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𝙑𝙊𝙇𝙐𝙈𝙀 𝑰𝑰. ── CASUALTY OF YOUR DREAMS!

❛ 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕 ❜
─── chapter eleven! ❫

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

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

     THREE TABLETS OF ADVIL SAT IN THE PALM OF KYNLEE MANRAL'S HAND AND HAD BEEN FOR TWO MINUTES. She had every intention of taking them but spaced out. It wasn't on purpose; she just couldn't concentrate on anything for more than a few minutes. Usually, she took one tablet of Clonidine every night to help with her ADHD and sleeping. However, considering she was still a little intoxicated and high, she didn't want to mix too many substances in her system. Advil would be the only medication she took tonight.

     "Are you..." Tara's words got cut off by a grunt as she messily changed out of her pirate costume. The shorts she wore got caught around her ankles while she was taking off her top with her vest still on. So when she took a step to steady her balance, she tripped and fell. "Ow."

     Kynlee failed to hear the girl. She was too busy zoning out and staring at the tablets.

     "Are you gonna take the medicine or not?" Tara called from where she lay on the carpet, arms, and legs sprawled out. She'd given up changing her clothes.

     The question broke through the invisible wall and the tattooed girl blinked. "I am. Drink your water," she instructed, tossing the medicine into her mouth and washing it down with her own glass of water.

     "I can't."

     "Why not?" A loud laugh escaped Kynlee when she turned around to see Tara on the floor. "¡Ay, Dios mío! Are you still so drunk that you can't change your own clothes?"

     Pouting, Tara narrowed her eyes. "I tripped over my shorts," she mumbled, pushing herself into a seated position.

     Kynlee placed her water on Tara's dresser, shaking her head. "All right, K's coming to the rescue," she sighed, grabbing a pair of jeans and a random black and white striped long-sleeve shirt. She walked over to the black-haired girl and crouched down, placing the outfit on the floor. "Arms up," she motioned for Tara to raise her arms so she could take off her shirt.

     It took a few minutes combined with a bunch of cursing in Spanish before Tara was fully dressed and back on her feet. "Why am I wearing jeans?" she questioned, examining the clothing she'd been put in.

     "I grabbed the first set of pants I saw in your dresser drawer," Kynlee shrugged, tugging the sleeves of Chad's Blackmore University sweatshirt over her hands.

     Once the group arrived at the Carpenter and Bailey residence, Kynlee, Mindy, and Anika went to Tara's room to change. Chad and Ethan took turns changing in the bathroom. They'd all dropped off their belongings early; everyone had planned to spend the night when they were out costume shopping earlier. Mindy and Anika changed the quickest and went to the living room to watch TV. Meanwhile, Kynlee and Tara stayed behind to sober up some more and change. Then, they still planned on watching cheesy telenovelas with Chad, who was making them hot chocolate. He'd managed to convince them not to get wasted any further. Not after the eventful night they've already had.

     "Fair enough," Tara mimicked Kynlee's shrug and plopped on the end of her bed. A glass of water was held out to her and she scrunched up her nose, shooing it away. "Fuck, no. I'm not drinking that. I'm waiting for our hot chocolate."

     Kynlee rolled her eyes and set it down on the dresser.

    Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and Quinn Bailey, Sam and Tara's roommate, poked her head in. "Hey," she said softly.

     Both girls glanced up and gave her warm smiles.

     "Hey Nelly," Kynlee leaned against the dresser, a few feet away from the bed, and motioned for the redhead to come in. Nelly was the nickname she'd coined for Quinn shortly after meeting her when the Woodsboro group moved to New York during the summer semester.

     Quinn fully opened the door and rested against the frame of it. "Hi Nee," she blew Kynlee a kiss. "Hey, I'm sorry I told Sam where you went," she apologized directly to Tara, frowning.

     "It's fine," Tara replied, waving a hand dismissively in the air. "I just... She's just all the way up my ass. Like usual."

     Crossing her arms over her chest, Kynlee shivered as a blast of cold air hit her. She glanced up and glared at the air vent she stood under. No matter how many times she came over, she always stood under that stupid air vent.

     "I know what it's like when they hold on too tight," Quinn admitted, walking in and taking a seat at Tara's desk. She placed her phone on a stack of textbooks and slid her hands under her thighs.

     At the reply, Kynlee's ears perked. "Your dad?" she asked, averting her attention away from the ceiling.

     Over the course of time that she'd known Quinn, she'd mentioned here and there that her family suffered the loss of her older brother in a car crash last year in September. He'd died with his girlfriend. Quinn never shared what his name was, but nobody pushed on the matter. It was none of their business and the Woodsboro crew knew what it felt like to lose somebody they loved.

     Nodding, Quinn pressed her lips together. "After we, um... lost my brother, he wouldn't leave me alone," she chuckled, focusing on her recently painted toenails with tears obscuring her vision. Kynlee and Tara shared frowns. "He even transferred to the NYPD when I got into college, so... Stalker much?" A forced yet gentle laugh left her lips and she tilted her head to the side.

     Tara snorted and re-did her ponytail since most of her hair had fallen out while she'd been wearing her silk bandana.

     "Very much a stalker," Kynlee agreed, making her way next to the redhead, "but he bakes really good cookies whenever you two get into fights. So, that's sweet."

     The comment made the others laugh.

     "That's true," Quinn giggled when Kynlee kissed the top of her head. There was a rumble in her stomach and she knew that she needed to eat. She hadn't eaten anything since lunch and there wasn't much food in the apartment. Grocery shopping for the week usually happened on Sundays, and it was only Friday.

     Another knock was at the door and the girls looked over to see Chad had arrived. Two cups of steaming hot chocolate were in his hands and he was smiling cheekily. "Two hot chocolates, as requested," he announced.

     Grinning at the sight of her boyfriend, Kynlee pushed off the desk and walked over to him. "Hey nerd," she greeted, squishing his cheeks with her left hand. Chad puckered his lips and she quickly kissed him.

     "Oh, finally," Tara sighed dramatically, throwing her head back in relief.

     Glimpsing over his girlfriend's shoulder when she let go of him, Chad narrowed his eyes. "Hey now! Perfection takes time, all right?"

     Tara smirked, shaking her head. "Yeah, sure. If you say so."

     Feeling her stomach rumble for a second time, Quinn puffed her cheeks out. "Well, I'm going to go order some food," she announced, standing up and pulling her shorts down an inch. "Any requests?" She had a feeling that she already knew what their reply was going to be.

     In unplanned unison, the three said, "Japanese."

     She knew it.

     Quinn grabbed her phone off the desk. "Sakagura?"

     "You know it." Chad grinned, stepping further into the room so the redhead had space to leave. He handed Kynlee the mugs and she passed one to Tara.

     With a two-fingered salute, Quinn gave them a crooked smile before disappearing down the hall.

     A flash of Wes giving Kynlee the same salute flashed in her mind and Kynlee inhaled deeply. Every time Quinn did it, she always thought of her favorite boxed-dyed blonde boy. She still missed him and thought about him at least five times a day. Part of her was convinced that she'd never stop missing him.

     "Chad..."

     The sound of Tara's voice caused Kynlee to snap back to life. Blinking, she noticed that Chad had taken Quinn's spot on the chair and pulled her onto his lap. His arms were secured around her waist and his chin was resting on her shoulder. In her hands, she was cradling the cup of hot chocolate.

     "Thank you for not letting me go up those stairs," Tara paused and let out a sigh, looking at her own drink. "Yeah, I don't know. I think I was just more messed up than I realized."

     Twisting her lips to the side, Kynlee wanted to grab her hand, but they weren't close enough.

     "Survivors got to stick together... you know." Chad replied, briefly lifting his head from Kynlee's shoulder. The three shared small smiles. "And besides, you can do a lot better than Date Rape Frankie."

     Scoffing, Kynlee nodded vigorously. "Fuck yeah, you can," she agreed immediately, darting her gaze from Chad to Tara. "T, you are out of this world special. Don't lower your standards for an average white boy whose fraternity has the shittest taste in music."

     The last part of her sentiment made Tara laugh. "Thank you," she said, shaking her head slightly. "I'll remember that."

     Unexpectedly, Anika appeared in the doorway of the room. "Hey, guys..." she trailed off with an uneasy expression. The trio raised their eyebrows expectantly. "There's something you need to see." None of them moved and she huffed. "Like, right now."

     Tara was the first to leave, downing her hot chocolate as she followed Anika. There was a tiny pep in her step and she was humming quietly. She was visibly in much better spirits.

     Planting her feet on the ground, Kynlee removed herself from Chad's lap. She quickly drank more than half of her mug and placed it on the desk as Chad got up. They would likely be back in a few minutes and she'd drink the rest then.

     Without a word, the pair intertwined their fingers and began walking down the hallway.

     Absentmindedly glancing over at Chad, Kynlee couldn't help but catch the visible bruising on his neck. "Nice hickeys, by the way," she chuckled, poking at the visible red and purple splotches. The collar of his shirt covered most of them, but a few were poking out.

     Snorting, Chad tugged her close and kissed her temple. "Some hot cowgirl gave them to me. You like them?" he asked, swinging their hands back and forth.

     "I do, I do." Kynlee confirmed before whispering in his ear, "I'd like it more if I had some to match."

     At her comment, his eyebrows raised. "Oh, really now?"

     Nodding, the tattooed girl smirked. "Yeah."

     Upon entering the living room, Anika returned to where she'd been previously sitting on the couch with Mindy. Her girlfriend would have welcomed her with open arms if she wasn't so fixated on the live news report. Quinn sat with them on the very end, knees curled up as she stared at the TV, too. Across from them, Ethan sat on one of the two individual cushioned chairs. He was also focused on the news.

     Tara, Kynlee, and Chad noticed all of this and dragged their eyes to the television. A male reporter was on screen and holding a microphone, reporting live outside of an apartment complex. Red and blue lights were flashing against the brick building, illuminating half of his body.

     On the bottom of the screen, it read: VICTIMS IDENTIFIED AS BLACKMORE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS.

     Tara's heart sank and she dropped into the nearest chair. It was the second cushioned seat. "Shit," she muttered, resting her forearms on her thighs. Directly behind her stood Kynlee and Chad.

     Chad glanced around the space, noticing that someone was missing. "Where's Sam?"

     "Downstairs," Mindy answered, glancing back at her brother. "Call her up here."

     Releasing Kynlee's hand, he jogged toward the front door and opened it, exiting. "Sam! Get up here right now!" Chad shouted in the distance. He was about five feet from the doorway of the apartment, bending over the railing of the staircase.

     "Does that say what I think it says?" Kynlee double-checked, looking at her friends for assurance. This was a joke... right?

     Ethan, Tara, and Mindy soundlessly nodded, eyes glued to the television.

     Anika was the only one to properly acknowledge her. "Yeah..." She regretfully pressed her lips together.

     At the sound of approaching footsteps, Kynlee turned to see Chad making his way back inside. Her eyes stayed locked on his figure until he was next to her.

     A small huff escaped his lips and Chad crossed his left arm over his torso, resting the elbow of his right arm on top of his left. A curled fist was brought up to his lips and he leaned against it, staring at the live news report. Kynlee wrapped an arm around his waist and rubbed his side comfortingly. Everyone was doing their best not to assume anything.

     "I'm standing in front of the apartment building..."

     "What's going on?" Sam asked, entering the apartment with a man unfamiliar to most of the young adults. A cluster of solemn expressions painted the living room.

     Chad briefly pulled his fist away from his chin and pointed at the TV, indicating that Sam needed to watch it.

     "...where the mutilated bodies of two students..."

     A quiet gasp left her mouth and Quinn pointed at the man who lived down the hall— Danny Brackett. "Cute boy," she noted, breaking into a crooked smile. "Nice."

     Sam playfully rolled her eyes at the comment before placing her attention on the TV. The headline made her blood run cold.

     "...were discovered. Their names have just been released by police— Jason Carvey and Greg Bruckner."

      Jaw-dropping, Mindy's eyes widened. "Holy shit, that's that dude from our Film Studies class!" she exclaimed, looking at Tara. Off to the side, Ethan glanced at her. "The one obsessed with Argento."

     Pictures of Jason Carvey and Greg Bruckner appeared on the screen. Each photo appeared to be taken from a high school yearbook.

     Quinn tilted her head and glimpsed at the tattooed girl. One out of the two boys looked familiar. "Nee, isn't Greg in our Ceramics class?"

     Kynlee nodded meekly in confirmation. There was a pit of dread in the bottom of her stomach and she couldn't shake it. Something didn't feel right.

     "Also found at the scene were various Ghostface costumes, a character popularized by the Stab movie franchise."

     And now she knew what that something was.

     Slowly, every Woodsboro survivor in the room turned to each other. Mindy kept her eyes on Tara and Tara looked behind herself at Sam while Sam looked at Kynlee and Chad, noticing their blanched countenances and stiff figures. Kynlee was focusing on the live footage and she swallowed harshly.

     Fuck this.

     "Pack a bag." Sam's voice drowned out the rest of the report, and she marched straight to the kitchen. "We leave in ten."

     Tara mumbled a string of curse words in Spanish under her breath as she stood up. "Sam!" she called, chasing after her sister. "Wait, Sam!"

     The twins and Kynlee shared similar looks while the others watched the Carpenters in the kitchen. This wasn't going to bode well.

     "We're getting out of the city," Sam stated.

     Danny blinked in confusion, narrowing his eyes. "What?"

     Leaving his girlfriend's side, Chad gave Danny a forced smile. "Thank you, suspicious new guy," he placed his hands on Danny's chest and began guiding him to the front door, "but we got it from here. Have a good night. Get home safe. Go, go, go, go, go." Chad shooed him out of the apartment, promptly locking it up.

     "Sam! No!" Tara protested.

     As the conversation got louder, Kynlee poked her head into the kitchen to see Sam sifting through the knife block. Shit. "¡Ay, Dios mío!" she muttered when the eldest Carpenter picked the biggest one. Instantly, she shuffled out of the way and to where she was positioned originally, to the left of the seat that Tara had been in. Chad joined her, reconnecting their hands.

     "Sam, wh— Woah." Tara's eyes widened and her head reeled back an inch. Sam pivoted and stalked toward her, knife in hand. "Hol-Hold on."

     "Come on." Sam went straight past her and re-entered the living room.

     "No, wait, let's talk about this for a second," Tara yelled, following after. "'Cause this, this might not have anything to do with us."

     Sam whirled around. "Are you serious?!"

     "It's a big city!" Tara argued, motioning to the right. Sam glanced at the news footage. "It's Halloween. Everybody's wearing masks!"

     "Tara!"

     The younger Carpenter continued, "You don't know."

     "Tara, this isn't a coincidence," Sam insisted, throwing an arm out at the TV. "You knew him!"

     "Barely."

     Sam clenched the knife in her hand tighter and addressed the twins and Kynlee. "Kyn, Chad, Mindy, back me up."

     Chad averted his line of sight away from the ground. "I mean, it is a little bit..." he trailed off.

     "Close to home." Mindy finished the sentence for her brother, awkwardly shoving a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

     "K..." Tara said, silently pleading for her best friend to take her side.

     Grimacing at the desperation in her eyes, Kynlee surveyed the room. Everyone was waiting to hear her two cents. "T... After last year, you know I don't believe in coincidences," she sighed, giving her an apologetic expression.

     Satisfied with their attempts to take her side, Sam gestured at the trio. "See?"

     Tara shut her mouth for a moment, trying to figure out a response. Huffing, she turned to her roommate. "Quinn, your dad's a cop, right?" Quinn froze at the sound of her name, dreading being brought into the argument. "Can you call him and find out what's going on?" Tara saw Quinn manage a nod, and she swiveled toward Sam again. "Before you make the unilateral decision to abandon my college education and flee the fucking state!"

     In disbelief at her sister's attitude, Sam darted her gaze to Quinn.

     "I'm calling him now," the redhead announced quietly, bringing her phone to her ear.

     Tara gave her a small yet appreciative smile. "Thank you."

     Unexpectedly, a phone rang loudly on the kitchen table. Everyone, minus Ethan, Anika, and Quinn, flinched at the noise. All fell silent and nobody moved. Time seemed to slow down as Sam approached the kitchen table, gripping the knife like her life depended on it.

     Noticing the tattooed girl's rigid posture and anxious tapping of the foot, Chad released her hand. Instead, he pulled her backside against his front and wrapped an arm across her upper chest. He held her tight and kissed the side of her head. Kynlee relaxed and curled both hands around his arm.

     Once she reached the table, Sam set the knife on it and picked up her phone.

     "Who is it?" Tara peered around her sister to see that it was Gale Weathers.

     With a roll of her eyes, Sam declined the call. It'd be a cold day in Hell when she answered that woman's phone calls or texts.

     In the background, Quinn was whispering to her dad on the phone and getting off the sofa.

     Ethan darted his line of sight from the eldest Carpenter to each member of the friend group. A confused and anxious smile broke across his face. "Why did everyone just freak out when her phone rang?"

     Was he serious?

     Kynlee cast him a deadpan look, wondering if he'd gotten a concussion or something. He was well aware of what'd happened in Woodsboro; he knew that the survivors lived in an underlying state of paranoia.

     Rolling her eyes at the ridiculous question, Anika sighed. "You gotta keep up, my dude."

     "Sam?" Quinn asked, holding her phone out to the woman. "My dad wants to talk to you."

     Taking the device from her, Sam inhaled sharply. "Mr. Bailey, hi." Her jaw was set and she was itching to leave.

     Kynlee strained her hearing to listen in, but she was unable to catch anything. Nobody could hear what was being said on the other end.

     "Well, my sister thinks I'm probably overreacting." Immediately, Tara glared at her and Sam flipped her off. Then, her face dropped. "What do you mean? What's going on?"

     At the woman's concerned tone, Kynlee stood a bit taller and met Mindy's uneasy countenance. That wasn't a good sign.

     "Yeah, all right. I'll be there soon."

     The group watched Sam hang up and hold Quinn's phone back out to the girl. Quinn took it with a curious tilt of the head, silently asking what just happened.

     "Looks like I'm going down to the station for questioning," Sam sighed, running a hand through her hair.

     "Questioning? For what?" Kynlee retorted, knitting her eyebrows together.

     Shrugging, the black-haired woman spun on her heel and headed to the hooks on the wall next to the door. She pulled on her black bomber jacket and grabbed her wallet and keys. "I'll be back." Those were the only words she spoke before leaving and slamming the door shut behind her.

     "Fuck," Tara hissed, not hesitating in going after Sam. She took her pink jacket off one of the hooks and slipped it on. "I'll be back."

     A disgruntled expression took over Mindy's face and she groaned. "Have I not taught you all anything?! Never say you'll be right back because you won't," she shouted at Tara, but it was too late— she was already gone.

     "All right, well, I'm calling it," Anika announced, clasping her hands together. The remaining group swept their attention to her. "It's time to eat and talk about or watch or do something else. Quinn, how far away is our delivery?"

     Quinn checked her phone. "Uh, fourteen minutes."

     Nodding, Anika reached for the box of Uno cards under the coffee table. "Perfect. Anyone up for some Uno?"

     "Me," Mindy responded, raising a hand in the air. Quinn and Ethan mimicked the action, too.

     With a hopeful stare, Ethan asked, "Can I shuffle?"

     Raising a skeptical brow, Quinn scoffed. "Last time you shuffled, the cards went flying everywhere and we still haven't been able to find some of them." She sat on the floor and scooted up to the coffee table.

     "Maybe 'cause you haven't looked hard enough," he suggested, gratefully taking the deck from Anika.

     "Tara and I have been searching for three weeks," the redhead deadpanned, narrowing her eyes.

     Snorting, Mindy shook her head at the pair. "I swear, you guys act like two siblings who blatantly hate each other."

     "I don't hate her."

     "I do hate him."

     "My point exactly," Mindy sighed, gesturing to them both. "I rest my case."

     Kynlee was silently watching her friends with a tiny smile. She was savoring the sight of them all together, coexisting. It warmed her heart.

     "Hey," Chad whispered in her ear. "Follow my lead."

     His request made Kynlee's eyebrows form a jagged line. "Huh—" Without any warning, he started walking backward with her still in his grasp. "Oh!" She clumsily drove her feet backward, following his lead as he said. Hopefully, he was being careful and wouldn't crash them into anything.

     It wasn't long until they were in the dining room and he sat them down in one of the chairs at the table. Chad hoisted her onto his lap and positioned her so the left side of her body rested against him and her legs were across his thighs. Both arms were looped around her waist and his hands lay on her legs.

     This, right here, with Kynlee in his arms, was his happy place. He couldn't be more content.

     "Smooth. Nice job," she chuckled, running a hand through his hair.

     Chad simply smiled at her and gently picked up her free hand to fidget with her rings. His touch was light and subtle as he outlined the three rings on her index, middle, and ringer fingers. The first was a simple golden band with a diamond in the center. It used to be her mother's wedding ring until she passed. The next was a thin gold band with a clear quartz rock in the center. The final was a thick gold ring with a golden circle in the center where a smiley face was engraved— Kynlee, Tara, Sam, Mindy, Anika, and Quinn all had matching ones. They'd gotten them during the first week of the fall semester.

     Turning Kynlee's hand over with her palm facing up, Chad's consciousness wandered while he started to trace the lines and crevices in her skin. His touch was heavier this time as he honed in on every rise and fall in her palm. It was calming for him to do this. It eased his nerves and the budding fear he could feel creeping up on him.

     Kynlee tilted her head and noticed the tiny crease in between his eyebrows. However, there was still a small smile on his face. There was no doubt in her mind that his head was both empty with not a single thought and full of worries. It made sense. The news report had them shaken, whether they were showing it or not.

     With her free hand, she reached forward and placed her thumb and index finger on the top and bottom of Chad's chin. "Hey..." she murmured, lifting until their eyes met.

     Chills rushed down Chad's spine as she cupped his cheek, lightly running her thumb over it. "Hi," he exhaled, aware that she'd already seen right through him.

     "This isn't going to be like last year, okay?" Kynlee raised an eyebrow while tracing his cheekbone with her finger. The action made his heart beat faster. "Nothing's going to happen. We're safe and all right."

     Looking into her eyes, Chad let out a soft sigh. "I just don't want to see you or our friends in another hospital room," he muttered truthfully, leaning into her touch. Without fully realizing it, he began memorizing every little detail and feature on her face as if he'd never see her again. He often did this when he was stressed or upset.

     There was a small cluster of freckles painted on the bridge of her nose an inch under the skin between her eyebrows. The usual hoops she wore on both sides of her nose where her piercings were had been traded out for small diamond studs. It almost looked like she didn't have double nose piercings. Then, the piercing jewelry for her septum was the same one she always wore— a thick dark silver hoop with a jagged texture that hugged her septum nicely.

     There were more freckles scattered across her forehead and cheeks, some more prominent than others. With summertime fading and the fall season sweeping in, a few of the freckles had disappeared altogether. Kynlee always seemed to get more during the summer, especially with the California and New York suns.

     All traces of her makeup from that night were gone, and Chad couldn't help but appreciate her beauty even more. Every time he looked at her, he swore he fell a little harder. It'd been that way for years now, and he didn't know if it'd ever stop. He didn't want it to.

     "And I don't want to see you in another hospital room either. We'll be okay." Kynlee's voice broke through the spell he'd been under, and Chad blinked.

     "Okay," he whispered, believing her every word. One of his hands left her thigh and he reached up, hooking a finger under her chin and bringing her face closer to his. Both of them heard the way Kynlee's breath hitched, but neither commented on it.

     Leaning in, he left light pecks on her lips. "Thank... you..." he murmured in between each kiss, smiling when her arms snaked around his torso.

     Kynlee drew back and nodded, situating herself so she was curled against his chest with her head nestled into the crevice of his neck. "De nada," she breathed, closing her eyes when he kissed the top of her head.

     Suddenly, Mindy's voice echoed from the small living room and floated into the dining room. "Who wants to watch a scary movie?!"

     Right away, everyone responded with a unanimous, "No."

────

     THE SOUND OF A PHONE RINGING IN THE DEAD QUIET OF THE NIGHT MADE KYNLEE INVOLUNTARILY FLINCH. Awakening, she slowly peeked one eye open and caught a glimpse of the time on the DVD player under the TV. It was a quarter past four. She groaned quietly and blindly reached toward the floor where her phone was. A few seconds passed and she slapped her hand around, searching for the stupid device.

     Once she found it, she lazily brought it to her ear and mumbled, "¿Aló?" Hopefully, whoever was calling didn't know Spanish and would hang up.

     "K." A breathy Tara Carpenter was on the other end.

    At the sound of her best friend's slightly panicked and exasperated tone, Kynlee sat up on the blow-up mattress. "¿Qué pasa? ¿Dónde estás?" The arm Chad had wrapped around her waist fell and he stirred at the movement.

     "Estoy bien," Tara replied, letting out a sigh. "Sam and I are at the police station. We were attacked at the Bodega down the street. Three men are dead."

     All color drained from Kynlee's face, and she tensed. "Attacked by who?" She had a feeling she knew the answer already, but she was praying to the universe that she was wrong.

     It was quiet for a moment.

     "Ghostface."

     Kynlee dragged a hand down her face. "Mother-fucking-fucker," she cursed quietly, clenching her eyes shut. Tara hummed in agreement. "Are... Are you and Sam okay? Were either of you hurt? Do you need me to come down there or do anything to help?"

     Behind the tattooed girl, Chad managed to catch bits of the conversation his girlfriend was seemingly having on the phone. He'd only woken up seconds ago due to the noise and getting cold.

     "No. No, no, we're fine. We're here with Quinn's dad, he's letting me use one of the office phones to call you. Mine and Sam's are dead," Tara said. "I wanted to let you know that we're going to be at the station for the rest of the night. We'll see you all in the morning, though."

     Nodding, Kynlee brushed some hair out of her face. "Be safe getting home, all right?"

     "We will. I'm gonna go, but I'll see you later. I love you."

     Even though she couldn't see her, she knew Tara was wearing a small smile. "I love you, T," she breathed before the call disconnected.

     The blankets on the blow-up mattress shifted as Chad propped himself up with the palm of his hand. Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to Kynlee's shoulder. "What's goin' on?" he muttered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

     "Uh," the black-haired girl dropped her phone back on the floor and peered over at her boyfriend. This wasn't going to be welcomed news. "T and Sam were attacked by Ghostface at the Bodega down the street." Immediately, Chad moved into a fully seated position next to her. "They're okay. They're at the police station right now and will be back in the morning. T just wanted to fill me in."

     It felt like Chad's heart stopped beating when he heard the name Ghostface. All hopes of nothing happening and last year not repeating were officially gone. The five were in danger again.

     Recognizing the fear spreading across his face, Kynlee turned and cupped his cheeks. "Hey, look at me," she whispered, picking up on how his eyes were bouncing around the place. He reluctantly met her gentle stare, and his shoulders dropped an inch. "It's okay; we're okay; Sam and Tara are okay. I'm right here. You're safe; we're both safe; everyone here is safe." Usually, it was him saying this to her after a nightmare, but tonight the roles were reversed.

     "I don't want to lose you." Those were the first words out of his mouth once his heart rate went down, and Kynlee frowned. A lump rose in her throat and she tried to force it down. "I don't want to lose my sister or any of our friends. I don't want to go through this again," he spoke softly, keeping his voice low so he didn't wake anybody up. Ethan, Anika, and Mindy were asleep in the living room with them.

     Involuntary tears glossed over her eyes and Kynlee blinked them away. There was no way in hell she was breaking down right now. "I don't want to lose you either," she kissed his forehead before meeting his unwavering gaze. "I don't want to lose more of our friends, too." A flash of her and Wes holding hands and driving to school played in her mind. "We've already lost enough."

     Chad nodded. "Yeah, we have," he agreed, savoring the moment between the pair.

     A few seconds passed by until Kynlee released a heavy breath. "We'll tell everyone in the morning if we wake up before T and Sam get back." Chad nodded once more. "I already know that neither of us are going back to sleep now. Do you want to cuddle or do you want to watch SpongeBob under the blankets, or both?" It was an attempt to distract them, they each knew that, but it was appreciated.

     The question made him break into a cheesy smile. "We really need to expand our binge-watching options," he said, quoting her from yesterday.

     Rolling her eyes, she dropped her hands to his chest. "Yeah... I know," she murmured, quoting him as well.

     "Is there an option where we cuddle and kiss? Maybe I can braid your hair?" Chad suggested, pressing a chaste kiss to her lips.

     A crooked smile appeared and Kynlee briefly reconnected their lips. "I like that better," she murmured against him, curling her fingers around the fabric of his shirt.

     "Perfect."

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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! ❞

╭⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀╮

De nada ━━ You're welcome
¡Ay, Dios mío! ━━ Oh, my God
¿Aló? ━━ Hello?
¿Qué pasa? ━━ What's happening?
¿Dónde estás? ━━ Where are you?
Estoy bien ━━ I'm okay/I'm fine

╰⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀╯

     i want what kynlee and chad have so bad.

     i hope everyone is doing well! this was intended to be released much sooner, but i am currently sick as shit and have not left my bed or moved much. however, i just rewatched scream vi and my love has only grown more for these characters.

     i'm so excited to begin getting more into the plot and to write all the action scenes! exciting things are coming!

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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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