"So, what sort of movie are you thinking of getting?" You asked, sipping the iced coffee you begged Stu to buy you. It was essential. You could barely keep your eyes open after getting little to no sleep the past two nights.
"A scary movie." Stu grinned while opening the door to the video store for you.
"Vague, but okay." You chuckled and quietly thanked him before walking inside.
Towards the right side of the room, you spotted Randy speeding through the aisles with a movie cart. You laughed as he almost ran into a customer, and Stu turned to you, a wicked glint swirling in his eyes before sneaking up behind Randy.
"Oh!" Stu knocked the stack of movies out of his hand just before he could stock them. You rolled your eyes at his childish antics, forcing back a smile as you went to help Randy pick them up.
"Jesus, this place is packed tonight, man." Stu glanced around, leaning against one of the shelves.
"We had a run in the mass murder section," Randy said while taking the movies you handed off to him.
"You coming to my fiesta?" Stu asked.
"Yeah, I'm off early. Curfew, y'know." Randy replied as he shoved the movies into their proper places.
You moved to stand next to Stu as some girl asked Randy for the whereabouts of a movie about E.T.'s mom, and he directed her to The Howling.
"Oh, now that's in poor taste," Randy said, staring over to his left. You followed his gaze to find Billy chatting with two giggling girls in another section.
"What?" Stu asked, observing the scene while you tried your best to conceal your scowl as you looked away.
"If you were the only suspect in a senseless bloodbath, would you be standing in the horror section?" Randy questioned, and you shook your head as you took another sip of your coffee.
"It was just a misunderstanding. He didn't do anything." Stu said, looking to you for backup and you redirected your head-shaking into a nod.
"You're such a little lapdog," Randy argued, glancing back at Billy. "He's got "killer" printed all over his forehead."
"Ohhh-kay," Stu exaggerated his voice, and you couldn't help but snicker at him. "Really? Well, why did the cops let him go, smart guy?"
"Because obviously, they don't watch enough movies. This is standard horror movie stuff." Randy said, his movie geek side making an appearance.
"Randy, don't start with that." You sighed, yet he was adamant about his opinions.
"Prom Night revisited, man!" He exclaimed.
"Yeah?" Stu raised his brows, resting his head in the palm of his hand. "Why would Billy want to kill his own girlfriend?"
"There's always some stupid, bullshit reason to kill your girlfriend," Randy said matter-of-factly. You concealed your smile with your hand as the woman in the section behind him looked disturbed by his words. "That's the beauty of it all, simplicity."
"That might be the craziest thing I've ever heard you say." You declared, and Randy waved you off. "Besides, if it gets too complicated, you lose your target audience." He said.
"Well, what's his reason?" Stu asked, nodding over to where Billy stood.
"Maybe Sidney wouldn't have sex with him," Randy muttered inconspicuously as he continued to stock the shelves, pulling the movie cart with him.
"That's a bullshit reason." You scoffed.
"What? Is she savin' herself for you?" Stu inferred. Almost everyone knew of Randy's feelings for Sidney except for Sidney herself.
"Maybe," Randy spoke a little quieter. "Now that Billy tried to mutilate her, do you think Sid would go out with me?"
You scoffed out a laugh, shaking your head at his callous question. It was almost astonishing how he completely disregarded how Sidney must be feeling, only thinking of himself.
Stu was quick to laugh in Randy's face before getting completely serious again. "No, I don't at all. No."
Randy looked at you for your opinion, and you pursed your lips, giving a slight shrug.
"You know who I think it is?" Stu whispered, leaning in real close. "I think it's her father. Why can't they find her pops, man?"
"Because he's probably dead." Randy blatantly said. You reached over the shelf to smack his arm as he spoke without an ounce of sensitivity for the girl he supposedly likes.
"His body will come poppin' up in the last reel somewhere!" He hollered. "Eyes gouged out, fingers cut off, teeth knocked out!"
"Randy, chill out. Her dad's not dead." You assured as his loud voice was beginning to draw the eyes of others.
"The police are always off track with this shit. If they'd watch Prom Night, they'd save time." He said, and Stu quirked a brow at you. Now you know what movie he's grabbing for tonight.
"There's a formula to it. A very simple formula! Everybody's a suspect!" Randy shouted. The whole store was looking at the three of you now.
"I'm telling you, the dad's a red herring. It's Billy." He spoke quieter this time, looking a little embarrassed as he turned to face the shelves behind him.
You gasped as Billy suddenly appeared, grabbing the front of Randy's shirt to pull him close. "How do we know you're not the killer? Huh?"
"Hi, Billy." Randy muttered nervously.
"Maybe your movie-freaked mind lost its reality button. You ever think of that?" Billy questioned menacingly, and Stu grinned, moving closer to Randy to block his escape.
"You're absolutely right. I'm the first to admit it." Randy instantly agreed in an attempt to avoid confrontation. "If this were a scary movie, I'd be the prime suspect."
"That's right," Billy said, releasing his shirt.
"And what would be your motive?" Stu asked.
"It's the millennium." Randy turned his head to look at Stu before facing Billy again. "Motives are incidental."
"Millennium?" Billy repeated. As he observed Randy for a moment, you took that as an opportunity to intervene.
"Take this." You forced Stu to hold your coffee which he confusedly took before you grabbed Billy's hand.
"Billy? A word?" You raised a brow at him, not giving him a chance to speak as you dragged him across the store, away from prying eyes and ears.
"Are you telling me that's not the killer?" You heard Randy whisper to Stu before you were far enough away.
"What the hell was that?" You questioned, letting go of his hand as you were now hidden between the back aisles.
"What? I was just fooling around." Billy said, his previous hard-hearted expression now replaced with a newfound emotion as you glowered at him.
"By making it seem like Randy's the killer?" You crossed your arms, narrowing your eyes at the boy.
"Oh, but you seemed pretty convinced when he was spewing that nonsense about it being me." He accused, deflecting his anger onto you.
"Billy, I don't think it's you." You sighed, dropping your arms. "But threatening Randy isn't gonna help your case."
"You don't trust me," He stated as if it were a fact.
"No, I do trust you." You spoke with a lot of emphasis on the word 'I'. "It's the people around us that don't... especially the police."
Your gaze traveled across the store to see Randy and Stu still chatting. You had to stop yourself from smiling as Stu cautiously glanced around before he snuck a sip of your coffee thinking you wouldn't notice.
"I don't care what other people think," Billy said, and you immediately turned your focus back on him. His cold steely eyes were earnest as your gaze met his. "Your opinion is all that matters."
Any response you could have mustered escaped through the window. If this were under any other circumstance, hearing those words would have made your life complete. But with the killer on the loose, and his problems with Sidney, now was not the time for this.
"Billy..." Your expression softened, and he instantly recognized that tentative tone.
"No, I get it. I'll go." He walked off, leaving the store without giving you a chance to rebuttal.