The clock on Tara's laptop read 11:30 PM, and the soft glow of her desk lamp was the only source of light in her room. She sat at her desk and opened her laptop.
The light from her screen lit up her entire face as she settled into her chair. She turned down the brightness since the harsh light of the screen was hurting her eyes.
Y/N had texted her about this project for a class that they had been working on for weeks that she constantly bugged Tara about but she didn't mind. She hopped on Facetime and clicked on Y/N's contact.
Not even a third ring and Y/N's face appeared on the screen, a grin spreading across her face.
"Hey, Tar. Ready to start this project?" Y/N's voice crackled through the speakers.
Tara sighed, glancing around at her messy desk.
"Not really.." She shrugged.
"But I know how much of a perfectionist you are, so I guess we should." Like she really had a choice, it was Y/N.
Y/N chuckled, mouth full of chips.
"Pfft, that's the spirit. You're so enthusiastic, Tar."
She rolled her eyes after that sarcastic comment. She propped her phone up against an empty mug and stood a few inches away with the bag of chips in her hand.
At first she rambled on about her day and what her and Amber did. Tara didn't care much about that part, it was nice to have Y/N's presence.
She was always so calming to Tara and would help her through her panic attacks that sometimes Tara believed that she didn't even need her inhaler when Y/N was around.
Tara was scrolling through twitter on her phone when she heard the ruffling of wood and clinking of glasses. Y/N was nowhere in sight. But in a second, she was back on Tara's screen, a bottle of wine in her hand and a sly smirk on her face.
Tara raised an eyebrow out of curiosity.
"Wine, Y/N? You know we're working on a project, not having a party, right?"
Y/N laughed, looking at the bottle of wine.
"Oh, don't worry, Tar. I'm not planning a wild party here. I just thought a glass of wine might help us unwind a bit."
Tara nodded, understanding the sentiment.
"Fair enough. Go ahead and pour yourself a glass. But don't blame me if you start spouting brilliant project ideas under the influence."
Y/N chuckled.
"I'll keep that in mind. I'm just bringing the bottle to my room. No need to tempt you with it."
As Y/N disappeared from the screen, the bottle of wine in hand, Tara couldn't help but smile at their friend's way of relaxing.
It was a much-needed moment of levity in the midst of their project work. Tara knew that with Y/N's ideas and a touch of wine-inspired creativity, they were well on their way to success.
"Hey, what if I snuck out?" Tara asked out of nowhere.
Y/N jerked her head back, surprised by Tara's suggestion.
"You? Sneak out? You've never snuck out in your life." Not that she needed to since Tara's mother was never home.
Tara playfully scoffed. "I totally could!"
That was also false because Y/N's house was nearly an hour walk and Tara didn't have a car.
Even if she was dedicated, she would not be able to get pass Sam or Richie and the police department announced a county wide curfew for 10 P.M. until further notice. They should've done that way before anymore murders happened.
As Y/N started rambling about the project, going into the intricate details, Tara found herself getting lost in her words.
However, her attention took an unexpected turn when she noticed Y/N's revealing top. She didn't mean to but her gaze lingered for a moment longer than intended.
She got shook out of her trance by her best friend's voice.
Y/N, catching Tara's distracted expression, grinned mischievously.
"Hey, Earth to Tara! Are you with me?"
Tara blinked, realizing she had been caught off guard.
"Oh, yeah, sorry. I, uh, got a bit distracted. What were you saying?"
Y/N playfully scolded, "Distracted, huh? I'm flattered. But seriously, Tar, we need to focus on the project."
Tara blushed, trying to steer the conversation back on track.
"Right, sorry. Project. Focus. Got it." God she was a mess.
Y/N laughed, her good-natured teasing continuing. She couldn't lie that she liked the attention despite her own disdain towards Tara.
Dismissing Tara's aloofness, Y/N giggled while shaking her head.
"No worries. Now, where did I leave off? Ah, yes, we need to nail down the data collection strategy."
As Y/N delved back into the project details, Tara did her best to keep her eyes on the screen and her mind on the task at hand.
However, the unexpected distraction lingered in the air, making her cheeks well up with heat whenever her mind reminded her of that embarrassing moment.
Y/N was interrupted by Sam's voice from all the way downstairs yelling about dinner being ready.
"I am not going to eat dinner with that fuck face!" Tara announced, making it clear of her disposition to her sister. The frustration was evident in her eyes.
Richie snapped his head to Sam, huffing air out and shaking his head, flabbergasted by Tara's remark. Sam also was in shock. She also huffed like the big bald wolf, storming up to Tara's room.
She screamed back, her expression of anger and disbelief.
"Tara, you're being so disrespectful right now."
Tara shot back, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Leave a plate by the door, Samantha."
Sam's patience wore thin.
lSeriously, Tara? You are so childish."
Quick on her feet, Tara sprung from her chair and swiftly locked her bedroom door, just as she heard Sam's footsteps approaching up the stairs. The click of the lock resonated through the room, adding a layer of defiance to the situation.
Sam was met with a face full of door. She rattled the doorknob, realizing Tara had locked her out.
"Tara, unlock this door right now!"
Tara, standing on the other side, shot back, her voice muffled by the door, "For what, Sam? Stop wasting your breath."
Sam grew impatient.
"I don't even know why you're acting like this. Can you just talk to me?" She continued pounding on the door, the frustration building.
Sam received silence. After some time, when she figured that Tara wasn't going to give her a response, she trotted back down to the kitchen.
Y/N had watched the whole thing go down between the siblings. She could almost physically feel them drift back to square one where Sam was a coward and Tara resented her. This was way better than reality television.
Tara flipped off her defiance switch, going back to address Y/N like she didn't get into a heated argument with her sister.
"Sorry, you were saying something?"
Y/N, switching to her caring demeanor, interjected cautiously.
"Tar...that was kind of harsh."
"Harsh? Really? I thought we hated the creep. He is so suspicious. I don't trust him," Tara explained, her tone sharp and accusatory.
Y/N, trying to mediate, reasoned, "I don't either, but give Sam a break. She's been trying."
"Yeah, I guess," Tara conceded, though her eyes remained defiant.
The room fell into an uneasy silence, the lingering tension palpable through the screen. Y/N attempted to steer the conversation back to their project.
"Alright, so where was I?"
Tara, still bristling from the argument, scratched her head with a wry smile.
"You were talking about the, um..."
Y/N chuckled, recognizing Tara's attempt to lighten the mood.
"Ah yes, totally remember the 'um.' Very informative, I'm sure."
As they reluctantly shifted their focus back to the project, the echoes of the sibling clash lingered. But Y/N was not focused on that at all, she had more important matters to tend to.
Y/N's fingers danced across the keyboard as she shared her screen with Tara, deeply engrossed in the details of their collaborative project.
The dim glow of the computer screen cast long shadows on Y/N's face, creating an atmosphere of focus and determination.
Tara was recapping what Y/N had went over, trying to see if she understood her point of view.
"Right, so if we focus on all of this, we should–"
Tara's interruption was abrupt, her eyes widening as she stared past the webcam.
A loud clash sounding like glass had made her jump but unbeknownst to Y/N. It was like she didn't hear anything at all.
"Wait, did you hear that?"
"Huh?" Y/N, caught off guard, glanced around her room.
The air seemed to thicken as an unsettling tension settled over the space.
"That loud crash, Y/N. How could you not hear that?" Tara's voice trembled with a mix of urgency and unease.
"I was in work mode, Tara. You know how I get," Y/N shrugged a replied, attempting to shake off the sudden foreboding that lingered in the air.
"Oh shit—"
Y/N's gaze darted towards her bedroom door.
"Moms? Are you guys home?"
Her voice carried an undercurrent of concern, and her eyes flicked nervously to the closed door.
Before an answer could be heard, a loud crash resonated from downstairs, a sound so jarring it made Y/N's heart skip a beat. The weight of the silence that followed hung heavily in the air.
"I don't think Ghostface would try to attack again so early, Tara," Y/N whispered, her fingers gripping the edge of the desk.
"Y/N, I've been through this already. Please, hide or something," Tara urged urgently, her eyes pleading through the webcam.
"I know, Tara, but—"
Y/N was cut off by another sound, this time a knock on her bedroom door. The atmosphere shifted from tension to fear, and Y/N instinctively locked the door, her eyes wide with apprehension.
Tara, already on high alert, was dialing the police, her voice shaking as she spoke to the dispatcher.
She exchanged a worried glance with Tara through the webcam, the dim light casting eerie shadows across her room.
As Y/N clutched the heavy candle holder, the knocks grew more insistent, echoing through the room like a haunting refrain. Suddenly, another crash echoed from downstairs, louder and more menacing than before. It was as if some unseen force was tearing through the tranquility of Y/N's home.
The ominous knocks on Y/N's door reverberated through the room, merging with the distant sirens outside. The air was thick with fear as Y/N clutched the candle holder, casting a frantic glance at Tara through the webcam.
"They're not saying anything, Tara. It's weird," Y/N whispered, her senses heightened, attuned to every creak and groan in the house.
"Stay quiet, Y/N. The police are on their way," Tara reassured, but her voice wavered as the seconds ticked by.
The knocks persisted, growing more forceful, more insistent. As Y/N strained to hear any sign of the intruder's identity, another crash echoed from downstairs, a sound that sent a chill down her spine.
Suddenly, the knocking ceased. The silence was deafening, a prelude to the storm about to unfold. Y/N's heart pounded in her chest, her breath catching in her throat. She shared a wordless look with Tara, the shared terror evident in their eyes.
Then, without warning, the door burst open with a violent force, the sound of splintering wood filling the room.
Y/N's eyes squinted with anger and confusion before they fully widened in horror as a figure cloaked in a chilling black robe and the unmistakable Ghostface mask stepped into the room.
Time seemed to slow as Y/N's gaze locked onto the ominous intruder. The candle holder slipped from her trembling fingers, clattering to the floor.
The room plunged into darkness as the intruder reached behind, producing a knife that glinted ominously in the dim light.
Fear paralyzed Y/N momentarily, her mind struggling to comprehend the nightmare unfolding before her.
The intruder moved with deliberate slowness, the Ghostface mask an impenetrable void that concealed any hint of humanity.
Y/N's pulse thundered in her ears as she stumbled backward, the weight of her impending doom settling in.
Tara's voice echoed through the laptop speakers, a distant lifeline in the chaos.
"Y/N! Oh my God, Y/N, hide! Get out of there!"
Reality snapped back, and Y/N's survival instinct kicked in.
In a desperate bid to escape, Y/N's eyes darted around the room, seeking any means of defense. She tried to search for the candleholder but it had rolled away from her. If she even attempted to grab it, she would surely be stabbed, and she wasn't stupid.
The once-familiar objects took on a sinister edge, the room transformed into a battleground. A surge of fear and determination propelled her forward, reaching for a heavy book on her desk.
As Ghostface lunged forward, Y/N swung the book with all her strength. It connected with a sickening thud, knocking the knife from Ghostface's grasp.
The room briefly erupted into chaos, the intruder stumbling backward. Ghostface whipped their head back to face Y/N and was met with a mouth full of book.
Y/N threw the book down. Adrenaline surged through her veins as she sprinted towards the window, fumbling to open it.
Panic and desperation fueled her movements as she scrambled to escape the nightmare that had invaded her sanctuary.
The Ghostface figure advanced with no second wasted, the knife back in their hand, gleaming ominously in the low light.
Y/N's hands trembled as she managed to push the window open, the cold night air rushing in.
Unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough to get onto the window ledge before she was yanked back. Y/N let out a petrified screech as she tried to claw at the figure's arms, thrashing around as she did. She didn't expect this Ghostface to be so strong as they did.
Her back hit the edge of the bed, sending a stinging pain to Y/N's spine. She could barely breathe from the pain in her back before Ghostface dragged her back up the bed by her hair.
What scared Tara was that she could only hear what was going on; the scream's of Y/N and how much pain she was in.
"Y/N?! Y/N!" She desperately screamed out, not realizing how dumb she sounded.
Sam rushed towards Tara's room, banging on the door and demanding what was going on when she heard Tara's scream. Without hesitation, she yanked the door open and babbled how Ghostface got Y/N and they needed to get over there now.
While Y/N was about to get brutally murderer, all Tara could do was cry while on Facetime. They ran to the car and Sam booked it to Y/N's place.
Her voice brought the attention of Ghostface to the laptop. They menacingly tilted their head at the computer and made sure to get a good angle of what they were going to do to Y/N.
Tara's breath hitched in her throat like she needed her inhaler. Ghostface's soulless eye gaps paralyzed Tara, the memory of that night coming back to her.
Ghostface made sure to give Tara a good show. They got Y/N on her front, face so close to the screen, showing her bloody nose that came out of nowhere.
Y/N groaned as her hair was pulled back, her scalp scorching from the many strands being yanked out.
"No!" Tara yelled, pleadingly. Tears falling down rapidly.
"Please, don't hurt her! Please."
It was hard for Ghostface not to laugh at this pathetic display. They brought the knife to Y/N's neck and in a heart-stopping second, sliced right through her skin. Blood gushed out like a sprinkler, spraying all over the bed, floor, and computer screen.
Y/N's mouth filled with blood, her eyes rushing to the back of her head. As darkness enveloped her, she swore she could hear sirens in the distance or if it was that last bit of hope for her giving a few seconds of peace.
Tara and Sam were driving over to her house; Sam driving like a maniac while Tara was screaming over and over again while more tears poured from her eyes.
Satisfied by her reaction, Ghostface dropped Y/N's head, her whole body stiff and lifeless. They reached over and slammed the laptop screen shut while Tara was repeatedly yelling not to.
The distant wail of sirens grew nearer, they could not be get there any faster. This might be the worst night of Tara's life.