"Stay in your lane, Wes."

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.

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"SO WHAT is she like, the sister?" Liv asked, looking around at her friend group as they took up base around the pool table. Chad, Layla, Mindy and Wes had engaged in a friendly game, the latter joining forces while Chad and Layla had teamed up.

"Sam?" Chad asked, a grin forming on his face as he thought about the girl that had been so significant in their early pre-teen years. He looked at Wes and Mindy who matched his smile, not bothering to even see if Layla was scowling as he knew she would be. "Sam is so cool!"

"You only say that because she let you wear Pokemon onesies to bed for a year," Mindy replied, causing everyone to laugh. Layla snorted too, taking the pool cue from Chad's hands as he lifted his drink with a twinkle in his eyes.

"That's true!" He announced, smiling at Liv as his girlfriend laughed back at her boyfriend. All of them chuckled, minus Amber who huffed with her arms crossed as she leant against the pool table. "That's a true statement!"

Layla rolled her eyes as she moved past Amber, not liking how the girl had suddenly started to act like she was Tara's spokesperson anytime the girl wasn't around. The longer Layla and Amber had spent time together, the more bored and frustrated Layla became with the other's bad attitude towards everything. It was like a broken record, the same complaints and criticisms on loop.

"No, trust me, Sam is not cool," Amber snapped, before turning her attention back to Liv as she began to explain why they couldn't be praising Sam. "Her dad left her mom - just walks right out when Tara's eight and Sam's thirteen. So Sam started acting out, getting in trouble with cops and then, on Sam's eighteenth birthday, she just leaves."

Layla's eyes flickered to Amber for a second before she continued focusing on the ball she was trying to put into the corner of the pool table. She didn't need to hear a rundown about Sam leaving, especially when she knew the facts that the others didn't.

"Ghosts them all," Amber finished, reaching out and offering vodka from her hip flask to Wes and Layla. The duo shared a quick look before Chad smiled and nodded, letting the girl pour a little into the diet cokes that the best friend's had been sipping on while in the bar. No-one would have gotten away with a fake ID here, especially not Layla. Not when everyone knew who her and Wes' parents were.  "Maybe Sam's changed but I just don't want to see Tara hurt again. I'm sure Layla would agree."

Layla shrugged as she sipped her drink, passing the pool cue back to Chad as Mindy took her's back from Wes. Everyone turned to look at her as she placed her drink down, almost as if they were waiting for her to say something. When she didn't Wes picked up from where Amber finished off.

"So what, you're protecting Tara from her own sister now?"

"Well, someone has to," Amber replied, almost challenging Wes as she leaned towards him a little. If anyone else thought her comment was a dig at Layla for not speaking about Sam moment before, they didn't say it out loud.

"Okay, so no guys - or Layla, seemingly - are good enough for her and now her family's off-limits, too?"

"Mm, motive!" Mindy snapped her fingers, causing everyone's eyes to flicker to her. She looked at Wes, leaning her pals on Layla's shoulders as she peered around her friend at the boy with the frosted tips. "If I can't have her, no one can"

"What?"

"We all know you have a crush on Tara!" Mindy sang, laughing as Layla cracked a small smile as shot a playful look to Wes. She had spent enough time being angry at the boy for the fact, but at the end of the day, a killer was on the loose and she didn't want anything to happen to either her or Wes and them both still being on bad terms.

"Stay in your lane, Wes," Layla joked, causing the blonde boy to roll his eyes. Amber's smile turned into a thin line at Layla's joke, not impressed that she wasn't pushing Mindy's 'Wes might be a killer' motive.

"Okay," Wes replied, passing the cue stick back to mind with a sigh. "Come on, Mindy."

 "But we're all suspects..."

Layla refused to believe it. She wanted to dismiss Mindy's suggestion as nothing more than paranoia and she wanted to just tell her that she was reading too much into things. The idea that one of her friends was behind this attack - it was frustrating, and Layla felt like she was losing her grip on reality. The fact that her friends all had a suspicion that she could be behind something like this broke her heart - especially after everything she had been through.

Sometimes Layla wondered if things would be different if they knew that she had been in the hospital that night when Sidney had killed Jill Roberts. She wondered if, had they known, they'd still be standing here looking around at each other with so much suspicion in her eyes. Layla knew that as much as they trusted her, that if they had known the truth then it likely would have somehow made her look more probable.

"Except maybe Liv."

"Thank you."

"You're way too boring to be a psycho," Mindy finished off, causing Liv to roll her eyes at the girl and stick her finger up at her.

As Chad and Layla took turns playing pool against Wes and Mindy, they both couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. The world seemed like a more dangerous place than it used to be, and they couldn't help but worry about not only their own safety, but the safety of their family and friends. They didn't need to voice it to each other, but Chad was instantly able to tell that Layla was not handling this well at all.

He wanted to ask her if she was okay, if everything was going to be alright. But he didn't, instead turning around to square up against that creep that Liv used to date and defend his girlfriend. Layla wondered if things would ever be like they had been before Tara was attacked, and a piece of her watched the scene play out with a sense of nostalgia. 

If Judy Hicks was right and this was another round of attacks, Layla knew her chances. She knew the odds of them all making it out alive. Layla loved all of them around the pool table - even Liv, who she wasn't the closest to but still valued. 

She just hoped that her friend group would prove it all wrong.

____

As soon as Layla walked into the trailer, she felt a wave of discomfort wash over her as she noticed Dewey was sitting at the breakfast bar waiting for her. She had been dreading this conversation with her adoptive father all day, and now that it was finally happening, she had no idea what to say. She hoped that he hadn't heard about Chad and Vince's almost fight at the bar, but she had a gut feeling that wasn't what he wanted to talk to her about.

Dewey, for his part, seemed equally uncomfortable, shifting nervously in his seat and avoiding eye contact. They exchanged a few awkward pleasantries, but the conversation quickly devolved into an uncomfortable silence. Layla fidgeted with her hands, trying to think of something to say, but her mind was blank.

How do you begin to talk about an event that had occurred four times to the man in front of you? How do you begin to talk about an event that was the reason your adoptive daughter's father died? Dewey and Layla both didn't know where to start. She glanced up at Dewey once more, hoping he might offer some kind of conversation starter, but he was staring off into space. As the silence dragged on, she wondered how much longer she could bear the discomfort before she excused herself and left the room.

"Kid," he started, being sighing and cutting himself off. "I'm going to be blunt here, and it's only because I've been through this before."

Layla nodded, swallowing a lump in her throat.

"How well do you really know your friends?"

It made her blood run cold. How well did she really know her friends? Wes, she knew like the back of her own hand. They'd grown up in the bullpen together, in police cruisers and on ride alongs. Chad, Mindy and Tara she'd played with since she was old enough to remember - knowing that they'd all attended her father's funeral with their families.

Amber and Liv had joined their circle later on, but she still trusted them. Liv wasn't exactly the smartest people to have ever existed, but she had been the one that had taught Tara and Layla how to do winged eyeliner as a teen. Amber had quickly integrated her way into their group, becoming the witty and occasionally dark voice of reason.

Despite the flaws they all had, Layla trusted them with her life.

"They aren't like Billy Loomis, or that other guy," she told Dewey, her voice tight and almost as if she was trying to convince herself. "My friends aren't killers, they wouldn't have done this."

"Layla-"

"It's not always someone in the friend group!" She snapped a little, instantly feeling bad about it. Her voice softened. "My dad wasn't friends with Jill Roberts. Hell, I don't think he even knew which one was Charlie Walker."

Dewey was silent for a moment.

"It might not be your friends," he said, watching as she relaxed a little. "But it's always someone you know."

Layla took one hard look at him, listening to the pain his voice and the lines of worry on his forehead. She crossed the room, instantly falling into his arms and finally letting the previous days events catch up to her as she burst into tears.

The ex-Sheriff held his adoptive daughter tightly in his arms, feeling the warmth of her small body against his chest. Ever since Dewey and Gale had decided to adopt her, he had been filled with a sense of overwhelming love and protectiveness towards her, a promise to Ricardo and Taylor that they'd keep her safe when they couldn't. 

But with that love came a deep sense of worry, as he knew that she had faced many challenges in her young life. She'd survived Jill Roberts, but Dewey knew that it was rare for someone to survive a Ghostface attack more than once. He, Sid and Gale had exceptional luck - even though so many others did not. As he held her, he couldn't help but think about all the risks and dangers that still lay ahead for her, even with him and the rest of Woodsboro by her side.

As he held her sobbing frame close, he whispered words of love and reassurance, telling her how much she meant to him and how he would always be there for her. He wanted her to know that she was safe and loved, no matter what challenges she might face in the future. He promised her that Judy and her team would find whoever had done this to Tara, and that they wouldn't get the chance to attack anyone else. He needed her to know that he wasn't going to let anything hurt her.

In that moment, he felt a deep sense of gratitude and love for Layla Torres. She had brought so much joy and light into his life, and he was determined to give her the best possible future. As he held her close, he made a silent promise to always be her protector and champion, no matter what life might throw their way. She reminded him of Tatum. She reminded him of Taylor. She reminded him of Ricardo.

She reminded him, that no matter how hard or shitty life got, there was always a light at the end of the tunnel.

____

"You need to tell her," Layla said, so quietly that Sam had thought she had imagined it at first. She cast a glance towards the girl who was curled up on the other side of Tara, her feet resting on the edge of the bed as she was slumped in the uncomfortable hospital chair.

"Fucking hell, when did you get here?" Sam breathed, getting a fright at seeing her as soon as she opened her eyes from a bad dream. She looked over and saw Richie was watching something on his phone, the sound in his earphones so loud that she could almost make out the words that the characters were saying from the other side of the room.

"Judy Hicks dropped me off," Layla replied, causing Sam to notice the Woodsboro P.D sweatshirt that she was wearing. Sam had almost forgot Layla's connection to the police force here, until the name embroidered into the sweater reminded her that the Torres didn't stand for the girl, but rather her deceased father. "Don't change the subject. Tara deserves to know."

"I know," Sam snapped back, rubbing a hand across her face anxiously as she went to reply to the girl with all of the reasons as to why she just couldn't bring herself to tell Tara the truth. "But-"

"Hey! You okay?"

Both girls stopped speaking as they realised that Richie had pulled his EarPods out and was addressing Sam. Layla rolled her eyes, looking at the guy with a feeling of unease in his stomach. She didn't like the fact that Sam had brought a stranger into Tara's hospital room, and the fact that Sam and Tara had been asleep in the room with only this weirdo when she arrived set her skin on fire.

"Just a bad dream," Sam replied, shooting Layla a look that told her to keep her mouth shut. "What are you watching?"

"Stab is on Netflix," Richie replied, causing Sam to grimace a little for two reasons. One; her little sister had just been brutally attacked and almost killed by the masked killer that was featured in those movies, and two, because Richie had no idea about Layla's deep rooted connection to the original characters featured in the Stab films.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me, dude," Layla snarled, her teeth gritting a little as she looked over at the boy.

"What?" He explained, feigning ignorance. "I want to be prepared."

"I got to go find something to eat," Sam replied, feeling a little ick flare in her chest at how casually he was just watching Stab while in the same room as one of the masked killer's (almost) victims. Layla watched as Sam left the room, her gaze turning back to Tara who was sleeping almost peacefully.

She grabbed on to her hand, leaning forward and brushing a hair out of her face. Layla paused off a second, feeling a twinge of irritation spread across her once more. She spun around to look at Richie who was looking at her with a look that she couldn't quite place.

"What the FUCK are you looking at, creep?" Layla replied, causing the man to blush and begin to stumble with his phone clumsily. He quickly excused himself, feeling like he was now intruding on a private moment between her and his girlfriend's little sister. 

She watched as he left before turning her attention once more to Tara. Layla sat on the edge of the hospital bed, her eyes fixed on her ex-girlfriend who lay there with bruises and cuts all over her body. The fluorescent lights in the hospital room made her look sickly as she slept, and the tube looped through her nose caused Layla to feel a sense of guilt. She should have been there.

The room was quiet except for the sound of the machines that monitored Tara's vitals. Layla felt a wave of emotions wash over her: anger at whoever had done this, fear for her friends and Dewey, and an overwhelming sense of helplessness. If her father couldn't survive Ghostface, what made everyone so sure that she could?

Layla watched as the doctors and nurses came and went, checking the girl's vitals and administering more pain medication before Tara woke. She felt another astounding sense of helplessness as she watched Tara struggle to breath properly in her sleep from all of her injuries and wished that there was something she could do to take away and prevent the pain that she had been put through.

She sighed a little, before jumping as the hand that was wrapped around hers gave it a gentle squeeze. Layla's eyes snapped back up to Tara's, noticing how the girl was now awake and bleakly staring at her with tears in her eyes. Layla leaned in closer, her voice barely above a whisper. 

"How are you feeling?" she asked, hoping to offer some comfort. Tara friend looked back at her, her soft brown eyes filled with pain and fear. 

"I'm scared," she whispered, their voice barely audible. The slight sob at the end of her words caused Layla to scoot her chair forward, making sure that Tara had enough space to be able to wrap her arms around her if she wanted.

"I know you are," Layla said softly. "And you have been so, so, so incredibly brave in front of everyone throughout all of this. But, Tara, you are not alone in this, and you don't need to pretend for me. I'm so sorry I wasn't there to stop them, but I am here with you, and I will never leave your side again."

"I don't know if I can do this," Tara replied, wiping tears from her eyes as her voice shook with every word. "I don't know how to keep it together."

"Yes, you can do this," Layla said firmly, placing her forehead against Tara's as the other girl leaned towards her. "You are strong, and you will get through this. I will be right here with you every step of the way. Sam and the others - we're all here for you, Tara."

After a while of silence, Tara leaned in and hugged her friend tightly, Layla letting her cry into her shoulder. 

"I'm so sorry this happened to you," Layla said once more, her voice choked with emotion. "But I promise you, we will get through this together."

Tara nodded, wiping at her eyes as she looked at Layla once more. It was clear to Tara now that the girl had been crying before she had woken up, and the dark bags under her eyes told her that Layla hadn't been sleeping well either. She didn't want to be selfish and assume it was just because of worry for her, not when she knew that the girl was most likely being traumatised by past memories and fears of Dewey also getting hurt.

"As girlfriends?" Tara asked quietly, wanting to make sure that Layla still loved her after all this.

Layla chuckled a little, sending a short smile to Tara as she brushed some hair out of her face.

"You know, if you wanted to get back together, you didn't need to almost get yourself killed to prove a point," Layla joked, causing Tara to chuckle in amusement at her comment. Just before either of them could say anything else, a sudden commotion outside caused Layla to jump to her feet and Tara to grab on to her wrist in fear.

A familiar yell reached both of their ears, causing both girls' blood to run cold. Layla reached to her side, grabbing the first thing on the side table that she could incase she had to defend herself and Tara from the attacker.

"Is that Sam? Please go check on Sam!" Tara begged, lightly tugging at Layla's arm, but the girl refused to move from where she was positioned in between Tara and the door. Layla shook her head, squeezing the stapler tighter in her hand as she moved between her feet.

"I'm not leaving you, not again."

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