SHE WILL ALWAYS CARE
( chapter 5 — meeks martin's house )

THE GROUP SAT IN SILENCE; NO ONE KNEW WHAT TO SAY. Sam had just stormed out of the room. The silence remained until Richie spoke up: "I better get back to the hotel; Sam might be there, and I should check up on her." He explained as he grabbed his backpack from the floor (he seemed to never let go of it).

   Dewey also sat up from his spot on the couch, the whole conversation he had been sitting awkwardly. He wished he never came to the stupid discussion, though if Ghostface was really back, he better know every bit of information he could. "Yeah, I better get home too." Dewey spoke; now that he had all the information he needed, he no longer needed to worry about this. And with that, both men exited through the door in silence.

   The silence stayed in the room as they realised all that was left was the old group. No one wanted to say a word, especially since none of them were really friends with Lottie anymore; they didn't know what to say if they tried. Hey, I'm sorry your cousin died. Let's be friends again! Lottie would definitely lose her shit if someone said that to her. "Lottie," Chad mumbled to the girl who played with her fingers. She wanted to leave, get out of this house, and get out of this town. She had to stay. She couldn't leave her mother; she slept peacefully besides her bed along with Tara. She couldn't leave Wes, who had lost the girl he had loved.

   "Lottie." Chad repeated, causing the girl to look up from her fingers. The boy sat up, removing his arm from around Liv's shoulder and facing his friend. "I'm sorry, I don't know how others feel, but I feel horrible for the way you were treated. Everyday, I wish that I could go back and be a friend you needed in such a hard time. You deserved so much better, and I wish things didn't end the way they did." He spoke with a sad expression on his face.

   Lottie moved from fiddling with her fingers to playing with the hair tie around her wrist. God, she wished she could get out. Every single person in this room had treated her like shit, and she had no clue how to reply. The girl looked up at the group; every single pair of eyes were on her (except for Amber, who was scrolling away on her phone). "Thanks Chad." Lottie mumbled, giving him a small smile. She didn't know if she could forgive him; sure, she could be his friend, but she couldn't forget how he treated her.

   Mindy, who had only sat down moments ago, stood up again (she always found it easier to let her emotions out when she stood up). "You know, I'm sorry too. I know I started a lot of rumours and I probably shouldn't have said some things, but I really am sorry. I didn't understand what you were going through, and I shouldn't have said what I did." Mindy apologised, standing still in front of the girl. Once she was done, the Meeks Martin girl sat back into the seat she was previously sitting in.

   Lottie didn't know what to say; she was furious. Everyone was just going to apologise after they made everyone turn against her. What next? Was Amber seriously going to expect forgiveness? "You know I was going to let Chad have a pass; he hurt me, but he has been nice ever since; even when I didn't want to talk, he greeted me in the hallways and still follows me on social media. You probably shouldn't have said some things? Mindy, you turned the whole school against me without even asking my side of the story. I woke up one morning, and I was blocked by you, Amber, Wes, and even Abigail. I had a fucking psychotic episode, my first ever one. My schizophrenia isn't even that bad when I'm on my medication.

   "Amber turned everyone against me. I had to find a whole new friend group because you guys didn't let me explain; you just thought I was crazy. You made me feel crazy. What made it even worse was when I finally found friends within my soccer team. You told everyone lies and not only made them stop being friends, but you also got me kicked off the team that year. Mindy, I didn't attack Amber; I didn't even touch her!" Lottie snapped, watching as everyone (even Amber) stared at the girl in shock. Never had anyone expected Lottie Becker to stand up for herself like that.

   In the situation, Amber and Mindy were the worst of them all. Abigail redeemed herself (especially after a huge fight the cousins had over it). Though Abigail never stood up to Amber and Mindy about the things they did and said to Lottie, First of all, the rumours were horrible; they constantly told people false lies about crazy and unimaginable things Lottie had said or done (they weren't even true!). Along with that, Amber bullied her, calling her names and even stealing things from her. Although it was mostly Amber, the whole group watched and didn't even help; the only person who helped was Tara.

   Lottie only showed up to school for soccer, and even that was hard when she was kicked off the team.

   As for Wes and Chad, they were the bystanders. Chad was always nice to Lottie, and she was thankful for that, though he would laugh at the horrible things Amber would say, which made Charlotte feel horrible. Wes was the same but worse; he didn't even try to speak to the girl; he only unblocked her when he and Abigail got close. And finally, there was Tara. Tara did more than anyone else did. When Amber stole Lottie's things and told her she was imagining it and was crazy, Tara would steal them back whenever she had the chance, and along with that, she would also stand up for the girl no matter what. Tara always had a shoulder for Lottie to cry on and a place for Charlotte to stay.

   Luckily for Lottie, the worst of it was only for the first year; after a year, the group basically forgotten about her existence (except for Tara), and even Chad stopped saying hi. The rumours died down, and Lottie was allowed back on the team. Things were better, and she was finally happy (even with only having Tara as a friend).

   Mindy looked around the room as they all recalled what had happened (except for Liv, who sat in confusion; she decided it was best to listen instead of asking questions every two seconds). "We are really sorry, Lottie, though you can't just hate us forever; that was years ago, and I truly believe we can move past it. Wes lost the love of his life today, and he needs you, and we all need you." She spoke.

   Charlotte rolled her eyes, "Yes, I can hate you all forever, though I think I'm nice enough not to. Mindy, you and Amber made me want to die. Everyday I dreaded coming to school, and for the first few months I would cry in the bathroom." She confessed, feeling tears start to fall from her cheeks. Somehow, the day had gotten worse; she did not think that was possible at all.

   "I could hate you forever, but honestly, I just want my friends back." Lottie cried as she wiped away tears. Over the past few months, all Lottie could think about was her old group, all the sleepovers they had, the movies they watched, and the gossip sessions. She remembered it all so clearly, and even though the group truly messed up her life, all she wanted is to have things as they were when they were kids. And with Samantha Carpenter back, it seemed like a real possibility.

   "I want you back, Lottie. I don't think you knew it, but you were the life of the group; you organised all hangouts, and god, I miss going to your games. For a month, I dated a girl from the soccer team just to see you play." Chad confessed with a small chuckle, and everyone else nodded in agreement.

   Lottie looked around. As much as she hated them all, she knew they had all changed; it had been years, and she was ready to forgive. "Fine, I will forgive Mindy, Wes, and Chad on one condition: if you guys ever treat me like that again, I will turn everyone against you. Know that I've been attacked, and I have gained a lot of followers." She explained, gaining a small laugh from everyone. Lottie turned her head to Amber and said, "And Amber, you didn't even bother apologising, and I will never even consider forgiving you; you deserve to rot in hell after everything you did." She snapped, gaining an eye roll from the girl.

   Some things don't change when it comes to Amber Freeman; she would never take responsibility for her actions, and she would never ever care how the people she hurt felt.

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   THE GROUP CONTINUED TO SIT IN SINCE, IT WAS STILL AWKWARD. Lottie still felt as though she didn't fit in, the memories of the past replaying in Charlotte's memory. Shortly after the discussion, everyone else left, leaving Chad, Lottie, and Mindy in the Meeks Martin house. Mindy sat on the couch next to Chad and Lottie; she was watching stab 5, her least favourite of all the stab movies (besides stab 8, of course).

   Chad sat next to Mindy, scrolling on his phone, allowing Lottie to rest her head on his shoulder. Occasionally, he glanced up at the movie and checked on Lottie. The boy was shocked that Mindy was even considering watching a horror movie, specifically the one that was really happening in their lives. Lottie didn't know what to do; she obviously didn't want to watch the movie, so she lay on Chad's shoulder, trying her best to sleep.

Lottie couldn't sleep at all; all she could hear were the screams and stab sounds from the movie, and it brought back her memories from only a few nights before. 'I spoke to Chad, Mindy and Wes; I sorted things out with them, and I decided to forgive them... except Amber.' She informed Tara through text. 'I'm so proud of you, Char, though please don't pressure yourself into it just because you got attacked, though at least some things are fixed.' Tara replied after a short moment.

Lottie looked down at her phone, typing up a reply, and suddenly she jumped as a ghost face popped out from around the corner (in the movie, of course), saying 'Yeah, I've been missing how things were, and I'm glad I have them back.' Lottie responded.

Suddenly, before Lottie could wait for Tara's reply, Chad shot up from his seat, a sad expression on his face as he clutched onto his phone. Mindy also gripped her phone with a sad expression on her face. "Holy shit." She spoke out.

Lottie looked at Chad and then at Mindy; they both looked at their phones like they were about to cry. "What?" Lottie tried to ask as calmly as she could, trying her best not to think of the negatives.

"Wes and his mother were murdered; Amber was driving past and saw the cars and just informed us." Chad replied, looking like he was about to cry. Although it didn't seem like it, Chad would have considered Wes one of his best friends. The two had known each other for ages and had so much in common that, despite teasing Wes daily, Chad really liked him as his best friend.

Mindy looked up from her phone, feeling a few tears fall from her eyes. Mindy Meeks Martin wasn't much of a crier; even when her grandfather died, she didn't cry. Though for the loss of both Abigail and Wes, she cried. At least they both ended up together. "Apparently he was stabbed through the neck, and his mother was stabbed like 10 times," Mindy explained nervously, wiping her tears away.

"Fuck." Lottie let out a sigh a sigh as she gripped the hair tie on her wrist. Abigail and now Wes this was getting out of hand; who knows who will be next?

The three sat in silence, uncertain of what to say or do. Eventually, Mindy spoke again after receiving a text from Amber. "Amber is throwing a memorial party for Wes and Abi. I'm going to go. Do you guys want to come?" She questioned them, trying to change the subject and distract them all.

Chad looked at Charlotte before speaking. "Whatever Char wants to do, I will do," he replied, a small smile on his face. Lottie replied with a smile, but she didn't know what to do; she wanted to go. It was a memorial party for her cousin, and she wanted to drown herself in alcohol to stop the feelings. On the other hand, she could barely walk, and it was not the best idea to go to a party in the middle of a killing spree. But then again, when she is surrounded by people (even if they were drunk teenagers), nothing bad could happen. The girl slowly nodded her head to say that she would go.

"Great, I'll tell Amber." Mindy informed the pair as she typed away on her phone. Lottie looked down at her phone to see it was her mother who had texted (she had previously explained she was at Meeks Martin's house), 'Make sure not to leave; stay safe, Char.' She texted back.

It was going to be a long night.

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AFTER HOURS AND A FEW MORE MOVIES, (Lottie had convinced Mindy to put on Final Destination instead), Lottie started to feel worried about Tara, who had yet to answer her texts. What if something had happened? The three still comfortably sat on the couch; they were all exhausted and had almost three small cry sessions over the loss of Wes. It still didn't feel real; everything just felt numb.

"The party begins in an hour; do you want to get changed into something more comfortable?" Mindy filled the silence as she questioned Lottie. Lottie was wearing short black shorts and her soccer team shirt. To her, it was comfortable, but then again, she probably needed something warmer. She found the shorts easier due to the heavily bandaged leg.

Lottie nodded her head slowly as she observed her current outfit. Along with the outfit, she had a small spill on her shirt from the soup Martha Meeks made for them. "Yeah sure." She responded, grabbing her crutches, which lay against the couch. Mindy also got up as the two slowly made their way up the stairs (thankfully, Mindy helped Lottie).

Once they made it to Mindy's room, the girl began to speak again. "So I know this is really old, but I still have this cardigan from years ago. Amber stole it, and I remember I used to love it so much, so I stole it off her, but I thought you should have it." Mindy informed her, handing the girl the cardigan. It was in fact the pink and red cardigan that Charlotte used to wear nonstop; she totally forgot about that!

"Oh my god, Mindy, I remember this!" She remarked, putting the cardigan on. "It still fits!" She exclaimed in happiness. Finally, things are starting to feel like they used to.

Mindy smiled as she searched in her wardrobe for her own outfit. She turned her head to the side to speak again: "You're not going to change your pants, right? I'm assuming it might be too hard."

"Yeah, it's fine; I'll just wear this," Lottie informed Mindy with a smile on her face.

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THE TWO EVENTUALLY GOT CHANGED AND WENT DOWNSTAIRS. Mindy was wearing a simple graphic shirt and jeans with her curly hair out; Lottie was wearing black shorts, a black shirt Mindy had let her use with her red and pink cardigan on top, and her hair half up. The two met Chad, who had gotten his school jacket, and put it on top. "Tara and Sam were attacked in the hospital." He randomly informed them.

Lottie froze in her spot. No, she can't lose another person in her life; she wouldn't know what to do without Tara. "Are they okay?" She questioned me immediately. It was only a few hours before that she was texting Tara; how could this have happened?

Chad looked down at his phone sadly as he opened his mouth. "They are both fine; Dewey is dead, though. He went back to save them. Sam doesn't know what happened, but he died. Tara is still asleep." Chad informed them.

"Oh my god," Mindy let out, "they killed fucking Dewey! I mean, after everything he went through, I don't think that's fair!" She complained. It was true: Dewey Riley had been through hell and back; he had lost his sister, friends, and people he knew all to ghost faces; hell, he even almost lost his life. Though now he was gone, know he had lost his life... forever.

"Sometimes you just can't get away from things; that ended up being his life and his death. I expected my mother and him to live long, but who knows, Ghostface is back, and if he is going after legacy characters, my mother could be next. Any of us could be next; this is our life now, and it would have always been his." Lottie calmly spoke, wiping a tear from her face.

Chad also wiped his tears: "Well, I'm glad that you and your mother are both okay, and so are Tara and Sam. Tonight we can just get drunk as hell and just forget about it for the time being." Chad softly spoke as they all walked out the door (Lottie limping with her crutches).

Although no one could see into the future, they all know deep down they wouldn't ever forget anything tonight, no matter how drunk they would be.

— MAEVE'S YAPS
Ok I have such mixed feeling about this chapter but I just want to finish volume one and start volume two. In scream 6 I want to set up a really cute friendship with Mindy and Lottie and I hope this will begin it. (UPDATE: I have made a lot of changes to this chapters and luckily it's less boring than before, also I've changed the situation a lot and it's very different to how it was and Mindy and Amber did Lottie horrible though still Mindy and Lottie will be so cute next season I cannot wait)

Ahhh finally they are all friends again, though I won't get to explore some friendships dynamics and yk what happens lolll. Rip Dewey, Wes and Judy. (UPDATE: yes rip them and also Abigail two, Wes and her will be forever together.)

ALSOOO: sorry this chapter is so short, it's just a filler chapter but it is kinda needed too. (UPDATE: I have almost doubled the words eeeek!!!)

IF YOU CAN PLEASE TAG YOUR FRIENDS IN THIS!! I have put so much effort into this book and I'm barely getting 6 reads, please tag your friends who would maybe read this!! <33 (UPDATE: thank you all so so much for almost 7000 reads I am so so grateful for all the support I have I gotten in this Fic, thank you so much<33)

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gif by amazing @/softbows <33

BLEED FOR YOU / Maeve
last updated: August 5th