Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

hackensack has never been a normal town, to be honest. but some things could change that fact, some distractions, some friends, something like that. 

such as, several serial murders without any meaning and with random victims. 

and for jake, the distractions worked for a while, and made him forget what kind of city he was in. 

if it wasn't for the fact that bad luck followed him for almost all these years, he thought he was cursed, and he wasn't the only one who thought so. 

having to live in the same house as junior after his drunk father was electrocuted to death wasn't good, but at least he wasn't used as a punching bag every day. 

and it wasn't a good thing to have to hear how much her best friend lexy was in love with her best friend nadine after a devastating breakup. it wasn't the end of the world that a relationship ended, but for jake it was. it was his first love.

and now, he found himself in his room, with the music blasting and writing a note to devon. 

“dear devon, i wanted”

“dear devon, go fu”

“dear devon,”

jake bit the tip of his pen as he looked inside the box, which had devon's stuff before they broke up. some shirts, bracelets, rings and even some polaroid photos of the two. 

why did it all end so quickly? why so suddenly? 

jake was taken out of his thoughts the moment he heard someone enter his room quickly, throwing a shirt in his face. 

“what the fuck, dude?!” jake complained. 

junior turned off the music and leaned against the door. 

“since you're building an altar for devon, here's a shirt he left in my room yesterday.”

“i'm not building any altar for him, jackass. and why was he shirtless in your room?” jake replied, frowning and throwing the shirt haphazardly into the box and closing it quickly. 

“well... let's say he chose the best wheeler to stay with…” junior jokes.

jake made a disgusted face. 

“doesn't seem like something he would do. or something you would do.”

junior just laughed. 

“it seems like you have 0 sense of humor. and my dad isn't going to give us a ride today, so you better hurry before we get late, 'cause of you.” junior replied, leaving the room. 

“what? what do you mean your dad isn't gonna give us a ride? what happened?”

“double shift. and my mom is busy.”

jake just nodded and stood up. 

“it's funny that you get defensive when i assume devon is probably with someone else.”

“it's not funny, i just…”

the boy sighed.

it wouldn't make much sense to try to reason with junior, since he had already gone downstairs. 

so jake just took the box and placed on his bed and put a sweater in it that had been lying around in his room for more than a few days. still could use it... 

“HURRY UP JAKE!”

“HOLD ON!”

jake grabbed his backpack, the box and put on some perfume, running down the stairs. 

“get out of the way, binx!”

“dear devon, go fuck yourself :) love, jake.”

[...]

“jake!” said a feminine voice calling him as jake walked through the hallways, he turned to look at who it was. 

nadine and lexy were leaning against one of the lockers nearby, jake approached. 

“hey.”

“hey, jake, how you're doing?” lexy asked, looking at him calmly.

“uhm.. fine? i guess... how are you two?”

“i heard you're gonna quit the band, is that true?” nadine asks.

“nads.”

jake scratched his own head and looked at the floor nervously. 

“...well, yeah.. i am. i've been thinking about this for a while.”

“it's not because of... devon, is it?” lexy asked, pointing to the box jake was holding. 

“no, well... maybe? i don't really know. i'm uneasy of having to talk to him about leaving the band, since he's the one who made it cause i'm not really sure of... how he's gonna react.”

the three went silent for a moment. 

“he'll be fine if you say you want to leave the band, since there are many other people wanting your place…”

“nadine, i know you're working on your sincerity but can you be a little less extreme when we're talk about things like this?” lexy said, kind of in a question, with a friendly face. not so much. 

“it's okay. i know there are people wanting my place in the band, but i just... i don't have the guts to face him after that day.”

“let's not talk about that day now, okay? you can still try to have the guts by the end of this day or by tomorrow to talk to-”

“‘till tomorrow? what- what's happening tomorrow?”

“no one told you? the presentation, 5PM, tomorrow, at the gym. cheerleaders and the band are required to be there.” lexy says, uninterested. 

“i thought it would be on the tennis court?” nadine answered, a little confused. 

“they switched places. still don't know why.”

while lexy and nadine started a conversation about where the presentation would be, jake was thinking about how horrible that would be. 

and as he was going to talk to devon until the end of today, his stomach churned with nervousness just thinking about it. 

“holy fucking shit.”

“try to think about it until the end of the day. wishing you luck, jakey wakey” lexy said, patting jake on the shoulder as she closed the locker door. 

[…]

having to see devon walking around school with a boy who was probably a few years older than him wasn't one of the things jake was looking forward to seeing this week. 

but still, he had to tell devon that he was quitting the band, and he hated leaving things at the last minute.

he needed. and he knew that things between them wasn't going very well. 

but the anxiety of having to look at devon's face again was killing him inside. 

and as he wandered the halls thinking about whether he should talk to devon or not, he didn't even notice the brief conversation someone was having inside a classroom. 

a little peek wouldn't hurt anyone, right? 

jake sneaked close to the door and started listening to the conversation going on inside. 

"what are... uhm...your plans for today?" 

“you mean, like, later?”

jake's felt his heart beat faster. it was devon, along with that boy.

“yeah, later, are you... busy with anything?” the boy asked. 

for jake, they were a little too close. way TOO close to his liking. it looked like the way he and devon were together when they were around each other, his heart hurt a little. 

“since you asked yeah! i have to organize the rehearsal for the presentation tomorrow, afterclass, of course, and i have to meet with the school counselor.” devon answered, putting some books inside his backpack. 

“you have such a busy schedule, don't ya?”

“if you say so.”

“well i... nevermind, it's not important at all…” he scratched his hair.

“what?” devon sat at the desk, interested in what the light-eyed boy was going to say. 

“it's... embarrassing.”

“nothing can be more embarrassing than the fall i took today near the biology room…”

both laughed. jake bit the inside of his cheek watching the interaction, and seeing the taller boy stand in front of devon, obscuring his vision. 

“i... i wanted to know if you could, i don't know... maybe hang out with me later? i mean, only if you want to. if you don't it's okay!”

“no, no! i'd love to hang out with you later. that'd be nice. i just don't know if i can today…”

damn it. 

“we can hang out together... any other day, if that's okay with you.” the boy suggested, and jake gritted his own teeth when he saw him lower his hand to caress devon's hand. 

“yeah, sure. uh... i really can't get late to the meeting with the school counselor so... see ya?” devon quickly pulled his own hand away. 

“i totally forgot, my bad... i think yeah, see ya.” the boy moved away so that devon could get down from the desk. 

jake got out of there quickly before they could see him. 

he definitely didn't like that boy. 

[…]

“i see you must have been confused when you saw that i asked you to come to my office, right, mr. evans?” the counselor laughed, asking as she adjusted herself in her seat and was looking for some files. 

“for sure. i'm not a troublemaker... am i?” devon asked, moving his legs tirelessly, why the hell was he nervous? 

“i hope not. well, let's see…” she flipped through a few pages, probably with devon's files. “band leader, along with two other clubs... nice.”

the boy swallowed, he really didn't know why he was nervous. 

“oh, there it is... are you being able to deal with all of this... normally?”

“normally? what- what do you mean?”

“your grades, devon. they... um... went downhill after spring break. is everything okay? the pressure of the clubs is making you unfocused on your studies?”

oh, his grades, of course.

he could vent, talk about how exhausting it was having to keep himself busy so he could forget that him and jake had anything, having to stay busy with as many things as possible at school to stay away from home, and not having to deal with his stressed mom because of work, he could talk about how breaking up with jake before spring break was something... terrible. 

and how he had had a terrible headache for days. but he didn't do it, he didn't want to feel like this was just another problem in someone's life. 

he swallowed. once again. 

“uhm. yeah, but i... i can handle this well. i can get back to my normal grades if... i try harder. i can still be on the clubs! that wouldn't be a problem, y'know? i-”

“devon, you're a sophomore. you still have a lot of free time to focus and learn other things. you don't need to try so hard to keep the clubs alive, okay? i mean, if you're the only one who is fighting for this to work. let's take a look at your grades, alright?”

devon sighed heavily. that... made sense, he thought. 

“alright.” he nodded with his head.

“C in maths, C in biology, F in algebra I, D in chemistry.... well... things aren't going very well around here, huh? and i can see you're marked absent in many other subjects. have you been skipping classes?” the school counselor gave him an apprehensive look. 

“no... it's not what it looks like. i'm just waking up a little late. i would never skip classes.” 

“based on your mom's history in this school... i think you two have something in common.”

devon laughed awkwardly. 

“so... we're finished?”

“not yet. here's the thing, you will have to go back to your usual grades, or we will have to close the clubs you're responsible for or give them new leaders, as well as the band. you wouldn't want that, right?” 

close the clubs or new leaders? gosh, no.

“i wouldn't want that, that's for sure. so yeah, i'll go back to my usual grades. don't worry. now, can I please go? band rehearsal awaits me.”

“sure. i won't hold you any longer, just... keep that in mind, ok?”

“okay.”

devon got up, left the counselor's office and hurriedly walked to the music room. and when he got close to the room he came across jake, standing in front of the door. 

both froze. 

“jake.”

“...hey.”

...

jake's hand was shaking and he tried everything he could to calm down. this would be the first time he would see devon, after spring break, after everything, after... their breakup. 

jake and devon were alone in the room. the one with curls felt his lips tremble. why was he so anxious? 

“hi..” jake said, almost in a whisper. 

“hi, jake.” devon replied, looking at hake quickly and organizing some papers. 

jake scratched his head. devon seemed uncomfortable with his presence. 

“so... i'm sorry for-”

“if you came here to apologize 'cause of our breakup, just know that i'm completely uninterested in it.”

oh.

“no, i didn’t- i didn’t come to apologize. i came here to tell you that i'm quitting the band”. jake said quickly. 

devon frowned, standing up and putting some papers in the locker. 

“you can't leave the band suddenly, we have a presentation tomorrow.”

“why not? i mean, there must be many people wanting my place here, right?” jake said, sitting down in one of the chairs nearby. 

devon scoffed. “not sure who told you that. why are you quitting?”

jake played with his own rings. 

“i don't know if this is any of your business, but i'm going to look for something new at school, a club that doesn't have you as its leader.”

“good luck finding it then, why don't you try out for the cheerleaders? that lil' outfit would look good on you.” devon replied, sitting at the desk again. 

when they were still together, they used to make fun of the cheerleaders' outfits. it was an inside joke. 

“oh, fuck off. thanks for the good luck, not sure if this shithole will be the same losing a amazing guitarist like me.” 

devon would even retort that, but jake was right. he really was a amazing guitarist. 

“i remember telling you that once.”

jake scratched his own head, remembering. 

"i'm... thinking about starting a band." devon confessed, a little afraid of jake's response. 

“really? where?”

“at school, but i don't know if it would work out very well.” devon replied, looking up at the ceiling of jake's room. 

they were both lying in jake's bed, jake's room could probably be one of devon's favorite places to spend time. 

“are you kidding?” jake said excitedly, bringing devon's attention. “that would be amazing!”

“really? i- i haven't been able to decide on the name yet cause i don't know if it's going to work and-” devon was interrupted by jake giving him a peck, probably to shut him up. he didn't complain. 

“look, if you need help, you can count on me? OK? If you need support with the instruments, finding interested people, etc., you can count on me!”

devon nodded excitedly. they both looked happy. 

“if this really works out... you can be the guitarist. i've hear you play and i know you're amazing at it, and don't try to deny it!” devon said.

jake felt his cheeks getting red from the fact that devon had heard him play. and he felt himself blush even more because devon found him incredible in this. 

the one with curls basically jumped on top of devon, showering him with kisses on the face saying how much he loved devon while he laughed, holding his shirt.

“you still think that...?”

before devon could answer, they both heard the door locks, locking them inside. 

jake ran to the door and opened the curtain, knocking on the door repeatedly saying there were people inside. 

“forget it, the janitor is always with headphones on.”

“well, you have the keys, don't you?”

devon checked his own pockets. empty. 

“i left it in my locker.”

“this room locker or-”

“in your locker that wasn't. it was the one outside.” devon said.

jake bit his own cheek. 

“i remember you left it in my locker once too.”

devon looked at him, a little uninterested. 

[...]

“you're staying here until detention's over. got it?”

junior rolled his eyes and tapped his pencil on his desk. If he was waiting for his father's ride, he'd be fucked, but since he wasn't, it was even worse. 

so, skipping class was one of junior's fun pastimes, but he didn't expect to have teachers running around, especially when he was skipping class to be making out with a girl under the gym bleachers. 

“and why just me?”

“you refused to come, mr. wheeler.”

“sure, but that doesn't mean i'm the only one who's supposed to be here!”

“please just be silent while i look a test for you to take.”

“but-”

“or i'll increase your detention time.”

junior gritted his teeth in response, furrowing his eyebrows.

the door slammed shut, and junior found himself alone in the biology room. 

he wasted no time and took his phone out of his pocket. 

MESSAGES

devonsdev (4 new messages)

jake (2 new messages)

unknown number (1 message)

he obviously opens devon's messages first, even though the message from the unknown number appealed to him. 

devonsdev (4)

devonsdev (16:25): ISTG I CANT BELIEVE THIS

devonsdev (16:25): WHY DID YOU GET DETENTION AAHH

devonsdev (16:26): right on the day u ask you to help me with sum REALLY important 

devonsdev (16:26): U SUCK JUNIOR! 

he laughed, reading the messages. a few days ago, devon had asked junior to help him with the instruments after rehearsal. but, apparently, junior was not available to that.

junior (16:27): sorry lol

junior (16:27): why dont u ask that guy to help u

junior (16:28): the one who was practically glued to u since spring break

devonsdev (16:28): um 

devonsdev (16:28): not sure lol

devonsdev (16:28): also im stuck with your cousin in music class

devonsdev (16:29): (￣ヘ￣)

junior (16:29): devon 

junior (16:29): WHAT on gods u mean "stuck" with my cousin in music class.

junior (16:29): please dont tell me you two got bsck togheter.

junior (16:30): back** together 

devonsdev (16:30): lol no

devonsdev (16:30): he cant stop staring me

devonsdev (16:30): why do these things happen to me 

junior (16:31): unlucky boyy

junior (16:31): let me guess

junior (16:31): lost the keys again?

devonsdev (16:32): ding ding ding

junior (16:32): dumbass

junior (16:32): need help finding it?

he left devon's conversation and opened jake's conversation with two messages, choosing to answer the unknown number last. 

jake (2)

jake (16:17): im going to be late getting home 2day

jake (16:17): ik its not important to you, but im just letting you know 

junior (16:32): yeah ik 

junior (16:32): ur stuck in the music room right

jake (16:32): devon told u?

junior (16:33): 👍🏼

junior (16:33): im getting late home today too

jake (16:34): well, shit

junior (16:34): yup

he sighed and heard a noise outside. why not go out and look, right? junior left the room quickly, looking for the source of the noise. 

his phone vibrated. 

MESSAGES 

devonsdev (5)

the boy was about to respond but he saw someone running through the corridors with a black cloak. 

weirdos from art class, as always. 

devonsdev 

devonsdev (16:35): YES OMG

devonsdev (16:35): PLS PLS PLS🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

devonsdev (16:35): u still got the extra keys from my locker right

devonsdev (16:36): I SURE HOPE SO

devonsdev (16:36): uhhhh pretty sure i left the keys from my clubs in there

junior (16:36): yeah dw

junior turned off his phone and went to the ground floor to get the keys. 

arriving at the lockers, junior came across something weird. devon's locker door was practically busted open. 

the boy frowned, seeing if anyone else was nearby. nobody. 

he checked devon's locker to see if he had the keys, nothing, just books inside. it was at that time that he felt someone pass behind him very quickly. 

junior turned around abruptly. what the fuck was going on?

“anyone who's making this unfunny prank can fucking stop now! i'm not interested”" junior said in a loud tone for anyone passing by to hear.  

no one was there. was he imagining it? 

junior turned around and stifled a scream when he saw someone in front of him with a skeleton mask and a long black cloak staring at him, breathing heavily. 

his instincts told him it was time to run. who was he to go against? 

[...]

“what's in that box?” devon asked. 

jake was visibly nervous and tried to hide it. 

“uhm... nothing, just a few... things, nothing important, it's from art class.”

“you don't fool me, the arts class is closed today. you've been carrying this thing all day around school. must be something important for sure.” devon said, crossing his arms.

“well, okay, that's-” jake swore he had seen a figure pass by devon, outside. “jesus christ.”

“what?”

“nothing, i just… thought i saw someone outside…”

“well, try to calm down. and let's wait for junior to get the keys.”

[...]

junior ran as fast as he could, he didn't know why someone was running after him with a knife. and worse, at school. 

he ran to the math room, grabbing a table to act as a barricade. 

it wouldn't last long, but it was enough for him to hide under the teacher's desk. he soon heard a bang as the door tried to be opened. he ducked and hid under the table. 

he tried to hold his breath, that person would soon leave, right? he tried to fool himself as he heard the footsteps get closer to him. 

shit.

black boots along with a strange black cloak was the only thing junior saw before his hair was violently pulled, pulling the boy onto the desk. 

junior fell to the floor, a scream being heard. he looked up and saw the masked try to attack him with the knife, junior dodged and threw the phone at them. 

dodging wouldn't help. 

he realized this when the person lifted him up sharply. 

an arm reached around and grabbed junior, a scream hoarse wanting to come out of his throat. all he felt the tight grip around his upper chest and the disgusting warm breath that flowed from the mask next to his ear.

junior fought, trying to avoid the knife from hitting him. he felt a glove having to muffle the bloodcurdling scream that tore from junior's throat as the flash of a knife passed through his eyes and into his stomach. 

that burned. and junior felt his knees go weak as they breathed heavily into his ear and cut into him like a damn pig. 

junior could feel the metallic taste invade his mouth, he tried to pull the arms of the person who was holding him tirelessly. 

he felt himself getting dizzy as the knife went brutally through his stomach one, two, three times. 

junior's vision went black and he fell to the ground, unconscious.  

[...]

nadine and lexy were heading downstairs to the school, after lexy had finished her cheerleading practice. 

which, was the opposite of nadine. the girl would really like to go to cheerleading to be with lexy but her krav maga class schedules didn't match up. 

“you're coming to my house today?”

“of course! my krav maga training has been canceled for 1 week, so i think it would be good for me to occupy myself a little while they don't come back.” the redhead replied, happy to have company home. 

“well... with these practices cancelled, maybe you could come to the cheer team for i don't know... 1 week maybe?” lexy suggested, bumping nadine shoulder to shoulder, smiling. 

“wouldn't your teacher mind?”

“she doesn't have to mind about a damn thing.”

“lex!”

“it's the truth!”

they both laughed, finishing down the stairs. when they got to the ground floor, something seemed wrong.

there was a trail of blood on the floor leading from the math room door and the sound of a phone ringing.

“what the fuck is that...?”

lexy and nadine flinched, they were close to a possible crime scene.

‘we should go…”

“what? no! what if is someone we know?” nadine said, grabbing lexy's hand on impulse. 

the blonde felt her cheeks burn but ignored it, trying to focus on what was happening now. 

lexy, focus! 

“okay, okay! you go ahead and i'll open the door, yeah?”

nadine nodded, moving forward, without even realizing that she was still holding lexy's hand tightly. 

the two arrived at the door, moving away from the huge puddle of blood. 

lexy, with her hands shaking, grabbed the doorknob. 

[...]

“what was that?”

jake quickly went close to devon, after hearing the scream. 

“i.. i don't know, where's junior?”

they both looked at each other, worried. 

a knock on the door made devon yelp considerably loud.

the door finally unlocked, and there was devon's friend who jake was sure wouldn't get along with, with the keys. 

what?

“devon! are you ok? i heard a scream. and- ... oh you're with him.” 

“grant, hi... yeah, uh. we got stuck here and were waiting for junior to open the door, but thanks anyway. cmon.” devon practically pulled gtant out of there, just like that, heading towards the direction of the scream. 

jake went right after the two. something didn't feel right. 

when they got there, they found lexy and nadine completely motionless ans scared in front of the door. 

“hey, what is it?” jake asked, without an answer. 

“jake, don't go in there!” lexy tried to stop it when she saw the boy approaching the door. 

nadine's lips trembled. 

jake got close to the door and really wished it wasn't real. 

junior, completely passed out on the floor with a huge pool of blood around him with a skull mask at his side. 

what a great way to start classes after spring break. 

Chapter Text

the police had surrounded the entire school, they believed that the killer could still be out there. junior had been rushed to the emergency room with deep cuts in his stomach, jake didn't want to know how his uncle and his aunt would react. 

the five who had found junior were at the hospital, patiently waiting for their turn to testify. jake already had his suspicions, but he wasn't going to reveal it anytime soon. 

the boy glanced at nadine and lexy, who were trying to buy snickers from the vending machine. he looked at devon, who was talking about something with grant, they both seemed entertained. 

he still thought about devon. all the time. 

jake and devon's breakup wasn't something jake wanted to happen, he swears. but he still couldn't deny that he still had feelings for devon, and it hurt to see him so calm with grant. 

they definitely had nothing going on but it still hurt to see him with someone else, especially with that boy he seemed to be flirting with in the classroom earlier. 

he remembered that he had to leave school in a hurry, and that he had left the box at school, in the music room. fuck.

the one with curls got up and went to the girls who were stressed trying to get a candy from that machine. he swore that if that machine ate another penny of lexy, she would break it with the kick.

“hey... i have to go to school, it's really quick i have to get the box, do you need anything from there?” jake asked in a soft voice.

nadine furrowed her eyebrows in disapproval. 

“absolutely not! are you insane? the killer must still be hanging around there, you can get it tomorrow.”

“it's really important!” jake protested. 

“i know that box is important, but here we are all safe, and away from school, are you really going to let a box be more important than your safety and your life?” lexy asked, already knowing the answer. 

jake rolled his eyes. 

“what if someone takes that box thinking it's part of the crime evidence? what if- what if devon's mom finds it?” jake says, almost immediately freaking out.

“whoa, calm down. i know few things about kim evans but i know she is anything but homophobic.” lexy said, looking at devon from afar. 

“right…”

lexy sighed in relief, thinking that jake had given up on the idea. 

“i can defend myself, i have a pocket knife.” jake said, taking it out of his pocket. 

“jesus christ, keep it!” nadine said, stopping him from showing. 

“why the fuck would you have that?”

“art class.” nadine and jake said in unison. 

“jinx!” jake said.

nadine just accepted defeat. 

“they let you have this in class?” lexy asks.

"it's to sharpen some stuff…”

“well go then, just please be careful.”

“i will.”

jake left the two and went to the hospital exit. 

“jake, where you're going?” devon asked, sitting on the chair. 

“i have to pick up something from school... it's really important, but i think the room is locked.”

"can i go with you?”

“isn't your mom going to…” grant said, without actually finishing the sentence 

“well... do you see her here now?”

both of them not having the patience to wait for grant to form a thought, devon got up and went to the exit with jake, both leaving the hospital. 

[…]

when bree wheeler got the call that her son had been stabbed at school, she could have sworn her world fell apart right then and there. 

she then left her job in a hurry and went to the emergency hospital, having to see her son being intubated. what kind of monster would do that to a mother? 

logan had no idea that his son was in ICU and it was better if he didn't know, the man would freak out talking about how he could sue that school for the irresponsibility of letting anyone in there, which wasn't a lie. 

mayor michelle, didn't seem to care about anyone's safety in that town, the same one who celebrated the fact that hackensack had gone for incredibly 14 years without murders. 

that could take her out of next year's elections, who knows. irresponsible mayor chooses fame and money over safety and lets deaths shake her beloved city. who wouldn't pay to see this in the news? 

speaking of which, jake and devon were on their way to school in an insuffering silence. sure, it was their choice to go to school, no one forced them or anything, but they should think twice before going out at night on their way to a place where there was a homicide.  

they both walked side by side, shoulders bumping into each other without even realizing it. 

after a few minutes walking, they entered through the back, school empty inside. 

“how creepy.” devon said. 

“what?”

“the silence.”

the school was rarely silent, at least when students were taking tests. but that was totally different. 

it was silent because the school was empty. it was empty because everyone had left there quickly because of a psycho. a psycho who probably already had their next victim in mind. 

jake took a shaky breath, trying to get it out of his mind. he took out his phone to turn on the flashlight so they could find the music room. 

the large numbers marking 7:14 PM were the highlight on his phone, along with the wallpaper of his cat, binxie. jake quickly turned on the flashlight, illuminating the floor. 

“let's go.”

devon had to resist the urge to hold jake's arm for... reassurance, perhaps? he was scared, that's for sure. they weren't dating anymore, but he still missed jake's warmth. he stopped thinking about it as soon as he saw jake start walking.

he went right after jake.

they arrived at the music room and devon was very grateful for having the keys again. 

“how did grant unlock us if it was junior who was going after the keys?” jake asked, as he held up his phone to illuminate devon's vision to find the correct key in that set of keys. 

“i think grant noticed i left the keys there in the math room. it makes sense since we were the last ones to leave.”

jake tries not to think about it too much before a wave of jealousy comes over him. 

he unlocked the door while jake thought about the scene he had seen earlier.

“why were you alone with a boy in the music room?” 

“were you stalking me?” he asks, looking at jake.

“of course not! i mean… maybe?”

“gosh, you're unbelievable.”

devon opened the door to the music room, turning on the switch and entering the room, waiting for jake. 

jake entered and devon closed the door, closing the curtain. 

“look, sorry for being a weirdo, whatever. but don't you think that something else it's weird?”

“what's weird?”

“grant showing up seconds after lexy screamed.” jake said, turning off the flashlight and placing his phone on the table nearby. 

devon rolled his eyes. “you think he's suspicious?”

“i mean, why not? it doesn't make any sense that he knew where the keys were and he only showed up after shit happened to free us.” the one with curls replied, bending down to pick up the backpack and box. 

“if you suspect him, why don't you ask him instead of bothering him all the time?”

“am i bothering you?”

“guess.”

jake placed the box on the desk. 

“sure. sorry.”

“stop saying that, and doing that.” devon replied, going to a corner, somewhat cornered. 

“stop doing what?”

“doing this! your... weirdness with him, you don't even know grant well and you're already making things up.”

“and do you know him? well, i'm sorry if i can't trust with my eyes closed a guy i met days after breaking up with my boyfriend during spring break who could potentially be a serial killer!” jake replied, almost practically shouting. 

devon looked at jake across the room with an angry look. he hated it when jake did that. 

“why are you doing this?”

“doing what?”

“arguing with me! and- your jealousy! i don't even know why you're jealous in the first place, we're not even together anymore, jake.”

devon's words make jake's heart ache, of course. they weren't together anymore, but jake wished they were. 

“i... i'm not jealous, i'm angry cause- because you trust him blindly, and you weren't like that before!”

“okay, okay, quit that "i'm not jealous" bullshit when in fact, you can't stop staring at me when i'm talking to him.”

jake went to devon, staring at him firmly and making him walk backwards, knowing that he would be cornered. 

“i... i can't stop staring at you because- fuck- i just... i can't understand how you got over this so easily.”

“got over what?”

“us! you got over all our moments together so quickly, you got over our kisses, our touches, everything! god, what's wrong with you?”

devon could feel jake's uneven breathing close to his face, it made him remember the make outs they had in empty rooms sometimes. 

no. that wasn't the time to remember that. 

“you know, i can't stand you.” devon said, crossing his arms.

“oh yeah? you can't stand me but you can't deny that you were dying to break up with me and move on to another guy right away.” 

“i wasn't! look, i didn't date or hook up with anyone after we broke up and don't say that, just remember that you were the one who broke up with me,i just made it official! now it's not my fault if you get stuck in the past and can't see what the fuck is happening now!” devon looked at him firmly, pushing his chest, noticing that jake for some reason was getting closer and closer. 

“i broke up with you because you made that choice. for me, we would still be together today if you didn't made that choice, and if it wasn't for your extreme fear of your mom finding out you like to kiss-” jake was interrupted by an ominous thump in the hallway, and also by devon shushing him with his hand. 

those who were fighting before, looked at each other and quickly moved away when they realized how close they were. 

they realized how loud they were arguing, and that it probably attracted the attention of some police officers who were nearby. 

too late. 

jake thought as he saw the doorknob turn and two armed police officers enter inside. 

he looked at devon, who was briefly startled by the situation. 

[...]

“you two will stay in the car until we call your guardians, without another peep!”

the car door slammed shut, leaving jake and devon locked inside the police car, alone. jake held the box in his hands. 

excellent. this was how devon would have liked to spend the night, trapped inside a tiny car completely glued to jake wheeler. 

not that it was a problem before they broke up. 

“my mom is going to kill me.” 

jake laughed fakely. 

“well, that's your fault.”

“my fault?! as far as i remember, it wasn't me who was screaming my lungs out in an environment where the walls are thin!” devon said angrily. “all this because you forgot a damn box, tell me, was it worth it? because to me, it wasn't!’

“it's not a damn box. but fuck it, it was worth it.”

“great! now shut up, i'm not sure if i can stand having to listen to you over and over again for hours till my mom shows up.”

“as if i was talking now…” jake mumbles.

devon decided to just ignore it, and look at the windows to see if anything interesting appeared there.

when he touched the window, he flinched because the glass was half broken with shards. his finger bled. 

“ouch!”

they were close to the hospital, there were bushes, ambulances, police officers, someone in a black cloak looking from afar and appearing to go close to the car they were wearing with a mask that looked like the one in which junior had been attacked. 

wait, what?

“jake. jake!” devon pulled jake's sweater hard. 

“make up your mind! weren't you the one who wanted me to shut up seconds-”

“now i want you to listen to me! do you remember what the mask we found near junior looked like?” devon asked, interrupting the boy and tightening his grip on his sweater. 

“it was a skull one with some flaws, it looked old, i don't-” jake swallowed hard when he felt devon's warm hands cup his face tightly and make him look at where he was looking before.

that touch didn't seem aggressive. never seemed like it. 

“please tell me it doesn't look like the person approaching the car.”

shit. it was identical. 

“it is.”

they both despaired when they realized that the person started running when they realized that they were looking at them. 

jake managed to force the car door, opening the door and pulling devon to get out. 

and at the same time, devon's mom appeared. 

“devon?” kim asked, angry that her son was in the car with jake. 

“hi mom, we can talk later, now i'm busy!” devon said, hurrying to leave with jake and go to the hospital. 

“what? devon, we're not-” before the detective could say anything, she saw jake stumble and devon take his hand and run together. “... finished.”

[…]

nadine, lexy and grant had a scare when they both showed up at the hospital reception like crazy. 

“whoa, whoa, whoa, what's wrong?” grant asked, a bit lost. 

“just run and hide!”

“young boys, didn't i told you to stay in the car?” the officer said, looking at them and pulling out a radio to warn about the two. “i have here on the ICU a police car alarm going off and two boys who are claiming that the murd-”

the noise of the axe sinking into the officer's skull was what made the three realize what was happening. 

the sound of the officer falling to the ground and the axe being removed from his disfigured head was what made nadine scream in terror. 

lexy quickly pulled nadine by the hand and the two went to the left, jake, devon going to the right, and grant was lost, looking at the killer. 

they looked at each other. 

“...hi?” grant tried to talk. 

the axe heading towards him made lexy turn back and run to pull the boy out of the trance. the axe going straight into the lined reception chair. 

“JESUS CHRIST I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA DIE!” grant shouted, as he ran with lexy.

“yeah, you would if you stayed there for another second!” 

“is it following us?” nadine asked, looking back. it wasn't. 

the three stopped running immediately. 

“they went after the lovebirds! shit!”

[…]

jake and devon had to hide in a hospital room, both standing on one side of the door, ready to attack when the killer arrived. devon held a bottle of hand sanitizer and jake held syringes. 

the sound of boots and heavy breathing brought attention and despair to both of them. they were ready. 

when the door opened, jake immediately stuck the syringe in the masked man's back, devon quickly threw the bottle of hand sanitizer into their mask. 

the masked felt lost, taking the syringe from their back. looking at devon angrily and holding the axe tightly. 

jake jumped on the killer's back, trying to take the axe from him, devon was trying to pull the axe too. devon yelped as the axe grazed his shoulder. jake hit his back hard against the wall, grunting and falling. 

the killer chased devon around the hospital room, avoiding the objects the boy threw at them. 

devon managed to knock an IV pole to the ground, knocking the killer down and making them drop the axe. he ran to jake to help him. 

jake opened the hospital room door, quickly escaping with devon. 

when they arrived at the back of the hospital, they found the three in an ambulance, which they had stolen. 

“seriously?” jake said.

“do you have a better idea?” lexy asked, opening the door for jake and devon to get inside. 

“watch out!”

the killer managed to reach devon and grab him from behind, the boy writhed to get out of the grip. the bloody knife scared him. 

how had the weapons changed so quickly? 

“no!” jake shouted as he held the killer tightly to try and get him away from devon. 

devon bit their forearm hard, managing to free himself, and jake managed to knock them out. devon staggered towards the hospital exit, without realizing that jake was standing there looking at the killer. 

“what the-”

no way.

“and the one responsible for the massacre at the hayden residence, oliver hayden, was found dead today.” jake remembered the news he heard when the killings were running wild in hackensack. 

was that some kind of nightmare? oliver was dead, right? 

that wasn't possible. 

jake felt himself come out of his trance when he saw oliver pull the mask down again. that was the time for him to run into the ambulance. they fled with grant driving the ambulance like crazy. 

[…]

driving with the stolen ambulance, jake and devon wanted to go to the police to report it, and lexy and nadine disagreed saying that the house of one of the four would be a safer place. jake was literally thinking he was going crazy having clearly seen oliver's face behind that mask. 

lexy tried to tell the boys that it was a bad idea to report this to the police, as they wouldn't believe him. but jake wanted it anyway. so, there was the quintet at the police station. 

“i'm telling you this isn't going to work.” devon complained, following jake to the police station. 

“why are you going with me then?” jake asked, looking at the boy. 

“to prove to you that i'm never wrong.”

“never wrong? well that's not…” the two continued the discussion, with lexy and nadine watching them, both inside the ambulance. 

“am i the only one who thinks they're gonna be back together like... tonight?” nadine asked. 

“i also think that…”

“wait, have they ever been together?” grant asked, butting in. 

nadine and lexy just looked at each other, with the same thought, both laughed after.

“you're a bit slow... and also a little late in this matter.”

grant just ignored it, turning off the stolen ambulance. 

“do you... think that jake might be lying about this?” the redhead asked lexy, taking off her glasses to clean them. 

“...why would he lie about this? you saw it with your own eyes, nads. it was him.”

“but like, isn't he dead?”

while grant listened to their conversation, he looked at the dimly lit street. “good job on the lighting, mayor michelle.” the boy thought. 

“maybe he was like... back to get revenge? i don't know... spirits can spend their afterlife wandering the earth in search of peace.” nadine concluded. 

lexy ignored the subject the girl was bringing up now. 

“the last thing that piece of shit needs is peace.”

grant would even ask why, but he didn't wanted to seem nosy. and he saw someone with long ginger hair walking down the street at this time. 

what?

he wasn't going to deny that he was interested in knowing who it was. 

“maybe he's just-”

“well, while you're arguing about this, i'll be off for a slash, here's the key... in case shit goes down.” grant told, leaving in a hurry. the front door closing was the only thing they heard, the two being alone there. 

a silence formed between them.

“i wonder what devon was thinking to be friends with him.” lexy said, watching him run to the street. 

nadine just laughed. 

"hey uh... sorry for bringing that up. i didn't meant to-"

“no, it's- it's fine…”

“you sure?”

nadine looked at the girl with an apprehensive look. lexy hated when people did that. 

“yeah. uhm... do you still have the.. snickers?” the blonde replied, changing the subject. 

“i thought you forgot.” she said, pulling out some candy from her pocket. 

“i dropped them all on the ground when we were running.”

nadine gave her some. 

“lucky for you, my old ways haven't gone out of style.” 

“you- nadine!” lexy laughed, taking it. 

[…]

grant followed the redhead, walking down the street a little unsure of where "she" had gone. 

he jumped when he heard a police car nearby, passing directly by him. the boy sighed, turning his face and seeing the redhead sitting near a lamppost. 

he went closer, hearing some strange murmurs. 

“see, the sea wants to take me... the knife wants to slit me... do you think you can help me... sad veiled bride please be happy…”

“hi, cutie, are you... lost? i mean, i've never seen you around here, so-”

grant swallowed hard when who he thought was a girl looked up and saw their face completely disfigured. 

“what the-”

“handsome groom, give her room.” they said, giving the boy a deep cut on the shin. 

[…]

"and the mask fell off?”

“yes! and i saw oliver, that hayden's boy.”

the officer scoffed, stopping taking notes. 

“i don't think we're getting anywhere, boys, are you sure that you just didn't imagined things? ” 

devon frowned. 

“we're not joking! what we're saying is the truth! why don't you go to the ICU and see the mess that's there?” devon replied, standing up a little from his chair. 

“i'm sure you don't need to raise your voice with me.”

“i'm not raising my voice, i'm talking normally.”

the officer stared at them. 

“do you want me to call your mom and tell her what you were doing at school? i'm sure she'll be very happy to know what you were trespassing a crime scene.”

“we were 4 rooms away from the crime sc-”

before jake could end his sentence, the officer got up, going to the room door. 

“i do think you should see the ICU, maybe that'll really convince you that we're not fucking lying.” jake said. 

with no answer, the officer left, leaving the two alone. 

“i told you so.” devon said, settling into his seat. 

[…]

when the vehicle arrived at the ICU, there was blood on the floor along with some sweets and a chair broken in half. 

a horror scene. 

“do you want to tell me what happened?” a police officer questioned the receptionist, both far from the scene. 

“well, i wasn't here when it happened. i only heard some boys shouting, then i saw some... two girls and a boy ran past, that's when i arrived at the reception and saw... all of this…” the receptionist replied, a little dejected by the situation. 

“rght, right…”

a little far away, there were some nurses in a room trying to take care of junior, the boy had internal bleeding, probably due to the stab wounds. 

“...i can hardly imagine what it's like for parents to receive this kind of news…”

“stop that, it's not like he died.”

“well... doesn't seem like it.”

the internal bleeding was really serious, and junior was still unconscious, probably even dead. but few things were going on in his mind, and the smell of blood woke him up. 

[…]

“i think we should get out of here…”

"no! what if he catches up to us? at least here we're safe."

jake wanted to laugh at devon, but he didn't. 

“safe? with cops who think we're joking? we should protect ourselves…”

“with what?”

the door opened, the officer dismissed them. 

“your mother was busy and didn't answer, but you should stop making false accusations and playing around with serious things.”

devon and the police officer were going ahead, jake followed, looking closely at the gun on the taller man's waist. 

“i told you, we're not kidding! our lives are at risk and you should protect us!” devon says angrily. 

“and that's what i’m doing, right?”

jake jumped on the officer's back, starting a fight. 

“you're not doing shit, you old fucker! all you have to do in your job is believe what people are saying and provide security, but you can't even do it right!” jake said, holding the man's neck. 

devon was totally confused, but he wasn't going to interfere. 

the officer pushed jake off his back, facing him. 

“stop teasing me boy! it doesn't take me two minutes for me to put you behind these bars for contempt of authority!”

jake flinched. 

“i-i'm so sorry, sir. i don't know what got into me.”

devon grabbed jake by the sleeve of his sweatshirt, both going to the police station exit.

“get out of here and go find your girlfriends! tell them you need to relax!”

they both went quickly out. 

“jake, slow down, what are you doing?” devon asked, not knowing why the sudden change. 

“i know what i'm doing, trust me.” jake replied, going to the ambulance, finding nadine and lexy outside of it.

“did it work?” lexy asks.

“same as nothing.”

lexy scoffed, sighing deeply. 

“security in this city was better in the past, no offense to your mom, devs.”

“no offense taken. how are we supposed to protect ourselves now with... undead chasing us?”

“with this. way more effective.” jake said, taking the gun from his waistband. 

the three gasped in surprise. 

“what the hell, jake?”

“you stole a cop's gun?!” devon exclaimed in surprise. 

“fuck, yeah he did.”

“are you out of your mind? what if they catch you with this?”

“just like they didn't believe us, they won't catch the killer and they won't catch me, we're on our own. we should go.”

devon noticed someone was missing from the conversation. 

“where's grant?”

[…]

grant grunted as his back hit the ground and saw that the redhead was coming at him with a razor.

he grabbed the arm of the long-haired redhead who was sitting on top of him, trying to cut his throat. 

a light cut was made, and just as they were going to make another one, grant saw them being hit 4 times with a gun. black blood going straight to his face. 

what? black... blood?

he saw them fall to the ground, the boy still surprised, seeing jake with the gun. 

grant quickly got up, just like that, running towards the group. 

“run!” he shouted.

everyone ran, jake stayed behind, trying to identify who they were. he looked, seeing them sit up, the parts where they had been shot the body "rebuilding" itself. 

“jake! c'mon!” devon said, pulling the boy away, running with him.

jake ran as fast as he could. 

Chapter Text

as grant was still disoriented, lexy drove, taking them to her house. as she had no experience, they almost crashed. but they arrived safely with lexy parking far from her house. she didn't want to have a headache with her mother complaining about anything else. 

“lexy, never get a driver's license, for everyone's sake.” devon said, getting out of the ambulance a little dazed. 

“very funny. if it weren't for me we would still be there, so just thank me.”

they entered lexy's house. this wasn't the first time they were there. except for grant.

her phone started vibrating non-stop in her pocket and she picked it up. 

“security alarm. in case of thieves.” she said, deactivating and putting away her phone. 

“uh- your mom won't complain?”

“she’s… busy with mayor stuff shit. she won't be home for now.” the girl said, closing the door. 

“and what about your sister?”

lexy, before answering, went up the stairs. 

“i trained her well not to enter my room when there's... boys around. let's go.” 

everyone went up the stairs, nadine wasn't going to take over, but she felt a little jealous of that. she knew why. 

when they entered the room, the girl began: 

“first of all, who was that?” lexy asked everyone, handing grant a pack of wet wipes to clean his face. 

“how the hell would we know? their faces were all fucked up!”

“...why do you have that on your dressing table?” the boy asked, taking it anyway.

“makeup. look, i'm not disgusting like you guys.” she paused. “not you all.”

jake sat on lexy's bed, along with devon who was thinking. 

“first oliver, then that... creepy redhead... what else now?”

“not a creepy, but a hottie.” grant replied, wiping the blood from his face. 

“if that's what you think…”

“look, i think we're all missing the point here. the blood was black, that's not normal!” devon said.

“and they didn't die instantly after the gunshots.” jake made a remark. 

nadine just leaned against the door. 

“that’s- weird… really fucking weird.”

"oliver is dead. why on earth would he come back?” lexy asked, no one knowing how to respond. 

“this reminds me of that one... curse.” nadine whispers.

“the... lee ray one?”

“the one that nannies tell to scare children who don't want to sleep? it's not real.” grant scoffed. 

“and who are you to say what's real or not, mr. moved to hackensack in february of this year?” jake mocked. 

“look, i may have moved late but i know the stories about this town, mr. smartass.”

they both stared at each other in rivalry. 

“no time for bickering! we're dealing with something probably sobrenatural here, focus on that!” the blonde said, feeling the tension between the two. 

“well... when me and devon were in the ICU, they seemed to be focusing on devon…”

“but then why did they attack the cops?”

“because he was in the way, and they wanted to get devon. i almost got axed too.” grant admitted. 

“and how do you know that?”

“well, because it's obvious? if they are after someone specific, if you get in their way they will attack you. it's not that hard.”

devon started to think about why this was happening. 

“why that? why- why me? i didn't do anything to anyone.”

everyone paid attention. 

“if they went after junior it makes sense, since he's an asshole to everyone, but not devon. he never did anything wrong to someone.” jake defended him.

“if i'm right about the curse, and i really hope i'm not, how- how does this happen? how does it works?”

no one knew what to say. devon just sighed deeply. 

“glenda's valentine lee ray curse.” nadine said, reading something on her phone. devon ran to see what it was. “whoa, i didn't know there was valentine in their name.”

“what does it say?”

nadine offered him her phone, devon took it, reading it carefully. 

“back in the 90s, glenda ray in search of eternal life, they made a deal with the devil, but in return he asked for the name of some pure soul, they gave names, but it didn't work out and glenda ended up being pursued by whom they had offered the name on the wall. and the cycle continued, and continued to take over hackensack for years. they believe that glenda chooses people to take revenge on hackensack. to get revenge for what they did.”

they paused, waiting for devon to continue. 

“the deal will only work if they give names of someone who has a pure soul, otherwise the person who had the soul offered would die for not having what they wanted. and so everyone on the wall would go after whoever glenda chose.” devon read aloud what the website said. 

“i think- i think i got it.” jake started. “glenda chose junior's for the deal to keep going, since he wasn't pure, that didn't work and now they're after devon. because he's pure?”

everyone in the room looked at devon. 

“well, i hope they choose someone else soon 'cause a few days ago i was smoking weed with lexy.”

“you were smoking?” jake asked. 

“you guys had weed and didn't even hit me up?” grant asked. 

“lex, didn't you quit after you OD'd?” the redhead asked her.

lexy shrugged her shoulders as she saw them looking at her. 

“that wasn't even a big deal, i came back after 2 minutes, okay? and wasn't even weed, and- sharing a joint it's like- a love language. we're bonding, right?” lexy said, seeing devon nod. 

“i'm sure that smoking weed together is not a good form of bonding. anyways uh... look, why glenda, in the 90s, would be searching for eternal life if they weren't even born yet? the years don't match.” jake says.

“which- which website are you reading this on?”

“...wikipedia?”

grant rolled his eyes. “can't believe you trust this bullshit.”

“look, if you don't believe in what we're saying, why are you still here?” jake asked, a little stressed about the boy. 

everyone could feel the tension. 

“i never said that i don't believe you're all saying. i'm just suggesting... see more reliable sources, perhaps?”

“where?”

“maybe we can research more on the internet?” devon suggested. 

“...school books.”

lexy snorted. not wanting to go to school. 

“why books? looking for shit in books is so medieval vibes.”

“because books have more... stories. they can tell us what we might be looking for. and there are more things that may not have been published on the internet.” jake replied. 

yeah. it made sense. 

“helloo? did you forget that the entire school is closed due to a crime scene and full of police officers? it's a terrible idea.” lexy disagreed. 

“maybe that's a good idea, right? since it's full of officers, they can hear if some crazy "people" break into the school after devon.” nadine said.

“the same ones who didn't believe in us?”

lexy's phone started vibrating in her pocket. 

“well, yeah, but it could be a chance for us to get clues and be ready for when shit happens, and not take us by surprise.”

“last time i checked, they were going to the hospital.” grant disse.

everyone was silent for a few seconds. devon sat down on the bed again, sighing deeply. 

“great. the hackensack cops are now completely useless, as usual.” lexy mocks.

“is everything okay?” jake asks devon, knowing what the answer would be.

“yeah. sure.” 

“uh… your hand is bleeding.” jake points out.

“shit.”

lexy took out her phone, going to check if it was her mom. 

“i still think it's terrible.” the blonde said, checking her notifications. 

while some agreed and disagreed about the school's idea, lexy froze when she saw the notification that appeared. 

SECURITY ALERT: MOVEMENT IN THE GARDEN.

SECURITY ALERT: SOMEONE IS AT YOUR FRONT DOOR. 

SECURITY ALERT: BROKEN WINDOW. 

SECURITY ALERT: FRONT DOOR BROKEN, POSSIBLE THIEF. 

“i think it's already taken us by surprise.” the girl said, leaving everyone confused. 

a chud on the door made them jump. nadine screamed when she saw the axe go through the door and almost hit her directly, devon quickly pulled her away. both standing up in fear. 

“it's that psycho from the ICU!” devon shouted, remembering. 

the door broke, falling to the floor. someone with an axe was revealed to be breathing heavily. 

nobody knew what to do but they despaired when they saw that the axe was going to hit devon. jake pulled him away, the axe hitting the bed, tearing the sheets. 

and there go two of the most important things lexy had, her door and her bed. 

the five of them left the room in a hurry when they realized that the killer had stuck the axe to the bed. 

the quintet ran up the stairs until lexy remembered caroline was still on the house. 

“wait! my sister!” lexy screams.

“she's going to be fine! she's not in their way!”

lexy was even going to contradict, but decided to go downstairs when she realized that the killer had managed to free the axe from the bed. 

everyone ran in desperation to the ambulance, getting into it. when would they have a moment of peace? 

“how did they knew where devon was?” nadine asked, a little desperate pulling lexy into the car and closing the door tightly. 

“maybe they- they have a fucking GPS to know where he is? i don't know, damn it! drive!” jake shouted at grant who was entering the ambulance. 

grant pulled the clutch firmly, almost making everyone move forward, stepping on the accelerator and taking the steering wheel, finally driving. 

“we're fucked.” lexy said. 

“no, we're not. he's fucked.” grant continued, turning around and glancing at devon. 

and then they noticed devon's hand. bleeding. jake took some paper towels that were in the ambulance and gave them to devon. 

“they're like sharks, can smell blood from their preys afar.” grant said as he drove.  

“he's no prey, cut it out, grant.” jake told.

“well... in this case, yes. he is.” grant added.

“how do you know that, then?”

“...lots of research.”

jake frowned. devon was not a prey. 

and to school, again they went. 

[…]

“we don't have that many options since there’s no exact guide on how to defend ourselves from the undead that are chasing us.” lexy says as she enters the library. 

“what exactly are we looking for here? it’s nonsense.” grant asks.

“clues. anything we find is important.” jake says, closing the door. 

they spread out across the school's huge library. lexy ended up going to the romance book section, pulling nadine along. 

“why is this so dusty? good god.” nadine says, running her finger along the shelf. 

“it makes me sick. i feel like it should be cleaner here. after all, who doesn’t like reading novels these days?” 

“people who have minimal interest in horror stuff.” devon says from the other side of the bookshelf.

nadine just laughs and lexy rolls her eyes.

“why don’t you just go find a big book that tells you how to defeat these things or go make out with jake to resolve this weird sexual tension you two have already? this fight between ex-boyfriends was cool at first but now it's unbearable.” lexy says quickly. 

“why don’t you do the same? mrs. can’t stop looking at my best friend’s shiny lips.” 

the girl feels her cheeks heat up as she sees nadine laughing nervously at that. she didn't even defend herself, knowing that it was true.

“he… he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” lexy says.

“it didn't seem like he didn't know.” 

lexy sighs, turning around. 

“that was just a joke, just to break the tense atmosphere.”

they try to ignore the tense atmosphere at all costs that had just formed there. 

devon looked up and down the shelves, not sure what to look for. maybe that was really a shot in the dark for jake, maybe they wouldn't even find anything important.

maybe devon would die that night and the efforts they were making would be in vain.

he closed his eyes in pain as he felt another twinge in his head from the migraine he was experiencing. 

“devon…” he heard a distant voice call him. 

devon turned around quickly, trying to see if anyone was around. then, a loud bang as a book had fallen to the floor. 

he swallowed hard when he saw the black book, half covered in dust, and he wasted no time in going to see what had been written. 

the cover was thick and had nothing written on it, as soon as he opened the book, his head gave another twinge and he closed his eyes tightly as he saw faint flashes of charles lee ray, glen on the floor and glenda screaming and a bonfire next to it. 

“when they are near, blood will appear.” written on a wall. 

“IT'S YOU!”

he flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder, coming out of that strange trance he had been in, in shock. 

“is everything okay? you seemed… off.” jake asks, worried.

devon blinks quickly, standing up and holding the book in his hands. of course he wasn't okay. who would be?

who would be after glenda ray, the child who made a curse start following him for no reason? he didn't know what to say. 

“we have to come up with a plan like… right now.” 

[…]

after devon explained to everyone, they had a little idea of what was going on and had to come up with a plan, but first they had to change their clothes. 

lexy and nadine went looking for some clothes in the lost and found so everyone could wear them and not get devon's blood on them. 

“get some clothes, get cleaned up and we'll meet you in the main hall, okay? not a drop of blood!” lexy warned everyone, dropping the box on the floor. 

“i don't think i can do much…” devon said, entering the music room. 

jake watched him and went along with some clothes in hand. 

lexy decided to go with nadine to the art room. 

“yo, what about me?” grant asked.

“what? just get dressed, it's not that hard.” nadine said, with her hand on the doorknob. 

“i know that, but i'm alone! what if they come to attack me?”

“well, you have muscles for a reason, don't let 'em be useless, big boy!” lexy said, entering the room with nadine. 

grant just sighed and went straight to the gym. kicking a trash can along the way. 

[…]

devon couldn't help but feel his cheeks heating up when he saw jake shirtless. ok, that was usual for him but he didn't expect to see jake like this so soon. 

he couldn't stop looking at jake and his muscles. since when had jake started training so much? did their breakup make jake become a gym rat? 

he quickly shook his thoughts away from it, taking off his coat and placing it on the table, feeling something sticky. 

“holy fuck, your shoulder.” jake said, worried and looking at the boy's shoulder which had a huge wound. 

devon looked at his shoulder, it didn't look so bad when he still had his sweatshirt on. he snorts.

“i thought it was a graze.” he noticed jake approaching. 

“well, graze or not, you're still bleeding. let's clean it up before it gets worse.”

devon even tried to say that everything was fine and it wasn't that bad but jake insisted on helping him. 

jake noticed that the boy was holding his own head as if he was trying to ease some pain.

“are you okay?”

“just… a little headache, nothing serious.”

[…]

that was one of the moments that nadine swore she was going to freak out, but in a good or bad way. she didn't know. she was having to change in the same room as nadine, her best friend. 

she had already gotten dressed and was washing her hands near the sink in the room. she dried her hands with a clean cloth that was there. 

“nads, can you give me a hand here?”

“u-uh, yeah! sure.” nadine sighed deeply and turned around, seeing that lexy was on the other side of the room, sitting at a desk with brushes and paints wearing clothes that nadine swore she would never imagine her wearing. 

it was jeans with a tie back top, ok normal.

she approached lexy, the blonde turned around giving nadine the laces to tie. 

nadine had her hands shaking. 

while the redhead was tying her top and tying it with bows, lexy felt a few goosebumps because nadine's fingertips were touching her back and they were cold. 

of course, the redhead thought lexy was pretty, attractive, cool. she always noticed how lexy looked at her whenever they were very close to each other. and the way lexy always got nervous around her.  

nadine was so focused on thinking about lexy that she didn't even realize when it was over. 

“yeah. you look cute.” nadine said, feeling her cheeks burn when she realized what she had said and that lexy had turned around. “i- i mean, the top- the top looks cute but you... you look cute too.”

lexy gave an embarrassed smile and nadine felt her heart melt. lexy took a quick look at her lips. damn it. 

“uhm... i think- we should go now, right? we’re already dressed and stuff, nice!” nadine said, trying to hide that she was feeling her cheeks getting hotter and hotter. 

nadine left her glasses on the other side of the desk. 

“can we just stay... for a few more minutes?”

the redhead felt like she would faint if she spent a few more minutes there. 

“sure.”

[…]

“sorry.” jake said as he cleaned the wound on devon's shoulder. 

“you say that a lot.”

devon was sitting on top of the table, facing jake who was dangerously close to his face for some reason. there were some emergency kits inside all the clubs at school in case of accidents. 

there were some blood-stained cotton wool scattered across the desk. 

jake took a bandage wrap and wrapped it on devon's shoulder, the boy making a face of slight discomfort. 

“seems too much for something that should be a graze.” jake said. 

devon just nodded, looking at jake.

it was kind of difficult to stay serious when in the same place as jake. 

“your hand.” jake noticed.  

devon had injured his hand a little, fucking police car. 

“it doesn't hurt that much.”

jake took devon's hand gently. the touch being a bit confusing for devon. 

“it might not hurt much, but there's still blood. and i don't want- we don't want killers surrounding you.” jake mentally curses himself for accidentally saying "i".

devon pretended not to notice, but a silly smile left his lips when he heard it.  

“yeah, right.”

jake took the bandage wrap and wrapped it around devon's palm, still holding it.

“looks nice, what do you think?”

“looks nice as well. good to know that you are self aware of your own work. too bad you don't dream of being a doctor. you'd shine.”

jake couldn't contain a smile. devon remembered the little details. he knew jake couldn't stand blood. 

devon realized that jake was still holding his hand, and devon was letting him. a feeling of sudden peace came over him for a moment.

it was a feeling that only jake could bring out in him, even after they broke up. even after months apart.

“what you said... was it true?”

jake looked at devon with awe. 

“what did i say?”

“that... we would still be together if it was for you. did you actually mean it?”

jake tried to let go of devon's hand, but devon kept it in place, jake turned his face away, biting his own cheeks. 

he swallowed, unsure of what he was going to say. 

“yeah... yeah i mean it.” jake nodded and looked at devon who was waiting for his words. “when i asked to break up with you, i felt like what i was doing wasn't right, and that i was just doing it out of fear of... stuff. but now i realize how much i affected myself, and how much i affected you too. and i’m sorry for getting blinded by jealousy whenever i see you with anyone who's not me. i think i just... can't help it.” he admits.

devon let go of jake's hands only to cup his face gently. 

“i noticed that... and i forgive you. and i'm sorry for being rude to you, for not wanting to accept the truth. cause... yeah, i made that decision, and i regret it. i made that decision to break up with you because of my mom because i was scared of her finding out and being terrified but…” devon paused, removing his hands from jake's face and placing his fingertips on his belt loop, pulling him close.

jake smirked, gently placing his hands on devon's shoulders, getting closer to him.

“i think she would be more terrified to know that i'm being chased by killers who are practically undead, so we all have bigger things to worry about now.”

“we sure do.” jake says, pulling devon into a kiss. 

[…]

“have you ever felt like your heart stops every time you get close to someone you like?” nadine started.

lexy looked at her a little confused. 

“feeling your heart stop is a bit worrying. it could be arrhythmia. are you feeling that right now?”

“no. i'm just asking.”

“well, yeah, sometimes.”

both were side by side at the desk. hands close to each other. 

lexy wasted no time and took nadine's hand. the redhead feeling her face heat up. 

“lexy…” nadine turned to face the girl. “what's happening to us?”

“well... if you believe what we searched, there are killers hunting us to get all of devon's pure blood.” lexy said, playing with nadine's fingertips. 

“i know that, i mean.. us. me and... you get it.”

“yeah, i got it.”

nadine intertwined her fingers with lexy's, holding firmly.

 “lexy-”

“before you say anything, i want to have the chance to tell you something that i've been saving for a long time. and it's only today, when i feel like we're going to get screwed by killers, i... want to tell you something. very important.” lexy said quickly, avoiding looking at the girl, still holding her hand. 

nadine blinked. she already had an idea of what it was about. 

“okay... go ahead, but uh- i wanted to tell you something too.”

“do you want to go first or- or can i go?”

“go on, no worries. take your time.” nadine replied. 

lexy took a deep breath. 

“so- you must have noticed how nervous i get and not knowing what to do around you. and i never had a best friend in my life, even though people say that mom's are supposed to be your best friends, but- mine's like an enemy. and you know this, and since you came into my life you have literally become the sun that i have been looking for for ages, and that is a weird thing to say, but we are alone here and now. and i feel like i should tell you how much being close to you made me realize i had feelings that i didn't even know existed, feelings that i didn't had with junior.” lexy was practically talking at speed 1.5x now. 

“uh- lexy, why won't u breathe a litt-”

“and i can't do it anymore! i can't keep this hidden from you, nads!” lexy replied, turning around and taking both of nadine's hands. 

“i- i feel my heart beat really fast when i'm close to you and i feel like i'm going to pass out every time you put your lipgloss on me and keep looking at my mouth to make sure it's looks ok. every time you hold my hand, accidentally or not, i feel like i'm going to die because all the blood in my body goes to my cheeks! just like now! so yeah, what i'm trying to say it's that i like you, nadine. i really like you, in a romantic way, that's it! just... don't hate me, or stop talking to me, please.” lexy finished talking, out of breath and with red cheeks. 

nadine was surprised, her cheeks were red too. 

“...i thought you liked boys...?”

“you made me realize that i can easily go both ways.”

nadine smiled and lexy laughed in relief. 

“you know, i avoided talking to you about this cause i always thought you would change the subject, and also cause i didn't know you also liked girls, but i felt like i'd pass out too every time you lay on my shoulder in class and fell asleep. or every time i see you in that cheerleader uniform that looks terrible on everyone but you look fucking beautiful wearing it. i like you too, lex. i would never stop talking to you, or hating you, i always thought it was you who would do this, to be honest-”

lexy quickly cupped nadine's face. 

“are you crazy? i'd never to this to you. and also, i think this is the first time i've felt this way about someone.”

“are you saying this because you really like me or because we're going through hell today?”

lexy smiled. 

“i really like you, nads.”

“i really like you too, lex.”

in a bold move, lexy gently cupped nadine's face in her hands and slowly approached her. they started a soft peck, not knowing if they should deepen it or not. 

“i’ve never… never kissed anyone before so…” nadine gulps. “i’m sorry if this is bad for you.” 

lexy felt nadine's hands going to the back of her neck, caressing it lightly, she smiled. 

“don't worry, i’ll guide you.” she says before kissing the redhead again. 

[…]

devon's back hit the wall hard, and he let out a groan as he pulled jake's hair and kissed him. his shoulder still burned a lot, but he wasn't going to miss the chance to make out with jake. 

the kiss stopped when jake heard the grunt and looked at devon. both panting. 

“was that... a good groan or a bad one?” jake asked, moving his hands to devon's waist. 

“...what do you mean a good one?” devon asks, looking at jake's lips.

“doesn't matter... do you uh- wanna stop?”

devon felt a troublesome smile appear on his own lips. 

“no fucking way.”

they kissed again, and devon felt like he was going to die right there. that... was really happening. they both felt that spending 2 months fighting and breaking up was leading this moment to something more "intense". 

devon broke the kiss, going straight to jake's neck and giving him kisses and even light bites while gently pulling his hair. the one with curls panted and closed his eyes, feeling his entire body heat up, still focusing on devon. 

when jake's fingers grabbed devon's waist with a little more strength and his other hand decided to reach the button on the boy's jeans, they both heard a bang. both looked at the window, confused. they saw a figure pass quickly. 

“the fuck was that…?” jake whispers.

they looked at each other again, that had definitely broken the mood. 

[…]

when everyone was clean and dressed, they decided to leave the rooms. 

and when nadine and lexy saw devon and jake leave the music room with their lips practically swollen, nadine laughed. 

“i see that the trip to pound town paid off, huh?” grant scoffed, receiving a disapproving and shameful look from devon. 

“it was just a few kisses, nothing too serious.” devon said. 

“didn't i told you so?” nadine said, looking at lexy, patting her shoulder lightly. 

“well... i never doubted.”

“well... in that case i see that everything seems to have worked out well between you, too.” jake replied, seeing that both girls had their lipgloss smudged. and arms wrapped around each other. 

nadine felt her cheeks turn red. was it that noticeable? 

“i mean, thank god that i won't have to receive texts from lexy balling at 2 in the morning saying how much she wants you.” devon said, pointing at nadine. 

“if that's so... thank god i won't have to listen to you crying next to me, while you were high as a kite saying how much you love jake.” lexy replied, convinced. 

jake couldn't hold a goofy smile appear on his lips. devon just held his arm, trying to hide how embarrassed he was that lexy had revealed that. 

[…]

they looked for buckets and mops to make the plan work. 

“it's simple. we set the bait, the killers go to the trap and boom. the chase ends and we go after what that bitch glenda left here.” lexy said. 

they agreed, thus making the plan begin. 

the boys' bathroom smelled like gasoline. 

“do you really want to do this?” jake asked uncertainly, holding devon's hand while holding his pocket knife in his other hand. 

“i don't think i have any other choice.” devon replied, giving jake an anxious look. “do it.”

and so, jake made a cut on the boy's hand, devon making an expression of pain and the blood falling and mixing in the water in the bucket. 

everyone grabbed their mops and dipped into the bucket, making trails from the hallways to the bathroom. 

devon had to hide in one of the bathroom stalls, he would get out through the window that faced the school hallway. 

jake looked at him with pity as devon entered the bathroom stall, putting away his pocket knife. 

“see you on the other side.” devon said before closing the door. 

jake left the bathroom with a screaming feeling of guilt even though he knew that the fault, this time, was not his. devon was alone in the bathroom now as bait. 

while everyone was making their way with mops, grant froze when he heard a voice he knew from afar. 

the three of them hoped it would work, holding fire extinguishers in their hands. grant ran towards them. 

“i- i heard glen! they're here. following the trail of blood, it's working!” grant exclaimed. 

“oliver, on the left.”

“countryside killer, getting closer.”

he ran past them, making jake take a deep breath when he heard the loud breathing. going straight into the bathroom. 

“lexy, if this doesn't work i'll kill you with my own hands!” jake threatened. 

soon, glen arrived singing, walking softly to the bathroom.  

“all set?” lexy asked, going to close the door. 

“wait!” nadine said, looking straight ahead. 

they looked ahead, seeing there, a completely injured junior with a scalpel in his hands, following the trail and entering the bathroom. 

jake looked at him, unsure. he knew that this was no longer his cousin. it was just another one that glenda had taken. 

“go.” 

lexy closed the door tightly, everyone running to the lockers, waiting for devon's signal. 

a thud was heard, it was devon coming out of the window. 

“go, go, go!”

jake lit the lighter and threw it under the door, seeing the fire take over the bathroom and the windows explode soon after.

everyone went to the bathroom afterwards, lexy swung the bathroom door open, coughing as the smoke and rotten smell took over her sense of smell, confident that the plan had worked. she nodded, so they could enter. 

they turned on the fire extinguisher, only white smoke taking over. it would be something "normal" if they were in the bathroom during the day, people vaping while skipping class. 

it wouldn't be possible to use it later. as the smell of smoke took over, the walls, the cabins all had a burnt and strong tone. 

they laughed, it had worked. or that's what nadine thought until she looked at the floor, black goo moving. 

lexy accidentally stepped on it and backed away. “what- is this?”

“their remains.”

nadine's happy tone died down when she realized that the goo was regenerating, as if forming a hand, trying to reach them.

“run!” lexy shouted, pulling her out of there as they fled to the library. 

the quintet ran, going to the library and closing it, lexy pushing a table against the door to serve as a barricade while they thought about what they were going to do next. 

“it didn't work.” the blonde said, against the door. 

everyone was breathing heavily.

“yeah, it didn't work because maybe it's not like in the movies, have you ever stopped to think about it?” grant said, a little breathless.

“they'll keep coming.”

nadine walked sideways, scared. “w-we're so fucked!” 

“no, we're not. he is.” grant said, looking at devon again. 

he wasn't entirely wrong. 

“everyone is coming for him, just put devon in the hallway and it all ends!” grant practically spat out the words, devon felt betrayed. 

“you're being heartless, grant.” jake said, in disbelief. 

“i'm not. i'm telling the truth, which you don't want to see! look at this,” grant shouted, grabbing up the book that was on the floor talking about the curse, going to jake with it open. “they are all dead! it's the only way, whether you want it or not.”

jake looked at devon, it couldn't end like this. 

“n-no! enough! we're gonna look for another way!" jake insisted, pushing the book away.

“the bullets didn't work, yeah, they're undead but we blew them up and it didn't work!” nadine shouted. 

“so you're suggesting his death?!”

lexy wasn't going to try to contradict this time. 

“think about it, jake. why do you think they're hunting devon? to give a hug? wake up dude! they're out for his blood! it's now or never!” grant yells again.

jake wanted to cry, scream, everything. but it just wouldn't come out and his throat burned. he wasn't going to let the love of his life die unjustly, not after they had reconciled. 

jake glanced around to see the other’s reaction to this, but both lexy and nadine looked away, avoiding jake's stare. 

he looked at devon, who played with his own hands, shaking, looking at the two of them fighting, he looked ready to end it. 

devon sighed and nodded. “grant is right. it's now or never.”

jake ran to devon. he wouldn't let him do that. 

“a-are you out of your mind?” jake asked, feeling devon bring the palm of his hands to the boy's cheeks, his hand bandaged. “you don't have to do this, we- we can find another way i-”

jake tried to ignore the noise of lexy dragging the table away from the door. their foreheads touching, jake could feel a second of peace in that. 

“you'll be fine.” devon said assuredly, walking away when he saw tears start to form in jake's eyes, seeing lexy open the door. he was going. 

jake wouldn't be fine.

he tried to run, shouting devon's name, feeling grant holding him back so he wouldn't go. lexy closed the door, instantly regretting having "agreed" to that.

she would never agree to that, but it was the only way and she didn't want to die, again. 

devon was in the hallway. ready to die. his breathing was shaky, smelling the pure fear seeing the school empty. 

nadine took a deep breath, scratching her own head while jake's crying was the only thing that could be heard there. 

she went to where the book was thrown, patiently looking at all those who had died. 

the boy clenched his fist when he heard and saw the countryside killer breathing, noticing that devon was there, standing still, just waiting. 

he shook even more when his breathing became heavier, his heart beating faster when he saw the hands hold the axe, starting to run until he reached the end of the corridor where devon was. 

nadine caught her eye on an important clue. 

“there's another way.” nadine whispered. "there's another way!" 

grant seemed surprised, letting go of crying jake he was holding and running towards nadine. 

“which- which is it?” he asks, sobbing.

she pointed to the paper. it was right there. 

“BABYSITTER GOES CRAZY AND DESTROYS FAMILY.” written down there, there was something.

“survivor says she "saw" evil with her own eyes.” 

“well, if there's a way, can i pull devon back in here? it hurts my heart to have to see him-” before lexy could complete, jake went to her, opening the door with all his might. 

devon screamed as he was pulled inside, confused. since literally a second ago he was on death row, speaking of which... 

jake closed the door and as if on cue, the axe hit the door hard, making a terrible noise. 

lexy and grant pushed the table against the door again, this time lexy went to look for more things to support the door. 

“what- what is going on?” devon asked. 

“you're not doing this alone.” 

as the incessant thud of the axe smashed through the door, nadine brought the book over to him. 

“m. pierce, she's the key.”

“i feel like i've seen that name before.”

“that crazy lady who was in the news after they said she was the one who got away of the pierce's house? yes, we've seen that name before!” lexy said, holding the door. 

“she saw glenda, right?” jake said, devon nodding quickly. “like you, so if she saw it and survived-”

“i can survive too.” 

“we gotta look for her number.”

nadine and ran to look at some news papers that were nearby. lexy fought against countryside killer who was trying to break down the door. 

“199 beech, ST. it has to be her!” nadine shouted. 

jake ran to the phone on the wall, quickly dialing the numbers. the door could break at any moment. 

“i need some help here!” lexy screamed, after seeing the hole that was forming in the door due to the axes. 

“c'mon... no one's answering!”

“hi, pierce's household.” the voice on the phone rang out. 

“hey i-”

“i'm not at home right now. but if it's really important you can leave a message after the beep.”

“hi! my name's jake wheeler, i-i think you saw glenda and we need to know how you survived!”

“fuck! this won't hold!” lexy cursed, having to push more stuff against the door, nadine having to hold the door. 

“look, please, if you see this, answer us, we need help, okay? we're under attack!” devon said on the phone, talking after jake. 

“please pick up! please!” 

“to leave another message, press-”

“shit!” jake slammed the phone against the wall. 

the killer had managed to open the hole in the door, holding lexy's hair and pulling hard, hitting the door. 

“FUCK! HELP ME!” lexy screamed, trying to free herself from the hold. 

“lexy!” nadine screamed, trying to pull the psycho's hand that was holding her. grant going too. 

jake was going to help until he heard devon. 

“she... died.” he says in a whisper. 

“what? no, she's- she's alive.”

“yeah, she's alive but first she died.”

the sound of lexy's head hitting the door became even louder. 

“m. pierce's heart stopped, but a family member performed CPR. bringing her back to life.”

“what if- if that's it?” devon asks, looking hopefully at jake.

“she survived the killers but her heart stopped, she had to die and come back to life.”

“that's it.” devon agreed. 

“like grant said, the killers want your blood. then we kill you and- and like this so-called nica pierce, we'll bring you back.”

devon really had to die. 

“what are you talking about, jake?” nadine complained.

“yeah, fuck it. i'm going to die today anyway.”

lexy had managed to escape the hold, with grant attacking the killer's hand with a pen that was thrown on the floor, piercing it. 

“are you OK?” nadine asked, holding lexy, both away from the door, on the floor.

“just... dizzy.”

jake looked at lexy and nadine, a little apprehensive about the idea. 

“let's go! let's do the same thing to devon that happened to me 4 months ago!” lexy said excitedly, looking like she hadn't almost had her hair ripped out like seconds ago. 

Chapter Text

the sound of tires stopping and the ambulance parking alerted everyone who had arrived at the location jake had suggested. it was a market, jake had to work there for a while to get some extra money after his father died. it was lucky he hadn't thrown the keys away. 

there was a moment when lexy was in such withdrawal that he had to ask jake to hide all the pills on his cashier register at the market, and surprisingly they were still there.

“right, okay…” lexy said, approaching the counter with some pills. no one could identify what they were. she threw them there.

“four months ago, nadine and devon had the unfortunate experience of finding me in the middle of an overdose in my room, as i had used so many things. but…” she took some things that looked like a pen. “these things here brought me back.”

"wait- what are those?" devon asked.

“this here, my dear devon, are EpiPens. better known as epinephrine, you're back in seconds, that's literally god! i died for like two minutes and then came back. but when i came back i threw up everything i had on my body, so you better get ready.” lexy warned him. 

“how- how are the pills going to work?”

lexy carefully separated the piles into groups. maybe in another life or in this one she could do well as a pharmacist or drug dealer. who knows. 

“pile 1 you'll take and you'll relax, you might even fall asleep a little and your blood pressure might drop, but don't sleep, ok?” 

“okay.”

“pile 2 and 3 you gonna have to take in a break of... 5 minutes? yeah, that's right. and you'll be completely passed out but don't worry, pile 4 will knock you down. and you might even meet jesus for a few minutes.” 

jake pursed his lips. 

the plan was: everyone would mark themselves with devon's blood and attract the killers so devon could die in peace. devon wasn't so sure that it would work, but he was going to try anyway. 

after passing his bloody hand forming an X on lexy's chest, he sighed.

“you know you don't need to do that, lex.”

“remember when you were the one who called 911 and practically saved my life? i owe you this one.” lexy said, placing her hands on devon's shoulders, comforting him. 

“and... i don't know if we would have gotten here without you. you were like- the mastermind of it all.” nadine added.

jake just watched.

“to be honest... i'm sorry for like- almost pushing you into death's alley. that wasn't a good way to thank you for being the only person who treated me well when i first got at school.” grant said. 

devon smiled, feeling a little guilty. 

“thank you for... doing this for me, really…”

“have a good death, dev.” lexy replied, hugging him tightly. 

[…]

the plan was already in action. lexy and nadine were in the sweets section, grant was in the drinks section trying out which ones would be good for him to get drunk. 

and jake and devon were in the middle of the market. with a super anxious and nervous devon about the plan. both sitting on the floor with some bottles of water. 

jake organized the pills the way lexy showed him. 

“jake.” devon called, no response. “jake.”

“hi- what- what is it?” jake asked, his entire focus going to the boy now. 

“...what if we fuck up and i just- die? what if- what if i don't come back?” devon asked, feeling tears form in his eyes. 

death could be a frightening thing for some people and peaceful for others. 

jake took the pills in his hand. 

“the day you left me, i- i spent the whole night crying. cause all i could think about was a fucked up job, with heavy shifts and bottles of whiskey all over the fridge and all over the house, just like my father. but today- i- i feel like i have a chance with you, again.” the boy felt tears form in his eyes when he saw devon start to cry. jake held his hand firmly.

“and even though we are having to face hell now, i can't compare it to the day my heart was broken into pieces. it was pure hell. i already lost you once, and i swear, i will not lose you again. i can't let that happen. and- and i know i made you many promises that i couldn't keep, but now it's true. when this is all over, i-i'm going to take you on a date, and we're going to marathon trashy horror movies and eat junk food and make out and have the best night of our lives. i promise.” jake gave a slight smile when he saw devon give a weak laugh. 

“i don't think i'd like to watch trashy horror movies so early.”

they laughed. 

“we'll figure this out together, okay? but right now, you need to die.”

devon wiped away his own tears and nodded. seeing jake hand over the pills and bottle of water. he swallowed all those pills, grimacing afterwards. jake pulled him in for a kiss. 

[…]

lexy felt a slight discomfort being in the snack section now. it felt like the same feeling as going shopping with her mother and ending up fighting in the middle of them. but that discomfort was bigger. she was being a bait. 

she sighed deeply, seeing a bag of doritos nearby. she heard someone pass by and held tight to a deodorant she had picked up when she passed by the sanitary products section. along with a lighter. 

nadine realized the plan was working when she heard the sound of glass breaking. someone else was inside the market. shit. 

[…]

devon's wounds began to bleed again. 

“go... go.. go…” jake said to himself as he waited for the 5 minutes for pile two to hit, looking at his watch. 

devon had started breathing loudly and felt his blood pressure drop, feeling sleepy. jake noticed.

“hey, hey, hey, don't you sleep now. okay?” jake said, cupping devon's face with both hands trying to keep the boy awake. 

devon just nodded, eyes slightly closed, trying to identify what was behind jake. 

“jake-”

he pulled jake's shirt, the one with the curls not knowing what he wanted.

jake was paying attention to his watch, with one minute left before the right break. 

“jake look-”

he paid attention now. 

“b-behind you!” devon blurted out the words. 

jake turned around, screaming when he saw oliver running after him. almost reaching him. lexy managed to attack him, lighting the lighter and deodorant, setting him on fire. 

“go! run!” lexy shouted. 

jake took the pills and injections, taking devon's hand, both of them running away. the boy put his arm around devon's waist, trying to find somewhere that wouldn't be in the killers' sights. 

“i need... to die. i need to die…” devon mumbled incoherently.

“i-i'm gonna help you, okay? i just need to think-”

jake saw the cashier register and decided that they should both stay down there. it wasn't a place that would be useful to hide him, but it would do the trick. 

[…]

oliver was after lexy now, furious. the girl hid behind a candy shelf, panting. 

she looked to the side, seeing if it was okay to go, clear. she crawled carefully to get to the freezer. 

when she was about to reach it, her hair was pulled back hard. she growled. she was unable to react when the knife hit her stomach, giving a painful scream. she screamed even more when she felt the knife rotate and go deeper into her stomach. 

oliver thrust the knife into the girl once more, with more force, tearing her, hearing her yell in pain and struggle as she tried to break free.

the girl managed to pull him to the ground, grabbing his knife and stumbling a little sideways. she grunted and whimpered, stumbling across the shelves. her blood making a trail along the path she passed. 

lexy hid near the freezer and pulled the knife out of her stomach, having to hold back a groan. 

the girl took a deep breath, hearing a distressing scream coming from the other side of the market. she knew who it was. 

“...nadine.”

[…]

the axe had hit her calf and nadine had screamed as the blade tore through her skin.

nadine limped from side to side trying to throw the heavy things at the killer. he was chasing her with an axe, which had hit her in the leg. she tripped over practically everything she saw. 

he knocked her to the ground, the girl grunting as she hit the ground hard, her glasses breaking. turning around, her feet making a slippery noise as she tried to get up, her blood on the floor. 

“no!” she screamed when she saw that the axe was going to hit her, managing to dodge it. the axe getting stuck in the floor. 

nadine dragged herself across the floor, trying somehow to get up. her leg wasn't helping, and the floor only became more and more slippery. 

her glasses were broken and she couldn't figure out where to go. she forced herself to get up, whimpering as she felt her leg spurt blood, running away to find a place to hide.

she heard lexy's screams echoing through the market and felt horrible for not being able to help her at that moment.  

[…]

grant ran desperately down the hallway, running away from glen who was chasing him, singing. he had already thrown about four bottles in glen's face trying to defend himself.

but the redhead just wouldn't give up. they threw the blade in the way grant was following, hitting the boy hard in the back. 

grant grunted when he felt the razor in his back, falling to the ground. 

glen reached him quickly, pulling the blade from his back, getting on top and flipping him over. 

jake helped devon take pile 3, it was a lot for one person. 

“swallow- it- please- swallow.” jake said, cupping the boy's cheeks as he gave him more and more pills. 

devon choked, coughing a few but still managing to swallow.

they were both so focused on making devon die that they didn't even notice when someone approached. jake's eyes widened when he saw junior, all bloody and fucked up wiith a scalpel in his hand, looking at them, breathing hard.

“junior?”

jake couldn't defend himself when junior pulled him out of the cashier register. he saw junior get on top of him and he struggled.

junior made a cut on his cheek, making jake grunt. as they both fought, devon felt his breathing become weaker and his vision blur. 

pile 4 was on the floor. that was all it needed for all this to end. 

jake was trying to take the scalpel away from junior, who was trying to get off him and get to devon. 

but jake wouldn't let him, he pulled the boy so he could get angry and focus only on him, not on devon. who was practically convulsing on the ground now.

jake grunted as he felt the scalpel make a slight cut on his face, having to turn around to prevent junior from hitting him even more. 

junior's strength wasn't normal. the one with curls realized this much later when he threw junior's scalpel away. feeling hands as cold as snow reach his throat. 

jake coughed, trying to fight, failing miserably. junior squeezed his throat tightly, making him quickly run out of air. 

he didn't realize it but the killers were getting closer and closer. when he heard the sound of heavy boots and heavy breathing coming closer, his eyes widened. he was going to kill devon. 

jake hit junior, harder than usual, coughing as junior squeezed his throat harder and harder. he heard devon choke, looked to the side and saw white foam come out of the boy's mouth. 

he was almost dying. 

devon felt his entire body convulse involuntarily while all he could hear was his heartbeat increasing, as if his heart was going to leave his body. 

jake looked to one side of the market, seeing that lexy was fighting with oliver, while nadine was running to try to outrun the countryside killer. 

grant was gasping, heading in the opposite direction as the one with the axe. what the hell was he trying to do? this all seemed to happen in slow motion. 

that would be the end. of them all.

devon felt his breathing become shallow. he closed his eyes, accepting his fate.

nadine shouted, backing off. jake wasn't sure what had happened, but grant was heading towards the ground as he saw the axe hit grant in the face. 

jake blinked. the grip left him breathless, while he saw the axe hit grant's chest, making a horrible noise. the scream was desperate. 

the axe hitting his chest again hard as his back hit the ground, hitting his heart. 

devon saw it all again. the blood, the bonfire lighting, glenda screaming, and finally.

“IT'S YOU!”

the lights flickered. all jake felt was something blowing on his face. the tightness in his throat stopped. junior was no longer there. 

lexy looked confused with blood all over her face, and nadine watched grant hardly breathing, covered in blood on the floor.  

jake realized.

devon's heart had stopped beating.  

Chapter Text

it worked. the killers were no longer there. jake had to catch his breath to crawl to devon. he gently pulled the boy's face.

“dev...?”

no pulse. 

jake held the boy, taking tissues and cleaning devon's mouth.

he held the boy, stroking his face a little awkwardly as he watched lexy wipe her own face, trying to get up and slipping, grunting and nadine crawled to help her get up. 

he tried to process everything that was happening while his heart beat fast when he saw that devon was dead in front of him. 

devon was dead. god, devon was dead. 

before jake could start hyperventilating in despair he remembered that devon would be back.

the EpiPens. 

“lexy! nadine! come help me! the pens!” jake shouted. 

“lex, lex, stay awake, okay? i'm here.” nadine said as she approached lexy, stroking the girl's hair who was breathing heavily. 

“fuck, everything hurts.” lexy complained, panting. 

“i know, i know, come here.” she says, holding the girl carefully, helping her to get up. 

lexy groaned in pain as she stood up, feeling nadine run her hand over her waist, avoiding her injuries. 

jake saw grant dead on the floor. fuck. there wasn't much to do.

the same grant that jake hated from the first moment he saw him, had literally sacrificed himself for his boyfriend's life.  

the same one that argued a few hours ago was dead. 

he saw nadine arrive, her hands full of EpiPens dropping on the floor, jake placed devon's head carefully on the floor, before taking one of them in his hand. lexy grunted in pain as she sat down on the floor. 

jake uncapped the first pen, pulling down devon's shirt a little to get a better view of his chest. 

he pulled one of the pens on devon's chest, then another. getting worried looks from nadine and lexy. 

“i-i don't know if i'm doing it right…” the boy said, pulling another one, blood dripping from his face. 

“t-try another one!” lexy answered, struggling as she held the clothes to her wound. 

he tried, and tried. 

“it's not working.” nadine's voice trailed off, feeling tears begin to flow. 

jake denied, trying one more time. no answer.

“...grant is dead.”

“not devon.” jake shook his head. “please, i won't let you do this.”

jake pushed both his hands onto devon's chest, starting to perform CPR. he blew into devon's mouth and continued pushing.

“c'mon, one, two, three…” jake said softly, continuing. 

lexy had to pull up her own shirt to hide her face, which was starting to turn red from how much she was holding back tears. nadine didn't want to see, looking at the floor, sobbing. 

jake wasn't going to give up. he had promised. 

“one, two, three…”

devon couldn't leave him, not after they had finally gotten back together. jake wasn't going to lose the love of his life because of a dark curse. 

jake wouldn't lose devon again.

“jake.” lexy warned him, nadine looked at her. 

he didn't care.

“jake, stop! he's gonna-” before lexy could finish, devon started coughing, white foam coming out of his mouth, sitting up quickly and puking on the side. 

“...throw up.”

devon felt a little dizzy after that and fell back, this time into jake's arms. who welcomed him without thinking twice. 

what a fucking miracle.

“i-it's over, okay?” jake said, kissing devon's forehead as the boy snuggled closer to him, panting and shaking. “it's over.” jake said again, holding the boy tightly. 

[…]

lexy had woken up in a hospital room, a little dizzy from the medication. she remembered what had happened, and probably passed out on the way after they left the market. 

“lex, come on, i'll hold you.” nadine said, lifting the girl.

“we have to get out of here.”

they had to move away from grant's body, which was on the ground. they left the market and jake didn't lock it, because he knew the police would show up there later. 

“lexy?” nadine asked, seeing that the girl was weak. 

the blonde's vision was blurred, and she felt like she was going to faint. 

"i think... i-i'm gonna…”

“lex!”

then, she blacked out and woke up in the hospital. she analyzed the environment, seeing that her mother and sister were there. 

“alexandra!” michelle said, approaching the bed and holding her daughter's hand, who pulled her mom's hand away. 

“it's lexy, just lexy, mom.”

“right, lexy.” the woman kept her hand to herself. “i was so worried... where have you been? there's a killer on the loose! and our house was attacked and your sister was alone!” 

lexy didn't feel like listening to her mother throw all the blame on her like always. not after she almost died. 

“mom... it's not her fault. and i was fine, nothing happened.” caroline said, trying to defend her sister. 

michelle sighed. “but it could have happened because of your irresponsibility, alexandra.”

“my irresponsibility? well, i'm not the one who lets a killer cause horror for the city, your city, your responsibility.” lexy replied, firmly, trying to sit up in bed but feeling a lot of pain. “fuck!”

michelle helped the girl lie down again. lexy refused her help. 

“let's not argue now, i want you to rest. you had 12 stitches, i hope when it heals, you're still pretty enough to continue being a cheerleader.”

unbelievable. 

“i... where are my friends? where is nadine? is she ok?”  the girl asked, lying down again. 

“you won't receive visitors for now, you need to rest. i denied all visits until you recovered.”

“what? you denied my friends from visiting me without my permission?! i want nadine here now! i need- need to know if she's okay!” lexy got exalted.

“no sudden movements! it will tear your stitches!” michelle warned. sighing deeply. “i... i'll try to see if i can find her. and see if she's awake.” she knew the girl wouldn't relax until the redhead was there with her. 

lexy thanked her, staying in the room with her sister.  

“it hurt a lot?” caroline asked. 

“yeah... it hurt, but with time it will heal.” 

“i heard some noises and screams coming from outside and i was scared to leave my room. and i called mommy, sorry she blamed you.” 

lexy smiled weakly. 

“it's okay, it's becoming a habit. you... you were right not to leave the room, it would be dangerous. i'm so proud of your courage.”

caroline smiled too, taking lexy's hand. 

“was the bogeyman there?”

lexy laughed at the girl's innocence. 

“yeah, he was.”

“and did you face him? that's so brave of you, lex!” 

they laughed and talked until michelle appeared in the room. 

“luckily for you, she was awake.”

lexy's eyes lit up when she saw nadine, there by her mother's side, safe. she was fine, with her leg bandaged, but still happy to see the blonde. 

“nadine!”

the redhead walked and limped to lexy's bed, seeing the blonde pull her into a tight hug. caroline walked away and nadine almost fell onto lexy's bed, but still hugged her tightly. 

when they separated from the hug, lexy wanted to pull her in for a kiss but held back, remembering that her sister and mother were still there. she just held nadine's arm, smiling. 

“i can't believe the first thing you ask when you wake up is if i'm okay, lex.”

“i... have my priorities.” lexy said and nadine felt her cheeks heat up. 

caroline went to her mom.

“i think lexy would like some alone time with nadine, come on, come on.” the girl said practically pushing her mother out of the room. 

lexy smiled proudly, and glanced at nadine. she quickly pulled the girl in for a kiss. 

“calm down, otherwise i'll fall on top of you.” nadine said after breaking away from the kiss, sitting on the chair next to the girl's bed. 

“it wouldn't be a bad thing.”

“i never said it would.”

nadine laughed stupidly. lexy decided to change the subject. 

“who... who brought me here?”

“well, you passed out because you lost a lot of blood and jake had to drive. we almost crashed, but that's not really important.”

“oh, and devon says i'm a bad driver.”

“we all are.” nadine jokes.

“are they ok?”

“i think so. jake has been glued to devon since we got here at the hospital, i think they fell asleep at this point.”

“clingy lovebirds.”

“they sure are.”

lexy noticed that her hospital clothes had some black blood on them. 

“the doctors... didn't ask anything about the black blood, right?”

“i tried to deceive them by saying it was oil but they worried even more, i hope they don't do any tests or anything like that.”

“i hope not.”

the two stood there, hand in hand, in complete silence. It was good to be like that sometimes but lexy still wanted to clarify things with nadine. 

“you know... that i didn't just make out with you for the heat of the moment, right?” lexy said, looking into the girl's eyes. 

“i know…”

“i... i wanna- argh, forget.”

“what?”

“it's... stupid.” lexy replied, turning her gaze and feeling her cheeks burn, still holding nadine's hand tightly. 

“since you started... i want to know. tell me, please, no matter how stupid it is.”

lexy sighed deeply. 

“since... we survived all this shit and thought it would be our last day alive i- i wanted to know if…” the girl felt her cheeks burn even more, she wouldn't be able to complete it. even more so with nadine's curious look. 

“i...i don't know if what you're trying to ask is what i'm thinking…” nadine said, embarrassed, she could understand what lexy wanted. 

lexy turned her face, looking at nadine, she sat down on the bed with difficulty, with a little pain.

“don't keep moving too much you might-”

“do you wanna be my girlfriend?!” lexy spat out the words quickly, her voice cracking a little. 

nadine felt her whole body heat up. no one had ever asked her to be her girlfriend before. lexy saw her stay quiet, eyes wide, already accepting the rejection. 

i just ruined my friendship with my only best friend. nice, lexy. she thought. 

lexy quickly let go of nadine's hand. 

“...i'm sorry i shouldn't have-”

“i do!” nadine exclaimed, to lexy's surprise. 

“you- you're not joking?”

“...are you?”

“why would i joke about my feelings?”

“well... it's because no one has ever asked me to be their girlfriend before... so i-i thought you were joking.” nadine admits. 

“i'm not…”

lexy grabbed nadine's face, pulling her close. 

“then…” lexy tried to say the right words. “do you want to be my girlfriend? like, for real?”

“yeah. i-i do want to be your girlfriend, for real.”

the two looked at each other, their cheeks burning. this time, nadine pulled lexy in for a kiss again. 

they kissed until nadine noticed that lexy was panting. breaking the kiss and pulling away. 

“are you okay?”

“yeah…”

they both smiled and laughed, like two children who had just bought their favorite toy. 

“so... it's official. we're girlfriends.”

lexy nodded happily. 

“we are.”

nadine smiled and closed her eyes. 

“i swear, when you recover we'll kiss until we both run out of air.”

[…]

jake had read about some of the consequences of bringing someone back from the dead and he seemed desperate now.

devon had passed out halfway to the hospital and jake couldn't sit still by devon's bedside in his room.

he knew that devon hadn't said anything since he got back and that was probably due to the shock he had gone through.

still, jake would wait for him. 

he saw devon moving on the bed and stared at him, not knowing what to do.

“jake?”

“dev.” jake quickly took the boy’s hand, smiling. “how… how are you feeling?” 

devon was still so cold. 

“confused.”

“are you in any pain?” 

“my throat is burning like hell but i guess that's what happens after you throw up everything you have to throw up.” he scoffs, hearing jake chuckle. “how are you feeling?”

“before you woke up i was worried, very worried. but since you woke up i think the worry has gone away. so i’ll say i'm... glad you're awake.” 

“you surprised me, i didn't know you took CPR classes at school seriously.” devon jokes.

“well, we never know when we'll need it.” jake says, kissing devon's hand. “i'm glad you're back.”

“i'm glad too.” devon says, trying to let his body rest. “what about all this glenda shit? what are we going to do about it?” 

jake sighed deeply, resting his head on the back of his chair. “it’s over. i don’t think there’s much to do. we can't tell this to anyone.”

they are silent for a few seconds.

“but then grant died… for nothing?”

jake avoided eye contact. 

“well… yeah. so sorry for him.” 

“we weren’t that close. he was new at school and needed someone to guide him around.” devon admits.

maybe jake's whole paranoia about grant was wrong and grant was just a kid trying to fit in. damn. 

jake swallowed hard.

“yeah. well, even though grant is dead… we ended the curse. you’re alive.” jake says, looking at the boy. “and know that this time i won’t let you leave my side.” 

devon smiled.

“you promise?”

“i promise.”

they kiss and then laugh.

[...]

all of them were released from the hospital 3 days later. 

“today is march 18th, report with jacob wheeler.” detective evans voice sounded in the room as she adjusted the recorder. she looked worried. “what do you have to say about the attack at the market?”

“uh... we were being chased through the city and thought it would be a good idea to enter the market. we stayed there until it was all over.” jake replied firmly, not knowing if she would believe him. 

“and that... cut on your cheek?”

“i ended up falling near the drinks session.”

the detective bit her cheek in response. the same answer from all three. 

“it looks like you came back from the dead.” kim said, looking at her son who looked pale. 

devon swallowed, avoiding her gaze. “it's shock, i guess.”

“they said you had serious cuts on your stomach, almost the same as junior wheeler. kind of weird, right?”

“...yeah.” lexy replied, looking away. 

“you had to have 8 stitches in your calf.”

“...bottles of alcoholic beverages can cause a lot of damage in the wrong hands." nadine replied, intelligently. 

“how do you explain the fact that i saw you and my son in the police car, that the alarm went off afterwards?” she crossed her arms.

“well... uhm…”

“we had to go back to school to get something in a hurry, no big deal. there was no danger there.” 

she shook her head in response. “i'll tell you what the facts tell me. the junkie, grant collins-”

“junkie?”

“he was cool.”

“he smoked weed.”

“well, it's 2018, who doesn't smoke weed?” devon asked, making kim give him a suspicious look. “no- it's not implying that i do, of course.” 

“he didn't seem to have a drug problem.”

“...he was a little out of his mind but he didn't seem like someone who would do all that.”

she sighed. 

“what the facts tell me is that grant decided to murder 3 more people and invade properties, causing havoc throughout hackensack. he'll be to blame until you help me see the story differently.”

devon thought for a while. he knew that if he told glenda's story, his mother wouldn't buy it. she was smart.

he sighed, placing his hands on the table. 

“a 17-year-old boy who recently moved and was excited to start his sophomore year at hackensack high school didn't have a happy ending. another unexplained hackensack tragedy. fits the narrative, right?”  

kim scratched her head a little. 

“do you really want him to go down for this?”

devon had to look away. 

“no. but he's dead, and there's nothing i can do about it.” 

jake was anxious to get out of there soon. he waited for devon to walk out of kim's door, being the last to witness the events. 

nadine and lexy were already leaning their heads against each other non-stop, laughing at the electricity that made their hair stand on end.

as soon as devon opened the door and left, jake stood up, along with nadine and lexy. 

“so… let’s go?”

“um… i’ll have to stay here until my mom finishes her shift, she doesn’t want me home alone.” 

kim appears behind devon.

“oh, right. uh… we were waiting for you to go.”

“you can go without me, maybe another time.”

 jake swallows hard.

“what about… our date?” jake whispers. 

“can we schedule another day, no?”

jake scratches his hair.

“okay, i guess.” 

devon just smirks. 

“i'm just joking, she'll finish her shift at 5pm so…” devon says approaching, cupping jake's face. “see you tonight.” 

before jake could say anything, devon kissed him, leaving him not knowing what to do, just kissing him back. they break the kiss a few seconds later. 

“yeah. see you tonight.”

kim didn't seem at all surprised to see the two of them, lexy pushed nadine's shoulder lightly and smiled. 

jake smiled. he wasn't going to get a good relationship with his boyfriend's mom right away because of the shit he had done in the past, but her accepting them was already a step forward. a huge step.

[…]

“with more deaths in hackensack, citizens worry about safety. the killer, identified as grant collins, is missing and the authorities are searching for the body at any cost.”

“but well, what can you say about the deaths and safety?”

“there were 2 deaths in the Hackensack ICU…” the TV turned on downstairs echoed throughout the living room. 

upstairs, jake was a little embarrassed. he was trying to find the right words to tell devon what he wanted. 

“i... i wanted…” jake picked up the box that had a note stuck to it. “i wanted to give you this the other day…” 

“oh?”

“but like... you don't need to open it now, only if you want to.” jake says, scratching his hair. 

devon took the box, reading the note. 

dear devon, i wanted

dear devon, go fu

dear devon, i want you to know that i still love you, and that i'll always love you. 

devon smiled. 

“writing seems to be your strong point.” 

and there they were, in jake's room while they were cuddling listening to music, with binxie lying at the end of the bed. 

he remembered that devon wouldn't want to watch horror movies or anything related to that for a long time, so listening to music was a good choice. 

jake remembered some snacks that were in the kitchen cupboard, not wanting to get out of bed, that was comfortable. 

"do you want me to go get the snacks now or later?" 

“now. i thought you had forgotten.” devon replied, cupping jake's cheeks playfully.

jake just smiled, giving up on staying. he freed himself from devon's cuddles, heading to the door. 

he opened it, the handle falling out and making a loud noise. 

“yeah, who needs a door handle, anyway?” jake said to himself, seeing the door handle on the floor and hearing devon laugh softly. 

he went downstairs, heading to the kitchen. only the noise of the TV echoed through the room. 

when jake went into the kitchen, he heard the landline ring. 

he answered and walked to the kitchen. 

“wheeler's household, how can i help?” jake asked, holding the landline and leaning against the counter. all he could hear was heavy breathing on the other line of the phone. “helloo?”

he sighed, rolling his eyes realizing it was a prank. “look here, asshole, don't call here anymore and-”

“you're still alive.”

jake held the landline a little tighter, straightening his posture. 

“...who's this?”

“you called me. you wanted to know how i got out of that house alive.”

m. pierce. 

“well… i don’t need it anymore. we're over with the killers, but thanks for the quick response.”

“have you seen the house? did you see the wall? did you see them? it's not over yet.”

devon, in the room, was with binx but heard someone calling his name. 

“jake...?” the boy called, looking around the room. 

“you're not safe, they'll come after you.”

“...who?”

their breathing becomes heavy once again. 

“glenda.”

near the wall, someone was kneeling, with their arms raised as if they were praying, speaking in whispers. 

“even if the killers have stopped, they won't stop, they will never stop until they find you.”

on the wall, a new name had been written on. 

jake felt his hands shaking as he listened. 

“...how do i stop this?”

DEVON EVANS

"there is no way to stop this."

footsteps were heard behind jake and the boy froze, turning around and giving a relieved sigh along with a smile when he saw devon there. 

“dev.” 

devon didn't answer, or smile. he just stood there, standing there with a blank expression on his face. 

jake felt uncomfortable, feeling a twinge right in the middle of his belly. he looked down, and there it was. devon had stabbed him with the door handle. 

jake looked up, seeing devon with the same expression, plunging the handle deeper and twisting it. jake's knees went weak and he fell to the ground, knocking down the landline, the calling ending. 

lexy drove to jake's house, since they had invited her and nadine for an impromptu double date.

she called jake again, with no answer. jake's phone vibrated non-stop in the room. 

downstairs, only a noise of thuds and grunts could be heard. 

“devon! stop! it's me! it's me!” jake pleaded incoherently as he tried to free himself from the grip that devon's hands had on his throat. 

the two were fighting on the kitchen floor, which would probably get stained with all that jake's blood that was smeared on the floor. 

devon climbed on top of jake, grabbing the handle with shaking hands, grunting. 

the sound of a bell was also heard. 

lexy knocked on the door non-stop. 

she kept knocking on the door, thinking about leaving until jake answered, opening the door. he didn't look well at all. nadine frowned. 

“what the hell happened to you?” 

jake had blood all over his hands, a stain on his shirt. 

they entered the house, seeing the trail of blood on the floor. hearing some loud grunts and thuds coming from the kitchen. 

jake guided them, lexy and nadine were afraid of what would come next. 

the kitchen floor was covered in blood, and devon was tied to the floor with landline wire, struggling and grunting. the handle on the floor, bloody. 

that wasn't the devon they knew. 

“what the hell…”

“oh, fuck.”

“devon isn't feeling himself…” jake knelt down, going over to the boy who was grunting angrily. 

nadine has to hide behind lexy when she sees devon struggling and jake panting. shit, glenda took him.

“i'm gonna bring you back. i promise.”

they were more fucked than ever now.