an obnoxious ringing echoed through the L/n household, though no one went to stop it. no one went to pick up the phone, because no one could hear it. Mr. and Mrs. L/n were away for the week for a romantic getaway (something they said was way overdue) and their daughter, Y/n, had fallen asleep at her desk, after a gruelling 3 hours of studying.
the ringing stopped for a few moments before it started again, this time waking the sleeping girl. she trudged out of her sanctuary, down the stairs and to the living room, trying to comb through her knotted and tangled hair as she did so.
'hello?'
'...hello' a deep, rumbling voice replied after a short silence. it wasn't familiar.
'who is this?'
'who is this?' he echoed.
'hmm.. I think you may have the wrong number' she mumbled, swallowing the uneasy feeling which had started to build up in her chest.
'yeah... I think I do.' he replied, pausing before he continued. 'goodnight.'
y/n ended the call, slightly perplexed but now less anxious. she walked around her home, locking the windows and doors, thinking about the call. who was the man with the angelic voice?
she returned to her room, shutting the curtains and crashing down on her bed. it was only 9.30 at night, but she felt exhausted already, even on a Sunday, school was draining the life out of her. instead of sleeping, she grabbed the magazine her best friend, Tatum, had given her and flipped through the pages, occasionally pausing to look at a picture of an outfit she'd never be able to afford, or a moisturiser worth more than her house.
-----
the next morning, Y/n woke up with a strange sense of dread enveloping her body. she felt like she was going to be sick, but she had no idea what caused it. it was just clawing at her stomach, and her heart was beating rapidly. she chalked it down to a bad dream she couldn't remember, and began to get ready for school, already dreading it.
she made her way to the bathroom, stopping dead in her tracks when she opened the door: the window was open. she was positive she'd locked it, or at the very least closed it, before she'd gone to bed. she stared at it for a second, trying to figure out why it was open, and then she rushed over to it, slamming it shut. she must've gotten up in the middle of the night and, for whatever reason, opened it. it was fine. everything was fine.
shakily, she smoothed down her shirt, brushed her teeth and then made her way downstairs to get her shoes on and leave to school.
-----
the normally peaceful campus was surrounded by police, news reporters and cars- some belonging to the police, some to the reporters. students were shouting and pushing each other to try and get in frame of one of the cameras, and even the reporters were being occasionally jostled about. except for one; Gale Weathers.
the obnoxious woman wore a bright, neon green outfit and deep red lipstick. she was beautiful: her back hair was always perfectly styled and her eyes were the type you could get lost in should you stare at them too long. unfortunately, she was only pretty on the outside. personality-wise, she was loud, nosy and extremely pushy- and she didn't have the best sense of style.
Y/n speed walked ahead to her friend, Sidney, who had arrived slightly earlier than her and was now very slowly making her way to the building. she linked arms with her and glared at the people surrounding the place.
'what's going on?' she asked, eyeing Gale wearily as they made their way closer.
'I'm not sure either... Tate will know though.' Sidney replied, looking away when she realised that Gale had spotted them.
her heels clacked loudly on the ground as she speed-walked over to them, readying her microphone. her cameraman, Kenny, rushed behind her steadying the large object on his shoulder.
'girls! girls! how do you feel about the-' Gale was cut off and a shorter blonde girl grabbed Sidney and dragged her and Y/n away from the woman.
'Tate! what's going on, what was Gale asking us about?' Sidney asked, letting the girl drag them up the steps of the school.
'you guys haven't heard? Casey Becker and Steve Orth were killed last night.' Tatum seemed far too excited about this, but it was slightly understandable; big things like this didn't happen often, last time such a thing had happened was last year.
'no way!' Sidney gasped, her eyes flicking to Y/n.
Y/n, for almost all of middle school, had been best friends with Casey. they did everything together and every Friday, Y/n would sleep over at Casey's impressive estate. when they got to high school, they drifted apart. nothing bad happened between the two, they were still friends, they were just distant- too different to stay together.
Tatum lowered her voice, trying to make sure Y/n didn't hear her next words. 'splatter movie killed, Sid, split open end to end... her parents found her hanging from a tree- insides on the outside!' Y/n heard it.
Sidney smacked Tatum on the arm and put her arm around Y/n.
'i-i'm sorry, N/n. I know you guys used to be close and that you were still friends.' she said in a comforting voice, letting Tatum cross over the y/n's other side to link their hands.
'no, no, I'll be fine, it's just a shock.' Y/n replied, sighing and blinking back tears.
'they're interviewing everyone: students, teachers... janitors! Dewey said its worse than-' Tatum cut herself off, scrunching up her nose at the realisation that she had accidentally made one of her friends upset, she didn't need to make the other one sad as well. 'I mean.. it's bad.' she sighed.
'they think it's school related?'
'they're not actually sure, Dewey said that they're interviewing everyone- they're even bringing in the feds.' Tatum explained, starting to stray from her friends. 'I gotta get to class, another late and I'll be in detention, but let me know how your interviews go!'
Sidney and Y/n nodded and sighed, looking at each other. 'we have first period with Mrs. Tate, dont we?'
'Yeah... it's gonna be so weird to see her seat empty.' Sidney replied, referring to the seat next to her which had been occupied by Casey.
-----
'it's during times like this, that we need prayer in school-' Mrs. Tate jaberred on about the tragic loss, but Y/n found it hard to concentrate the woman's words, focused completely on the vacant seat in front of her. Casey's seat. when the teacher was late, or the class was boring, Casey would turn around and they'd catch up with eachother, giggling about Steve's antics or planning to have one of those sleepovers again- not that they'd ever get round to it.
'Y/n, its your turn, dear.' Mrs. Tate snapped Y/n out of her trance and sent her a pitiful little smile, which Y/n returned. she hastily got up and made her way to Mr. Himbry's, the principal, office.
it was decked out with police officers, only two of which Y/n recognised: Dewey, Tatum's older brother and a friend, and Sheriff Burke, who she'd met last year, when he was investigating Maureen Prescott's death.
'Sheriff Burke, Dewey.' she greeted, nodding slightly at them and making her way to the only unoccupied seat.
Dewey sent her a small, sad smile and shook his head slightly. 'afraid it's Deputy Riley today, N/n.' Y/n nodded in response and turned her attention to Himbry.
'the police want to ask you a few questions, Y/n.' the principal explained the questioning to her as if she hadn't experienced it the year before, and also as if she was a small child- she chose not to get annoyed at him though and just nodded.
'we'll try to keep this brief, but because you were a friend of Casey, this might take a little longer.' Burke explained.
it was known that near the end of Casey's short life, the two weren't exactly friends but acquaintances, but it was standard police procedure and Y/n wasn't about to correct him- he already knew.
'no, I understand.'Y/n sighed, letting the interview begin.
Eek! First chapter! its 1421 words (I think?) and the next chapter will have more of Y/n's POV.
Just wanted to clear up that Billy (who i imagine called casey while stu did the killing) accidentally dialled Y/n's number, then again when she didn't pick up, which is why they left her alone. however, next time they call, it'll be on purpose (spoilers??!)
just wanted to say as well this is the first story I have ever posted, so sorry if its not great and if updates are random, they'll really be based on motivation and if I have any ideas. I will post at least 1 a month, but you can probably expect more.
Uploaded- 27th April 2023
Edited-