𝙰/𝙽: 𝙻𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜, 𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 <𝟹
...
"Another three bodies were found by the Hackensack Mall last night. That brings the total body count to 11. Police are still searching for the mass murderer."
Someone walks up the stairs to a bedroom, feet rapidly hitting the floor. They slowly crept their way up to the back of a woman who was calmly brushing her hair. They're breathing deeply as they come closer to her until the woman turns around and faces them, letting out a startled gasp.
...
At a garage sale in the town of Hackensack, two teenagers were looking around to see what could catch their eye. The boy wearing headphones and looking at comics was Jake Wheeler. Next to him was his best friend, (Y/N) (L/N). She was looking through some calligraphy pens that were in an antique box.
Getting bored of the comic books, Jake looked around to see if there was anything else. His eyes searched around the objects until they caught a patch of red hair. Pulling out an earbud, he tapped (Y/N) on her shoulder repeatedly. "Hey, (N/N), (N/N), (N/N), (N/N)-"
"Hmm?" She turned to look at him with raised brows, closing the box.
"Look at that." He pointed at another table with a small smile. She turned and looked to see his finger was raised in the direction of an old-fashioned doll with red hair that was down to its shoulders. It was wearing a striped colorful shirt that was covered with a pair of overalls and red tennis shoes. (Y/N) blinked a few times before facing Jake again, this time with a playful disapproving look.
"Jake? You know, as much as I love being your best friend, I don't like another pair of soulless doll eyes staring at me." She huffed with an eye roll. Jake seemed to ignore her as he walked up to the toddler-sized doll and picked it up, getting a good look at it. (Y/N) threw her arms up and quickly dropped them to her sides. "And of course, he ignores my ass." She mutters, but a chuckle of amusement escapes her mouth as she quickly grabs the box full of calligraphy pens and follows up right behind him.
Ms. Charlie, the woman who was selling the items, came up to the pair. "Hi Jake, (Y/N). 15 for the pens and 20 for that. Sounds fair?"
"15/20 bucks?" The teens both said as they furrowed their brows, unsure why the prices were high. In their opinion, at least.
"Well, they got to be worth that, right?"
(Y/N) glanced at the doll before looking back at Ms. Charlie. "Hey, where'd you get the doll?"
"I have no idea. Must've been my daughter's, I guess. Honestly, I don't remember." She gives them a polite smile. "You into vintage?"
Jake huffs a laugh. "No, (Y/N) is more into vintage." (Y/N) shrugged her shoulders with a smile, agreeing with him. "For me, retro."
"Oh, what's the difference?" The blonde furrowed her brows, confused.
"About 10 bucks." Jake smiled.
"And, how about 8 for the pens?" (Y/N) smiled innocently, holding up the small box.
Ms. Charlie laughed in amusement at the two. "Fair enough." The teenagers gave their money to the blonde and said thanks.
"Tell both your dads I said 'hello'." Jake, being too focused on the doll, didn't respond and just walked away. However, (Y/N) gave her a nod before bidding goodbye.
However, when the teens walked away, Ms. Charlie looked down at the table and noticed something. "Oh. Someone took the butcher knife."
...
"So, where to next, Wheeler?" (Y/N) questions as they walk down the neighborhood.
"I was thinking we could hang out at my place, you know before my dad gets back from work." Jake suggested and she tilted her head side to side, meaning 'sure'.
(Y/N) never really liked Jake's father and he couldn't blame her. Ever since his mom died, all he did was drink all day and mess with Jake. Sometimes it gets so far that Jake would run to her house and sleep over until his dad sobers up and forgets what happened the previous night.
"Yeah that can work, I mean, there are some new sketches that I made that can help you with your-?" (Y/N) chuckled when she glanced at Jake's phone. He felt his ears turn red before he shoved his phone quickly into his pocket, mumbling a 'shut up.' He shoved his other earbud in his ear, muffling (Y/N)'s teasing.
"What's up, detectives! It's me, Devon Evans. Here in Hackensack, the mayor likes to say the saints are always watching over us, guiding our destinies, and keeping us from harm. Well, I call bullshit on that. The mayor wants us to think we're all living on Main Street in Disneyland, but the truth is, Hackensack is a haven for the bizarre, the fucked-up, and the straight-up criminally insane. In the past year alone, our murder rate has spiked by 25%. In fact, we haven't seen this kind of violence here since the Ray family murders in '65, a bloodbath that gave birth to one of the most notorious serial killers in history, Charles Lee Ray. Back in the day, he was one of us, growing up right over on Sherwood Lane. You won't read about it in the 'Times' dispatch, but you can hear all about it right here, every week. Until next time, fellow detectives, this is Devon Evans bringing you... 'Hackenslash'."
...
The teens arrived at the Wheeler's home. Jake carrying the doll and mail, (Y/N) closing the door behind her. "Binxie?" He calls, clicking his tongue. "Here, Binx."
"Dude, Binx is a cat, not a dog," (Y/N) stated. Jake rolled his eyes, tossed the mail to the counter, and went upstairs, his best friend following.
They walked into the boy's room, (Y/N) setting her backpack on his bed while he took off his coat. Jake closed the door and went to pet Binx, setting the red-haired doll on his desk.
"Do you need anything I can help with?" (Y/N) asked. Jake shook his head. "Nah, you'll probably ruin, what you call, my 'creepy sculptures'." He did small jazz hands with a sarcastic smile. She jokingly glared at him with a small smile. "Fine then, I'll just go downstairs and raid your fridge." She sighed dramatically before walking downstairs to his kitchen.
Jake shook his head with a smile and went back to get his supplies.
Unnoticed by him, Binx began sniffing the new doll, suddenly hissing and whacking it. As if by magic, the doll's pupils dilated, and soon enough, Binx jumped away from it and scrambled under Jake's bed.
Jake walked up to his desk, now with gloves covering his hands. "Two heads are better than one, right?" He muttered as he grabbed the doll, trying to twist its head off. With no luck, he lays it down on his desk, getting something that'll help him get it off. As he was about to grab it, (Y/N) rushed into the room, quickly grabbing her things.
"Hey, hey, hey. What's wro-"
"Your dad." She panted. "He's here."
"Wha-" Jake spluttered. "You can't go now! How are you even going to leave without him seeing you?!" He hissed to her, his eyebrows a bit furrowed in worry.
"Easy." She grinned. "I'll jump out your window."
A slam of the front door was heard downstairs and the two snapped their necks towards the bedroom door. Jake turned back to (Y/N) with a shake of his head. "You can't just jump out of a second-story house!"
"Jake?! Jake, I'm home!"
The girl sighed before looking around his room quickly. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, I'll just hide under your bed oka-"
"Hey, wanna play?"
"Son of a bi-" Jake quickly covered his friend's mouth. "Just. Hide." (Y/N), still wide-eyed and staring at the doll, nods, and scrambles under his bed.
...
"Jesus Christ, Jake. Another freaking doll?" His dad groans as he looks at the doll strangely.
"Hi, I'm Chucky! And I'm your friend 'till the end! Hidey-ho!" The doll laughs.
(Y/N) , still under the bed, looks at Jake's shoes, clenching her jaw. Can that doll get any creepier? She thought. You know how to pick 'em, Jake.
"He's voice-activated," Jake stated to his dad. "I was thinking about using his head for the sculpture. What do you think?"
His dad pauses for a moment before responding. "I don't know.", he muttered, "I'm no art critic."
"Well, I'm not asking for a review, Dad. I just want your opinion."
"It's cool, Jake. Still think you're spending too much time on it." Jake furrowed his brows at his dad. "Wouldn't hurt you to get out of this room every once in a while. Maybe you could uh, ask that girl (Y/N) out to a movie, you know? Or see a friend or something."
For your information, Mr. Wheeler. Jake and I do go out and see movies. (Y/N) harshly glared at the floor. But not in the way you think. She pursed her lips.
"Friends come and go, in my experience." Ex-fucking-scuse me? What am I, chopped liver? "Plus, (Y/N) is the only friend that I have, and I want it to stay that way." Awww, that was cheesy. But aww. "The work lasts forever."
"So does student debt." His dad said. "You know, it's impossible to make a living as an artist?"
Jake frowned at him. "Mom did."
"That wasn't a living. That was a lifestyle. And it certainly didn't pay the bills. I did."
Jake sighs and goes to sit at his desk, holding his doll. His dad turns and faces him, bending down to his level. "You know, you're looking more and more like her every day?" His son turns away and he stands up straight again. "Speaking of which, I looked into that art camp and I don't think it's gonna work out."
"Why not?"
"It's 1,000 bucks, Jake. I'm sorry, maybe next year. Besides, you don't wanna be away from me for a whole month, do you?" He scoffs. "You remember to take your pill today?"
"Not yet."
"Well, you should take it. You're gonna need it. We're at Defcon 1 tonight." His dad starts walking out of his room.
"Why?"
"Your cousin's coming over!" He called out.
"Oh shit." (Y/N) accidentally muttered; her eyes widened as did Jake's. Thankfully, his dad thought it was him and replied, "'Shit' is right."
After a couple of minutes of silence, Jake swiftly closes his door and (Y/N) crawls out from his bed. She grabs his bottle of pills and tosses them to Jake and he catches them. "Sorry, you can't go to the camp, dude."
Jake sighs with a shake of his head. "It's fine, I didn't think he would let me go anyways."
"But hey! Look on the bright side, you got moi!" She gestured to herself with a smirk. "And gender-bent Wendy's over there." (Y/N) points to his doll with a chuckle.
"Ha, ha. I'm not looking forward to them coming." Jake huffs. (Y/N) pats his shoulder sympathetically. "You'll be fine, Jake. Just call me whenever you need, okay?" He nods.
"I gotta go. My dad is probably worried about where the hell I am."
"But my dad is downstairs." Jake pointed out.
"I know. Window." She jerked her thumb behind her. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."
"If you say so. All right, see ya."
(Y/N) opened the window and turned back to Jake, giving him a two-fingered salute before climbing out.
Jake opens his pill bottle and takes one out, popping it in his mouth.
"Son of a bitch! Ohhh, I think I twisted my ankle!"
"Idiot." He muttered with a smile, shaking his head to himself.
...
It was sunset when (Y/N) arrived at her house, mostly because of her ankle. "Stupid branch." She muttered, "This is why I can't do heights."
She opened the front door to see nothing but darkness inside. Hopefully, he's asleep. (Y/N) quietly closed the door behind her and slowly crept into the kitchen. Seeing no one there, she silently cheered herself and placed her backpack on the table.
Click.
Fuck. The girl thought. She slowly turned around with a sheepish smile, seeing the one and only (F/N) (L/N) standing by the doorway with crossed arms and a raised brow.
"(Y/N)." He greeted her monotonically.
"Hey, Dad!" She exclaims. "Funny seeing you here... in the kitchen," (Y/N) gestures around her. "That's in our house, you know. Where we both live.." She trails off.
Her dad forces a smile at her and (Y/N) internally panics. "Well, best be going to bed now! You know, so I won't be tired for tomorrow-"
"Hey.." He closes his eyes with a sigh. "Don't bother trying to lie to me. I know you were at Jake's house."
(Y/N) slumped her shoulders. "Look, I know you don't like me going over there because of his dad, but Jake needs someone. His dad is being an ass-"
"Don't bother finishing that sentence." He interrupted her. "I see your point, (N/N). But there has to be something other than Jake sneaking in here like a burglar in the middle of the night."
(Y/N) shrugged with an exaggerated frown. "I don't see the problem." Her dad softly laughed in amusement.
"To your room, you go." She groaned and dragged herself up the stairs.
...
It was around ten-thirty at night and (Y/N) was listening to music through her headphones while sketching random things on a piece of paper. A few moments later, she heard a tap on the window. Thinking it was nothing, she continued shading a skull in the corner of the paper until she heard the tap again.
Furrowing her brows, she paused the music and set her things down, walking towards her window. She opens her curtain to see Jake with tear-stained cheeks, clutching Chucky in his arms. (Y/N)'s eyes widened in surprise as she quickly opened her window, careful not to accidentally push him off the tree he was on.
"Hey, what happe-" She couldn't finish her sentence because Jake hugged her the moment he was inside. His whole body was shaking as he cried on her shoulder. (Y/N) didn't bother asking again and just held him until he calmed down.
...
It was morning and Jake was on (Y/N)'s laptop searching through eBay and Chucky was seated on her bed. (Y/N) was downstairs with her dad helping him with the dishes. After telling her what happened at home, Jake asked if he could spend the night over, them saying yes.
He was looking through other 'Good Guys' dolls, his jaw going slack as he saw the prices. "1,500 bucks?"
"What's 1,500 bucks?" Jake jumps in the seat as he hears his best friend's voice, he turns to look at her and nods his head towards the screen. Curious, (Y/N) walked up behind him and looked at the screen. Seeing what he was seeing, her brows raised in surprise. "Holy shit..." She muttered. The two looked at each other for a moment then looked at the doll.
"Kids! Bus is here!"
...
Didn't think he'd actually bring that thing. (Y/N) thought as they both walked through the bus aisle, Jake in front of her. As they were finding a seat, Oliver threw a pair of gym shorts at the two, hitting Chucky's head before landing on the floor. Annoyed, she picked them up and threw them at the two laughing girls who sat a couple of seats behind Oliver.
The Wheeler boy decided to ignore them and looked around, his eyes stopping at a certain boy, Devon Evans. He was reading a magazine titled: True Crime. Looking back to the front, (Y/N) raised her brows in shock seeing Jake sitting right behind Devon. Slightly smiling, she decides to sit in a bus seat across from him.
Jake looked at her with wide eyes, basically asking 'What the hell are you doing?'. Her only response was a nod of her head, directing him to where Devon was sitting. He vigorously shook his head, thinking she had gone completely insane. (Y/N) rolled her eyes before pulling out her phone. A minute later Jake felt a vibration in his jacket pocket. Unlocking his phone, he sees a message from her saying:
(Y/N): Just talk to him!
Jake: About what??
(Y/N): Idk man, statistics? 🧍🏽♀️
Jake looked at her with a confused expression and she just shrugged before typing again on her phone.
(Y/N): Just start with a 'hey' and then see where it goes
Nodding to himself, Jake gets mentally prepared while (Y/N) softly chuckles at the scene. Her vision of the two gets blocked by a blue, oversized hoodie. Looking up, she first noticed crystal blue eyes and a small smile on a pale boy's face. Immediately she smiled at him. "Hey, (Y/N)." He softly greeted her.
"Sammy," her smile grew when she said his name, "how you've been?" She asked. He nodded as he replied, "I've been good, you?"
"Good." She nodded back. They stared at each other for a few seconds, but to them, it felt like forever. Samuel was about to say something else but,
"Sammy!"
Jake's idiot cousin, Junior, decides to call out for him. Samuel and (Y/N) smiled at each other, a little disappointed that their interaction was cut short. Bending down to her ear, he whispered, "Talk to you at lunch?"
Unnoticed herself, (Y/N)'s breath hitched at his soft whisper right beside her ear. She nods as he stands up straight again and goes to squeeze himself by Junior and Devon. Feeling a buzz next to her, she sees that it's from Jake and opens it.
Jake: No luck. :/
(Y/N) looked over to him to see that he was looking out the window, shoulders slumped and holding Chucky close to him. She sighed and replied back to him:
(Y/N): Sorry bro, better luck next time :)
And with that, the bus started its way to Perry Middle School.
...
The two teenagers walked down the hallway, trying to ignore the stares of the others around them. Well, mostly Jake. (Y/N) on the other hand, was giving an unimpressed stare back at the students, making them turn away.
As they made their way to their lockers, a classmate came up to them "Hey Jake, (Y/N). Awesome Good Guy." He complimented, "I'm into vintage too."
"Oh, he's retro. Wanna buy it?" Jake questioned.
"No, thanks." They stopped at the lockers and (Y/N) opened hers, grabbing some books to put in her bag. Looking to her left, she sees that Jake is struggling to put the doll in his.
"Hey. Uh, can I ask you guys a question?"
"You already did." (Y/N) cheekily responded, resulting in her getting a push on her shoulder from Jake. He rolled his eyes, looked at the kid, and said, "Yeah, sure." (Y/N) decides to try and help Jake push Chucky's head into the locker.
"This is really awkward, but do you think you can like, maybe introduce me to your cousin, Jake?"
The duo paused from their pushing and looked towards him. Jake sighed and (Y/N) hit her head on the locker door with a small groan. "Junior?" They both said.
"Yeah."
Jake and (Y/N) both closed their lockers, the Wheeler boy still holding Chucky, and looked to the right to see Junior standing right there. He turns to look at them before smiling apologetically at their classmate. "I get that a lot. I'm flattered, really, but, um, it's really not my thing." He shrugged.
A manicured hand rests on top of Junior's shoulder and he turns to see his girlfriend, Lexy Cross. The two shared a kiss as the other three just stood there awkwardly, (Y/N) glancing away and making a gagging gesture.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't know." The kid stated.
"Yeah, since cotillion." Lexy smiled. "Don't you follow my Insta?" He didn't reply and just walked off to class, head slightly down.
Jake and (Y/N) turned to look at the couple. Junior looked to see Chucky in Jake's arms. "New bed buddy, Jake?" he pointed at the doll, "What's his name?"
"What's your name?" Jake looked down and asked.
"Hi, I'm Chucky. Wanna play?"
Lexy laughed. "Oh my god. That's adorable." She pulled out her phone and pointed the camera at him. "Say 'Cheese'. Come on (Y/N)," Lexy looked at the (h/c)-haired girl, "get in the picture too."
"I'd rather make out with Michael My- oof!" She winced at the sudden jab in her ribs. Jake just nodded his head towards the camera, as if saying to hurry up and get it over with. Slightly glaring at him, she turned to Lexy with a forced grin. "I would love to." She gritted her teeth.
The two looked at the camera with Jake saying, "Chucky cheese." After taking the photo, Lexy looked up at him. "You're not tearing him apart, I hope."
"Anything for art, right?" Jake shrugged. The blonde immediately replied, "No, you can't!"
"Well, actually, I'm going to sell him. Then split the money with (Y/N), since it was her idea." He nodded to his best friend as she shrugged and shuffled her feet.
The blonde girl's smile fell into a frown. "Oh, you two are selling stuff now?" She glanced at Junior before looking back at the two. "I hadn't realized it'd gotten that bad, Jake."
Jake and (Y/N) looked at her confused and tried to interrupt, "What? No-"
She looked at (Y/N), "Didn't know your dad was struggling, (N/N). Considering how he's spending most of his time working two jobs." The said girl's jaw tensed as she stared blankly at Lexy. "I mean, do you two need to borrow any money?"
"No-"
"Seriously, it's no problem." She turned to Junior. "Right?"
"You know I don't carry cash on me."
"You can Venmo-"
"Actually," (Y/N) interrupted, "We're fine."
"Being financially disadvantaged is nothing to be ashamed of, you guys." Lexy stated 'sympathetically'. As a random girl walked past the group, she turned to her, "Right?"
"We're not." Jake firmly stated. The bell rings and Lexy grabs Junior's hand, she looks at the two once again, "Well, see you later." She gave them one last smile.
"Yeah, see you in class," (Y/N) said with a tight smile. As the couple walked off, she flipped them off with both hands until Jake grabbed her from one of her arms and dragged her to class.
...