CHAPTER ONE
[1]
song: pretty by coco & clair clair

There was nothing quite as innocent as teenage girls home alone. The batting of your lashes as you tell your parents that you'll be on your best behavior. The promise that you'll clean up the kitchen before they returned. Planting the idea that 'we're probably just gonna turn on a movie!'. Your sweet smile turning so subtly menacing the second your parents are out of sight, waving to them as they drive away.

"What's in this again?" The dark haired girl asks, observing the liquid her friend had just concocted herself, and poured into what looked like fancy wedding china.

"Does it matter?" The blonde responds, turning to the other victim who sat in front of her at the counter. She snaps in her face, earning the other girl's attention as she quickly looked up from her phone. "What are you smiling at?"

The other girl tucks it away quickly. "Nothing." She says.

The blonde eyes her, holding out the silver cocktail shaker to pour into her glass, raising an impatient eyebrow and waiting for the go-ahead.

The thrill that came with sneaking alcohol from your dad's liquor cabinet.

"I think I'm actually gonna head home." The other girl spoke, earning equally as disgusted looks from her two friends.

"My parents literally just left?"

"Were you hoping to spend some alone time with Mr. Sullivan?"

"Ew, Camila." The blonde shoots the girl a nasty look.

"What?! She told me herself she thinks he's hot—"

"You did?!" The blonde turns back around to face the other girl, her eyebrows furrowed together in disgust.

"I started my period this morning and my cramps are getting really bad." She frowns, beginning to stand up from one of the barstools.

"Great, you're not pregnant then." The blonde holds the shaker back out again. "For the road. You know I don't like to waste."

"I'm leaving!" The girl laughs, grabbing her purse and heading towards the door.

"If you're too chicken to watch Halloween just say that!" The blonde shouts, a smile on her lips as she leans over the counter to watch her leave.

The adrenaline that came with watching a horror movie by yourself—

When she hears the door shut, the blonde turns back to her remaining friend with a scowl on her face. "What the fuck is her deal?" She pours the rest of the drink for herself.

The brunette didn't say anything for a second, her eyes focused on the counter before she looked up. "We're not actually watching Halloween, are we?"

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Oh, god." She groans. Coming around the counter with her drink. "You're all a bunch of pussies."

—Knowing that most killer's first targets are girls just like you.

┌───────────────────┐
LOOKS THAT KILL!
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tyler:
what r u doing

holly:
i'm at summer's why

tyler:
my parents just left for that charity thing

holly:
okay?

tyler:
don't play dumb

holly:
i can't leave i just got here
[ read 9:07 ]
okay i'm coming

tyler:
park in the garage i don't want anyone to see

holly:
ur a douchebag

tyler:
i don't want summer to see**

Holly pulls into the garage, which was left open for her. Parking in Tyler's parents usual spot which meant she had to be in and out before they got home. Which, shouldn't be difficult. That's usually how it went with him.

She shut the garage behind her, walking into the house. Quiet music played through the speakers. The lights were on.

holly:
i'm here r u upstairs

tyler:
Let's play a game

holly:
what game

tyler:
Hide and seek

I'm hiding.

holly:
r u ten

if you pop out and scare me i'll kill you

tyler:
I won't I promise.

Holly smiles to herself, glancing up from her phone and scanning the room. While she wasn't entirely familiar with his house, there were only so many places a six foot one guy could hide.

Of course she felt bad for sleeping with her best friend's boyfriend. But Summer and Tyler had been off and on for years, and with the way they spoke to each other it was impossible to tell whether or not they actually liked one another.

holly:
can you at least tell me what floor

tyler:
You haven't even tried looking yet.

She shoves her phone in her back pocket. "Okay, fine!" She announced, crossing her arms and slowly beginning to traipse around the kitchen. Bending down to look beneath tables and behind furniture.

Was she flattered or frustrated by his attempt to do something different? The usual course of action is she sneaks in, they fuck, and she leaves. She was trying to appreciate his effort in mixing things up, but was bothered by his inability to read the room.

"Okay, Tyler." She shouts, flailing her arms around in frustration. "I'm bored."

Her phone dings, and she pulls it back out of her pocket.

tyler:
Where's the enthusiasm?

holly:
seriously though i need to leave before ur parents get home

tyler:
Okay, okay.

I'll give you a hint.

Second floor.

Holly let's out a loud, audible groan, beginning to stomp over to the staircase. She climbs the steps quickly. "You're so funny." She yells, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips.

At the top of the stairs, she glances down both ends of the hall, each door was closed. She takes a deep breath, trying not to be so impatient. "If this is your attempt at turning me on it's doing the complete opposite." She says, walking over to his bedroom door and pushing it open.

His bed was empty, fan still spinning. She steps back into the hallway.

tyler:
Colder.

holly:
i'm just gonna leave

tyler:
I didn't mean to upset you.

I just wanted to do something fun.

holly:
okay now ur making me feel like a bitch

tyler:
I'll give you one more hint.

Holly's phone starts ringing just as she was about to respond. She jumps, and the yelp she let out was embarrassing. She hoped he wasn't close enough to hear it.

She laughs into the phone as she puts it to her ear. "That scared the shit out of me." She says, looking down the other end of the hallway.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

His voice sounded off. Like there was some sort of error on his end. Holly pulls her phone from her ear and looks at the screen for a moment before she puts it back. "I'm gonna hang up and call you back there's a glitch—"

"Don't hang up!"

Holly was taken aback for a second by the sudden urgency in his tone. She lets out an awkward scoff. "Okay, what's your hint?" She shrugs.

"Well, you have to work for it."

"What is up with your voice?" Holly shakes her head. He sounded almost robotic, completely unrecognizable.

"How can people smell without a nose?"

"Oh my god— are you on coke? or something?"

"Answer the question."

"What kind of question is that?"

"It's a riddle. See, I'm trying to make this fun for us."

"I don't know. With their mouth? I— that's a stupid riddle."

There wasn't much of a response, only breathing on the other end for a moment. "Don't be dumb, Holly."

She scoffs and shakes her head. "Yeah, I'm leaving."

"Oh, don't hang up! You're almost there."

Holly hesitates.

"Okay, fine. You're being a good sport. Do you want me to just tell you the answer?"

She was getting the ick. It wasn't even worth it anymore. "Sure." She said anyways with a huff.

"If they don't take a bath."

"What?"

"How can people smell if they don't have a nose?"

Holly opens her mouth to respond, but it twists into a smile when she understands. "Ohh," she lets out.

Quickly, she began to walk down the hall to the bathroom. Laughing, she continues the conversation over the phone as she twists the door knob. "You can be such an idiot sometimes—"

She swings the door open, before dropping the phone from her ear and letting out the most gut-wrenching scream someone might ever hear.

Blood dripped down from the ceiling, coating the white walls and the porcelain, where Tyler's mauled body sit lifeless in a bath of his own insides. His eyes still open, his torso slit from one side to another as his guts sprawled out and over himself.

Holly sprang into action, taking off so fast she almost slipped over her own feet. But as soon as she turned towards the stairs, she found a masked figure that stood at the other end of the hall.

A long black costume robe, topped with a white mask with big hollow eyes and a long mouth. In their hand, a blood stained hunting knife.

The stairs were an equal distance away from both of them, it was just a matter of who was quicker.

Holly was trembling so hard her brain wasn't letting her move. Maybe a deep down animalistic instinct was telling her if she froze, if she blended into her surroundings, and went completely silent— they wouldn't see her. They'd let her go.

That instinct went completely out the door the second they took a step towards her. She leapt towards the stairs, swinging herself around the top bannister. They were right on her tail, charging after her.

She wasn't quick enough. She felt their strong grip wrap around her hair, yanking her back before throwing her down the first set of stairs.

The wind was knocked out of her, the edge of the steps plunging into her spine. When she came to a stop at the landing, it was the sound of their quick-paced footsteps that helped her realize. They were going in for their next kill.

She didn't really even feel it happen at first, didn't realize there was a six inch knife being plunged into her back. It was the feeling of warm blood beginning to seep down her torso that really clued her in.

Adrenaline took over. She screamed in pain. Turning over onto her back, before letting out a loud groan as she lifted her leg up to kick them down. She pushed as hard as a person who just got stabbed could, and she got one good one in, right into their gut.

They crouched over, almost completely falling to the ground, it left just enough time for Holly to escape. She was bent over, clinging onto herself as if to ease the pain as she frantically shuffled back on to her feet.

Blood smeared from her hands and to the walls as she leaned against them for support. She screamed for help as she ran down the rest of the stairs, a desperate plea that came from deep down. Already she knew she weren't going to make it out of this situation alive. There was no one home. She knew that. Yet a call for help felt like the last resort for survival at a time like this.

She practically jumped off the bottom three steps to run to the door, it's surrounding glass windows like a glimpse of what heaven may look like. Everything was so peaceful out there, everyone so unknowing as to what was happening within these walls.

Slamming herself into the door, she brought her hands immediately up to the lock, shaking and covered with her own blood.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the masked figure was only a few feet away, a dark cloud that she knew was going to take her life.

Seeing what had happened to Tyler, an athlete, a good athlete— there was no chance that she would be able to fight off what ever it was that had done that to him.

She knew it was over then, and all she could do was scream.