AN unimpressed look came across Mia's face as she looked up at her mother.

She was currently sitting in the principal's office of Woodsboro High, Judy Hicks pacing in front of her with a solemn expression.  While the blonde officer hadn't spoken, Mia knew exactly why she was here.  She was being interrogated over Tara's attack.

Did she find it stupid? Yes.  Never had she been interrogated by her mother, and for good reason—she was her daughter.  If anyone should be cut out from the questioning process Sheriff Hicks was placing every student at Woodsboro High under, it should be her and Wes.  They were the children of the Sheriff of Woodsboro, it would be stupid for them to try anything.  

Then again, their mother being the sheriff gave them the perfect alibi—it would be stupid to try anything, no one would suspect them.

So, it was still mandatory for questioning, even if Mia doubted her mother actually thought she was the one who harmed Tara Carpenter.

"You don't seriously think I did this, do you Mom?" Mia asked, her voice monotone.  She already knew the answer to the question—it was no. 

"No, honey, I don't." Judy shook her head at her daughter.  Whether or not you couldn't trust anyone when Ghostface was around—they were masked killers and used voice boxes to change their voice for a reason—Judy trusted Mia.  She knew her daughter, and Wes, weren't behind the attack at all.  It was possible....but the mother didn't believe it and instead trusted the fact that her children, her babies, were innocent.  "But, I have to do this.  For both of our sakes."

"Fine." 

"Okay, do you have any alibi?" the Sheriff started off, asking a basic question.  It was easy to make up stories, but it had to be asked, as a starter.

"Yes, I do." Mia sighed, before naming off what she was doing and who her mother could ask to double check her story, "You can ask Mindy, Chad or Wes.  I was at home all night watching Friends and I called with the twins, where I fell asleep.  I woke up to your son shaking me awake and that's when I found out about Tara's attack.  I can tell you when Wes got in the shower, and what happened in my phone call."

Judy nodded, her daughter's story matching up with what both boys she'd already spoken to had said, "Okay, your alibi matches with Chads."

"You interrogated Chad, huh?"

Judy ignored her comment and continued, "Okay, I know it's not you, hon, so I'm just going to move on to some other questions.  Do you know anyone who might have a reason to attack Tara? Anyone who's been acting suspicious, or suddenly closer to Tara, trying to find information?"

"I don't know anyone who would have a grudge against Tara, or a reason to attack." Mia responded firmly, crossing her arms over her chest.  She knew it was someone in her friend group though. "But, I think it's one of us.  I think it's one of my friends."

The blonde woman searched through her daughters eyes before scratching something down on the notepad in her hands—more than likely what Mia had just admitted to thinking,  "Anyone in particular? Chad, Mindy....." she paused a moment, ".....your brother?"

Mia shook her head.  While she had a feeling it was one of her friends, she didn't know who.  No one ever did, did they? Horror movies wouldn't be good if they did.  "I doubt it's Mindy or Chad, since I was on call all night.  It's definitely not Wes, either, which luckily clears you from having murders as children.  But, wouldn't it be cool if we were like twin killers or something? Maybe it's my inner Mindy coming out but that would be sorta badass—"

"Mia," Judy scolded with a sharp glare. Unlike Mindy Meeks-Martin, she was not for talking about murders, or if Mia or Wes were to be Ghostface. 

"Sorry." the Hicks girl apologized before continuing, now back on track.  "Which leaves it down to Amber or Liv, and I couldn't tell you it was them either.  Amber is almost like a girlfriend to Tara, and I don't really think Liv would have a motive. But, that doesn't mean I trust them.  I don't have proof, but I know it's someone close.  Someone who we'd normally trust if we didn't live in Woodsboro."

"I understand." the Sheriff nodded.  She scribbled something else down on her notepad before finally saying, "You're free to go, Mia. I'll ask more questions later if anything comes up. Come to me if you have any info, yeah?"

Mia got up from the chair she'd been confined to, swinging her bag over her shoulder as she did, "I will. Thanks, Mom." 

The younger Hicks walked towards the door before getting stopped by her mother.  Judy grabbed a hold of Mia, sending her a concerned, motherly look.  "Hey, watch your back, okay? Don't trust anyone except me and your brother. I don't want you to be next."

"I'll be fine, Mom." Mia gave a reassuring look before opening the office door,  one foot hitting the flooring of the hallway.

"I love you, have a good day!"

"See you later!"

The Hicks girl allowed the office door to slam shut behind her, a sigh leaving her lips.  She passed by incoming teens, making her way towards the front lawns of the school to meet up with her friends—if she could even call them that anymore.

As she left the building, she could spot Mindy, Wes and Amber at a collection of lawn tables, awaiting the arrival of more group members. Everyone should be here today, and honestly, Mia would find it even more suspicious if they weren't.

Wes was seemingly on the phone, chatting with someone,  Amber watching him with hawk eyes—clearly suspicious of everyone too.  Mindy was also on her phone, awaiting the arrival of her twin brother too.

As the Hicks approached the three teens, Mia kept her mothers words at the front of her head; Don't trust anyone except me and your brother.

"Attention Panthers. A reminder that all classes are canceled tomorrow due to public safety concerns."

Walking to take a stance next to her twin, Mia watched as he pocketed his device with a small smile, "Who was that?"

"That—" Wes announced, mimicking the tone of his sister's voice, "—was Sam."

Samantha, or Sam as she liked to be known, was Tara's older sister.  The group had been close to her when they were younger—Sam would babysit them all—but the minute the Carpenter turned eighteen she ran off.  Tara had been devastated.

"She's coming?" Amber Freeman exclaimed with a hint of disgust. It was very well known that the Freeman girl was not fan of Samantha Carpenter—she didn't try to hide it.

"Yeah."

"Watch everything get worse." the raven haired girl muttered, causing a look from Wes to get shot her way.

"Shits gonna get worse anyway. Do you think this killer is just gonna attack one person?" Mia crossed, looking at Amber.  She wasn't close with the girl, and it wasn't unusual to see the two crossing one another.

"Maybe they'll stick to just Tara, you never know." Amber shrugged, "Either way, Sam coming back isn't gonna make anything better.  She wasn't there then and Tara doesn't need her now—"

A new voice joined the group—Chad Meeks-Martin.  Except, instead of adding to the already present conversation, he allowed the rest of his friends to hear his on-going conversation with his girlfriend. "Listen, all I'm saying is that  with everything going on right now, I think its time we take our relationship to the next, most intimate level."

Liv Mckenzie—the pink ends of her hair capturing everyone's attention—took a seat on one of the tables, looking at the group with an unimpressed expression. "He wants me to accept his Find My Fam request." 

"It's the smartest option with a would be killer on the loose." Chad explained himself, noticing the looks everyone sent him at the pink haired girls explanation.  He then glanced at his girlfriend, "You know exactly where I am and I know exactly where you are."

"Aw," Liv mocked sarcastically, "You can stalk me like a jealous boyfriend."

Chad perked up, "Right? And you can stalk me like a jealous boyfriend."

Amber mimicked the sound of gagging, "Is this because you two aren't having sex yet?"

"You actually bring up a very good point," the Meeks-Martin boy pointed a finger at the raven haired girl, "Not, that I want to sound like the stereotypical jock trying to get into his girlfriends pants—"

"Great!" The Mckenzie girl's brows crossed as she cut him off, leaning down to press a kiss against her boyfriend's cheek.  

Mia rolled her eyes, adding dryly. "You are a stereotypical jock, Chad." 

"Don't do it, Liv."  Wes stated, looking at the pink haired girl with serious eyes.  He was always the most serious of the group.  He was always hyper vigilant—a Hicks gene—and did everything to make sure he and his friends stayed safe.  He was just like their mother, more so than Mia was. "There's a psycho out there.  You make yourself harder to find.  Delete social media, tape over your phone camera, disable GPS—"

 "Ah, yes. Thank you very much Edward Snowden." Chad gave an un-amused expression, making fun of the boy's frosted tips, said boy sending a sarcastic smile the jock's way at the nickname, "Actually, your mother just interrogated me about Tara's attempted murder which was very fun."

Both Wes and Mia turned to look in the distance, making eye contact with their mother as she chatted with the other officers.  Judy gave a small, almost dorky, salute with her hat with a warm smile, her son uncomfortably turning back around while her daughter sent a small smile back.

"I'm sure she interrogated the whole school by now—she literally pulled me in for questioning and I'm her daughter." Mia shrugged, brushing off her mothers ways.  Judy was always one to play it safe, and it wasn't odd for the woman to be questioning the school or Chad.  "I mean, Ghostface is back after all.  She's probably reliving her own trauma."

Mindy's horror agenda shined through her words, "The press still isn't saying Ghostface."

Wes shrugged, "My mom doesn't want to cause a panic."

"Sure, but who else would be killing teens in Woodsboro?" Mia crossed, eyes narrowing at her twin brother.  It could be anyone, but everyone knew it was the infamous masked murderer, as it always was.  "Everyone knows."

"It'll get out by the second or third killing." the Meeks-Martin girl added, calmly.

Amber scoffed, as if she was offended by her friends words. "Jesus, Mindy, there wasn't a first killing. Tara's alive."

"Mmmn...." Mindy dragged out the letter in perfect Randy Meeks fashion, about to make some sort of comment, "I mean, she could still die." 

"What the fuck?"

Mindy continued, acting as if her words weren't causing an outburst among the group of six,  "Or the killer could come back for her."

"Fuck, Mindy, come on—" Chad sent his twin a look.

While it was un-comfy talking about Tara getting harmed again, Mia couldn't ignore the fact that Mindy had a point.  It wouldn't be surprising to her if they got another call, reporting that Tara was even more injured, or.....dead. 

"She has a point." Mia shrugged, "Maybe it's the wrong time to state it, but Tara isn't totally safe."

Wes ignored his sister and Mindy and continued insisting the How To Stay Safe 101 rules he'd been injected with since birth—perks of having a police officer as a mother, "Look, I'm just telling you arm up, okay? Pepper spray, check.  Taser, check—"

"Girlfriend repellent, check." Amber mocked, causing the group to erupt in laughter, Wes closing his eyes in annoyance.  Making fun of Wes was a daily occurrence within the group, whether or not he was in the mood for it.  Whether it was his hair, or the fact that he was single—pining after Tara—he was the target.

"Nice, thank you." the Hicks boy muttered.

"Oh Shit. Is that....." Liv trailed off, her smile having been wiped clean from her face, "Vince?"

At the familiar name, everyone turned to look in the distance, their eyes quickly meeting the figure of Vince Schneider.   Ever since he hooked up with Liv last summer—the Mckenzie says it was a one time thing—the group had been well aware of his creep and slightly pedo-like tendencies.  Instead of seeking out women his own age, he tended to lean towards younger girls, like Liv, who hadn't even started her senior year yet.

"Wait, that creep you hooked up with last summer?" Any amusement in Chad's voice was gone as he narrowed his eyes at the older man. 

"Yeah, he worked with me and Tara."

Amber's brows raised, "He worked with Tara?"

"And he's been stalking my Instagram the last couple weeks." Liv continued to explain, Vince sending her an air kiss from his car parked a few feet away.  Mia gave a disgusted look and continued to listen. "Posting the creepiest shit."

Mindy eyes were locked on Vince as she held up her phone, snapping a photo of the man.  He was rather suspicious.

"Should we—" Mia gestured between her and her brother, "—tell our mom about him? I mean, not only did he work with Tara but he's been stalking you, Liv.  Rather suspicious." 

"No, I think it's time to introduce him to Hobbs and Shaw." Chad lightly threatened, flexing both of his biceps in the man's direction.  

Mia rolled her eyes, "And you say your not an average jock."

"Maybe not the best idea to insight violence right in front of the sheriff. Looks like he's leaving." the Mckenzie spoke, leaning down to get in her boyfriends face.  The girl then moved her arms down to Chad's muscular arms, slightly squeezing them. "Thanks anyways, boys."

Amber watched the interaction, eyes trailing down to the boys exposed arms with an accusatory glare, "Hm.  Tara said she fought back hard. You've got bruises."

"It's from football practice." Chad defended himself with an um-comfortable chuckle. 

"Chad doesn't have the balls to hurt Tara." Mia sided with the Meeks-Martin boy.  He'd been on the call with her and Mindy, and she knew he wasn't behind this.  He loved the Carpenter girl like a sister.  "He knows she'd get her sweet revenge."

"Oh, sure—"

Interrupting the accusation and defense was Wes, "Tara's awake. She just texted."  the boy was quick on his feet, looking at the group. "Me and Mia are gonna go to the hospital, you guys coming?"

While Mia hadn't declared she was coming with her brother, there was no way she wasn't.  Standing up, she listened as the group all chorused in a yes—they weren't missing the chance to visit Tara—except for Liv, who instead gave a no.

"Oh, uh—I can't." Liv stated with a frown, "But, I'll meet you guys later."

Mia bid a goodbye, "Alright then. See ya, Liv—I'll tell Tara you say hi."

"Thanks."

The group then dispersed to their respective cars, leaving the pink haired girl alone at the picnic table. 

mara's misc!

its been a month, but here's chapter two! 

i had a random burst of motivation for this fic and decided to use it while it lasted.  this chapter was fun to write.  usually, i don't like writing filler but i loved the beginning with judy and mia.  i also enjoyed writing mia in to the small banter the friend group has, and im excited to see her grow with the core four in act two.

my goal for updates is at least once a month! this will be a shorter book (since im only writing for 5 + 6 and possibly 7 if  it gets renewed and if it has the same cast and what not) so im gonna try to span it out, but who knows.

hope you enjoyed <3 see you back with chapter three!