
𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍: Open Case
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Annie pulled up to Woodsboro High School and took immediate notice of the multitude of police cars and news vans flashing cameras as they interviewed students for any information they could get from them. Annie climbs out and locks her car before moving down the pathway and stopping by the familiar face of Gale Weathers as she spoke, "The small town of Woodsboro, California was devastated last night when two young teenagers were found brutally butchered. Authorities have yet to issue a statement but our sources tell us that no arrest has been made and the murderer could strike again..."
Annie was uneased by this knowledge, she spots Sidney and Tatum ahead of her and sighs before rushing toward the two. "Do you believe this shit?" Tatum asked the moment Annie stepped up next to the two girls. "What happened?" Sidney asked Tatum. "Yeah, even I'm uninformed," Annie added. "Oh God! You both don't know? Casey Becker and Steve Forrest-Orth were killed last night," Tatum explained to the two girls. "No way," Sidney replied in shock while Annie looked down at the words, she was having flashes back to Queens with the Cherub Killer.
"And not just killed, girls. We're talking splatter movie killed -- split open end to end," Tatum continued with a stunned tone, it was clear the shock and excitement was buzzing within the small town. "Casey Becker... She sits next to me in English," Sidney muttered. "Not anymore," Annie teased before clearing her throat realising the girls weren't the ones to joke with. "Her parents found her hanging from a tree. Her insides on the outside," Tatum told them after giving Annie a stern look for her joke that made Sidney uncomfortable.
"Do they know who did it?" Sidney asked their friend. "Fucking clueless -- they're interrogating the entire school. Teachers, students, staff, janitors..." Tatum trails off as Sidney turns to her, "They think it's school-related?" Annie frowned slightly as she wrapped her arms around herself. "They don't know. Dewey said this is the worst crime they've ever seen. Even worse than--" Annie cut off Tatum, "It's clearly bad. It's a small town, this is going to be big no matter what." Tatum nodded, "They're bringing in the feds." Annie looked around the schoolyard with an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
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Annie sat next to Stu in class, he was playing with her fingers as their teacher was talking about the lesson's topic. Stu noticed how anxious Annie seemed to be, he guessed that the murders of Casey and Steve mixed with the break-in had her on edge. "Hey, Bella Stella, are you okay?" Stu whispered to his girlfriend. She smiled softly at the nickname she knew meant beautiful star before sighing, "Just brings up bad memories. I'll be okay." Stu nodded before he blew her a kiss, Annie pretended to catch it and put it in her pocket for safekeeping which brought a grin to Stu's face.
The door opens and a student holds out a slip of paper to the teacher, "Annabell. It's your turn, dear." Annie let out a shaky breath before she grabbed her things and made her way out of the classroom with Stu watching her every move. She headed to her locker and disposed of her things before walking to the principal's office, knocking on the door prompting Dewey to open it. "Come on in, Annie," Dewey spoke before moving aside for Annie to walk inside. "Hi Annabell," Sheriff Burke greeted knowing that the young teen had been having troubles.
"I must inform you that we haven't found anything in regards to the person who broke into your room but we will keep looking," Sheriff Burke assured the ravenette who nodded before sitting down. "Now, Annabell, it is our understanding that you and Casey Becker had recently fought," Sheriff Burke pointed out. "I had a feeling you would ask about that. Casey said some harsh things, she cheated on Stu and spread lies. I handled it emotionally but murder..." Annie trailed off as she took a steady breath, Sheriff Burke nodded.
"Others have mentioned that you and Steve Orth argued before his death. We know that few had negative encounters with Mr Orth but there are concerns from friends that--" Annie cut Sheriff Burke off, "Wait? Do you genuinely think that I murdered Casey Becker and Steve Orth?" The others were silent making Annie bite her lip, she shrunk in her seat with sad eyes. "Annabell, do you hunt?" Sheriff Burke asked shocking Annie. "No... I've never been hunting in my life. Killing animals for fun... it's not my thing," Annie answered him truthfully.
After a few more questions, Sheriff Burke allowed Annie to leave the office. She didn't bother returning to class, she decided that she didn't want to stick around and headed out to her car. However, she stopped in her tracks spotting a white rose sitting on her windshield, she immediately looked around for anyone who could be responsible but found the place was barren. Annie knew better than to ignore this, she rushed into the school and headed straight to Sheriff Burke and Dewey, she explained to them everything and they both followed her to her car.
To say that Annie was terrified was an understatement. Between having some secret stalker and the murders that had happened the day before, Annie was starting to feel like the world was against her. Sheriff Burke suggested that Annie stay at school where she was constantly around people and when she informed Stu about her situation, he was adamant about her staying by him for safety. The couple made their way to the school courtyard where they were seated on the ledge of the school's water fountain, Stu pulled Annie to sit on his lap, his arms around her protectively.
Sidney sat next to Billy while Tatum leaned back against Joel leaving Randy and Melinda sitting on the other side of them. "Hunt? Why would they ask if you like to hunt?" Tatum questioned Joel and Stu who had been telling the others about their respective interviews. "I don't know, they just did," Stu replied as he ran his thumb against Annie's waist in a calming manner, her head was leaned back on his shoulder hiding her face in his neck as she tried not to overthink everything that was happening.
"Because their bodies were gutted," Randy voiced not acknowledging the way Sidney and Annie had flinched. "Thanks, Randy," Billy snarked having noticed both girls wince. "They didn't ask me if I like to hunt," Tatum said with Melinda agreeing with her. "Because there's no way a girl could have killed them," Joel said with a grin. "They asked me if I hunt," Annie said softly, everyone turned to look at her as she frowned, "Sheriff Burke mentioned my fight with Casey and the argument with Steve..."
Stu squeezed her slightly before kissing her cheek while Randy scoffed, "Crack shot cops... Suspecting the wrong people." Annie looked at Randy with a small smile for his comment. "And Joel, that was so sexist. The killer could easily be female -- Basic Instinct," Tatum spoke up. "That was an ice pick -- not exactly the same," Randy replied to her. "Yeah, Casey and Steve were completely hollowed out. Takes a man to do something like that," Joel expressed hauntingly.
"Or a man's mentality," Tatum snapped. "How do you gut someone?" Sidney asked quietly, almost as though she hadn't meant for anyone to hear her words. After a moment of silence, Stu spoke up, "You take a knife and slit from the groin to the sternum." Sidney shivers uncomfortably while Annie sighs, "No more horror movies, Stuey." Stu shrugged, "What? She asked." Billy glared at his best friend, "It's called tact, you fuckrag." Annie raised a brow at Billy before looking towards the sky.
"Remember in Jaws when they caught the wrong shark at first and Richard Dreyfuss cut it open to look for body parts and all they found was a licence plate and all this white milky goo," Randy rambled causing Stu to lean over and sock Randy in the arm. "You heard Billy -- Shut the fuck up!" Annie shook her head before leaning further into Stu who grinned at the action, he loved having her in his arms. "Hey, Stu. Didn't you use to date Casey?" Sidney asked Stu despite knowing the answer.
"For about two seconds," Stu replied offhandedly, he didn't want to think about the bitch; The only good thing about Casey was the break-up meant he could be with Annabell. "Before she dumped him for Steve," Randy added with a smirk. "Who cares, Randy, he's all mine now," Annie snapped before turning to cup Stu's cheek, she pressed her lips against his and mentally grinned at the way he melted into her kiss instantly. Annie pulled back from the kiss and winked at her boyfriend before looking at the others.
"Are the police aware you dated the victim?" Joel asked with raised brows, Randy nodding along with his best friend. "What are you saying? That I killed her or something?" Stu asked them offended. "It would certainly improve your high school IQ," Randy taunted. "Stu was with me last night," Annie argued with Randy. "Damn right, I was," Stu smirked as he rested his head in the crook of her neck, his lips brushing against her skin. "Oooh... before or after he sliced and diced," Randy asked in a strange tone.
"Fuck you, nut case. Where were you last night?" Tatum asked defending Stu for Annie who was getting irritated with Randy. "Working, thank you," Randy answered her. "I thought Blockbuster fired you," Tatum pointed out making Melinda laugh. "They did. Twice," Melinda replied to her as she rested her arms around Randy's waist. "I didn't kill anybody," Stu stated with a child-like tone and a pout. "No one's saying you did," Billy told him roughly, a glare on his features.
"Besides -- Takes a man to do something like that," Randy mocked Stu. "I'm gonna gut your ass in a second," Stu sneered at Randy. "Did you really put her liver in the mailbox? I hear they found her liver in the mailbox," Randy taunted further while Annie lowered her gaze, she felt sick and it was clear that Sidney was affected too. "Randy, you goon-fuck, I'm eating here," Tatum snapped at Randy after she noticed Sidney's uncomfortable demeanour.
"Yeah, Randy, she's getting mad. I think you better liver alone," Stu said with a wide grin and despite the disturbing topic affecting her, Annie softly laughed at her boyfriend's pain while shaking her head. "Liver, Get it? Leave her alone," Stu explained further as Sidney packed her stuff and walked away from the group. "Nice one, asshat," Tatum snapped before she got up and followed after Sidney. "Thanks, man," Joel said to Stu before chasing after his girlfriend. "It's a joke," Stu argued.
"Well, I'm gonna ditch for the rest of the day, anyone else?" Annie asked as she tapped Stu's hands, he let go of her and watched as she stood up and turned to the others. "I'm down," Stu volunteered straight away, his usual wide grin on his face that Annie adored. "Let's do it," Billy added while Randy and Melinda shook their heads. "If you get caught, I'm not covering for you," Melinda told Billy who smirked. "Don't worry about me, cousin. It's not my first time ditching," Billy replied before he, Stu and Annie left to watch movies at the Dalton residence.
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Rosemary Speaks
Poor Annie. Being Stalked, accused/claimed as a suspect, and now there's a killer on the loose. How will she handle all of this?
Find out in the next chapter!
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