THURSDAY: October 31st, 2026,

"Wait so let me get this right, you've all been here for the last eight hours. Prank calling people with the ghostface voice? Isn't that like the worst way to process the traumatic event we went through? It's literally not even been a full month yet".

Alix chuckled as she put her phone down "it's called having fun Ben! You should try it, besides it's Halloween so better we do it to people so they don't it to us! I mean you saw the news, we're the number one story that's going around. We're pretty famous!".

Ben sighed deeply as he grabbed his headphones from around his neck "you guys are all idiots" the boy looked depressed half the time and everyone could sense the change in his mood. Ever since that night when he had somehow walked out of the highschool alive and well, he's been distant and spiraling.

It wasn't a good spiral either, he had gotten more quiet and half of the time he didn't even leave his house or bedroom. Somehow by some miracle Vivian convinced him to tag along with everyone to her family's cabin for the week, a little Halloween get away that actually involved being away from town.

Ben had been locked up inside his room for most of the week and he reeked of alcohol and weed. His hair was a wreck and he had covered most of his body with thick layers so no one could see his burn marks. Something happened that night, everyone knew it and whenever someone asked the boy he'd just walk away. He had grabbed a bottle of vodka off the table before he walked up the stairs towards his room.

Claire sighed deeply as she leaned back on the couch "should we try and talk with him? He hasn't even left that room once this entire week. Did anyone make sure he actually ate dinner? He's probably drunk".

Vivian sighed deeply "I brought him up a plate, but it's beside all the other plates he refuses to touch. Maybe we should.... Talk to his parents?". Alexander scoffed "yeah right his parents don't even care, I drove past his house the other day and it was practically empty. I saw him sitting on his porch all alone, I was gonna stop and ask him how he was but I had work. And when I drove by after I got out, he was already inside and the place still looked empty".

Kieran looked towards the stairs "yeah he's not exactly the favorite in his family. I mean haven't you seen that article Jenna Weathers published the other day? His family literally said they didn't care that he was attacked by ghostface, that he likely did it for attention or some shit. They're blaming it all on him, it's not even his fault Andy lost his shit".

"But that's the thing, something happened with Andy inside that theater. Something that must've really fucked him up enough to start acting this way. Vivian you've been his friend the longest, has he ever acted this way before?". The girl looked up at Claire "not really, I mean he's been depressed before but it's never been this intense. He would always try his best to act like he was alright when we'd hang out. Andy must've said something to him before he died".

Benjamin sat on the edge of the bed as he looked down at the ghostface masks in his hands. It was covered in dried up blood and full of burn marks and the fabric was on the verge of falling apart.

The flames were so high it made Benjamin wanna cry as he was thrown back roughly by the explosion. His body smacked straight into a row of seats as he watched the entire theater start to fall apart. He coughed violently as he fell towards his knees and pressed his hands over his face. The boy cried out when he was grabbed a hold of, "what did you do!" Andy pushed the boy angrily into the ground.

"You ruined everything I've built!" Benjamin gasped as Andy's hands wrapped around his throat. He clawed at the boy's hands as he cried "you're nothing without the drama club! You bastard! Why couldn't you have just stayed fucking helpless!".

Benjamin gasped for air as Andy smacked his body angrily into the ground "I'm doing this all for you! I never wanted to kill you! But you give me no choice Benny, you destroy everything you touch, this all started because of you. So it ends with you dead!".

Benjamin's vision was blinded by his tears as Andy's hold around his throat tightened. Andy coughed as he let go of Benjamin's throat "you don't deserve to die quickly, you should've just stayed the hell away from me. Maybe you could've survived".

Benjamin cried out when Andy pressed the knife against his throat "I want you to remember this is all your fault Ben. Everyone would've survived if it weren't for you. There's just something about you that made all of this happen, I'm sure everyone will be happy when you're dead. You can't get in the way of their happiness anymore. And I'll be sure of it".

Benjamin punched Andy quickly, the boy collided on the ground as Benjamin stood up and limped towards the stage. "Don't you fucking dare! You can't run away from who you are Benjamin! You hear me!".

Ben gasped when a stage light fell right in front of him, he moved back and groaned when Andy stabbed the knife into his side. "If I can't get what I want, then at least I get to kill you before I die in this place".

Benjamin gritted his teeth as he looked upwards, he can see the lights start to shake "Andy don't do this, we can still end all of this! You can still turn yourself in and stop hurting people".

"Like I'd ever give up myself willingly! You think I'll listen to you because we had a few special moments together. Well guess what, none of these were real! It's called acting Benny, like I'd ever willingly be with someone like you, you're a joke!".

Benjamin had never felt such rage in his entire life before, it had felt like a huge rush when he pulled the knife out of his side. He ignored the pain and all the agony he felt as he pushed Andy into the ground.

All he saw was red as he stabbed the knife over and over again into Andy's chest. He didn't care about the fire that was burning around them or the lack of air he held in his lung, all he saw was endless red. It coated his flesh as he screamed, red red red red red.

Benjamin snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door. "Ben, we're gonna head down to the lake to go swimming if you wanna join. Claire insisted you bring that one shark eyepatch you have. She said it's her favorite because of the teeth".

Benjamin looked down at the mask and he felt a sense of regret in his body, or maybe it was excitement? He couldn't tell as he let the mask slip back into his backpack. He stood up off the bed as he opened the door. Vivian smiled at him sweetly as she held onto a stack of towels "everyone's already out there, I think I saw Kieran do a flip into the water".

"I just need to change" he leaned into the door as the girl smiled "I already grabbed a towel for you, you remember the way towards the lake?". The boy nodded as he watched her walk away from the room.

He sighed deeply before he pushed the door shut with his foot. He could hear the laughter outside the window as he looked through it, he saw the brightness in everyone's eyes, it was as if nothing ever happened.

Why was he the only one so broken from it? Ghostface; Andy. It was still engraved into his skull and it wouldn't fade away, he doubted it would so soon. Especially given he was scared to even walk outside. What if Nadia and Gwen were still out there, waiting to strike and avenge Andy. It didn't make any sense that everyone else was completely fine.

Maybe Ben was right for once if he had died in that fire like he was supposed to then he wouldn't have to feel this way. Watching the world around him felt depressing, everyone was smiling and laughing and he was stuck behind a glass screen that would shatter at the simplest touch. They all went through the same experience, the same terror so why couldn't he smile?

Vivian sat down on the picnic table as she placed the stack of towels neatly on top of it. Alex and Kieran were both running along the dock doing flips into the water making Claire and Alix shout as they got hit by the water. "I'm going home" Vivian turned quickly, Benjamin stood behind her holding onto his backpack.

"What! Ben you can't go home, we're supposed to have fun and hang out" she stood up off the picnic table as she looked at Ben. She saw the dullness in his eyes as he watched everyone in the lake.

"What's the point, you're the only ones having fun. Probably won't even care if I leave anyways. No one's noticed me all week, so what's the big deal if I leave early. I'd rather be ignored at home than stay here".

Vivian grabbed a hold of the boy's shoulder "hey we all want you here" the boy moved back harshly "don't! Stop trying to fucking pity me! You're all fine, and having the best time of your entire lives. It's like you weren't even attacked by ghostface! No one cares! It's like you just erased it from your minds!".

The boy's rage was strong and he could feel himself shutting down as he glared at Vivian. "What makes you all so goddamn special! That you can just keep going after what happened! I was supposed to die! I wanted to die in that stupid theater! Now I'm just stuck here and you're all trying to make me feel better. But it's not working! Nothing works!".

Benjamin was pushed back slightly when Kieran approached the duo "hey why don't you just go cool down Ben, shouting isn't gonna help with anything. You're drunk, just go back inside and lay down".

Benjamin punched the boy before he could even moved back. He felt the pain spread along his knuckles as he angrily grabbed his bag off the ground "fuck you! Fuck all of you! This stupid drama club is the reason my life's like this! I'm going home!".

The boy stormed off and Kieran groaned as he held onto his face "we can't just let him leave, that's a disaster waiting to happen if he gets into that car". Vivian helped Kieran up off the ground as they both watched Benjamin walk inside the cabin.

"Let him go destroy his life then, it's not our responsibility to baby him" Kieran glared at Claire as the girl grabbed a towel off the picnic table. "Claire, do you really mean that? After everything he did for all of us? I mean if it weren't for him we'd all probably be dead right now. He told us who the killers were, he stopped Angel from killing me and not to mention he practically almost died for you Claire. Not once did he back down and not protect all of us".

Claire sighed at her girlfriend's words as she looked at the cabin "I'll go talk to him". The girl walked towards the cabin and when she walked inside she saw Benjamin sitting alone on the porch.

She pushed open the glass door as she stepped out onto the porch "Ben?" The boy's back was turned towards her so she couldn't get a good look at him. But she could see the shadow of a beer bottle in his grasp as she sat down beside him.

"You gonna be alright once we get back to woodsboro?" the boy looked at Claire "I don't know anymore. Not even really sure what's next for me". He sighed as he looked at the sky, the sun was starting to disappear slowly in the distance.

"Well the school is being rebuilt, and is postponed until further notice. Why don't you help me work on my next play? I'm thinking of a musical, maybe even get it on broadway!". The boy chuckled slightly, "broadway? Like we'd ever be able to go all the way to New York for broadway! I mean who'd want us?".

"That's the thing, everyone would if they just see how awesome we can be. I'll tell you what, if we ever get any good offers, you'll be the first person I call". The boy smiled as Claire hugged him "I'm sorry I'm such a mess right now, I just feel so lost".

He held onto her tightly "we're all a little lost, that's why we have to stick together and get better. And we will, it's just gonna take some time".

"So broadway huh? You really think we could do that?" Claire smirked "oh honey, I'll make it happen".

and she did.

—
authors notes:
I was suppose to publish this last night, but I got so sidetracked I forgot. I also didn't wanna part ways with the book yet so I dragged it by a few hours. Regardless it's finally completed! The sequel will be out somewhat soon, if your oc survived on this one they will be on the casting already. Feel free to apply with new ocs as well, it's gonna be a bigger casting and I'll likely have applications for it open for a good while before I close it so you'll have time. Anyways this is getting pretty long and I wanna already work on getting the sequel set up, so bye!!!!!!