"I can't believe this is happening," Chad muttered, shaking his head.
He laid part of his weight on the pool stick, staring at the rapidly moving billiard balls clash against each other.
They all lounged around the pool table, trying to blow off some steam from the emotional gathering they just had at the hospital. The loud cacophony of the pub temporarily drowning out their worries, but they remained unrest.
"I know," Mindy replied, slipping her arm through her brother's and squeezing it.
"But we have to stay strong for Tara. She needs us right now."
When Amber initiated a new game, the balls bounced around. Some found their way into pockets, going in Amber's favor. She grinned, feeling good about the shot. Mindy, scowling at the good break, held a cue.
Wes leaned on the pool table, his fists clenched tightly to the sides. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were all in danger, that Ghostface was still out there, watching their every move.
"We have to catch whoever did this," Y/N said, her voice firm, leaning on the pool table as she watched Mindy's turn.
"We can't just sit around and wait for them to strike again." She sounded like such a hero.
"But how do we even catch a Ghostface?" Liv asked, her eyes darting nervously around the table.
"I mean..it's Ghostface!"
"We start by piecing together what we know," Mindy said, her eyes glowing.
She was the expert with these things with all the hundreds of horror movies she's seen and the knowledge of them that she had.
"We know that Ghostface was wearing a mask. We know that they attacked Tara. We know that they're dangerous and that they could strike again at any moment."
"So what's our next move?" Chad asked, excitedly rubbing his hands together.
Mindy continued, "We need to find out who had a motive to hurt Tara, and we need to track them down before they can hurt anyone else."
"But how do we do that?" Y/N asked, her brow furrowed.
"We have to revisit the Stab movies, of course," Mindy declared, grinning from ear to ear. That earned groans from everyone around the room.
"Sorry I couldn't make it," Liv piped in, trying to change the subject.
"Practice and all. But how did the visit go?"
Scoffing, Amber replied, "Horrible. Sam came and she brought her creepy boyfriend."
Her arms were crossed as she balanced most of her weight on one leg.
Y/N did not take too kindly to her girlfriend's remark.
"Stop shitting on him so much. I mean sure he's a little funny looking-" She ended her sentence with a short giggle. Her sudden change of opinion on the guy made everyone around the table laugh.
"Oh wowww, babe. What a hypocrite," Amber chuckled, walking over to her girlfriend's side of the table and bumping her shoulder.
Everyone joined in with the laughter, taking the ease off of the situation.
Trying to calm down from her fit of laughter, Y/N uttered, "Butttttt, even if he is funny looking, I'm sure he's a nice guy and there's a reason Sam likes him."
"Who's Sam?" Liv asked, her head slightly tilted.
Chad used the cue to prop himself up, waiting for his turn.
"She's Tara's sister, babe. Man, she is so cool."
Chad went back to watching Wes try to hit the ball, his face concentrated.
"Yeah she is pretty cool." Mindy nodded in agreement.
Amber had her eye on the ball, but she sadly missed her shot. Mindy smirked, lining up hers.
Amber shook her head, looking at her friends with a sour face. A flask magically appeared from her jacket pocket, she tippled whiskey into everyone's drinks.
"No, she's not." Amber glared.
"Their Dad, right? Left when Sam was thirteen, Tara was eight. Once Sam turned eighteen, she moved out. And she did some pretty bad shit like take drugs and-"
"Amber, babe..."
Y/N shot her a stern look.
"Stop it."
The last thing that was needed right now was for Amber to put Sam's dark past on full blast. It wasn't her story to tell in the first place. Just as Amber was about to spike Wes's drink, he covered his cup.
"None for me. I'd like to not be drunk when Ghostface is out there slicing throats."
Y/N grimaced at the detail, looking at him weirdly. He shot her an awkward smile which made Amber roll her eyes.
"Don't be a prude, Wesley." Amber scoffed.
With lips pursued in a questioning look, Wes shifted his gaze at Amber, whose glares were still fully charged and ready to be unleashed.
"Why are you so pressed about Sam?" He probed.
"Sounds like a motive to me," Mindy declared, swaying her pool stick back and forth, impatient for her turn.
She was nearly bouncing at the sound of it. Motives were her favorite part of a horror movie; why the killers did what they did. It made them seem more human, almost relatable.
Y/N placed her hands on her girlfriend's shoulders, shaking her a bit, in hopes to loosen her up. With that, she faced Mindy.
"We're her best friends, Mindy. Of course we're superly duperly protective of her."
"We all want what's best for Tara," Liv backed her up.
Chad nodded, adding on to her statement. He raised his now spiked cup of coke.
"Yeah! For Tara!"
Wes, sipping his plain soda, took a minute before saying what he wanted. He just would not let it go. He glanced at the rest and then sharply turned his head to face Amber and Y/N.
"Soo you're pushing away anyone that tries to get close to Tara. Sounds pretty selfish if you ask me."
Y/N was caught off guard by Wes's comeback. Never before had she gotten into such an argument with him. Since the moment he and Tara met, everyone has known he had feelings for the young Carpenter.
He could have kept his frustration to himself at the fact that Tara was unaware of his feelings and that he was too cowardly to act on them. Instead, he was always striking up arguments.
"Yeah? Well, no one asked you," she retorted, thinking how unreasonable he was acting.
Amber chuckled at her girlfriend's sudden outburst, fully supportive of it.
Wes was about to spit another sarcastic response but they were suddenly interrupted.
"Oh for fucks sake. Vince is here," Liv groaned, her hands flying to grip Chad's shoulders.
They all stopped what they were doing to whip their heads towards the direction Liz was staring in. She was correct. It was the greasy slimeball from school earlier.
He was clearly intoxicated, with glassy eyes and a sloppy walk. He was in his mid-20s, with unkempt brown hair and a scruffy beard. He wore another loose button up, a stained white t-shirt and ripped jeans, giving off an overall disheveled appearance.
He had an air of entitlement and arrogance, evident in the way he walked towards their table the second he and Liv made eye contact, despite everyone's clear discomfort.
"Shit shit shit, hide me."
Liv was making a concerted effort to conceal her body behind Chad's towering stature. Unfortunately, he had already caught a glimpse of her.
"Yo, Liv. Lemme buy you a drink, babydoll."
His speech matched his gruff demeanor. He rubbed his hands together. It made him look like the villain from some superhero movie.
"Ayo, man."
Chad was already trotting over to him, riled up and fed up by his face already.
"Back the fuck up. No one wants you here."
It was a matter of inches between them. Chad's height gave him an air of menace that Vince wasn't aware of before meeting him.
Though he was physically imposing, he seemed unsure of himself, particularly when confronted by Chad's fierce protective stance. Overall, he was an unwelcome and unpleasant presence in the pub.
He did not know how to take a hint, gliding over Chad like a slippery fish. He caught a look of his next prey.
Skimming his eyes over Y/N, he licked his lips. He reached his hand up to her forearm. His touch like sandpaper.
"Hey, Y/N. Long time no see."
Y/N hated confrontation of any kind. She felt like that same girl last summer when she worked at the movie theater.
Quiet as a mouse. Weak. Not wanting to cause a scene.
She felt like she wanted to hide in a ball and run away from this. Maybe this bar could just collapse and leave her alone in the ruins. She couldn't move a muscle, not even to pull her hand away from his slimy fingers.
Amber rushed to her girlfriend's side before he could lay another finger, fists balled up and ready to swing. She moved in front of him, blocking Y/N from view and shoving his arm away.
"Get the fuck away from her."
The motion was fast that Y/N stumbled back a bit.
Her action made Vince angry. His face contorted into a scowl, making him look older.
"What you say to me, dyke?"
A pocket knife appeared in his hand, flipping the switch. The shiny blade popping out. Amber glared at him and then at the knife, unmoved. Now it was Chad that was trying to pull her back.
Everyone else just stood there, frozen, unknowing of what to do. Chills went down Y/N's spine as she stayed in place, her feet stuck to the floor. Liv noticed her heavy breathing and grabbed her hand, moving Y/N away from the trouble.
Amber scowled, "I said..get your crusty grippers away from my-"
Chad jumped to Amber's side, easing his way between the two.
"Hey hey, Amber. Hey-"
Despite being taken over by nerves, Chad was quick to move Amber a few feet away from Vince. The two had a massive stare down.
"Hey! Stop that. Stop it right now. Get out of here before I call the police," a woman at the bar yelled, everyone breaking eye contact.
"Man, fuck this," Vince backed away before shoving past Chad, but he didn't even budge, his large demeanor like a rock.
"All you kids too."
As if a switch was flipped, the group collectively moved towards the exit. They were silent as they walked out into the chilly night air.
Y/N released her hand from Liv's, speedwalking to Amber and linking their arms. Amber jumped slightly, still on edge, but relaxed when she saw her.
Y/N turned back to search for Liv who was wrapped up in Chad's arm. Though she was also shaken up a bit, she was able to catch Y/N's gaze the minute she turned her head. They gave each other an understanding look.
She looked forward when she heard Liv mention something to Chad about forgetting something in the pub.
Amber stopped walking when they made it a few feet away from the pub.
"Are you okay? Lemme see you," she said, concern etched on her face as she turned Y/N around to face her.
"Amber, I'm fine," Y/N replied, but the tremble in her voice betrayed her words.
She was still visibly shivering from the encounter but she didn't want to admit it. Right away, Amber could tell she was lying. She knew her inside and out and she wasn't a very good liar either.
"I swear I'm going to kill him," Amber growled, her fists clenching in anger.
"Okay, no. It's not that serious. Liv kind of has it worse, she hooked up with the guy," Y/N said, trying to calm her girlfriend down.
"Of course he would try to get to you. He's a loser. And you're a literal goddess," Amber gritted through her teeth.
Her tone lowered as she looked into Y/N's eyes. Y/N smiled softly at Amber's words, feeling the edge taken off by her support in that moment. But then a thought hit her.
"Oh wait, are you alright? He pulled out a knife.." Y/N rambled, returning the favor and scanning her girlfriend of any cuts or tears.
She patted her jacket, lifting it up to look at her dress as if she was inspecting her like airport security.
"I'm fine, hon."
Amber chuckled. She found it cute that Y/N was so worried of her.
"You know I could've handled him."
"That's not the point, Ambs." Y/N tilted her head, shooting her a concerned look.
"My pretty girl. I'm gonna take you home."
Amber tucked a few strands of hair behind Y/N's ear, sweetly smiling. She gently guided her towards the car.
As they got into the car and Amber started the engine, Y/N leaned back against the seat, her eyes closed as she tried to shake off the events of the night.
Amber reached over and took her hand, intertwining their fingers together.
"I've got you, babe," she whispered, her voice filled with love and tenderness.
Y/N opened her eyes and looked over at her girlfriend, feeling a surge of warmth in her chest. She knew that no matter what happened, they would always have each other's backs. Eventually, she would tell Amber the whole story but right now, she just wanted to be in bed with her girlfriend.