serendipity; (n)
finding something good without looking for it
The clatter of a plastic box being dropped to the ground filled the empty hallways of Shadyside High. The sound of rummaging was all that could be heard amongst the group which was now searching through the schools lost and found box, grabbing new pieces of clothing so they were free of any blood stains. Theo managed to get an oversized white shirt and a light brown cardigan vest, along with khaki pants and old, beaten up converse shoes. He shrugged and took what he had, knowing there couldn't be anything actually nice looking in there.
"We have to decontaminate," Josh started to say, rummaging through the box. "You can't have any of Sam's blood on you."
"Well, not much I can do about that," said Sam, the girl letting out a small breath and crossing her arms before turning around and walking down the hallway. Theo couldn't even begin to imagine how she was feeling. As any normal person would've thought, Theo imagined the next time they were able to see each other wasn't going to be under the circumstances of dead killers chasing after them.
Theo caught the eyes of Deena who was staring at him with concern, watching Sam walk down the hall. Theo bit his inner lip, nodding towards his younger sister with a small smile, "She needs you Deena," he whispered softly, patting the girls back before getting to his feet. Without hesitation, Deena gave her silent thanks to Theo, quickly walking after Sam.
"Deena, you have to get clean too! Not a single drop, okay?" Josh called after his sister.
Theo, Simon, and Josh all walked towards the men's restroom while Kate started for the women's. Both Simon and Josh had already walked inside, Theo ready to follow them in until he heard Kates voice.
"Hey, wait. I don't want to go in by myself," she said to Theo, trying to look as calm as possible. Theo saw right through her though, noticing the fear pulsing through her veins as she was only halfway through the door. Theo gave her a soft smile and nodded, the relief flooding over Kate as Theo followed her inside the girls restroom.
The two walked into separate stalls, Theo quickly removing his clothes before putting on a new, blood free outfit, slipping the cardigan vest over the white shirt which was super baggy over his slim torso. The boy finally walked out of the stall, rushing to the sink and washing his hands along with his face.
"Do you really think this is going to work?" Kate's voice came from the stall behind Theo. He knew she was scared, there wasn't any hiding it in her voice, Theo tended to notice the small thinks about Kate, especially things that helped him realize how she was feeling in the moment. Whenever she was nervous she looked down at her feet, whenever she was excited she wouldn't stop talking, etc etc. The point was, Theo Fraser always knew when something was bothering Kate Schmidt.
"I do," Theo simply told her, and this time he wasn't lying. "I genuinely do think we're going to get through this Kate." he said.
"Theo?" Kate's voice came again. "Can you help me?" she asked, Theo's heart rate seeming to race through the roof. He gulped, turning around and walking towards the stall Kate was in. He took a deep breath, gently pushing the door open. There Kate stood, her hands interlocked in front of her as she looked up, looking almost embarrassed as their eyes met. Theo didn't notice anything to be embarrassed about though, Kate was gorgeous, more than gorgeous actually. Theo didn't even care to notice the girl wasn't wearing anything except a bra and underwear, he just stared into her eyes, smiling softly as he was able to take a moment to appreciate how beautiful the girl before him was.
Kate seemed to loosen up a bit, a light blush visible on her nose and cheeks before she turned around, allowing Theo to see if there was any blood or wounds on her back. After examining her, the boy stood back.
"I think you're all good," he said in a soft voice, Kate finally turning back around to face Theo. The boy bit his inner lip, looking down at his feet before meeting Kate's eyes again, their gaze almost unbreakable.
"What if tonight's it for us?" Kate asked, biting her inner cheek gently before taking a deep breath. Theo again could tell how nervous and anxious she was about the whole situation. He didn't blame her whatsoever.
"Well," Theo said, inhaling deeply. This was it, it was now or never. Theo Fraser was finally going to tell Kate Schmidt exactly how he felt about her. It was finally time. "You remember in third grade when Simon introduced us for the first time?" Theo asked.
Kate let a light giggle escape her lips, nodding her head. "How could I forget such a day?" she said.
"I remember so vividly when Simon told you my name. 'This is Theodore' he said. Then you decided that Theodore was way too complicated for you, so you gave me a nickname. Theo," he explained, nervously glancing down at his shoes while he continued to talk. "My whole life up until that day, everyone I had ever known called me Theodore, but after you gave me that nickname, everything changed. From that day forward I always said 'Theo, never Theodore' It was all because of you," he said, looking back up at Kate.
Theo had expected Kate to be completely weirded out or even mad but her expression was the complete opposite. Her eyes were more glossy than usual, her jaw was dropped slightly with her eyebrows barley raised.
"I don't know, it's just- ever since the day I met you, everything changed. You weren't like Simon or anyone else, you were different. I feel like I'm on top of the world when I'm with you, Kate. I get butterflies just talking to you. Hell, I still get nervous every time you walk into a room," Theo said, taking one of Kate's hand into his own. It was now or never, his heart was beating out of his chest. "The thing is, no matter how hard I tried to like someone else, it always came back to you. It's always been you, and it always will be. And, I was always just so, so scared to tell you because I knew someone like you would never feel the same way about a guy like me. I'm just a dork."
Kate stared back at Theo, tears rolling down her cheeks as she tried to comprehend everything Theo had just said. She looked up at the boy, taking a step toward him and placing a hand on his cheek. "Yeah but, you're my dork," she said, standing on the tip of her toes to reach Theo's height. Kate's lips gently brushed against Theo's. They were kissing.
Theo was just as surprised as he was happy, the feeling of butterflies filling his stomach soon present as he closed his eyes, letting his hands rest on Kate's waist. The two eventually departed, Theo's ears and nose bright pink as he smiled brightly.
Kate was just as flustered as him, her cheeks flushing a bright pink with her cheeky smile towards the curly haired boy, playing with the back of his hair before she spoke again. "I love you, Theo. I always have."
Usually in a circumstance like this, Theo would be absolutely speechless. However, he finally knew what to say this time and exactly what to do. "I love you too, Kate."
Their lips intertwined again as Theo leaned down, leaning in towards Kate considering their height difference. Theo didn't care though, he was happier than he had ever been before. The girl he had slowly fallen in love with all these years was here with him, confessing her love and kissing him. He couldn't ask for anything more.
Eventually pulling away, Theo gave one final kiss to the girl, pulling the door to the stall open. "I'll let you get situated now, don't worry I'll wait," he said, letting the door close behind him, waiting for Kate to change into her new clothes.
After she changed, Kate walked out of the stall, washing her hands before interlocking her fingers with Theo's, the two smiling at each other before walking out of the bathroom together. Once they walked out, they were met with Simon who's eyes widened and Josh who just gave a small chuckle.
"No!" Simon said, a cheeky grin appearing on his face as he noticed the two holding hands.
"Calm down, we just kissed a few times that's all," Kate said, her cheeks flushing pink again as she looked over to Theo.
Down the other side of the hall, Sam and Deena could also be seen holding hands, their faces trying to seem as casual as possible. Theo knew they total got at it while they could.
"Wait, wait, wait. Did you all go to pound town?" Simon asked, observing the two couples. He gave another bashful smile. "Me too."
The trap was simple. Sam would cut her hand, letting her blood soak through buckets of water, setting the bait for the killers. The group would mark every entry of the school, leading a trail of the blood to the girls bathroom where Sam would be waiting. Once all of the killers piled inside, Sam would be able to make her escape through the vent above her stall, while the group locked the door shut, keeping all the killers inside. Once secured, Theo would be able to throw his lighter on the trail of bleach, leading to the bathroom where a chemical trap was set in place, exploding the killers and finally facing their end.
Theo had finished mopping the blood through the open hallways, meeting Kate, Deena and Josh back at the bathroom, leaving only Simon to finish up. Theo leaned against the wall next to Kate, the girl resting her head against his shoulder, Theo wrapping his arm around Kate's shoulder as they waited. Soon enough, Simon was sprinting down the hall, his eyes wide as he finally reached the rest of the group.
"Dude! She's here! I saw her!" he exclaimed, panting heavily. "She was- she was so sexy, but fucking crazy still! She was doing it! Following the blood trails!"
Theo quickly noticed another figure moving to his right, the boys eyes widening as he noticed who it was. "It's working. Skull Mask freak, three o'clock."
Suddenly to their left, Ruby Lane's singing could be heard, the girl turning the corner becoming visible to the group with her blade in hand.
"This is so dumb! If this doesn't work, I will murder you!" Kate snapped at Deena, her grip tight against Theo's torso.
Soon enough, from the hallways across from them, Nightwing was stomping towards them, his axe securely in his hands.
"They're all here!" Deena whispered, her face full of pure terror as the killers got closer and closer.
However, Skull Mask walked right by her and into the bathroom, along with Ruby passing straight by Kate and Theo, following after Skull Mask. Finally, Nightwing finished his sprinting past the group and into the restroom. Kate and Theo wasted no time pulling the door shut, Kate tying a rope connected to the lockers through the handle so the killers couldn't escape. Theo in the meantime, spilled more bleach in front of the door, taking his lighter from his pocket and dropping it into the puddle of chemicals. Once the flame ignited, he quickly sprinted down the hall and against the wall with the others. Shrieks and screams echoed through the school while smoke escaped from under the door. Suddenly, the walls shook along with a loud boom. It had worked.
Through lots of smoke and melting walls, the group had finally ignited the remaining fire, smiling as there was no sight of the witches henchmen. Theo and Kate both smiled at each other while Deena and Sam gave a few chuckles.
"Come back from that motherfuckers!" Simon exclaimed, throwing an arm over Josh's shoulder.
Theo was observing the room when something caught his eye. Some of the bodily remains on the ground seemed to be... moving? The boys brows furrowed as he walked closer, examining the strange movements. The remains seemed to merge together, the figure of a hand seeming to rise from the goop. A hand suddenly grabbed Theo, dragging him out of the bathroom with the others. It was Kate. The two followed after the others, soon finding a classroom to take cover in. Simon quickly locked the door behind them, Deena rushing to the teachers main desk, trying to barricade the door with it.
"Help me! Come on they're coming!" Deena called out, Theo quickly ran over, trying to help push the desk with Deena but was soon stopped.
"They're gonna keep coming!" Kate exclaimed in defeat, not bothering to help.
"We're fucked!" Simon yelled, throwing up his hands and running his fingers through his hair.
"No, no! We are not fucked! She's fucked. They're coming for her," Kate said, looking over at Sam. "If we put Sam in the hall, we end this now."
"Excuse me? What's gotten into you?" Theo quickly walked up to the girl, anger starting to pulse through him.
"I'm being reasonable! We can't run anymore. A bullet won't stop them, fine. They're really strong. But we just tried to goddamn explode them, and that didn't work!" yelled Kate. Theo was left speechless.
"You're suggesting killing her," came Deena's voice, walking up behind Theo to back him up.
"You'd let us all die to protect her. Look at this," Kate said, grabbing Josh's backpack, putting all the new headlines they had observed earlier in front of the two. "Dead, dead, dead! This is the way," Kate said, her voice cracking and her eyes starting to water. Theo could tell this wasn't how she wanted it, but it was her last priority. She was just in the wrong headspace.
"Kates right," Sam said, inhaling deeply and crossing her arms nervously. "I don't want you guys to die for me... I'm going."
"No you're not! Are you crazy?" Theo said, walking up to his sister with tearful eyes. Sam just gave him a weak smile, pulling him into a gentle hug before walking out the door. "No! Sam! Sam!" Theo called out, trying to run after him but was quickly stopped by Simon who held him back from the door. Deena of course tried to, but Simon was too quick kept pushing her back from the door.
"Help me! Help!" Deena called out to her brother, Josh's attention turning to the papers Kate had gotten out just moments prior.
"We're letting her die! We're killing her!" Theo called out, using all of his strength to push through Simon, but it was no use. The boy was then pushed backwards, falling against one of the desks in defeat. He pulled at his hair, tears jerking from his eyes as he tried to think of some other way to get Sam back. Kate knelt down beside him, culling Theo's face in her hands.
"I'm so sorry- I'm so so-"
"There's another way!" Josh suddenly exclaimed, looking down at the Nightwing paper. Without hesitation, Kate got to her feet, sprinting towards the door and unlocking it, quickly pulling Sam back inside and locking the door behind them.
"What... what... what is going on?" Sam asked, looking over at Theo and then to Deena.
"You're not doing this alone," Kate admitted, walking over to Theo again and helping him back to his feet, continuing to apologize under her breath. He knew she'd come around.
"There's another way. C. Berman. She's the key," Josh started to explain.
Simon and Theo had now blocked off the door with the large desk, along with a chair holding the knob. Luckily, while they were trying to keep away an axe murderer, they could still hear what the others were talking about.
"Camp Nightwing. Summer of '78. Group of campers, brutal massacre," Sam read from the paper Josh had provided her.
"There were two Shadyside survivors, C. Berman and Q. Thatcher," Josh pointed out, showing Sam one of the later paragraphs.
"The still traumatized girl claims that amidst the carnage she saw the witch," Sam said, her eyes widening as she realized what this meant.
"Yeah, just like you. So, if she survived, I'm pretty sure-"
"There may be a way for me to live too," Sam finished his sentence.
Kate, who was on the floor searching through a phone book lit up. "I got it! C. Berman! 9006 Brennan Way. This had got to be her!" she exclaimed, Deena sprinting for the phone, ready to dial the number. "Uh, 155-4747!" called out Kate, Deena instantly punching in the number.
While Deena called the residence, Theo and Simon were severely struggling with the door, the axe of the Nightwing killer starting to pierce through the door. "We need some help here!" Theo called out. Kate quickly ran to the door, helping push against it so Nightwing couldn't enter.
"No ones there!" Deena exclaimed. "Hello, my name is Deena Johnson. I think you saw the witch?"
Suddenly, the axe finally hit through the door, Theo just barley dodging it to avoid getting an axe through his head. The boys eyes widened as it continued to break more and more of the door. "This shit is not gonna hold!" he called out.
"We need to know how you survived!" Deena yelled into the phone which was quickly stolen by Josh.
"Hey, hey! Were being attacked, alright? There are killers here!" Josh exclaimed, Deena quickly swiping back the phone while Josh went to help with the door.
"If your there, please pick up! Please answer!" Deena yelled.
With another bang, Theo felt something pull his hair, the boy trying to duck but was soon being pulled up by ol the Nightwing killers hand. Kate quickly grabbed Theo's arm, along with Simon, trying to pull Theo out of the killers grip. Nightwing proceeded to bang Theo's head against the door, the desk becoming unstable from the lack of weight that Simon was holding on top of it.
"Help! Help us!" Kate screamed while Theo gave yells of agony, his head starting to ache from the constant pounding against it.
Suddenly, Josh jumped up beside the desk, stabbing Nightwings hand with a pencil, Theo being pulled away and out of Nightwings grasp by Kate. While the boy caught his breath, he heard his sister speak.
"She died," Sam said, her eyes widening slowly as she looked back at the others.
"What? No, she's alive. That's the whole point," Deena said, finally giving up on the phone and walking over to Sam.
"Yeah, she- she survived, but... but first she died," Sam explained, the crack in the classroom door becoming bigger and bigger by the minute.
"C. Berman was found in the woods. Her heart had stopped but local boy performed CPR," Deena read aloud.
"What if this is it? What if that's how she survived? Her heart stopped. She survived by dying," asked Sam, the puzzle pieces starting to connect in her head, along with Deena's.
"What is it? The fucking rhyme. The fucking rhyme!" Deena called out, looking over at the group holding back the door, obviously struggling.
"She'll take your blood, she'll take your head! She'll follow you-"
"Until you're dead," Sam and Deena finished in unison, everything finally starting to make sense. This has to be the solution.
"It's just like Kate said. The witch wants you dead. So... we kill you. And then, just like this Cz Berman bitch, we bring you back to life," Deena said.
"What are you saying?" Kate yelled out, still pushing against the door with Theo, Simon, and Josh.
"Fuck it. I'm dying tonight one way or another. Let's try to bring me back," Sam said, everyone silently agreeing as they rushed away from the door, Nightwing becoming more vulnerable by the minute.
One by one, the group piled out of the window, sprinting off into the night. It was time to end this curse once and for all.
To be Continued.