Mindy, who just shrugged.

"I think Sam being here would be a good thing," Willa mumbled. Her mind thought back to when Sam did everything she could to protect the wild kids, her heart only hurting worse.

"Yeah, sure." Amber sarcastically responded.

"Excuse you," Christian held a hand out to Amber. "Willa's right."

Amber went to respond, but the sound of someone talking in the distance caught their attention.

"All I'm saying is, with everything going on right now." That voice was Chad's, and Willa was quick to notice that Liv was with him.

Not surprising.

She sighed, looking back down at the backpack she hugged to her chest. 

"I think it's time we take our relationship to the next, most intimate level." At the simple sentence, Willa felt as if her guts were about to spill.

Christian side-eyed Alice, who'd been sitting next to him on her phone the entire time. He then looked to Willa, whose leg began to anxiously bounce up and down.

Chad sat at the table Willa was at - whether it be intentional or now, she didn't know - and Liv sat up on the top of it next to him. Her eyes cast on Willa, who didn't bother to look in her direction, a slight smirk covering her features before looking away.

Wes hadn't noticed any of this. He also didn't pay much attention when Willa scooted her body to the end of the table, putting a huge distance between her and her former best friend.

She felt sick. She felt like puking without any care that anyone else was around, and she didn't care that she looked a mess at the moment.

Clodagh and Jo walked up before them, sitting on the other side of the table as they were lost in their own conversation. They hadn't noticed Willa or her current state, as Clodagh had finally broken the anxiousness she got when she was around the boy next to her.

Willa didn't blame her, though, as she'd had a crush on Jo for a while.

"He wants me to accept his Find My Fam request," Liv clarified, looking at her friends at the other table.

Willa, although relieved Chad hadn't been talking about something else, still didn't like it. She didn't like them suddenly so comfortable being together around her, but then again she'd never really given them the chance before now.

But she needed Wes, she needed her brother. She needed him even if he didn't know how badly she was struggling.

"It's the smartest option with a would-be killer on the loose." He pointed a finger at his girlfriend. "You know exactly where I am and I know exactly where you are."

"Aw, you can stalk me like a jealous boyfriend!" Liv exclaimed.

"And you can stalk me like a jealous boyfriend!" Chad exclaimed in return.

Amber fake gagged, laughing as she looked between the couple. Her eyes then landed on Willa, her smirk growing bigger. "Is this because you two aren't having sex yet?"

"You actually bring up a very good point. Not that I want to sound like a stereotypical jock trying to get into his girlfriend's pants-"

"Okay!" Willa exclaimed, shooting up from her seat. Everyone looked at her, shocked by her sudden outburst. She took a deep breath as she grabbed her backpack from the ground, as it had fallen when she stood up. "Sex is the last thing we need to be talking about right now- with-with everything going on."

"Exactly," Wes agreed. "Don't do it Liv. There's a psycho out there. Make yourself harder to find. Delete social media, tape over your phone camera, disable GPS."

"Yes, thank you very much, Edward Snowden," Chad spoke, obviously not taking what Wes was saying very seriously. He then pointed between Willa and Wes, his smile falling. "Actually, your mother just interrogated me about Tara's attempted murder, which that was very fun."

Wes and Willa glanced at each other before looking in the area of the school buses, where Judy had arrived at some point during the day. She noticed her kids and tipped her hat, putting her attention back on the students standing in front of her.

Willa didn't say anything. She didn't want to, and even if she did - she didn't know what to say. Wes, however, was quick to respond.

"I'm sure she's asking everybody. I mean, Ghostface is back."

At the mention of the masked killer, Willa couldn't help but glance at Chad. He seemed to have the same idea as her, as he looked at her before Wes could even finish the statement.

Willa's bottom lip fell, her heart racing at the simple thought. Sure, she'd thought about it beforehand. She thought the entire night she was unable to sleep, when she and Wes were talking about people who previously messed with them wearing Ghostface masks.

"The press still isn't saying Ghostface," Mindy spoke up, glancing between the group. 

"My mom doesn't want to cause a panic," Wes responded.

"It'll get out by the second or third killing." Mindy then said.

"Jesus, Mindy, there wasn't a first killing. Tara's alive." Amber defended, grimacing at the other girl.

"Mmm," Mindy pressed her lips together.

"She could still die," Alice then said.

"True," Mindy agreed.

"What the fuck?" Amber asked, looking at everyone before back at the two girls.

"Or the killer could come back for her," Christian then added to the conversation.

Chad's eyes finally tore away from Willa's at the last statement. "Fuck! Guys, come on."

"I'm just telling you," Wes started, ignoring the statements about Tara. "Arm up, okay?" He glanced around. His eyes then stopped at his sister. "Including you, Willa. Pepper spray? Check. Taser? Check."

"Girlfriend repellent? Check!" Amber then named off on her fingers, causing a few laughs and giggles from others surrounding the two tables.

Wes sighed, looking down to his lap. "Nice. Thank you."

Willa looked at her brother with a sympathetic look, but before she could even think to say anything - had she even thought of anything to say - Liv spoke up.

"Holy shit."

She looked at her old friend, who was glancing somewhere off in the distance. Willa turned and held her hand up over her eyes to shield the sun, her eyes widening as she saw the familiar guy standing near his car.

"Is that Vince?" She softly asked, looking back at Liv.

Liv's face had fallen, not even seeming to care that Willa spoke to her. It was as if anything that happened between the two of them was forgotten, the sudden appearance of Vince vanishing any of it.

Chad leaned forward, getting a good look at the guy against the blue car. "Wait. Is that the creep you hooked up with last summer?"

"Yeah," Liv sighed, pressing her lips together in what seemed to be a mixture of disgust and embarrassment.

"He worked with us, Tara and Jo," Willa mumbled, assuming nobody would care to listen to her.

Chad did, however, and looked at her before back at Vince.

"He worked with Tara?" Amber and Alice asked at the same time, as the entire group - even Clodagh and Jo - stole numerous glances at him.

Amber and Alice looked at each other, Alice's cheeks turning pink before she cowered back behind Christian, feeling awkward.

Wes and Willa looked at each other, Willa crossing her arms over her stomach.

"He's been stalking my Instagram the last couple of weeks," Liv explained as Mindy took a photo of him on her phone. "He's been posting the creepiest shit."

Vince blew a kiss and waved at the group, not seeming to care they were all looking at him, judging him.

"Probably time to introduce him to Hobbs and Shaw." Chad held up each arm.

"You know, maybe it's not the best idea to incite violence right in front of the sheriff." Liv defended, leaning in closer to Chad.

Mindy looked back at Vince again, a look on her face that could only be described as confusion and worry. He spit on the ground as he walked around to the driver's side of his car, most of the group's eyes still lingering on him while a few others - including Willa - looked away.

"It looks like he's leaving, anyway," Liv added when Chad didn't say anything.

"Thanks anyways, boys." Liv smiled, hugging Chad closer.

Willa watched the entire exchange, doing her best to ignore the feeling in her stomach and chest. She breathed deeply, holding herself closer to her chest.

Hanging out with Wes' friend group wasn't ideal, especially since she had to see two ex-friends like this. She hated it, and even though part of her friend group was here with her, it didn't change how she felt. She missed the routine of hanging out with her friends, but being around Wes made her feel safe.

"Yeah," Chad smiled as well but winced shortly after when Liv grabbed his arm in thanks.

"Hmm," Amber began, looking at him suspiciously. "Tara says she fought back hard. You've got bruises."

Willa's head snapped to Amber, a look of disgust and confusion on her face. All thoughts of Chad and Liv together flew from her mind, her focus on the dark-haired girl next to her brother.

"It's from football practice," Chad defended.

"Oh, sure." Amber sarcastically spoke, rolling her eyes with a dry laugh. She began to say something else but was quickly cut off by Wes.

"Tara's awake. She just texted." He then stood from his seat, looking around. "I'm gonna go to the hospital are you guys coming?"

Hearing mixtures of yeses and no's, everyone began to disperse. Willa stood in her spot, continuing to look at Amber.

Amber had agreed to go with Wes and the others who were going to the hospital. However, just as she passed by Willa, the blonde grabbed her arm to prevent her from walking any further.

"What are you doing?" Amber asked, looking Willa up and down.

Willa pulled her further out of earshot from the others who stayed behind, one of them being Liv. She waited until they stopped to say something, her eyes never leaving Amber's. "What are you on about?"

"What are talking about?" Amber laughed, pulling her arm from Willa's grip.

"You were insinuating that Chad had done something to Tara, weren't you?" Willa asked, cutting straight to the point. Her mind then ran, and before Amber could begin to respond she spoke up again. "Wes said Tara just woke up. How do you know she fought back hard if she's been asleep?"

Amber smiled a smile that caused Willa to feel uneasy. "You know, your little puppy-dog crush on Chad is sickening. Sticking up for a potential Ghostface? That's low for you, Willa Hicks. I wonder what Wes and Judy would think?"

Willa's brows bunched together, caught off guard by the response.

"Watch your back, Willa. They always go after the weak ones first." Amber said with the same sickening smile, "And with the bad blood going on between you and Chad, you might be his next victim."

Willa didn't say anything, whatever confidence she'd had to confront Amber was dead and gone. She stood still as Amber just smiled bigger and walked away, catching up to the others who had gone to see Tara.

She began to think about the exchange, but before she could get very far an arm wrapping around her shoulders caught her off guard.

Willa jumped, before looking over to see it had just been Marcus.

"Didn't realize you were on this side of the building," He told her, dragging her along with him before she could greet him.

"I'm sorry, I was saying goodbye to Wes." She muttered.

"Right. Aaron's waiting at the car." Marcus didn't sound all too happy she'd been with her brother, but if he had a problem he didn't bother to say anything.

This relieved Willa, as her mind was too busy with thoughts about what just happened to worry about fixing things with Marcus.

"Heard about that Ghostface shit," Marcus mumbled. "Wonder what dumb fuck it is now."

"I thought-" Willa paused, before changing her mind. "Nevermind. Yeah, they're going to see her now."

"Let me guess," Marcus spoke as he stopped, turning to her. "You want to ditch me and go?"

"What?" Willa asked in disbelief. "No- no, I mean yes I'd like to see Tara but I didn't intend on-"

"If you want to keep ditching me for everyone else, Willa, this relationship isn't going to work out." He deadpanned, crossing his arms.

"What?" Willa asked, just the thought of breaking up enough to cause tears to fill her eyes. "No! That's not what I was even saying at all, Marcus."

He began to say something else, but her emotions grew too much to hold in. "Just because I'm genuinely upset that my friend almost died and is in the hospital doesn't mean I'm ditching you. I'm allowed to have friends, I had them before we got together. I dropped Chad just like you asked, I hung out with you today just as you asked, and I do everything you ask. Just because I'm sad doesn't mean I'm ditching you."

Marcus' lips pressed together in a thin line, and Willa knew she was pushing it. He was angry, but they were in public - and he rarely ever yelled or belittled her in public.

"You know what, Willa? Go see your friend. I don't think I want to be near you right now."

Although Willa wanted nothing more than to go see Tara, the way Marcus had said those words hurt her more. She was hurt, and confused, and her head hurt from the drama that had happened in just one day.

"Are- are you breaking up with me?" She asked softly, ignoring the hot tears beginning to fall down her cheeks.

"Maybe, we'll see." Marcus shrugged, seeming to not care he was talking about potentially ending their relationship. "Let's just say you'll have to try really hard to change my mind."

Willa didn't say anything, her thoughts even more jumbled than before. She watched as he walked away from her, making her assume their plans were off. 

Tears continued to fall, but she would just quickly wipe them away as she felt them. She turned and walked in the direction her brother and the others had walked off to, unsure of what to do.

Her arms were crossed over her chest, her mind slowly processing everything. How was it that as everything had begun to look up, they fell apart even faster? It was one step forward and three back, back and forth, up and down.

"Wills?" The sound of someone nearby asked, and she glanced around to see who'd called her name.

Looking over, she saw Chad standing there with what seemed to be a textbook in his hands.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, quickly wiping her cheeks. "Thought you went with the others."

"I started to but forgot a textbook, didn't realize till we were about to leave." He waved the book around, before bringing it down again.

Willa stayed in the spot she stood, her eyes on the ground as he walked closer to her. "What's going on? Thought you uh, had plans."

Chad refused to say Marcus' name. It was obvious he didn't like them together, especially because of the altercation on the first day of school. Sure, there were other reasons, but that was one of the main ones.

"Canceled," She muttered, her eyes on her feet.

Chad didn't say anything, and instead just stopped directly in front of the girl. It was silent between the two, considering they weren't exactly on speaking terms. They hadn't spoken since the day he'd shown up to her house, as she'd done her best to avoid him.

Chad glanced around, his eyes seeming to bounce around quickly. He then looked down at the blonde again, frowning when he noticed her attention was still on the ground.

"Willa, did Marcus say something-"

"No," Willa quickly cut off, looking up at him. "No." She told him again, although the tears in her eyes and the look on her face said otherwise.

Chad's mouth clamped shut, not having to expect the response. He knew she was lying - he could always tell when Willa was lying. But it was more than obvious she didn't want to talk about it, and so he didn't push it despite how much he wanted to.

"Come on," He mumbled, holding a hand out.

Willa stared at it but didn't take it. He sighed, pushing it out again. "Come on, Wills."

"What about Liv?" She asked softly.

She hadn't expected it to come out as aggressive as it had, but it was too late to take it back. Chad didn't seem offended, though, as he just reached out and grabbed her hand with his free one.

"We're going to see Tara, not run off in the sunset together." He told her as he pulled her along with him.

Willa stayed silent, not laughing the way she usually would. This concerned Chad, but he didn't want to push her past her limits. He just held her hand tighter as he led her toward Christian's car, where the boy kindly offered to wait for him.

He looked back at her once more before smiling softly, letting out a chuckle at his own thoughts.

"Although, that doesn't sound like the worst idea right now."

++

Pretty long chapter, hope you enjoyed it!