chapter one
dwight style
Madelyn Riley stood in her bedroom, smoothing down the black dress she was wearing for her father's funeral. It was a simple black dress, one that Dewey himself had complimented when Madelyn was going to wear it a few weeks ago for one reason or another. She was surrounded by boxes, having to box her entire home up and move in with Nick until the end of school in ten months' time.
Madelyn walked out of her bedroom, that was one of the first things to be packed up. She found her room the easiest to clean because the only memories in it were her own memories – like falling off her bed recreating Taylor Swift's Reputation Tour choreography – memories that were personal to her and had no one else in.
Nick had packed up the kitchen as it was the only place that had no sentimental value, except some cups and stuff that he knew Madelyn wanted to keep. Madelyn had managed, after a few break downs, to also clean her father's bedroom and now it was only the living room to finished being packed up.
It was the hardest room to do considering it was where Madelyn and Dewey and any other guests in the small trailer spent their time. It was also where they kept absolutely everything. Madelyn sat on the sofa in the living room, pulling a box towards her.
Inside the box was a photo book, a video camera and a box of tapes. Madelyn furrowed her eyebrows, taking the box of tapes out and looking at the names on them. They didn't have names, simply years. Madelyn took one from 2004, the year she was born. She placed it in the tape player that was connected to the television, sitting back to watch whatever was about to be played.
The camera clicked on revealing a smiling Dewey, a large smile on his face. He was slightly sweaty and had clearly been stressed only moments before.
"After being sworn at for the last four hours and nine months of stress, we can now add Madelyn Tatum Riley to our family." Dewey told the camera, bringing it over to where Gale led in the hospital bed, a baby in her arms.
"Dewey won the argument so we're not double barrelling her last name." Gale let out a sigh, although the smile on her face suggested that she truly didn't care.
Madelyn's eyes watered as she watched her parents, who seemed so happy and in love. Gale and Dewey were perfectly imperfect and Madelyn wished that they had worked out.
"Isn't she beautiful?" Gale looked at the camera before glancing up at her husband. "She has your eyes."
"She has your smile." Dewey observed as baby Madelyn smiled smally.
"I can tell she's going to be just like you." Gale stated.
"She definitely going to have your attitude." Dewey teased the woman, who laughed softly.
"We'll be proud of her either way." Gale shrugged.
"I am and will always be proud of her, till I day I die and longer." Dewey nodded.
Madelyn scrunched her nose up to stop herself from letting the tears fall from her eyes as the screen turned to black. She let out a shaky breath, deciding to pick another tape to watch. She picked one from 2010, putting it in and pressing play.
The camera clicked on to reveal Dewey Riley, stood outside of the Riley family home. He waved to the camera before turning it to reveal Gale, who was packing their car, them all clearly going on some sort of holiday. Dewey laughed softly at his stressed wife before turning the camera to his six year old daughter, who had her backpack on her bag and her hair done in braids, ready to leave.
"Where you going Mads?" Dewey asked her.
"Road trip! Road trip!" Madelyn cheered.
"We are going to Miami, which is like a 40 hour drive from here so we're doing it over three days." Dewey explained. "Let's go."
The camera then cut to black, moving to Madelyn holding the camera in the back of the car. She waved to the camera, holding her finger to her lips and whispering. "Hi guys! Mum and Dad don't know I have the camera." She let out a small giggle. "I've been eating sweets in the back and Mum is driving and keeps shouting at Dad before he keeps giving her the wrong directions."
Madelyn watched the rest of the tape with a smile on her face. It simply being her and her family having the best time on their first holiday together. She remembers that holiday and cherishes it every day. When it finishes she decides to watch one more.
She picks a tape on it that doesn't have any date, putting it in the machine and pressing play.
The camera is clicked on revealing a four year old Madelyn Riley. She had a smile on her face as she held her arms out to the camera. "I'm Madelyn Riley and I start preschool today!"
"Good job." Dewey praised.
The camera then changed to reveal a five year old Madelyn, a smile on her face as she held her arms out, a boy stood next to her. "I'm Madelyn Riley, this is Wes Hicks and we finished preschool today!"
The camera changed once more to a five year old Madelyn, Wes and another boy that had joined the group. "Hey I'm Madelyn."
"I'm Wes."
"And this is Nick." Madelyn pointed to him. "We start kindergarten today."
The videos continued all the way through primary school. It then clicked to a video of an eleven year old Madelyn, Wes, Nick and two other girls and another boy.
"Hey it's Mads." Madelyn smiled.
"Wes."
"Nick."
"And this is Tara, Amber, Mindy and Chad. And this is middle school day one."
The video changed once more, showing Madelyn in navy blue lace dress and Wes in a pair of jeans and a shirt.
"This is Wes."
"And Mads."
"And this is Winter formal." The two spoke in unison, giggling to each other.
"Cuties." Judy's voice sounded in the background.
The video changed throughout middle school and all the dances the groups went to. And then onto freshman year.
"Hey it's Nick."
"Wes!"
"Your girl Amber."
"Tara."
"Chad." The boy flexed.
"Mindy.
"And of course I'm Mads." She laughed. "And this is freshman year."
The video changed once more onto sophomore year.
"I'm Nick." Chad spoke up.
"Wes." Nick smiled.
"Nick." Wes went along with it.
"I'm Mindy." Madelyn smiled, crouching slightly.
"Amber." Tara let out a small laugh.
"Tara." Mindy shook her head.
"Madelyn!" Amber exclaimed. "And this is Sophomore year!"
The group all laughed, Dewey laughing in the background as the group all hugged.
It changed through the dances of sophomore year and then onto junior year. And then onto junior year prom. The boy were all wearing long dresses, Nick in Madelyn's purple dress, Wes in Tara's black dress and Chad in Amber's red dress while the girls had the boy's suits on. Madelyn had Nick's black suit on with the purple tie, Tara was Wes' velvet green suit and Amber was wearing Chad's navy suit and Mindy wore her own black suit while Liv, Chad's new girlfriend stood awkwardly to the side.
"I'm Wes." Tara spoke in a high pitched voice.
"I'm Chad." Amber stated in a low voice.
"Yo, I'm Nick." Madelyn had to contain her laughter as the boys tried not to fall over in the heels they had on.
"Mindy." Mindy nodded along with a small eyeroll at her friend's behaviour.
"Tara here!" Wes spoke through laughter.
"Amber." Chad told the camera in a sassy voice, trying to imitate Amber very badly.
"I'm Liv." Liv waved with a shy smile.
"And I'm Mads!" Nick exclaimed, holding his arms out. They all turned to look at him in surprise when he practically nailed Madelyn's voice and expressions. "And this is Junior year prom!"
The girls all burst out in laughter when the three boys tripped, falling onto the grass very ungracefully. Dewey's laughter was also heard in the background, shouting at the boys to get up.
The camera cut to the beginning of senior year, the group stood around once more with large smiles on their faces. Madelyn had her arm over Wes' shoulder, standing next to him the same way she had since the day they met.
"Hey, it's Nick."
"Amber!"
"Tara!"
"Chad and Liv!"
"Wes!"
"Mindy!"
"And as always, I'm Mads." She laughed, gesturing for everyone to join in with her.
"And this is Senior Year!"
They all had a group hug, laughing as they swayed from side to side. Chad opened his arms slightly, moving to face the camera. "Yo, Dewey man get in here."
"No." Dewey shook his head, popping into frame for just a moment. "Also it's Mr Riley to you young man."
"Whatever." Chad shrugged, waving him over once more.
"Come on Dad." Madelyn smiled, the rest of the group also waving the man over. Dewey finally gave in, rolling his eyes and walking over to the group to join in their hug. When the hug was over, Dewey and Madelyn stayed together as they walked back to the camera to turn it off.
Madelyn smiled as the screen went black, her eyes watering as she realised that it hadn't been used because of the ghostface attacks. A few tears fell from her eyes as she watched Amber become one of her best friends, going from being stood on the outside of the line right down to in between her and Tara to now betraying them all and killing Liv and her father.
Madelyn wiped the tears from her cheek, taking the tape out of the player and placing it back in the box. She pulled out the photo album that was next to it, opening it up and flipping through it. The first photo she came to was a photo of Dewey and Gale in the hospital bed, holding Madelyn in their arms. Madelyn smiled, flipping the page.
There was one photo of a seven year old Madelyn and Dewey, eating pizza. They were shoving the large pieces of pizza into their mouths. Madelyn let out a small laugh as she remembered the day. Gale was working late so Dewey ordered pizza for him and his daughter, the two eating the food on the floor of the living room while a Disney film played in the background.
The next photo was one of Dewey and Gale that Madelyn herself had taken one day while playing around with her father's camera. Gale is posing for the photo with a smile on her face while Dewey is holding a finger out to stop the young girl.
Another photo was of Madelyn and Dewey in the kitchen. Dewey had his back to the camera, cooking something on the stove while a small Madelyn was stood on a stool, shaking sugar over the plate of crepes in front of her. Madelyn remembers the day Gale had taken this photo too. It was supposed to be a mother's day surprise but the woman had gotten up early and come downstairs to the two cooking.
Madelyn kept flipping through the book, looking at all of the photos from her growing up. She was practically looking at her life in pictures, pictures of her at every point in her life up until now. Madelyn smiled as she looked at the photos of her and Nick, her and the rest of her friends especially photos of her and Wes.
The most recent photo in the book was a selfie of her and her dad. The two were sat on the floor of the living room in their trailer. They were eating sweets and chocolate and Dewey was drinking a beer. Madelyn held the phone up high, her father holding his thumbs up with a smile on his face and Gale was on the television behind them hosting her show.
Madelyn sniffled once more, wiping her tears and placing the album back in the box. Madelyn stood up, stuffing everything else in the different boxes and stacking them on top of each other. She heard a knock on the front door as she grabbed her shoes.
"It's open!" She called.
The door swung open to reveal Nick, who was wearing a plain black suit. He sent her a small smile as she put her shoes on.
"You ready?" He asked.
"Nearly." Madelyn tightened the strap of her heels, standing up and looking around at the completely boxed up house. She took a deep breath, walking towards the door. Nick stepped outside as she followed him. "Wait!"
Madelyn suddenly turned around, rushing back inside the trailer. Nick followed her with furrowed eyebrows watching as the brunette walked into the kitchen, opening up one of the boxes and grabbing two shot glasses. The girl looked up at Nick, holding her hand out.
"Give me your flask." She ordered. Nick sent her a look to which Madelyn replied with her own look. "I know you have it, just give it here."
Nick huffed, taking it out of his inside jacket pocket and handing it over to her. Madelyn smiled at him gratefully, opening the flask up and pouring it into the two glasses. She passed one of them to Nick before grabbing the other, holding it up.
"Shot to ease the nerves?" Nick asked.
"Definitely." Madelyn nodded. "Dwight style."
"Dwight style." Nick laughed softly, clicking the two glasses together before downing the shots.
The two then put the glasses back in the box after rinsing them for a few moments. Nick held his hand out for Madelyn to take, which she did with a sad smile. The two walked towards the door once more, Nick walking out first. Madelyn turned around, staring at the packed up inside of her home for the last few years. She let out a breath, turning the light off for the final time, grabbing her bag and closing the door behind her.
Madelyn got into the passenger seat of Nick's car, throwing her bag onto the back seat while Nick got into the driver's seat. They made their way towards where the funeral was being held. When Madelyn got there, her friends were all waiting for her. Tara was the first to notice the car pulling up, jumping up from where she was sitting and making her way over to the car, the others following after the girl.
Tara opened Madelyn's door for her, holding her hand out for the girl to take with a small smile. Madelyn got out of the car, taking a hold of Tara's outstretched hand. Mindy quickly moved to stand the other side of her while Chad walked with Nick. Madelyn sent a smile to Sam, who was stood slightly away.
The group walked into the building, sitting at the front of the small room. Gale and Sidney were already stood there, the two woman hugging Madelyn and greeting the rest of the group as they sat down.
There was nearly the whole town at her father's funeral, considering it was also Wes' funeral as well. Everyone knew everyone in Woodsboro and as Dewey was the old sheriff and since both Wes and Dewey were murdered, everyone wanted to commemorate them.
The funeral began and the two caskets were brought inside. The woman spoke through the ceremony, listening to different people say a few things about the two people. Gale read a poem and Sidney said a few words. Tara spoke about Wes, saying lovely things about the boy. And then it was time for Madelyn to speak, Tara squeezed her hand as she stood up and made her way in front of the crowd.
She stood in front of the microphone, taking a deep breath before speaking. "Hello, for all of you who don't know I'm Madelyn. Um... Dewey was my father and Wes was my best friend. Uh—My father was the best person I know, he was... um—he dedicated his life to protecting people here in Woodsboro. He was an amazing human being and so much fun to be around, whether he was laughing while recording me and my friends swapping clothes before junior prom or joining in on karaoke during pizza night or even talking about boys with me at two am after he had spent hours earlier that night helping me pick an outfit for a stupid date."
Madelyn wiped her cheeks, taking another breath. "My father died doing what he always wanted to do, protect the people he cared about." Madelyn looked over at Tara and Sam with a small smile. "And even though it didn't end in the way we all wanted, I'm glad he was the most selfless person I know. I have and always will need my dad but he'll be with me, wherever I go, and he's with his sister. Um—and as for Wes. Well, he is my best friend, he was the only person who ever saw me. Wes was also a listener, he would listen to you speak about everything and anything. He was there for me always, I just wish I could've been there for him too."
Madelyn took a few breaths, sending a small smile to the crowd before making her way back to her seat. She sat next to her mum, leaning against the woman's arm as she held onto Nick's hand for comfort.
Madelyn missed her dad and her best friend dearly but she had an incredible support system so she knew she would be okay.
( 💌 ) isobel's notes
hey again!
we got the first interlude chapter and
i cried while writing it 🤭
these are the photos in the book
( pretend it's them but older)
i don't have the last selfie so just imagine it