Smile | Jeff the Killer x Reader | DARK | ON HOLD

Chapter 14: That's me...

"[Y/n]!" My eyes snapped open as my name was yelled. I sat up with a jolt and focused my gaze on Sophia. "Geez, I thought I'd never get you awake." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Sophia? W-What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be with Maggie?" I questioned in shock. She shook her head. "Taylor came to the hospital and took over." She reassured. I wiped the drowsiness from my eyes. "How is she?" I asked, referring to Maggie. Sophia frowned in disappointment. "She's still under." She said lowly. I frowned as well.

"What time is it?" I asked as I peered over my shoulder and at my alarm clock. "Um, 3:00..." Sophia answered slowly. My eyes went wide. "In the afternoon, are you serious!?" I tiredly yelled. My voice was a slight bit raspy from not fully being awake. I ripped the blanket from my body and quickly stood up. "Kyle sent me over since he was worried. You weren't answering his calls." She explains. I placed my hand on my head in realization. "Crap, I forgot to call him. Where is he?" I asked as I scurried to my phone. "Work." She replied. 

"Ugh. Five missed calls." I muttered in disbelief. I scrolled through my clutter of notifications and stopped when I noticed a message from an unknown number. I furrowed my brows, but then remembered last night. My blood ran cold in remembrance. I opened the message and saw it was a photo. I clicked the image for a better look and froze. It was a picture of me sleeping. It looked as if it had been taking from outside of my window. I exited the photo and read the text below it. 

'Tick Tock, Doll.' I bit my lip and looked at my window. I marched to it and closed the blinds. "What is your issue?" Sophia said in confusion. I walked over to her and handed her my phone. She examined it and furrowed her brows as well. "Wow, talk about hardcore stalking?" She said in disgust, never taking her eyes off the screen. "What is 'tick-tock' supposed to mean? And why are they calling you...Doll?" She asked. I swiped the phone from her and threw it on my bed. I marched to my dresser and began changing. 

"It's the killer," I said as I rummaged through my drawers. "Wait, what? You're kidding right?" She said in shock. "He called me last night, talking about how he wanted to pick up where we left off, or something like that?" I said, more to myself, if we're being honest; trying to piece the puzzle together. "What do you mean?" Sophia asked. I slid on some shorts and a black T.  "I don't know. Something about Spring Break in 7th grade?" I said shrugging. I ran a brush through my hair and slipped on some shoes. I noticed Sophia fell silent. I turned and looked at her; she was frozen for some reason, almost as if she was thinking about something. 

"Do you know something about that, Sophia?" I asked curiously. She snapped herself from her trance and shook her head. "N-No. I just...had a moment." She said with a nervous chuckle. I stared at her for a moment and eyed her up and down. "Okay...?" I said slowly, unsure why she was acting so weird all of the sudden. I slipped a sweatshirt on and left my room. "Where are you going?" Sophia called out as she followed me out of my room. "To the city library. I need to see something." I replied. I grabbed my camera, that was hanging on a coat rack by the front door and wrapped it across my shoulder. 

"What exactly are you finding?" She asked as she hurried to catch up to me down the sidewalk. "Everything," I responded, trying to ignore her. She sighed in annoyance. "Can we at least take my car?" She asked. "I need time to think," I said. She rolled her eyes and stopped following me. Not long after, I heard an engine start-up and a car pulled up next to me. I looked to my left and watched as she rolled her passenger window down. "Get in." 

When we got to the library, I walked to the front counter and asked the old lady if she had any news articles stashed away anywhere. She nodded and led me to the back. "What are you searching for, Sweetheart?" She asked, kindly. "Um, I'm doing a research project over...The Smiley Killer..." I said quietly. She nodded and waved her arm for us to follow her. She led us a couple isles down and stopped at a certain row of file cabinets. "This is isle is everything between the range of accidents and murders." She informs and I thank her. "No problem, Sweetie." She says with a pat on the shoulder.

As she walks away, Sophia steps into view with her hands on her hips and a disapproving look on her face. "Really?" She says. "Look. You're not gonna believe me, but I think there's some sort of connection with us and the killer. Why else would he target us, specifically?" I suggested. Sophia rolled her eyes. "We're seriously doing this again, [Y/n]? This is literally the exact same thing you did with the other two killers you claimed had something to do with us." She shook her head. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. "He called me last night, Sophia. He said he didn't kill Maggie because he was 'being nice'. Why the h*ll would he not kill her for no reason." I explained. "Oh my god, you're being ridiculous. We had an exhausting day yesterday and the news about the incident spread around like wildfire. Who's to say it wasn't just some *sshole kid from school, playing a sick prank?" She said.

I sighed. "Sophia, this wasn't a prank. Okay? You saw the message he sent me. Look, if you don't want to be here, you don't have to be. I just thought there was a little bit more trust in this friendship." I shrugged her off and began opening drawers. There was a moment of silence before she sighed and kneeled beside me, looking through the files with me. "[Y/n], of course, I trust you. I'm sorry, I'm just not sure how to take all of this." She explains. I look at her and smile. She smiles back. "Now, what are we looking for?" She asks. "Anything that has to do with The Smiley Killer or us," I said.

After what felt like hours of searching, I found a weird article. Sophia was examining the table we had claimed in the library that had a pile of sorted news articles. "Sophia, look what I found," I said, never taking my eyes from the article. She looks up at me and walks over to me curiously. "What is it?" She questions as she peers over my shoulder at the article. "Transferred student, Liu Woods, arrested for aggravated assault." I read aloud. Sophia shrugs. "What about it...?" She asked slowly. "Liu Woods is Jeffrey Woods' brother," I explained. "Isn't that the Smiley Killer?" She questions. I nodded as I let my eyes scan the article. I walk over to the table and place it down.

I examined all the articles Sophia had gathered until one caught my eye. I picked it up and read it. "14-year-old teenager brutally attacked during child's birthday party." Sophia peaked over my shoulder and read it as well. I continued reading down the article. "Oh my god, this Jeffrey Woods," I exclaimed as I pointed at an image on the article. It was a black and white image of him side-hugging his brother Liu. I turned to the next page and saw another image. This one was of him in a hospital bed with a bandage covering his entire face, except for his eyes and nose.

"He was in the emergency room for severe burns," I stated as I continued looking. I noticed another image of the crime scene. There was caution tape around a house and ambulances in the photo. I looked closer and noticed something that caused me to gasp. A million questions ran through my head as I stared in shock. "Sophia...?" I said, never looking away from the photo. She hummed in response. I pointed at a figure standing behind some caution tape, in the back of the photo.

"That's me...."