WE'VE GOT A REAL-LIFE HORROR MOVIE GOING ON.

☆︎ SEPTEMBER 25TH, 1996 ☆︎

Going to school was almost as nightmarish as being chased around the Becker house by a murderer. People were constantly coming up to Indiana and telling her how sorry they were. And if they weren't doing that, they were hassling for the details of what really happened since the police were keeping details to themselves.

And all day, students and teachers were pulled from classes to sit through questioning by the police. Several times, Indiana was dragged into the creep that was Principal Himbry's office to reclarify details to Dewey and the sheriff. During her physics class, where Indiana's seat was by a huge window, she caught sight of some cameraman shooting footage of her — Stu ended up swapping seats with her, making sure his tall frame hid her away.

So, just maybe, Virginia was right and Indiana should've taken a day off from school.

When the final bell rang, freeing them, Indiana didn't immediately go home despite Billy promising Virginia that he'd drive her right there. Instead, she met with her friends on the fountain in the school courtyard. Since it was still school property, none of the news vans could get to them. The only ones missing were Isaiah and Sophia, as they had an extra band practice because of an upcoming competition.

Tatum was squished between Randy and Stu, half on her boyfriend's lap. Jackson was next to Stu, and Indiana was on the ground in between his legs, letting the boy put her hair into two French braids. Sidney was next to them, Billy's legs on either side of her as he laid on his back and soaked in the sunshine.

"What'd you say when they asked you about the band name?" Indiana asked Jackson with a small smile. He was going over his interrogation, which happened in their last class of the day.

"I said if I wanted to kill you, I'd save it for this year's Halloween gig. It's the only way to top what you did last year," Jackson said with a grin.

"Are we gonna have to rebrand?" she asked him, frowning a little. "It's such a bitchin' name."

"I think you're good," Tatum told her while eating some grapes. "If anything, it's free publicity."

"Right," she said, snorting. "Let me just write the killer a thank you note real quick."

"How thoughtful of you," Billy said, shooting her a smirk.

"So, what else did they ask, Jack?" Sidney asked him. "Mine didn't take very long, but they asked me if I knew Casey."

"Oh yeah, they asked me that too," Tatum said.

"Which, of course, everyone knew her," Indy chimed in, thinking of how small the town was.

Stu looked up to glance at the three other boys. "Hey, they ask if you like to hunt?"

"Yeah, they did," Billy replied. "They ask you?"

"Yup," Jackson said. "Isaiah was questioned really early and after he told them his dad takes him hunting sometimes, he was in there for like thirty extra minutes."

Indiana couldn't help but scoff. Like Isaiah would ever hurt someone. But she also knew the police were just desperate to put a stop to this before things got worse.

"Hunt? Why would they ask if you like to hunt?" Tatum asked them, looking at the guys in confusion.

"Because their bodies were gutted," Randy said, not bothering to sugarcoat it.

Though Billy didn't want to be her boyfriend, he still noticed how Sidney flinched. He was waiting for Indiana to do the same, but it never happened. Even though she hadn't wanted to talk about it the night before and just preferred to let him and Stu hold her, she seemed wholly unbothered now.

Billy sat up a little bit, putting a hand on Sidney's back. "Thank you, Randy," he said flatly, unimpressed as always with the boy.

"They didn't ask me if I like to hunt," Tatum told them.

"Because there's no way a girl could have killed them," Stu informed her matter of factly.

Indiana scoffed while Tatum argued back. "That is so sexist. The killer could easily be female – Basic Instinct," she said, bringing up the movie.

"That was an ice pick. Not exactly the same thing," Randy told her with a demeaning smirk.

"Yeah, Casey and Steve were completely hollowed out," Stu reminded them. "The fact is it takes a man to do something like that."

Tatum rolled her eyes. "Or a man's mentality."

"Nah, you two are full of shit," Jackson told the boys, laughing. "Put a knife in my sister's hand, and I'm running for the fucking hills. She's terrifying."

"How do you gut someone?" Sidney asked suddenly, very quiet and almost to herself.

All of them looked to the girl who was clearly being affected by all of this. It was too much for her, especially so close to the anniversary of her mother's death.

Stu was the one to break the silence. "You take a knife and slit 'em from the groin to the sternum," he said, ignoring how everyone was glaring at him. Sidney shivered and kept her eyes on the ground, likely picturing what happened to her mother.

"Hey!" Billy snapped. "It's called tact, you fuck rag."

Stu looked at him innocently, as if he'd done nothing wrong. As if he hadn't made himself look mega fucking suspicious.

Thankfully, Sidney could throw it right back at the taller boy. "Hey, Stu? Didn't you use to date Casey?" she asked in an innocent tone. Indiana bit back a smile, knowing that would set off both Tatum and Randy.

Stu was caught a bit off guard and let out a small, nervous laugh. "Yeah, for like two seconds," he said defensively.

Randy then leaned in close to Tatum. "Before she dumped him for Steve."

Tatum looked at Stu accusingly. "I thought you dumped her for me!"

"I did!" he insisted, lying out of his ass. Indiana and Billy shared an amused look, remembering how much Stu complained after Casey left him for Steve the summer before. They didn't have much sympathy back then given their general dislike for the girl that was now dead. "He's full of shit."

Randy then stood up and got in Stu's face, smirking at him. "And are the police aware you dated the victim?"

"What are you saying?" Stu asked with a tight and clearly offended smile. "Th - that I killed her?"

Randy raised an eyebrow. "It would certainly improve your high school Q."

"Stu was with me last night. Okay?" Tatum said, leaning back against her boyfriend. She sounded quite smug, letting them all know what the two had been up to. "And he'd never touch our precious Indy."

"Yeah, exactly," Stu said proudly while also reaching to tug on the braid in Indiana's hair that Jackson just finished. She laughed and swatted his hand away so that Jackson could focus on finishing the other.

"Ooh. Was that before or after he sliced and diced?" Randy kept at it, making his voice sound more threatening at the end.

Seeing how much it bothered Sidney, Jackson nudged her knee with his own. They shared a look and he nodded to Indiana's head, silently asking her to take over. It would give the girl something else to focus on rather than the killing, which Sidney appreciated. She slid further from Billy, who sat up fully, to finish Indy's hair.

All the while, Tatum kept arguing with Randy and Stu. "Fuck you, nutcase. Where were you last night?" she asked him.

"Working, thank you," he said in an innocent, sweet tone.

"Oh, at the video store? I thought they fired your sorry ass."

"Twice," Randy said proudly before popping a grape in his mouth and giving them a big, goofy, Jim Carrey-esque grin.

"Yeah, he just keeps showing up, so they keep paying him," Indiana said, giggling softly. No one was better suited to work at a movie store. The only problem was that Randy had a horrible habit of shitting on customers for their movie tastes. He was fired last time for calling someone a 'dumbass' when they tried to rent Jaws: The Revenge.

"I didn't kill anybody," Stu informed them all as if they needed him to.

Billy shot him a look of warning that no one else caught — he was having too much fucking fun with this. "No one's saying you did," he said pointedly.

Stu nodded to him with an appreciative smile, ignoring Billy's reprimanding look. "Thanks, buddy."

"Besides," Randy cut in again. Then he began a perfect Stu impression. "It takes a man to do something like that."

"Ooh, say something else," Jackson said, smirking at them.

"Yo, I'm gonna gut your ass in a second, kid," Stu said, laughing at the impression.

"Tell me something," Randy went on, beginning to talk in a high-pitched voice. "Did you really put her liver in the mailbox? 'Cause I hear they found her liver in the mailbox next to her spleen and her pancreas."

Tatum, who was eyeing Sidney and knew they really were pushing it now, smacked Randy. "Randy, you goon! Fuck, I'm trying to eat here. Alright!"

"Yeah, Randy, she's getting mad," Stu said as Tatum leaned back against him. "You better liver alone."

Stu cracked up at his own lame joke while pretty much everyone else groaned. Though Sidney looked like she was about to crawl out of her skin over it all. It was the last straw as she gathered her things to leave. Indiana watched sadly as she leaned in to kiss Billy goodbye before rushing off without saying a thing.

She hated herself for hating the sight of them kissing.

"Liver alone!" Stu kept going, ignoring how the others were glaring at him as he laughed and stuck out his tongue. Billy hit him on the arm angrily. "Ow! Liver. Liver. It was a joke! Indy, it was funny, wasn't it?"

"It was funny, but not with Sid right there," she told him. With her hair finished, she moved to sit on the fountain in between Jackson and Billy. "And her liver wasn't in the mailbox, Randy. He didn't have time for it."

"Damn," Randy muttered, snapping his fingers.

"I don't see why we're all still tiptoeing around Sid," Stu grumbled. "I mean, Indy's parents ate it in a much worse way and we still act normal around her."

At Stu's insensitive words, Tatum smacked him on the back of the head while Randy and Billy glanced nervously at Indiana, who bit the inside of her cheek.

"Oh, right," Stu said, rubbing his head. "We're still doing that thing where we pretend Dewey didn't tell Tate, who didn't tell us, and Jackson didn't immediately tell Indy about her telling us."

"Oh, my god," Tatum whispered while putting her head in her hands. "I'm dating a dumbass."

"Well, yeah, that's not brand new information," Indiana said, managing a smile. "And yeah, okay, I watched my parents get murdered last year. I'm over it, but Sid has a different grieving process than I do. This is really difficult for her."

Jackson noticed how Indiana left out that part of her grieving process included butchering the man that killed her parents so much that his body was barely identifiable.

"So, what I'm hearing is that it's not too difficult for you to tell us everything about last night," Randy said while leaning over Tatum and Stu to stare at Indy intently. "C'mon, the news isn't giving us anything. We've got a real-life horror movie going on. I need the details, Winger."

"You don't have to," Jackson said softly.

But Indiana wanted to talk about it, she wanted her friends to know. She wasn't going to give the killer the satisfaction of her fear. Plus, she could see the eager looks on all of their faces — even Jackson's, but as her best friend, he respected her boundaries the most and could curb his curiosity.

"Okay," Indiana said with a heavy sigh, as if she was inconvenienced. "But don't go selling my movie rights or anything, Meeks."

"No promises," the redhead said with a smirk. "Now set the scene. Give us some backstory, because why the hell were you even at Becker's place?"

"Trying to get a Halloween gig — BTW, Jax, we've got to start putting out feelers for someone else that wants to hire us," she told the boy. "Anyway, we were almost done, and I was gonna get to go home. Then the phone rings — wrong number, Casey hangs up. He calls again, tells him to call a nine-hundred number if he's so lonely."

"In a bitchy way that made him want to murder her?" Stu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean, Casey has definitely been bitchier," Indiana said with a shrug.

"Is it right to call her that now that she's dead?" Tatum asked, frowning a little.

"I heard you're gonna get the cheer captain spot on the squad now that she's gone," Jackson told her.

"Really?" Tatum asked, unable to hide her grin as she leaned forward. It only made the others laugh at her excitement. "Think they'll tell me at practice later — um, not important, actually. Okay, no, keep going, Indy."

"So anyway, the phone rings again, and I wanna mess with this dude, so Casey lets me answer. And who do I hear on the other line?"

"A murderer?" Randy asked her rhetorically.

Indiana shook her head and leaned back onto Billy while pretending to swoon. "The hottest fucking goddamn voice imaginable," she admitted now that there was no one around to judge her.

"Seriously?" Tatum asked, giggling.

"Is that right?" Billy asked, raising an eyebrow. Indiana turned her head on his chest to look up at him. He looked almost smug, but she interpreted it as him just making fun of her.

"I might have dreams about that voice, and they certainly won't be nightmares," she said, unashamed. "Anyway, we're talkin' — flirting. He wants to know my favorite scary movie and has me try to guess his. He wants to take me on a date. I humor him, obviously, because—"

"Because he sounds hot," Stu said while snorting.

"Exactly," she said, leaning off Billy to look at Stu. "But then he has to kill the mood by asking my name a second time. Why do you wanna know my name? Oh, because I wanna know who I'm fucking watching through the patio window. That's why!"

"Ew!" Tatum said, shivering as she thought of it.

"After that, I hung up quick and then told Casey I wasn't leaving until her parents came home. He called again, and after that, he was pissed. Kept threatening us, then he was ringing on the doorbell to mess with us. It worked — Casey was falling apart and even I was nervous, knowing it wasn't some prank by then. So we get far from the front door, and I was yelling threats at him through the phone — Oh!"

Indiana cut herself off and looked pointedly at Billy. "If you're not the killer, then you might be a target, because I lied and said I had a big strong boyfriend who would kick his ass. We thought good ol' fashioned misogyny would send him running."

"It didn't, did it?" Jackson asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, sir, it did not," she said, puffing her cheeks up before slowly letting the air out.

"Wait, wait," Billy said, putting up a hand. "Why the hell would you think I was the killer?"

Indiana tilted her head and studied his confused and intrigued expression. But there was some unrecognizable emotion in his dark eyes — like he was excited for her answer. And that was her answer. "You have the gorgeous, but overall soulless and penetrating eyes of a serial killer."

Billy couldn't even begin to know how to respond, but Stu could laugh. He grinned teasingly at her over Jackson's head. "So, what I'm hearing is that you think Billy is gorgeous."

"Look at him, Stuart," Indiana said seriously while looking at Billy. She reached out and trailed a finger along his jawline, seeing how his eyes softened. "His cheekbones are so sharp. Maybe that's what he gut Casey with."

Billy let out a chuckle and turned his head to nip at her fingertip with his teeth, which she pulled away just in time. "I didn't kill Casey," Billy said, lying through those same teeth. "Guess my voice isn't quite as alluring."

"Mm, not quite," she said teasingly.

"Well, hey!" Stu suddenly whined. "Why didn't you say I was your fake boyfriend?"

"That's true. He is taller," Tatum agreed. Of course, they all knew, even Tatum, that something had always been brewing between Indiana and Billy, despite the Sidney of it all. But as far as Tatum knew, they'd never done anything about the tension. "But maybe too goofy to intimidate a hot-voiced killer."

"That was my thinking," Indiana agreed. "Plus football player sounds so much scarier than basketball player."

"I feel so attacked and unwanted," Stu said, pouting.

"Oh, you poor baby," Indy cooed. "Move, Jax."

Jackson chuckled as Indiana dragged him over and Stu also pushed him from the fountain. Then Indiana crawled over the boy to get to Stu, who was all too happy to be squished between two beautiful girls now.

"Feel better?" Indiana asked him while leaning her head on his neck.

"So much better, Babe," he assured her while shooting a snarky grin in Billy's direction. "So, then what happened after the mere thought of Billy wasn't man enough to scare the killer?"

"Well, we found Steve tied up on the back patio. Casey, the dumbass, tried to go out there as if the guy that did that wasn't also out there," she said, rolling her eyes. "So, anyway, he made Casey answer horror movie questions, and if she got one wrong, Steve would die."

"What questions?" Randy asked, looking at her intently.

"Who is the killer in Halloween? And the killer in Friday the 13th?"

"I'm confused," Randy said, frowning. "Those are so easy — Michael Myers and Mrs. Vorhees. How are Steve and Casey dead?"

Indiana shook her head. "Said Jason, and next thing we know, Steve's insides are covering the patio floor. Then he's like, guess what door I'm at — obviously the fucking patio door you just viciously butchered a linebacker at. But Casey said she didn't want to answer."

"God," Tatum mumbled, knowing what was coming.

"Guy goes WWF and throws a chair through the doors, breaking the glass. I pushed Casey ahead of me to run, but being as it's not my house, I ended up tripping on a coffee table and hitting my head. Got knocked out. Next thing I know, Mr. Becker is shaking me awake. They couldn't call the police because Casey never hung up the phone."

"Shit," Jackson breathed out. "They heard her? Dying?"

"Yup," she confirmed grimly. "So, Mr. Becker told his wife to take me and run to their neighbor's house. But as soon as we stepped outside, we saw her hanging in the tree. God, her parents were... I can't imagine how they must have felt."

Except Indiana did know how they felt. She and Virginia had been the same in North Carolina. You didn't recover from seeing someone you love in that kind of condition — you adjusted, sometimes for the good, other times for the worse.

The six of them sat in silence for a moment, taking in what happened to Indiana. And she hated the silence. She'd spent every goddamn second since she got to California doing things to make sure she wasn't surrounded with silence and with her thoughts — she forced herself out of her depressive shell to make friends, gotten a job, started a band that ended up being the best thing in her life.

"Don't make this a thing," Indiana finally told them. "I'm fine. I'm not traumatized. But just please don't talk about it around Sidney. I don't want her to be upset—"

"It doesn't always have to be about making sure Sidney is the one that's okay," Billy interrupted her, his voice surprisingly hard. For a moment, Indiana froze under his dark gaze.

"Well, good thing I'm okay, then," she mumbled, looking away. "Serious, guys. It happened and it's over and done with."

"Sure, it's done with. Okay," Randy said, waving a hand. "But when you were done flirting with the killer—"

Indiana couldn't help but laugh, breaking the uncomfortable mood. "I didn't know he was going to brutally mutilate Casey while I was flirting!" she reminded them.

Again, Randy waved her off in favor of asking his question while a few of the others chuckled. "Sure. But what did you say your favorite scary movie was?"

"Killer Klowns From Outer Space," Indy told him. She wasn't sure if she'd ever discussed it with the boy, despite constant movie debates.

Randy's face dropped. "I've suddenly lost all respect for you as a human being," he declared while shaking his head in disapproval. Indiana scoffed and leaned all the way across Stu and Tatum to flick Randy on the forehead.

"So, that's where you draw the line?" Jackson asked with a smirk. "Not her getting turned on by a psycho killer over the phone?"

"Eh," the boy shrugged, "we've all got our kinks."

"And we don't want to fucking hear yours, Meek Geek," Stu said while laughing. Then his tone turned flirty as he wrapped an arm around Indiana's waist. "But, uh, you can keep listing if you want, Indy."

"Oh, Stuart," she said with a sigh. Then she shared a smirk with Tatum before leaning in close to Stu, her lips hovering near his. Stu's face went slack, clearly not expecting it as she slid her hands up his chest. Right before he leaned in, not caring at all about his girlfriend's presence, Indiana shoved him back into Tatum. "You couldn't handle me."

Tatum couldn't stop giggling at the stunned look on Stu's face. Then she moved up and kissed his cheek. "God, babe, you're pathetic when at the mercy of a pretty girl."

"Well, he's not the only one," Jackson said, shooting a wink at Tatum that only she really knew the meaning behind. The strawberry blonde simply rolled her eyes and leaned against Stu.

"Hey, Indy," Billy then spoke up, catching the girl's attention again — he hated any time he didn't have it. "We should probably get going. Virginia is gonna blow a gasket if you aren't home soon."

"And now we know why," Stu said, shaking his head. "Let us know if you want any of us to come by and keep you company whenever she's at work."

"I should be fine," Indiana said while grabbing her bag off the ground. "But I think I'll survive the fifteen minutes between her leaving for her shift and everyone coming over for practice."

"You really think rehearsal is a priority right now?" Randy asked, raising an eyebrow. "What with the murder?"

"I can't believe you even asked her that," Jackson said, chuckling. "She had us rehearsing one day after she sprained her ankle in a game last semester and just played sitting in a chair."

"If Ghost Boy comes knocking during rehearsal, I will politely ask him to wait outside the garage until we're done. Then he can murder me," Indy said with a grin. Then she let Billy wrap an arm around her shoulder. "Alright, get me home, Loomis."

Billy smirked down at her, tightening his grip on her. "I'm yours to command, Winger."

☆︎

Unlike Indiana, Virginia Winger did not think that the betterment of The Woodsboro Killers was worth risking their lives over. Just before leaving for her shift at the hospital, she informed Indiana that there would be no band rehearsal until the killer was caught, which naturally, didn't go over well with Indiana.

"You can't just dictate my life because of this," Indiana argued while stomping around her bedroom.

Virginia was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, nowhere near budging on this. "Pack a bag. I'm taking you to Sidney's since I'm working late, and her dad isn't home. Then when cheerleading practice is over, Tatum is picking you up and taking you to her house. Dewey will be there all night for protection."

"But—"

"No!" Virginia snapped. "It was bad enough Billy waited thirty fucking minutes to bring you home. I'm not letting you draw attention to yourself and make a bunch of racket that is perfect for covering up murder sounds."

Indiana gaped at her sister, looking quite offended. "Our music is not racket!" Then she groaned as Virginia began packing a bag for her. "Look, I understand that this Ghostface guy wants to kill me, but my band is rehearsing in thirty minutes, so he'll just need to hold his fucking horses!"

"Jesus, please sort out your priorities, Indiana. Your life is more important than playing the riff from Master of Puppets for the hundredth time!" she practically shouted, wanting to tear her hair out. "You are not rehearsing. I already called Jackson and Sophia, and they're telling Isaiah. All you can do is get in the car and come to Sidney's and not die."

"I'm not gonna die—"

"Like you could know that," Virginia cut her off, scoffing. "Like we thought we were always going to have Mama and Daddy with us? He said he wasn't finished with you, and I'm terrified of losing you, Indiana, so please, just pack a goddamn bag and spend the night at the Riley's."

Indiana couldn't stomach looking at the tears in her sister's eyes, so she looked at the bag as she packed it slowly. She wouldn't say anything else, just pack like Virginia wanted her to. Then when she had some pajamas and clothes for the next day of school, she looked pointedly at Virginia, letting her know she was done.

"You need your toothbrush, you heathen," she said, rolling her eyes. "But thank you. I need to know you're protected."

"Yeah, because Deputy Doofus is the highest form of protection," she shot back, letting out a laugh.

Virginia wanted to fuss at her, really, she did. But she also couldn't help but laugh as well. "He is a doofus, isn't he?" she asked with an affectionate smile. "A cute doofus."

Indiana couldn't help but cringe. Sure, Dewey was handsome, but she just couldn't take him seriously. "Be so serious, Virginia, he has a pornstache."

"I kinda like it—"

"Oh, barf. Yeah, take me to Sidney's before you start talking about the other parts of Dewey you like."