a/n: omg mia why is no one dead yet, BRING ON THE DEATH
me: GOTCHU FAM, MORE DEATH
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"Are you sure?"
"Maybe you were just imagining it, Hailey."
"We don't know how this Ghostface really looks, it could--"
"No!" I interrupted all of their bombarding questions, blinking my tears away. "The man on the phone said his name was Ghostface. And that.. That man I saw outside my window, he was in a ghost mask. I'm not going crazy, I know what I saw.'' I cried, running my fingers through my hair.
I paced back and forth in the living room, gasping when I realized all the curtains were see through.
"This person knows where I live. They can see me. Everything I do.'' I panicked, looking at all of them.
"I'm going to check outside, okay?'' Ashton spoke softly.
"I told you he's gone." I closed my eyes. "I watched him run."
"Then we go to the cops, first thing tomorrow after school. It's the only way we can get rid of this guy.'' Lola comfortingly rubbed my back.
Mallory sat there, in silence. Evie and Michael seemed almost shocked.
Usually Evie found every way to get out of being scared, but now it was her last resort.
"I'm going home. It's really late." Luke sighed. "I'll see you guys at school tomorrow, okay?"
He kissed Mallory on the cheek, the rest of them giving him a nod.
I stared at him, too in shock to say a single word again.
"You'll be okay, Hailey. We all are. I promise. This will all be gone tomorrow when we go to the cops." He cupped my face in his hands to lock eyes with me.
I stared into his bright blue eyes, almost finding them as a sense of comfort.
Although the image of what I saw lurking in the shadows outside seemed to crush any hope of ever feeling safe again.
"Alright." I whispered. "Stay safe. Please, Luke."
Luke took me into a hug before he waved off the other guys and walked out the front door.
"Well, this calls for a sleepover. I'll call my parents." Lola smiled weakly at me.
"You sure you'll be okay here, Hailey?" Calum asked.
No. How was it that I didn't even feel safe in my own home anymore?
With all the locks on the doors, windows, everything..
I just felt so violated. Like this man can get in anytime he wanted.
I just nodded at him.
"This is some messed up shit going on." Michael mumbled, shaking his head.
"But we're all here for each other, that's all that matters.'' Calum tried to comfort.
"He had a knife. A sharp blade." I said, looking at them all.
"Jesus Christ." Mallory breathed out, burying her face in her hands.
"Is what we all need." Evie finished her sentence.
She rose her eyebrows, leaning back in her seat. "I need a smoke."
She got up and slid the back door open, slamming it behind her.
"So then what are we dealing with here? A psycho? A murderer?" Calum asked.
"We don't know." Lola stared aimlessly at the wall.
"We all need to clear our heads here. And it's almost 2am. We can leave, and we'll see you girls tomorrow at school, okay?" Ashton made sure to glance at all of us, including Evie outside.
"Alright. I need to give my mom a call too." Mallory breathed out.
She collected her blonde hair and pushed it back, walking into the kitchen.
"Bye guys." Lola muttered.
"We're leaving, Ev!" Michael called out.
"See you guys tomorrow." She said back, intaking one more breath of the smoke before dropping it onto the ground and crushing it under her shoe.
Calum just sent me a reassuring smile, Michael waving me off as the two had walked out the front door.
Who would even think of doing something as twisted as this?
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[ THE NEXT MORNING ]
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My mom got off her shift, nearly exhausted by the time we were leaving for school.
She wanted to drop me and the girls off, and almost insisted to, but I decided against it. She just really needed the rest.
"Bye Mrs. Snow!" Mallory called before we all piled out the door.
"Bye girls! And Hailey, you drive safely!"
I faintly nodded, just forcing a smile.
How the hell was I supposed to tell my mom someone out there had a death wish for me? For all of my friends?
"So did any of you guys hear from Stacey at all today?" Lola asked.
Clicking my seatbelt on, I glanced at her from the rear view mirror.
"Nope." Mallory pursed her lips, crossing her arms.
"Nada." Evie leaned her head on the window of my white jeep.
"Well the girl's never missed a day of school in her life. She'll be there.''
The engine revved to life, as I reversed out of the enormous driveway.
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We were a few minutes away from the school, until my phone buzzed from the dashboard.
"Are you going to get that?" Evie asked.
"I-I'm driving." I gulped, my body tensing.
"I got it." Mallory nodded, reaching for it and sliding a finger across the screen.
"It's Luke. And it's a text?.."
She's next to me, reading it intently.
"Mal. Come on, talk to us." Evie waved a hand at her, Lola frowning.
"Luke said to get to the school right away, for some reason.''
"Text him back and say we're there in like two minutes. We're at the stoplight."
"Alright." She mumbled, tapping away.
Luke never really cared if we got to school early or late, why does it matter so much today? On a Monday?
I seriously was overthinking every little thing. And I couldn't stop.
Wow, I wonder what caused it.
As soon as we had turned the street, the parking lot was filled with students, crowding around.
I immediately pulled over, craning my neck in desperation to see what was going on.
"There's a bunch of cops. And ambulence. Why is there an ambulence? Who the hell is that hot guy? A new teacher?" Evie panicked, but her eyes immediately lead to another man in a suit and hair slicked back, clearly turning her emotions upside down.
"Evie are you serious?" Lola pushed her.
Without another word, I got out of the car, calling Luke right back.
"Luke! What's happening? We're at the front of the school."
"Y-yeah. We're over here, I'll wave you off." He stuttered.
"Okay.." My voice trailed as I walked over to the sidewalk, searching the sea of students and cops.
Red and blue lights flashed, only reminding me of a dark time in my past.
Pushing the thought to the back of my brain, I searched for a head of messy blonde hair.
"Hailey!" I hear him call out, as I turned around.
He waved me off with a hand, crossing his arms right after.
"What's going on?" I asked, my eyes leading to what was a distance across from us.
The rest of the guys were also staring in shock and in silence, but Ashton.. Ashton was crying, burying his face into his hands.
It was Stacey.
A tight rope was around her neck, hanging her from the tree.
She dangled, limp and.. Dead.
"No!" I cried out, nearly collapsing to my knees.
Some part of my instinct told me to run, just make sure this wasn't some nightmare.
That my friend wasn't somehow dead.
I ran towards where the yellow tape forbid me from crossing, but I ducked under it.
"Ma'am! Ma'am you can't step across this yellow line, this is a crime scene!" A man yelled, making me flinch.
"She's my friend! Please tell me she's not dead. Please." I sobbed, only whispers coming from the bystanders.
"We're going to find out who did this. And if it was really a murder or a suicide.'' He said, glancing down at some files in his hand. "Hailey, is it? Hailey Snow."
"How do you know my name?"
"We've talked to Stacey Griffin's parents, family friends, anyone close to her. And you and your friends are our last resort, here."
"What? We didn't see her at all yesterday, we don't even know who would do this or.." My voice softens.
"We don't have to talk about this here, Hailey." He sighed. "Look, I'm Detective Chandler Jones, and I'll be seeing you and all of your friends again."
I looked back at them. The sad and devasted looks on their faces nearly crushed me.
The girls had gotten out of the car, now standing with the rest of the guys.
Lola cried, having to take a step back. Then there was Mallory nearly hurling at the sight of Stacey's body.
Evie had her back turned, her face buried in Michael's chest.
He had grasped onto her, frozen still as he stared at the floating body.
"Hailey?" The detective's voice snapped me out of the trance.
I just nodded, staring down. "I.. I think I know what's going on here."
"Do you?" He asked hopefully.
"Yes."
"Here is my office number, okay? Just say you're looking for Detective Jones, and I'll be right there." He intently stared at me, not even looking the slightest sorry.
He handed me a card, before I pocketed it in my hoodie, and wiped my wet face with the back of my hand.
Shakily walking over to where Ashton had broke down completely, I just took him into an embrace, not letting go.
"Look away. Just look away, Ash." I said softly, my hand on his cheek as I turned it to me.
"This is all my fault." He said lowly, tears streaming down his skin. "It's all my fault Hailey."
"Don't say that. W-we don't know who's doing this. Yesterday, some freak shows up outside my window, and the next day Stacey ends up hung right in front of the school? This doesn't make any sense, it doesn't add up at all." I said shakily, closing my eyes for a second.
The pitch black darkness scared me, so I fluttered them open again.
"This couldn't have been a suicide. I know Stacey, we all do. She had everything. Hell, why would she do it in front of the school for everyone to see?" Calum clenched his jaw, running a hand over his dark hair.
"W-we have to talk to the detective. That man over there." I pointed, my voice hoarse.
"I.. I'm not sure if I can talk about Stacey right now. Not now, not ever again. This is too much. She's fucking dead." Lola's lips parted, holding back tears.
The words felt like blades against my skin, and I wish I hadn't heard it.
Everything hit me all of a sudden, the guilt growing stronger than ever now.
I kissed Ashton, and he kissed me. We had done it multiple times behind her back, and she died with no idea that her boyfriend had liked someone else.
The thought made me break down so hard, my body grew numb. It's like I felt nothing at this moment.
All I could hear was Mallory crying in shock with me, Calum, Luke, and Michael hauntingly silent.
"This is all my fault." I murmur into Ashton's ear, my fingers clenching the back of his neck.
And I'm sorry.
Funny how yesterday, we were all talking about how much we hated her when she could have been dead the second we did.
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a/n: note to self, do not write this at 12am in the dark bC you'll scare the life out of yourself :)
BUT HOLY BALLS WHAT JUST HAPPENED
You guys reach the comment goal so fast! Ahsksjd 100+ votes, 200+ comments for the next update? :)
Ily all, thanks for reading!!
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