[ here. will prob be several days until the next update comes. maybe Wednesday or Thursday tbh. got a lot of commitments but I rushed to write this for some context ]

☆

I HAVE TO PROTECT HIM.

☆︎ JUNE 16th, 1988 ☆︎

Luca Bridger was only twelve years old by the time he knew he hated his father, and his father felt exactly the same way about his son. Evan Bridger didn't like that his son preferred music over football and would rather look at boys than girls, a habit that had developed over the last year. He also didn't like how Laurie Marino babied him, giving him hugs when he failed a test or encouraging him every time he filled the house with racket.

And Luca didn't like how his father would shout at him and throw things his way whenever he was angry with him for something he couldn't really control at such a young age. He hated the man that came from Los Angeles and married his mother in New Mexico and made him. He hated the man so much that he asked everyone to use his mother's maiden name Marino when addressing him — Luca didn't want to be Evan Bridger's son.

At only twelve years old, Luca was already counting down the days until he could leave for college and never see the man again — he loved his mother but not enough to stick around should she still choose to love the horrible man.

As the years went on, Luca spent less and less time in his house, it not feeling like home anymore as he got older. He'd either spend his time with the friends he had at school or he'd walk around the neighborhood so that he could avoid Evan completely. Some nights he'd climb in through his window just so he wouldn't have to pass the man who was lounging in a recliner with a minimum of four beer bottles at his feet, yelling at athletes on the screen that couldn't hear him as he waited for Luca's mother to bring him something for dinner.

All the other kids in his class welcomed summer break with open arms, but Luca hated it. Evan didn't have a job because he was a fucking loser who couldn't make it in Hollywood, which meant while Elena was working at the gynecologist's office that she owned and operated, the boy and his father were forced to be around each other every day.

Because of that, the younger boy was sitting on the sidewalk outside his house, refusing to go inside. He was hoping someone he knew would walk by with plans he could invite himself to. But until then, he was flipping through a book of sheet music that his mother got him for his birthday, trying to hum the notes to the rock songs Evan hated so much in his head.

That was how Roman Bridger first met his half-brother, sitting on the ground and humming the notes to a Van Halen song with a bruise on his cheek that was courtesy of their father.

"Hi, there," an eighteen-year-old Roman greeted the child. He also subtly checked the number on the mailbox to ensure he had the right address. "What's your name?"

Luca laid down the sheet music and looked at the older boy who he'd never met. "Luca. What's your name?"

"Roman Bridger," he introduced.

At his shared last name, Luca instantly grimaced at him. "Are you here for Evan?"

Once aging out of the foster system, Roman finally got his hands on his birth certificate. It didn't take long at all to figure out that the name Rina Reynolds wasn't his mother's real name, as his search came up empty-handed. His father's name, however, led him to New Mexico to a little house in a rundown neighborhood with a little boy sitting outside.

"I suppose I am," Roman said, not sure why the kid looked so displeased. "He lives here, right? Do you know him?"

"He's my dad," Luca grumbled while standing up.

"Oh," Roman said, surprised that he had a family. It hurt a little, knowing that he had a family and didn't want Roman to be part of it. "Well, um, I suppose he's my father too."

Luca looked up at the man — at his brother — and tilted his head. "If I were you, I'd turn right back around and leave."

Roman chuckled, not really understanding where he was coming from. "Oh, don't be jealous. I'm not gonna steal him away."

"I wish you would," he said under his breath, which Roman clearly heard. "Look, meet him if you want, but he's an ass — don't tell my mom I said ass."

"How much of an ass are we talking?" Roman asked, raising an eyebrow.

Luca looked him over like he was sizing him and his Hawaiian-print shirt up, much to Roman's amusement. "Talk to him if you want. I wouldn't mind having someone else he hates around, but don't say I didn't warn you."

☆︎

Roman should've listened to Luca's warning, he soon learned. Evan Bridger was a goddamn asshole who started cursing and throwing shit the minute Roman told him who he was, showing his birth certificate as proof, which was soon ripped in half.

Whatever kind of family Roman was searching for, it wasn't found with Evan Bridger. But it was found with the twelve-year-old who was still sitting on the sidewalk when he left the house.

Luca looked up from his book, seeing the cut along Roman's cheek that was bleeding. "He throw a beer bottle at you?" he asked, not even phased.

"You were right," Roman said while sitting down. "He's an ass."

"Told ya," he said, looking back at his sheet music. "You'll have better luck finding your mom."

"It's a little harder to do that," he mumbled. Then he rubbed his forehead. He'd been far too fucking optimistic about this whole thing and gotten an apartment in Albuquerque, thinking his father would be happy to see him. He was even enrolled in the college nearby. How foolish of him.

Evan didn't want a single thing that reminded him of his time in Hollywood, including the son that was a product and proof of his sexual assault.

Once again, Roman looked at the child, noticing what looked like cigarette burns on his arms. "Is he like that often?"

"All the time. You get used to it."

"You shouldn't have to get used to it," Roman said, narrowing his eyes at the boy.

Luca just shrugged, unaffected by Roman's reaction. It was sad how normal his life with Evan was. "Not like I can do anything about it. Mama's always at work and too scared to stand up to him when she's here. We're alone with him. At least you get to walk away from him."

Roman didn't like how Luca had already given up the fight at such a young age. "Maybe I don't have to walk away yet. You wouldn't have to be alone with him."

Luca scoffed, not noticing the caring look in his eyes. "Fine. Means less bottles thrown at me."

☆︎ SEPTEMBER 30TH, 1995 ☆︎

To Roman's credit, he did stick around. He finished getting a degree in film studies. He let Luca come to his apartment to hang out any time Evan got too unbearable or dangerous. And as the years went on, Roman didn't find a family with his father, but he found one with Luca.

That's why Luca had been a little jealous when Roman finally cracked the big secret as to who his birth mother was. He'd been coming and going a lot, making trips to California for weeks at a time, and since Luca was a senior in high school, he could deal with the frequent absences of his brother even if he didn't like them.

Roman was in Woodsboro for a long time — well, not long, but three weeks felt like a long time to Luca. He was worried he was going to stay there forever and forget about his brother just because he had a mom now.

The two boys had gotten close as Luca grew up. Roman was there to support him in a way that Evan never did. He taught him things about music and movies. He cared about his interest and got to know his friends. Their bond as brothers couldn't be broken, not even by Roman's birth mother.

At least, that's what Luca would tell himself whenever he started to miss Roman. But if he was going to move to Ohio for college the next year, then he'd have to get used to not being around his brother every day.

Eventually, the three weeks of loneliness came to an end when Roman returned to New Mexico. Something was different about him, which Luca noticed immediately. His older brother was angrier, jumpier.

And that night while splitting a pizza, Roman told his deepest, darkest secret to his little brother.

He found his mother, who turned him away just as his father had, claiming that her daughter was the only child she cared about — at least Evan had the decency to treat his sons the same. So, Roman stuck around town for a few more days to watch his mother, whose real name was Maureen Prescott. It didn't take long at all to find out about her promiscuous ways.

And before Roman knew it, he was manipulating two young boys into killing his birth mother for him, unknowingly starting a chain of events that would continue to change the world of violence and films for years to come.

Luca was shocked at first, scared, but this was Roman. This was the only person aside from his mother that had ever shown him love and kindness. And unlike his mother, Roman protected Luca. He stood up to Evan when needed. He made sure Luca had a safe place to go. He cared, and so because of that, Luca would never blame Roman for what he had done to his mother.

Deep down, he hoped one day he'd do the same to their father.

If anything, Roman sharing his secret with Luca only made the two brothers even closer.

☆︎ AUGUST 27TH, 1997 ☆︎

"Dude, you're never gonna fucking believe who is in my math class," Luca said into his cell phone while falling back on his dorm mattress.

"Oh, let me guess," Roman said on the other end, sounding amused. "Some cute boy that wants to be famous, so you told him you have a brother who is gonna be a famous director?"

"Not this time, no," he chuckled. "Serious, Ro. She came right from Woodsboro — Sidney Prescott."

He could hear Roman let out a scoff. All anyone could talk about was how Sidney Prescott survived the so-called Ghostface attacks along with Indiana Winger, Sophia Martin, and Randy Meeks. Because of Gale Weathers' stupid book, his half-sister was practically a star. It'd only get worse when the movie came out next year that was based on the events.

"You're fucking joking, Lu."

"No way," he said, rolling onto his stomach. "She and that Indiana Winger are in my class. I heard some guys in the frat talking too. They came with two other guys that were involved with it all. We've got a pledge who is already making friends with them."

"Out of all the goddamn colleges in the country, they chose yours?" Roman asked, clearly annoyed.

"Somehow, yeah. I knew you'd want to know."

"Well, just stay away from them," he instructed. "I don't want you anywhere near Sidney Prescott."

"Please, they never even looked my way. Which is kind of rude, because I'm gorgeous."

"You're gay, Luca. You shouldn't care about two girls looking your way."

"Well, I'm gay but I'm also vain. I want everyone looking my way."

☆︎ OCTOBER, 1997 ☆︎

"Hey, so, you know how you specifically said to not interact with anyone from Woodsboro?"

On the other end of the phone call, Luca just heard his brother sigh heavily. "I'm assuming you didn't do that?"

"I did the opposite," he confirmed. "Well, Chuck got expelled for setting shit on fire in his chem lab after hours, so he can't be in the band. And that Derek guy was hanging around, so I casually mentioned needing a guitar player for the Halloween show. He obviously offered up Indiana Winger, so now she's in the Lethal Lawnmowers."

"Why the hell would you do that? It's way too risky," Roman said, worried about getting caught for what he did so long ago even if the only two witnesses were dead.

"It's not risky," he insisted. "Besides, don't you think it's smart to just have a foot in the door? You know? If you ever want to meet Sidney or find out more about her?"

"Why would I want to meet her?" Roman asked bitterly.

As the Stab movie gained more and more attention, Roman couldn't help but be bitter. There he was, struggling to make it as a director, and his sister was on the news and front pages of papers with a movie being made about her life. And Roman's name wasn't anywhere to be found because of how ashamed his parents had been of his existence. What was supposed to be a simple plan to get rid of his mother was now a media nightmare that wouldn't leave him alone.

"I don't know," Luca said, shrugging. "But even so, we do still need a guitarist, so there's no going back. I'm just letting you know since she's friends with Sidney."

☆︎ APRIL, 1998 ☆︎

"Hey, so, you didn't, like, throw on a Ghostface mask and come out here and kill some people at the Stab movie premiere, right?"

"What?" a very sleepy Roman asked as his brother woke him up with a call, not even greeting him properly before asking his question.

"Oh, okay," Luca said, taking that as an answer in itself. "Just checking."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Roman asked while reaching for his glasses on his nightstand.

"It's all over the news. Two people were killed here last night by someone in a Ghostface costume. Stabbed the girl in front of everyone in the theater and still got away," he explained. "I'm about to head to class but wanted to ask you about it. Didn't know if you changed your mind about staying away from Sidney Prescott."

"No, I'm still in L.A. working on that episode of Dawson's Creek. Wait, so you're saying someone is copying Billy Loomis and Stu Macher?"

"Seems like," Luca said while grabbing his backpack. "And sounds like ticket sales have skyrocketed for the movie just because of this, which is kind of fucked up. Gale Weathers is already here, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was a Stab 2 in a year or two."

"Of fucking course," Roman muttered bitterly. Then he sighed. "Look, just stay away from them. I don't want you getting hurt."

"I'll be okay. You know Indiana left the band, so I only see her in class, and something tells me she'll probably use this as an excuse to skip — god knows I would."

"That's good. And, uh, just let me know if something happens to Sidney," he requested.

Luca raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You're not worried about her, are you?"

"Fuck no," he said, scowling. "But it's obviously about her if the killer had a fucking Ghostface mask on. It will always be about her."

"Well, I just hope the killer stays away from Indy and Jackson. I like them a lot more than the rest of that friend group."

☆︎

Everything changed when the world learned Mickey Altieri was one of the Windsor killers. Yet another failed attempt to kill Sidney, to erase what little was left of Maureen Prescott, and Roman hated how fucking incompetent four psychos had been.

The conversation Luca had with his brother was fresh on his mind as he went to visit Indiana in the hospital, who was still healing from being shot.

"How close do you think you can get? To Sidney Prescott?" Roman had asked over the phone. He was sitting and watching live news coverage of the aftermath at Windsor, growing furious every time his half-sister's face flashed across his screen, some channels already promising interviews with her like she was a celebrity.

"Not sure about Sidney, but I can get close to Indiana," Luca said, scratching his head. "I mean, we're friends, you know."

"But you flunked out, Lu. And I doubt they're coming back to fucking Ohio after all this," he pointed out.

"Well, how close are you talking? Do you have a plan or something?" he asked, knowing how much Roman hated and resented Sidney.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "Yeah, I've got a plan. You don't have to help if you don't want to though."

Luca scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I'll do anything for you, Ro, you know that."

"Good," Roman said, smiling softly. "Because we're playing the long game."

Despite the easy smile on Luca's lips when he entered the hospital room with a handful of cheap flowers, he was nervous, not wanting to let his older brother down with a task so important. "I really hope this doesn't affect your wicked dance moves," he said, greeting Indiana who was staring up at the ceiling tiles.

Indiana smiled weakly at him, and right away, Luca couldn't help but think she looked broken. Even Luca was surprised by Mickey being the killer with how obviously in love he and Indy had been.

"Oh, I'm sure they'll have me making up routines in physical therapy back in California," she managed to joke. "Aren't you supposed to be in calculus right now?"

"Nope," he said, dropping into a chair. "All classes were canceled. Thanks for that, by the way."

"Yeah, I did this whole ordeal just to keep you from flunking out," she told him sarcastically.

"Actually, all current grades were solidified, so I did, in fact, flunk that, along with three other classes."

"Jesus, Lu, you gotta study better," she said, reminding Luca of Roman a bit, who always wanted to see him do his best.

"I'm pretty. I don't have to know things," he told her while propping his feet on the end of her hospital bed. Now he had to actually do some digging for the plan and find out what was next for the Woodsboro survivors. "So, I'm guessing you're not gonna be sticking around?"

"No," Indiana answered as he expected. "I get discharged tomorrow morning, and we're flying home. Randy and Dewey are being transported to a hospital near Woodsboro in a few days. I think we've all had enough of Ohio."

"Fair enough," he muttered, not surprised by her answer. "I'll miss you, but hey, New Mexico isn't that far from California. We could all meet up assuming my parents don't kick me out for flunking out of Windsor."

Maybe if they grew the friendship enough, Roman could meet them all. He could get to Sidney. If only his brother had come up with his plan back at the start of the school year. Then Luca wouldn't have to try as hard to worm his way into their lives.

But fate must've thought it was funny because Luca didn't have to try hard at all. A morphined-out Indiana was making an offer so good that Luca almost didn't believe it. It felt too good to be true.

"You should be our band's rhythm guitarist."

Roman was gonna be so goddamn happy with the turn of events.

"I could totally be your rhythm guitarist!"

☆︎ JUNE, 1999 ☆︎

The stack of resumes for music video directors was spread out on the table in the Winger living room. Jackson and Indiana were crouched over one, getting excited as they saw that one of the contenders worked with Madonna.

Luca hadn't done much since joining the band — it was the long game, after all. But now The Woodsboro Killers were growing, and it was finally time for Roman to get his foot in the door.

"Guys! This dude did the last Green Day video!" Sophia gushed, waving around a piece of paper. "Shit, Rod has some good connections. These names are huge for how small we are."

"Kinda makes me wanna pick someone small too," Luca spoke up as casually as he could.

"What do you mean small?" Isaiah asked him, tilting his head.

Luca just shrugged. "You know, like, someone that doesn't have a lot of experience — that's not known. So that if this ends up being the best music video ever, then we'd be helping someone get their start just like we are."

"Wait, that's so cool," Indiana told him, grinning brightly. Then she looked to Isaiah, who had most of the stack near him. "Get the shortest one, Zay."

It took the boy a second to shuffle through them all, scanning and comparing the lengths of them all. Then he whipped one out and read the name at the top.

"Roman Bridger," he said before handing the resume with only two bullet points on it to her.

Indiana didn't care about the credits for single episodes of TV shows as she looked at the name, grinning brightly. "That is a cool fucking name."

☆︎

"If you didn't want us to show up in matching shirts, then you shouldn't have bought me the same shirt," Luca told his brother as they spoke in the Winger garage.

After being hired and discussing what to do with the music video, Roman requested to spend time alone with each member of the band to get to know them better. It was also an opportune moment to speak with his brother.

"We're just gonna have to coordinate from now on," Roman said, shaking his head. "Now, what about Sidney? Is she coming around?"

Luca shook his head and leaned his head back on the couch. "She, like, ran off into the woods somewhere. I didn't make the cut of people that got her address or cell phone number. She's been way paranoid since getting back from Windsor."

"Not that she's wrong about that," Roman muttered, finding it a little funny. Then he shook his head. "Look, don't even worry about her, right now. That's for later. Now, it's about you and your video. You're gonna be a star, Lu."

"Yeah?" he asked, grinning shyly as if he didn't already have a fucking Grammy, which Roman bought him a nice shelf to display it on. "I'm glad they picked you. I wouldn't want to work with anyone else."

"So, do you seriously want to do the Psycho shower scene?" he asked, chuckling over how excited he'd been earlier.

"Oh, hell yeah," he said. But before they could plan anymore, he remembered what was sitting in his backpack. "I grabbed this from Indy's room. You know, for that voice thing you were talking about. You need samples for it to work. This tape has everyone from Windsor — Cici Cooper and Mickey Altieri too."

Roman looked at it with wide eyes, taking it from his brother, knowing it would be useful in the future. "She's not gonna notice this is gone?"

"No way. There's a whole box of footage shot by Mickey from last year, but she can't watch it. She'll never know," he assured him.

"Mickey's voice, hmm?" Roman murmured. The biggest concern with his killing Sidney plan was the Indiana of it all. She was a force to be reckoned with, but if he could distract her with the voice of the latest Ghostface, he might stand a chance at getting to his sister. "That changes a few things."

☆︎ FEBRUARY 1ST, 2000 ☆︎

Luca was anxiously pacing the length of his dressing room at the Hollywood Bowl. He'd disappeared, telling everyone he needed a long nap before the last show of their North American tour began in two hours.

Isaiah had asked Luca if he wanted any company, but given that he wasn't going to actually be napping, he kept his boyfriend out.

His boyfriend. That was a big fucking problem because Luca wasn't meant to be falling in love while his brother was planning to go on a killing rampage. But Luca couldn't help falling for Isaiah who was so soft and sweet. After they'd gotten together after the VMAs, Roman wasn't expecting Luca to come crying to him, desperate to keep Isaiah safe.

Of course, Roman calmed him down right away. Sidney was the only target — well, Sidney and some of the assholes working on the Stab 3 set. But Roman assured his little brother that none of the people he'd grown close to over the last few years would be hurt so long as everything went according to plan. All Luca had to do was make a few calls — he wouldn't have to hurt anyone directly.

"Are you ready?" Luca asked, on the phone with Roman. He kept his voice down, worried someone might hear him through the door.

"Yeah, she just got in the shower, and Cotton should be here soon," Roman replied. "Leave the message on the machine in Mickey's voice. It'll have the cops running around like fucking idiots looking for a dead man. Then call Cotton up."

"Okay," he said, taking in a shaky breath. "Please be careful, Ro. This isn't the same as getting Billy Loomis to do it for you. Cotton's pretty big. He could hurt you."

"I'll be okay, Lu," he promised, glad that he was worried about him. "Just make the calls and then relax. It's your last concert — crush it for me."

"You know I will."

☆︎ FEBRUARY 3RD, 2000 ☆︎

Luca was strategically leaning back against the oven in Jennifer's house, giving in as Isaiah brought a cupcake to his mouth, making him eat it. It wasn't bad, of course — it was a fucking cupcake. But he just liked to eat the icing separately from the cake.

"Is that not the best thing you've ever tasted?" Isaiah asked his boyfriend excitedly, his eyes sparkling.

"I mean, it's not bad — it's fucking cake. It can't be bad," he insisted, feeling icing around his lips. "But it just feels not right. I have to eat them the way I eat them."

"Well, the way you eat them is basic, and that says a lot coming from someone like me."

"You're not basic," Luca told him softly, not wanting him to talk down on himself. "You're classic."

"And you have icing on your lips," he informed him before kissing said icing off.

Luca melted, as he always did when kissing the younger boy. Despite all that was going on — despite the fact that his brother was outside killing Stone — he just let himself enjoy the nice moment. Isaiah had been so scared over the last few days, so it was nice to have him be happy, even for just a few minutes.

Even after parting for air, Luca chased after Isaiah for another short kiss, making sure to bring up the million kisses owed for trying the cupcake. "Nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine more to go."

Isaiah smirked at him, holding Luca's hips a little closer. "Make that ninety-eight."

Despite his wish to work away at the overwhelming number of kisses owed, Luca knew he still had a job to do. It wasn't like the oven was the most comfortable thing to lean up against, after all.

So, he carefully moved his hand behind his back, fiddling with the knob that would turn the gas on without igniting the burner. Since the oven was older, a loud clicking sound filled the kitchen, startling Isaiah. Luca pulled away from the kiss just as quickly, plastering a concerned look on his own face.

"What was that?" Luca asked, pretending to search for an intruder.

"I don't... I don't know," Isaiah said, growing more nervous. Luca hated seeing him scared, but he knew he'd get the boy out of the house before something bad could happen to him. Roman promised that Isaiah would be okay. "Let's get back to Indy."

Luca nodded and intertwined their hands, pulling Isaiah back to the living room. "Don't have to tell me twice."

☆︎

Luca would've preferred to pull himself and Isaiah a little further from the house before it exploded with Tommy inside. But Isaiah was fighting with all his might to try and get to his cousin to pointlessly save him. The blast threw them into the woods and down the hill leading to the road like everyone else, but no one seemed to be close to them as they both recovered.

"Oh, god," Isaiah groaned, his back hurting from smashing into a tree hard. "T - Tommy. He was in - he was in the house."

"I'm sorry," Luca said, managing to sit up and catch his breath. "I'm sorry but I couldn't let you run in and get him. Are you hurt?"

Slowly and with teary eyes, Isaiah came over to him. Both boys only had shallow cuts, which was quite lucky. His knees shook until he landed right next to Luca, who instantly wrapped him up in a hug.

"We'll need to find the others," Luca whispered, running his fingers through Isaiah's tangled hair.

The younger boy nodded against his shoulder, the fabric of Luca's sweatshirt soaking up his tears. Then, knowing he needed to be strong and also that they needed to get to safety, Isaiah took in a deep breath to steady himself and pulled away, still keeping his hands around Luca as he did.

"Alright," he finally said, beginning to stand and pull Luca's sweatshirt to help him up as well. "I think I heard Indy shouting at—"

Isaiah cut himself off as something slipped out of the pocket of Luca's sweatshirt, falling to the ground. It was round and the moonlight made the metal shine.

"What is this thing?" he asked, swooping down to grab it before Luca could first.

"Oh, um, it - it's just this thing I saw in the house. Must've grabbed it," Luca said nervously while snatching it from Isaiah's hands.

Isaiah eyed his boyfriend, growing confused by his defensiveness. "Lu, is something wrong?" he asked as Luca shoved the device back into his pocket.

But karma was a bitch that must've hated the boy because while he was aggressively shoving the voice changer in his sweatshirt, it knocked the other item hiding inside loose. And Isaiah knew right away what it was.

"W - why do you have a knife?" he asked, his eyes going wide with alarm.

Luca froze, not prepared for this. Roman made him carry around a weapon just in case, especially with everyone ready to throw out accusations left and right. He needed to be able to protect himself — but not from Zay.

"It's the one that killed Stone," he lied, thinking as fast as he could. "I grabbed it."

"No, Indy grabbed it. She gave it to Virginia," he said, his frown deepening. "Was... was that a voice changer?"

"No!" Luca exclaimed. He took a step toward Isaiah, who took a step back cautiously. "Zay, it's not - it's not what you think."

"Oh, my god," he mumbled, tears falling from his eyes. "The stove was on. The stove — you killed Tommy. You're the killer."

"No!" he insisted, grabbing Isaiah's wrist. "Just let me explain. Please, Zay. You can't say anything. It had to be done."

Isaiah shook his head and ripped his arm free, stumbling back as he did so. "Indy... Indy will stop you. She and Dewey—"

When Isaiah turned to run, Luca acted faster than he could think it through. He grabbed the fallen knife and lunged at Isaiah, tackling him to the ground. Before either boy knew it, the knife was buried in Isaiah's back, making him cry out.

Luca's heart was racing as he scrambled back and turned Isaiah over after pulling the knife from his back, looking at his pain-filled face.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he whispered, struggling to breathe as he realized what he'd done. As he realized what had to happen now. "He can't get caught, Zay. I can't lose him."

"What?" Isaiah breathed out, not understanding how Luca could've changed so much in a matter of seconds. Tears pricked at his eyes, knowing he wouldn't make it out of this most likely. "Why are you doing this?"

Luca just shook his head, not able to find the words to explain himself. All he could do was apologize, the words meaning nothing to the boy beneath him.

"I have to protect him," Luca mumbled, staring at the knife.

Isaiah watched him warily, not understanding what he was about to do. Then Luca surprised him by grabbing the knife and ramming it into his own shoulder, crying from the self-inflicted wound that made it look like he'd been attacked too.

"No!" Isaiah shouted, not wanting to see Luca hurt. That was the horrible part. He had no clue who the man he loved really was, but he also didn't want him harmed.

"I'm sorry," Luca whispered one more time before using the knife one last time.

Before Isaiah could scream for help, the knife was embedded in his chest, hitting far more critical organs than the knife in his back had. And while he was bleeding out on the grass, Luca kept up his ruse, shouting as if he and Isaiah were being attacked by the killer before going down the hill where everyone else was.

He wasn't meant to hit his head so hard, but he figured he deserved it — he did just kill the one person he intended to keep alive through all of this. When Indiana reached him, he felt sick, knowing that everything would change now. Sidney couldn't be the only one to die now.

"Lu," she said, crouching by his side and tapping his face. "Luca. Luca, open your eyes. Please, please, Lu. Don't do this. Where's Zay? Come on."

He laid there for a moment longer before slowly opening his eyes, taking his time to respond in a dazed tone. "Indy... Zay? Where's Zay?" he asked as if he didn't fucking know.

"Where is Isaiah?" Indiana had to ask him again.

While cradling his head and leaning on Dewey, Luca sat up, looking back up the hill, playing into the act. "Za - Zay. He had Zay. No!"

Then he ran. He had to get there first in case Isaiah was still alive. He had to pull the knife out to explain why his prints were all over it. He and Roman had come so far — he couldn't lose that and Isaiah all in the same day.

Luca couldn't help but cry as he knelt over Isaiah and grabbed the knife, subtly digging it in deeper before pulling it out to make the blood flow quicker. He wasn't dead yet, just staring up at Luca with a sad, betrayed look in his eyes. Isaiah tried to say something — he tried to say his name, to tell Indiana who was responsible — but blood was filling his lungs and spilling from his mouth.

"I'm sorry," Luca whispered, cupping his face. He could feel Isaiah trying to weakly shake his head, not wanting him to touch him. He didn't want Luca's face to be the last one he saw. Luca choked on the words that Isaiah didn't believe. "I - I'm sorry. Please, I'm sorry. Zay, please, I'm sorry."

☆︎ FEBRUARY 4th, 2000 ☆︎

"Luca," Nurse Isabella said while entering his room. "Looks like you're all set to be discharged. A Mr. Reyes is here to collect you, and he'll watch over you while you're still healing from the concussion."

"Oh, thank you," Luca mumbled tiredly, not understanding why their manager was coming to get him from the hospital. But he didn't question it because he didn't care. Luca hadn't felt much of anything since killing Isaiah.

But a second later, it wasn't Rod that entered the room. It was Roman, who signed the paperwork with a fake name so that it couldn't be traced to him.

"Hey there, kid," Roman said, coming to his bedside. He gently pushed Luca's curls back to look at the bandage on his head. "I'm sorry about Isaiah."

Luca shook his head, his throat feeling tight. "It was my choice, Ro. I did it to protect us."

"Your sacrifice will be worth it," he told him, squeezing his shoulder. "Now, feel like going to a party? I think this long game has gone on long enough."