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𝙑𝙊𝙇𝙐𝙈𝙀 𝑰𝑰. ── CASUALTY OF YOUR DREAMS!

❛ 𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒚 ❜
─── chapter nine! ❫

009. ╱ ✹ ⠀⠀ ❝ dug yourself a grave,
no surprise. . . should've known better,
so now, it's time that you die in it. ❞

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     WITH A SHARP GASP, KYNLEE MANRAL SHOT UP IN BED. Her chest was rising up and down in a rapid fashion, her breath coming out in raspy wheezes as she blinked away the burning tears. Heart racing, she coughed in an attempt to clear her throat. Placing a hand over her heart, Kynlee gasped for air.

     Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Fuck.

     "Kyn?" Someone called in the pitch darkness of the dorm room. 

     Flinching at the sound of Anika Kayoko's delicate voice, Kynlee let out a shuttering sigh. "I-I'm fine, Nik," she reassured, but her gravelly tone indicated otherwise.

     "Kynzie?" A sleepy Mindy Meeks-Martin could be heard next over the white noise the small fan was making.

     Great. She'd woken up the entire room.

     Squeezing her eyes shut, the black-haired girl collapsed back on her mattress. "I'm fine, go back to sleep," she groaned, dragging her hands down her face.

     "Do you want me to call or text Chad? His dorm is just across the street," Mindy offered, now sitting up in bed with her phone screen lighting up the upper half of her body.

     For months now, Kynlee had been experiencing nightmares of what happened in Woodsboro, California, last year. Specifically, Ghostface and ex-girlfriend and former killer Amber Freeman. The nightmares weren't consistent, but they were reoccurring. So much so that her entire friend group was aware of them and how hard it was for the girl to fall asleep now.

     And she wasn't the only one. Each of the five survivors— Kynlee Manral, Chad and Mindy Meeks-Martin, and Sam and Tara Carpenter— had been coping with the repercussions of the Ghostface attacks and killings. Whether that was physically, mentally, emotionally, all three, or ignoring it altogether.

     For Tara, she'd been experiencing nightmares too, but hers were much less common. The nightmares never had anything to do with Ghostface either. They were centered around the fear of losing more of her friends. She'd have them here or there but never mentioned them to anyone but Kynlee. Her preferred coping mechanism had been ignorance— acting like the last year was just a small glitch in the universe and not dealing with the emotional fallout.

     For Sam, she'd gone into defensive mode and became both paranoid and protective. A perfect example was her following her sister and the other surviving teens to NYC. She was much more selective about whom she let into her and Tara's lives and went a little overboard at times with how protective she was. It could be invasive.

     For Chad, he'd also grown more protective of his loved ones and tended to worry about them more than before. Especially when it came to Kynlee and having lost her almost twice. He'd become rather attached and dependent on her and vice versa. It wasn't to a point where it was unhealthy or affecting either party negatively, but it was noticeable. It was already noticeable when they were just best friends, but it'd been turned up a notch after the attacks.

     Out of everyone, Chad had the longest recovery time when it came to physical repercussions. He had to attend physical therapy for two months due to the stab wound he'd received in his thigh. Luckily, he didn't have to go through it alone. Kynlee was there the entire time and attended every appointment with him. Every step of the way, they were there for the other.

     During this time, the two weren't officially together but were close to it. They took their time and chose not to date until they'd both processed and dealt with the grief that came from Amber and Liv's deaths. By Thanksgiving, Kynlee was the one to make it official. Since then, they'd been happy and content in their relationship.

     Lastly, Mindy was the only one who'd been dealing with the aftermath the best. Given her love for horror movies, understanding of them, and ridiculous ability to compartmentalize— she was able to accept what happened and move as far past it as she could. She was focusing on her film studies degree and enjoying their new lives in New York City.

     Overall, the last year has been extremely difficult. There were lows and highs, and sometimes those lows outweighed the highs.

     Thankfully, the group was no longer in Woodsboro, which helped greatly. After finishing their senior year and graduating, the teenagers and Sam moved to New York City. To stick together, Kynlee, Tara, Mindy, and Chad all decided to go to the same college— Blackmore University. It worked out well too since Blackmore had great programs for each of their majors.

     College had been going well for the most part.

     Sam and Tara moved into their own place with Quinn Bailey, a new addition to their friend group. Meanwhile, Kynlee and Mindy were sharing a dorm together, and Chad was sharing a dorm with Ethan Landry, another new addition. He didn't engage with any of them except for Chad or Kynlee most of the time, but he was welcomed nonetheless.

     Then there was Anika Kayoko. Mindy had met Anika on the first day of classes and the two girls had been head over heels for each other since. Anika spent the night a lot at Kynlee and Mindy's shared dorm, hence why she was there this morning.

     "No. No, it's okay. I'm fine," Kynlee breathed, knowing damn well that she was never going to go back to sleep unless Chad was there. Usually, they took turns spending the night in the other's dorm, but didn't yesterday or tonight. There was no reason why, they just hadn't.

    Mindy rolled her eyes. "If you say you're fine one more fucking time, I'm going to hit you with a pillow," she threatened.

     Reading over her girlfriend's shoulder, Anika yawned. "Chad texted back. He'll be over in five," she announced, pressing a quick kiss to the side of Mindy's neck.

     Relief flooded her nervous system and the tattooed girl relaxed against the bed. "Dammit," she muttered to herself. She didn't want Chad to worry about her any more than he already did, but she wanted him there.

     "Also, before you ask, it's two-twenty-nine," Anika added, dragging her girlfriend back under the sheets.

     "And we're going back to cuddling and sleeping. So, if you and Chad want to have sex while we're asleep, you better go to the bathroom." Mindy advised, wrapping her arms around Anika.

     Kynlee's jaw slacked and she sat back up. "You're disgusting," she hissed, flashing her the middle finger even if she couldn't see it.

     "Whatever."

     That was the end of the conversation and Kynlee curled her knees to her chest, securing her arms around them. She rested her chin on top and tried to erase the image of Ghostface standing over her in Amber's backyard from her mind.

     Soon there was a soft, rhythmic knock at the door. A slight smile tugged at Kynlee's lips. There was only one person she knew who knocked like that.

     Untangling herself from the bed sheets, she quietly made her way to the entrance. Thank God she and Mindy used a fan for white noise. They got it a few weeks ago when the commotion from the other college students at night became too much and Mindy cussed them out.

     Unlocking the door, Kynlee opened it a crack to be blinded by the fluorescent yellow lights on the ceiling. She squinted and quickly held an arm up to shield herself. "¡Ay, Dios mío!" she mumbled, stepping aside to let Chad in. Gently shutting and locking it, she exhaled in relief when the light disappeared. The darkness engulfed them.

     Soon, a set of warm arms snaked around her from behind and every muscle in her body relaxed. The back of her body was pressed flush against Chad and Kynlee leaned her head on his chest. She placed her hands on top of his. The beat of her heart finally returned to normal and she melted into the embrace.

     God, he had her in the palm of his hand without even doing much.

     Nuzzling his face into the crook of Kynlee's neck, Chad pressed two kisses to her skin. "I got you, sweetheart," he whispered, already aware that she'd had another one of her nightmares.

     Neither knew how long they stood there for. It could have been seconds or minutes, but the couple didn't care.

     Breaking the silence between them and moving, Chad trailed his lips up the side of her neck to below her ear. "Ready?" he murmured, kissing her temple. He waited until Kynlee responded with a nod. "Come on." Unraveling his hold on her, he took her by the hand and led her toward her bed. At this point, he'd been over and spent the night enough to know how to navigate his way in the dark.

     When they reached the bed, Chad let go and tugged off the sweatshirt he was wearing. Kynlee watched him silently, grateful that Mindy knew her better than most, and got Chad to come over. She likely would have later if she couldn't fall back asleep. On the few nights that they didn't have sleepovers, they each found it challenging to sleep without the other.

     It didn't need to be said that Kynlee slept better whenever Chad was there and vice versa. Since they were kids, they always slept better when they were near each other. It was an unexplainable fact they found comfort in. Now that they were dating, however, that was never more accurate.

     A small pull at the hem of Kynlee's shirt brought her back to life and she blinked. A kiss was placed on her forehead and she gave Chad another small nod.

     His movements were slow and gentle as he removed her top, leaving her in a bralette. Then, he slipped his sweatshirt over her head and she slid her arms into the sleeves. Brushing her hair out of her face and taking the hood off her head, Chad smiled down at her. "Good?" he asked softly.

     Kynlee's eyes darted between his and an unconscious smile appeared. "Bueno," she replied, curling her fingers around the fabric of his t-shirt. Standing on the tips of her toes, she kissed him. Immediately, Chad grabbed onto her hips. She moved her lips against his deliberately slow, savoring the feeling and taste.

     To his dismay, Kynlee pulled away much too soon and Chad kissed her one more time. "Come on." The words were barely audible before he pulled back the covers and motioned for Kynlee to lie down first.

     Once she was comfortable and situated, she held out her arms and motioned for him to join. Chad slid underneath the sheets and faced her to see she was staring at him. "Do you want to talk about it before trying to fall back asleep?" His tone was reassuring and kind.

     Oftentimes, nightmares left the black-haired girl in a state of distress, and Chad knew what she was like. Whenever Kynlee was stressed or worried, it would naw at her insides and make her restless. Sleep became the enemy and she lost the ability to focus on any and everything. So, whenever she woke up from a nightmare, she could only fall back asleep if he was there.

     "It's just the same one I've been having since June," she sighed, unintentionally tensing up at the image of Ghostface standing over her with a bloodied knife.

     "The backyard?" Chad frowned deeply, brushing some hair out of her face. A single nod answered him and he brought her into a tight hug without hesitation. The gesture was instantly returned. "It's okay. I'm right here. You're safe; we're both safe; everyone's safe." He whispered those three sentences in her ear after every nightmare. They usually helped, and thankfully, they did tonight.

     Every few seconds, Kynlee felt her boyfriend kiss the top of her head and squeeze her a little more. It wasn't until she fully relaxed and all the tension in her body was gone that he pulled back.

     "Do you want to sleep or do you want to watch SpongeBob under the blankets?"

     "We really need to expand our binge-watching options."

     "Yeah... I know."

     The pair broke into quiet giggles and the sound of the fan masked their conversation.

     "I want," Kynlee laid her hands on his chest and smiled as their noses brushed, "I want to try and sleep. I... I don't know if I'll be able to..." she trailed off when Chad's hand slipped under the sweatshirt and he began drawing random shapes on her bare skin.

     Chad kissed the tip of her nose, the skin between her eyebrows, above her upper lip, her chin, and lastly on her lips. "Try to relax and close your eyes, all right? I'm not going anywhere."

     Their legs tangled together, and Kynlee adjusted so her backside was facing him. She tended to move a lot in her sleep, and Chad's solution was to have her be the little spoon while he held her as close as humanly possible. It was the only way she could settle down and sleep peacefully. He loved it, though.

     Slowly closing her eyes, Kynlee uttered, "Thank you."

     "Of course," Chad murmured, kissing her cheek. The feeling of their hands intertwining brought a smile to his face and he relished in it. This, right here, was everything he ever wanted. She was everything he ever craved and he would never take these moments for granted. "I love you, Kynz."

     Every time he told her that she still blushed. It made her heart race and sent shivers down her spine. "I love you, C." She never meant those words more in her life than when she said them to him.

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❝ you know i'm 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 at 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒔,
you know that you're my 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔. . .

and i'll 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 repeat 𝒊𝒕! ❞

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¡Ay, Dios mío! ━━ Oh, my God
Bueno ━━ Good

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     WELCOME TO VOLUME TWO, EVERYONE!!!!!

     this is a lil bit of a shorter chapter and mini introduction to the characters + where they are now before we jump into the chaos of scream vi!

     scream vi is in my top three favorite movies in the scream franchise. i am so excited to get started &&& for the bloodshed to begin.

     i hope everyone is excited too!

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˒⠀𝑹𝑬𝑴𝑰𝑵𝑫𝑬𝑹. . . ▬⠀⤸

Thank you all for taking the time out of your day to comment on this story. It means a lot and helps the story be spread to a broader audience &&& allows me to grow as an author. All I ask is that people vote on each chapter, please. As a creator, it takes time to write and develop stories. So please, vote on every chapter. It means a lot more than I could ever express.

Don't forget to vote & comment!

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˒⠀𝑪𝑶𝑷𝒀𝑹𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻. . . ▬⠀⤸

❝ All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be
reproduced, distributed, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, including
photocopying, recording, or other
electronic or mechanical methods,
without prior permission of the author,
except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in critical reviews and
other noncommercial uses permitted
by copyright law. ❞

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