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Chapter Text

Randy was running on four hours of sleep this morning and the coffee was barely helping. He got to his first nine a.m class forty-five minutes late in the middle of his professor’s speech. He was rambling about David Lynch’s works, specifically Twin Peaks and the tragedy of Laura Palmer haunting the narrative. Randy kept his head low as he shuffled to his seat as if that would keep Mr. Borland from seeing him. But as he rummaged through his bag for a pen and notebook, he could feel Mr. Borland’s eyes burning into his skull. The streak of sunlight that spilled through the window next to him was making his headache worse so he leaned back in his chair.

“Nice shades,” a voice said to his right. Cici Cooper was staring at Randy with an amused smile. He couldn’t tell if she was making fun of him. Under the harsh fluorescent lighting of the classroom, her teeth looked too bright and her head too big. He looked away. He wondered if she could see the dark circles behind his shades.

“You sorority chicks know how to throw a good party.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You left early.”

Randy turned to her fully. “Oh, did you miss me?” he flashed her a sly smile. She rolled her eyes and leaned back to her seat.

“Randy,” Mr. Borland said, jolting his attention to the chalkboard. “Would you mind explaining to the class the significance of Josie turning into a knob?”

Randy sat up a little straighter, fixing the shades on the bridge of his nose. “Well, to this day, that still remains a mystery, much like Lynch’s Lynchian mind. Much like the question of whether the character Bob is real or a representation of men’s misogynoir, perverted minds that affect the Laura Palmers of the world.”

There was a small cough at the back of the class and some scoffed chatter from the guys. For once, he hadn’t said something funny. Mr. Borland’s mouth was agape as he stared at Randy, possibly not expecting this answer from him.

“You really think Bob isn’t real?” Mickey asked. He was friends with Sidney but Randy wasn’t too crazy about him. Thought his face was too smug.

“Sure. I mean, it’s obvious. Just like Josie didn’t actually turn into a knob.” Randy looked around the room. “It’s all a metaphor.”

“A metaphor for what?” Someone asked.

Randy leaned in, looking over the rim of his sunglasses. “A metaphor for why the fuck not?”

Mickey shook his head, looking back at their professor who was listening intently, leaning against his desk. “See, this is why I can’t stand any of that surrealism bullshit.”

“Neither do I but things are more fun when you don’t question them.”

Cici scoffed. “Aren’t you the one with the movie rules?” she said.

“Horror movies are different. They have a very specific formula–” Randy stopped, realizing Mickey was mouthing his own words back to him amusingly.

“Well, Randy, you’re not wrong,” Mr. Borland said to which Randy gave Mickey a ‘ha-ha, told you so’ look– “We will definitely be covering horror this semester and talking about structure.”

“Are we gonna talk about Stab?” a girl asked eagerly. A chorus of excitement echoed through the class.

The professor looked unamused. “No, I will not be covering the Stab movies–”

“Did you guys hear about what happened at the theater the other night?” Another girl chimed in. “Two people got stabbed by someone in a ghostface mask.” The classmate exploded into more chatter.

“Alright, alright guys,” Mr. Borland said, straightening up. “Let’s not get off topic.”

“Do you think it’s actually happening again?”

“Mr. Borland what do you think of the Stab movies?”

“Oh my God, a new serial killer?”

“Randy, didn’t you survive ghostface?”

“Yeah, I heard he got stabbed…”

“I heard he fought him off, is that true Randy?”

Randy kind of enjoyed the look of defeat on Mr. Borland’s face. Just then, he spotted Sidney at the door, looking a little tragic. Quietly, she gestured at him to come outside. Lucky for her, the professor dismissed everyone five minutes early and everyone shuffled out, still chattering about ghostface. Sidney, hearing this, turned away as if afraid everyone might start to bombard her with prying questions. Randy met her outside, touching her arm lightly.

“Hey, you okay?” he asked, his mood a bit more lifted.

When the two exited the building, safe from the ears of everyone, Sidney began to ramble about people thinking the movie theater murders was a publicity stunt.

“And it would’ve been a good one, too,” Randy said in a poor British accent. The coffee was starting to hit and he felt a bit more airy. He folded his sunglasses into his shirt.

“It’s starting again, Randy,” Sidney said, not giving into his antics.

“It’s not, a lot of shit happens at the movies, people get robbed, shot, maimed, murdered. Multiplexes are a very dangerous place to be.”

His friend gave him an annoyed look. Why isn’t he taking this seriously? she was probably wondering. Randy didn’t know. It didn’t feel real.

“And you are in extreme denial,” Sidney said.

“And you should be, too,” Randy said in a normal voice. “This has nothing to do with us.”

“Randy, a guy in a ghost mask hacked up two people in a movie theater telling our life story!”

“Coincidence?” Her prying was beginning to make him angsty.

Sidney stopped him. “You know what happened at Woodsboro, Randy. “You can’t ignore it.” Her eyes searched his. Now that he was really looking at her, he could see how worried she was. She had a look that reminded him of that night when they’d survived Stu and Billy. To this day, he still beat himself up for not kissing her.

“I know, Sid. And I don’t wanna go back there again,” he said, hoping she wouldn’t sense the annoyance in his words. “Can’t we just go back to our pseudo quasi-happy existence– Hello Derek.” Sidney’s perfect ken-doll boyfriend Derek had joined. He greeted her with a smooch on the cheek.

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” he said softly. “I heard you weren’t in class.” He led her away, leaving Randy to walk behind.

“Yeah, I know, I skipped. I couldn’t take all the ‘that’s her’ looks.”

Derek sighed, looking defeated. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Well, if you got any tricks for getting me back to a pseudo quasi-happy existence…”

“You know, I might just have one for that.”

“Oh, yeah, what is it?” Randy asked, more annoyed than inquisitively. Derek stopped to pull Sidney in for a kiss. As the two practically made out in front of him, Randy looked at the ground.

“That was pretty good,” Sidney said with a smile. The two love birds walked away, leaving Randy alone. His headache returned.

“Get a room,” he said.

Chapter Text

Sidney’s friends were trying their best to cheer her up but the news report kept reeling in her head like a scratched dvd. Even Dewey, who was visiting campus, let her know he was there for not only moral support but protection. Poor Dewey had gained a limp from getting stabbed less than a year ago. He said it was due to a severed nerve. As they sat under a gazebo, he had managed to somewhat lift Sidney’s spirits. It felt almost good to have her fears validated, despite meaning this was all too real. Unlike Randy’s childish denial, Dewey was all business. She thought of Billy and then of Derek. And then her friend Tatum who had met a bad fate. And then she thought of her friend Hallie. She couldn’t lose another friend.

“What am I supposed to do? Just cut everybody off? Crawl under a rock?”

Dewey looked down at his shoes. He stood a bit slanted, still healing from his deep stab wound less than a year ago. She never realized how young he looked until this moment. Except for the times when he’d bicker with Tatum. Behind Dewey, Sidney realized her friends were standing around, watching.

“Just keep an eye out,” Dewey said. “I’m going to talk to Chief Hardley and the local police. I’m going to hang around, make sure you’re safe. If that’s alright with you.”

Sidney smiled at his shy words. She couldn’t imagine how someone so genuine could fall for someone like Gale Weathers. Feeling her worries wash away for a moment, she nodded and gave him a hug. As Dewey walked away, Sidney rejoined her friends. Derek was looking at her intently, his brows furrowed with worry. Or suspicion, a paranoid voice in her head said.

“Who’s that guy?” he asked.

“Dewey,” she said, “He’s a friend.”

“Deputy, too,” Randy said, who had appeared out of nowhere.” Woodsboro’s finest, what’s he doing here?”

Mickey’s eyes were wide as he stepped towards Sidney. “I saw Chief Hardley,” he said. “He said the girl was stabbed seven times–”

“Drop it,” Derek said under his breath. The two boys shared a look, Derek a disapproval one and Mickey a startled one. Sidney thought of Stu and Billy.

“Hello, Sidney.” Sidney turned to see with horror that Gale was standing right behind her with her camera crew.

“Hi,” Sidney said in a daze. She stared at the blinking red light on the cameraman’s camera. “What do you want, Gale?”

“Well I was hoping I could get a few words with you.” That’s when Sidney realized Gale was there with none other than Cotton Weary. Sidney’s heart sunk to her stomach. His mouth moved, probably in greeting, but she was too out of it to hear it. As Gale turned to the camera with mic in hand, Sidney’s world spun. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Just when she couldn’t think Gale would stoop any lower.

“Sidney, I’d just like to say I forgive and forget,” Cotton said, his eyes glinting with hope. “Just like you, I’d like to get back to my old life.”

“Do you have any comments?” Gale asked, shoving the mic under her nose. Sidney stared at her, snapping back to reality. Gale stared back with a too-wide grin that didn’t reach her eyes. Her new red highlights made her look like a she-devil.

“You bitch–” Sidney began, lunging at her. Before her boyfriend was fast enough to hold her back, Sidney gave Gale a slap to the face that reeled her back into Cotton’s arms. Sidney’s face burned with anger as Derek pulled her away before she could jump Gale with any more punches. Her ears rang with the chatter of people around her, gasping at what she’d done. That’s when she realized it wasn’t Derek who was holding her, it was Randy.

“Jesus, Sid,” he said at her ear. “Again?”

“Get off me, Randy.” With a nudge, she broke away from his grasp. Derek followed behind.

“Sid–”

“I need to be alone right now,” Sidney said, walking off. She wanted to punch Gale again. And Cotton. His stupid, puppy-eyed look pissed her off. How could he come here? Couldn’t he just have stayed back and lived his normal life? He was already out of jail so what more could he want from her? Sidney felt like a zoo animal, constantly being watched and pried at.
But that night, Sidney’s anger subsided after some cheering up from Hallie. She had convinced her to attend the sorority party which Sidney wasn’t too crazy about at first. She called Derek to apologize for running off early. And of course, to add on to her guilt, he wasn’t the slightest bit upset with her. All of her friends were there, including Randy, making her feel safe for the first time in a minute. Randy had a drink in hand, probably his third by now, and had an extra spring in his step, she noticed. He was talking to some girl when he saw her and excused himself.

“Sid, you made it to the party,” he said, sounding cheerful.

“Yeah, Hallie got me out of our dorm,” Sidney said.

Randy closed the space between them, leaning against the wall. “So I hear you’re joining the sorority,” he said with a smile. Sidney didn’t realize how tall Randy was until this moment, and he had certainly grown into his features a bit more in the past months. He’d grown some facial hair and wore his hair differently. Sidney never gave his looks much thought but the way his eyes looked kinda sleepy tonight paired with his smile, she thought he looked pretty.

“Yeah, right,” Sidney said with a scoff.

“Well, I think you’d make a cute sorority chick.” Randy took a sip of his drink. Sidney paused. Was he flirting with her?

Randy broke his gaze. "Speaking of sorority," he said, turning a little more serious. "Anyone bothered to check in on those girls? They give off a sort of culty vibe."

"What, you don't think they're suspects?" Sidney asked incredulously.

"I'm just saying, don't be surprised if this turns into a scene of 'Sorority Row.' Or Suspiria.” Seeing Sidney's expression, his face softened. "Sorry. You probably don't want to think about that right now.” He looked up and she followed his gaze. Derek had arrived to the party. He had been stopped to talk to another frat boy but his eyes shifted to Sidney.

“I’m gonna go get another drink,” Randy said as Derek made his way toward them. “You want?”

Sidney shook her head. It seemed for a second that there was some weird tension between the two boys, she thought, as Derek’s gaze settled on Randy for a moment. But the thought quickly evaporated as Randy gave Sidney a reassuring squeeze on her arm before leaving.

****

Randy was in the kitchen, helping himself to more beer when a perky girlish presence stood next to him. He looked down and saw Sorority sister Lois, who’s curls looked extra bouncy tonight. She was twirling a curl as she smiled shyly at him.

“You’re Randy, right?”

Randy looked around as if there might be another Randy around. He looked back at her. “Yeah?”

Lois let out a nervous giggle. “You’re funny. I mean, I’ve seen you around campus but I never got the chance to talk. Is it true you’ve still got that scar? You know from..getting stabbed?” She lowered her voice, then thought better of it. “Never mind, you probably don’t want to talk about the most traumatizing night of your life.” Randy stared at her. He couldn’t believe this was happening.

“Well actually,” he finally said, feeling for the scar on his chest. “I didn’t get stabbed. I got shot.”

“Oh my God,” Lois said, covering her mouth with horror. Then, she reached sympathetically towards his chest as if to caress that spot but then pulled back.

“It wasn’t so bad, really. I didn’t even feel it. Adrenaline, I think they call it.”

Lois nodded her head, though she didn’t seem to be listening. She was staring at his lips.

“It only took a couple weeks to heal, but I can’t help but feel as if something’s missing. As if a part of me was taken that night.” Now he was just rambling to fill the awkwardness.

“Well I’m glad you’re okay.”

Randy cracked open his can, the fizzing of the drink bubbling under his nose. He took a sip without taking his eyes off Lois. A newfound feeling of confidence washed over him suddenly. The light reflected off the crown of Lois’ blond head, almost looking like a halo. He was halfway through his drink when Lois pulled him by the front of his shirt into a room. With the liquor making his head buzz, and the loud house music pounding in his ears made him feel like he was floating. As Lois shut the door behind them and pulled him in for a hot, sloppy kiss, Randy thought of Sidney.

Lois pushed him onto the bed with such force, the room spun. Randy lifted his head but it felt like a million pounds. He wasn’t drunk yet, but the tiredness from last night was still there. He felt Lois left up his shirt and kiss his skin. She crawled on top of him, peppering his neck with kisses, her curls tickling his face. Randy sighed, closing his eyes with pleasure. But when she fumbled for his belt, he stopped her.

“Hey, wait,” he said.

“What is it?” Lois asked, pulling back. “I always thought you were cute, Randy–” She leaned back down for another kiss. Her lips tasted like lipgloss. Randy grabbed her shoulders, licking her lipstick from his mouth.

“I can’t do this,” he said.

Lois fell back onto the bed next to him, her mood deflating. “Why not?” she said. Randy laid back down on the bed, barely listening. Then, with a disappointed sigh, she grabbed a pillow and smacked Randy’s head with it. “Whatever, I knew it. I’ve seen the way you look at Cici.” Cici. As Randy lay there, staring at the ceiling, Lois marched out of the room, saying something about how all guys are the same. Randy stared at the clock. It was ten thirty. He shot up out of bed.

Chapter Text

“We’ve come bearing gifts.” Derek and Mickey arrived with drinks in their hands for everyone. Thank God, Sidney thought. She needed another drink to distract herself from the conversation between Hallie and Sorority sister Murphy. It’s not that she didn’t like any of the Sorority sisters but if she had to hear the name ‘Omega Beta Zeta’ one more time, she was going to lose it. It wasn’t helping her get her mind off things. As Sidney took her drink from Derek’s hand, she thought about what Randy said about the Sorority sisters. It would be almost too perfect– she could already see the headline: Twin Sorority Sisters Lois and Murphy Found Guilty of Being The New Ghostface. She could imagine Gale all over the newspaper.

Somewhere in the house, there was a girlish squeal. One of the Sorority sisters, Dawnie was scolding a drunk jock about spilling beer all over her new dress. She watched as Dawnie walked away, looking more disappointed than angry. What Sidney had noticed in time, though, was that Dawnie had distractedly bumped into the jock, not the other way around. Why in such a hurry? Sidney thought before quickly pushing the thought away. Not everybody is a suspect, she tried telling herself.

“So what’s it take to join the Omega Beta Zeta?” Mickey was saying.

The sorority girl rolled her eyes playfully. “Well first, you’d have to go through some tests.”

“State your name, rank–” Derek joked in a drill sergeant manner.

“And sexual preference?” Mickey interjected.

“Which is?” Hallie asked.

Mickey pointed a finger gun at her. “You,” he said with a wink. “Naked.”

“Oh that’s right, keep dreaming.”

As Sidney took a sip of her drink, she relaxed a little more. As if sensing her tension subsiding, Derek wrapped his arm around her. She cozied up to him, feeling foolish for letting her bad thoughts get in the way.

“You okay?” Derek asked.

“Yeah,” Sidney lied. “Actually, do you wanna…go outside? Get some fresh air?” The two of them made their way outside where the backyard was brightly lit with lanterns and fairy lights.

“How are you doing?” Derek asked as they settled down on a bench.

“If I hear Omega Beta Zeta one more time…”

Derek smiled. “So I take it you will not be pledging to the Omega Beta Zeta–”

Sidney pushed his face away playfully. “Definitely not.”

“I get it. It’s not your style.”

“Sorry. I’m sure the fraternity’s treating you nicely.”

Derek shrugged. “It’s alright. Not everybody’s tough enough to handle it.” Sidney rolled her eyes.

“Something just happened at the Omega Beta Zeta house!” It was Sorority Sister Lois. She looked excited but something told Sidney there was nothing exciting about what had happened. Her stomach dropped as others began to shuffle out of the party, chattering amongst themselves about news Sidney didn’t know about.
Sidney stood to her feet. Derek stayed close to her as if she was a fragile object that needed handling. There were police sirens nearby that grew louder as everybody flooded out of the house. Sidney halted to a stop on the front porch, feeling Derek freeze up next to her. The Omega Beta Zeta house was flooded with cop cars and a news van was already pulling up.

“Where’s Randy?” she asked.

“Come on, let’s get you home,” Derek said, pulling her away. That’s when the distant ring of a phone caught her attention. Sidney turned to the direction of the sound which was coming from a house phone. She moved towards it instinctively, grabbing it and putting it to her ear.

“Hello,” she said almost robotically.

“Hello, Sidney,” a familiar flat voice said on the other end. “Remember me?”

“What do you want?”

“I want you. It’s showtime.”

“Then why don’t you show your face, you fucking coward?” With that, Sidney slammed the phone down, hanging up. Just then, the front door slammed.
“Derek!” she shrieked, as Ghostface revealed themselves to her. The person lunged at her, a glinting knife in hand.

“Sidney!” Derek called for her on the other side of the door.

Sidney ran, narrowly missing Ghostface’s knife slashing at her. Derek pounded on the front door, trying to unlock it. As Sidney ran towards the front door, she didn’t have time to open it as Ghostface’s knife came flying down at her. Shrieking, she moved out of the way in time and the blade sunk through the wooden door. She heard a grunt behind the mask. Sidney ran through the house, praying to find an open door. Lucky for her, the patio door was wide open and she slipped out through there. To her surprise, she slammed into a solid body and shrieked in horror.

“It’s me,” Derek said, gripping her shoulders, “It’s me, Sid.”