#scream 7

contents: fluff, angst, graphic content such as blood, violence, murder, and all things ghostface series masterlist | previous part | next part

She knew she was in trouble when she had woken up in Wes' bed the next morning. Not only that, but the idea of updating her mother on her whereabouts slipped her mind, and there was nothing but missed phone calls from her mother all night. The fact that Judy was the one to wake her and Wes with a disappointed frown is a cherry on top of the cake.

"Next time you stay the night, please tell your mom and I," is what Judy had softly said to the teenager before she offered her a ride home. The car ride is completely silent between the Sheriff and her son's girlfriend. The entire town around them is barely awake as it's only the early morning of Saturday. The only car on the road is the Sheriff's, which luckily makes every green light to cut the trip short.

The teenager opens the door once the car parks in her driveway, tucking her phone into the pocket of Wes' hoodie. She grabs her bookbag, glancing at the woman briefly, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, hon," Judy assures her, a soft smile on her face. "I'll see you for dinner on Monday? I can teach you how to make those lemon bars then."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Athena tells her, returning the smile with a nod. And she starts the walk to her front door. She takes a sharp inhale once she opens the door, knowing her mother is a few steps into the house waiting for her.

Margaret is waiting with a coffee in her hand. She sits at the kitchen island, rubbing her forehead tiredly. Now, the lonely woman always looks tired, but it seems to take more of an effect on her appearance when there's a worriedsome feeling upon her mind. Her eyes are shut, and oddly enough avoiding the photograph of her brother she's always stuck on. Her blue eyes open, looking at her daughter.

"I'm sorry, mom," she apologizes with a sincere tone. She slides into the chair at the kitchen island, letting her chin fall into her hands. "I fell asleep early, and I didn't hear my phone ringing."

"It's okay. I remember being young and in love," her mother says, a sadness appearing in her eyes at the memories of her former husband. He had passed away ten years prior. "Just be glad you don't have a protective older brother."

And for the first time that morning, Margaret looks at the photo of her older brother with a smile. It's the first time she's ever shown a positive emotion looking at it, as though she no longer feels the need to hide the fact that she misses him from her daughter.

"Stu probably would've dragged you from Wes' house exactly when your curfew hit," she continues to add on, wondering how different life would be if he were still alive. If Ghostface had never been a thing. If the town wasn't plagued in darkness. "Your dad would've, too."

"Poor Wes would be terrified," the teenager cuts in, chuckling at the idea of it. She could almost see the horror on his face at the sight of the two older males. "I think they would've scared him away before our first date."

"No," her mother disagrees. There's a sincerity in her tone that causes her daughter's heart to warm up, at not only the thought of the situation taking place, but at her mother's acceptance of her relationship. "Wes still would've stuck around. He would do anything for you. He's a good guy."

"He is," the blonde nods, her voice barely audible.

"Your dad and Stu would've liked him — at least, the Stu that I knew. They approve of him, I can feel it in my bones," Margaret smiles softly, moving around the counter to press a gentle kiss to her teenager's head. "Just stay home this weekend, okay? No friends, no boyfriend. Please."

And despite knowing she'd be missing the first Sunday movie night with Amber and Tara in a while, she agrees without argument.

She has her earbuds in as she sits on her beg, arms crossed around her knees to hug them into her chest. Her laptop is opened on the bed in front of her, propped up on some pillow with the screen brightly lit to display the faces of her friends, Amber and Tara.

Athena ignores their voices, her bottom lip brought into her mouth as she bites down nervously. Her eyes are stuck to her phone, waiting for it to light up with the name she hadn't heard from since this morning. She feels sick as her mind flips through every worse case scenario — more specifically, the fear of a silent breakup plaguing her brain.

"Maybe not hearing from him is a good thing," Amber's voice is the first thing she registers as she comes to a realization on her friend's silence. She has always been the type of friend to know exactly the problem without being told. "You guys are constantly together. A little time apart might be good for you."

"We're not constantly together," Athena argues, eyebrows furrowing at the hostility behind her friend's tone. It takes her off guard, curious on the sudden change of Amber's opinion on her boyfriend. "It's just he's not even reading my texts, and he always responds right away."

"Don't stress about it," Tara reassures her friend, playing her typical role of middle-man and peacemaker in the group. "He's probably just in trouble from you staying the night. You know how his mom gets."

"Yeah," the blonde teen mutters into the skin of her knee. Still, an anxious burning in her chest spreads like a forest fire. To try to tame the fire from reaching her mind, she changes the subject. "I'm bumbed about missing movie night."

"I know," Tara agrees with a small frown. "We can't finish the last Saw movie without you there, so we'll have to pick something else."

"Are you sure you can't just sneak out to miss it?" Amber questions, her voice coming out in a softer tone than before. "None of us have missed a movie night in forever. We can't break the streak now."

"Mom's got me on a strict room arrest. She keeps checking on me every twenty minutes," the grounded teenager mumbles, although her words are quite and exaggeration. Her eyes roll slightly at the punishment from her mom, despite knowing it's completely understandable.

And there's a soft knock, too quiet to place at first. Athena goes silent, glancing from her door to her computer in confusion. The second her eyes glance to the window, her expression and body visibly relax. The window silently slides open, and she winces — there's no way her friends have missed the sound of it.

Amber's face drops with a loud sigh, but the other's face brightens up with a teasing smile. Tara laughs, "Have fun with lover-boy."

Her friends disappear from the screen, leaving the blank call screen with just her face. She shuts the computer, ripping out her earbuds with a smile. She puts the device on her bedside table, watching as her boyfriend stealthily climbs into her room. "I thought you were mad at me or something."

Wes frowns, sliding his shoes off before he lays next to her sitting position on the bed. His hand trails up her bare leg, stopping at her thigh. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"You haven't responded to my texts. I don't know, I just thought you blamed me for us getting in trouble," the teenage girl tells her boyfriend, her brown eyes staring into his blue.

"Well, I don't," he assures her, letting out a content sigh as his head falls onto the pillows on the bed. "My mom took my phone, told me that I can't be having you spend the night without permission."

Her face changes, her smile shifting to a playful smirk. She twists her body, throwing one leg over his waist as she straddles him. "So, you're telling me that you snuck out to come see me?"

"Actually," Wes starts, grabbing her waist to bring her down to lay her down on him. "My mom dropped me off. She wasn't too thrilled, but she did it anyways."

Her face is close to his, their chests pressed against one another's. Her jaw drops mockingly, her next response almost a whisper, "Sheriff Hicks encouraging her son's misbehavior?"

"She told me if I get caught and throw her under the bus, she'd literally throw me under a bus and kill me." At her boyfriend's words, she laughs. While the words seem uncharacteristic for Sheriff Hicks, the teenage girl could almost hear her say them.

"You do know my mom will kill us if she finds out you're here, right?" Athena asks, her lips brushing against his slightly. "I mean, she even told me I can't hang out with Amber and Tara tomorrow."

"I'm sure if I tell her we have this awesome date planned for tomorrow she'll let you out of the house. And then I can just drop you off at Tara's," Wes suggests. The plan escapes his mouth so naturally and smooth, like a line taken directly from the perfect boyfriend in a romance novel.

The girl smiles, feeling her chest warm at the fact that her boyfriend would do something like that for her. "I love you," she blurts out, pressing a soft kiss to his lips briefly. "But I'd rather just actually go out on an awesome date with you."

"I love you too, so that can definitely be arranged," he agrees, already planning certain ideas in his mind. However, he notices her lack of wanting time with her best friend's. "You don't want to go to movie night?"

"I'd rather spend time with my totally awesome boyfriend," she begins, pressing another quick kiss to his lips, "Who I apparently spend too much time with according to Amber."

He frowns, eyebrows furrowing as he looks up at his girlfriend. "Amber? Why does she think that?"

"Cause I thought you were mad at me and not answering and she didn't see a problem," she quickly rambles, cheeks flushing in slight embarrassment. "Anyways, besides the point, it's none of her concern how much time we spend together. She's my best friend and I love her, but she has no right telling me about my relationship."

"It's cause she thinks I'm not good enough for you," Wes tells her, a slight sadness and disappointment in his tone. "She has their weird thing with you and Tara. No one is ever good enough for either of you, and everyone is always out to get you guys."

The couple both frown. The friend group is small, and the fact that only Amber finds a problem in their relationship is hard for them to get over. Amber is one of her closest friends and Wes is the love of her life, and so the problem between them is hard to ignore.

contents: fluff, angst, graphic content such as blood, violence, murder, and all things ghostface series masterlist | next part

There's something in the way that her mom looks at the same photo every morning in sadness. It has always been something she tries to hide from everyone, even her daughter, out of fear that it might be looked upon the wrong way. And the fact that she even has to do that makes her daughter feel nothing but sorrow for her mother.

The photo is an old childhood photo, taken a couple years before the 1996 Woodsboro Murders. Her mother, Margaret, was thirteen years old when it was taken. She was smiling brightly, arms wrapped around the shoulders of her older brother, Stu. Stood in the front of the other two, the eldest of the siblings, Leslie, smiles with the same Macher-smile. It was way before tragedy struck when the three were still quite happy and innocent.

Margaret was blindsided to what happened in 1996. The tragedy was unbelievable to her and sent her whole world crashing. To this day, she still can't let it go — she can't let her big brother go. It didn't seem possible. The one who promised to protect her from harm until the day he died was the one secretly causing harm to the day he actually died. Her best friend was a complete stranger to her.

And every morning, with the look at the photograph, Margaret swore to live every day for Stu. At least, the Stu she knew before the murders.

Just before the woman's hands could come into contact with the glass of the frame, she reels back at the sound of shuffling feet behind her. Instead, she holds her coffee in both hands and brings it up to her lips. "Morning, dear."

"Morning, momma," the teenager replies, sliding past her mom to grab the cup of coffee already made to perfection for her. The small routine between the mother and daughter is practically second nature at this point. "Sleep well?"

"Always do," the woman smiles as the small fib slips from her lips. Truth be told, she couldn't sleep with the sound of her daughter on the phone all night with Wes Hicks. However, she never said anything because the sound was of her daughter in love with the boy she talked to.

Her daughter nods, sliding into the chair at the kitchen island. She begins to ramble about her plans for the day after school, taking a couple pauses to sip coffee. Her lips never falter from the bright smile on them, and her hands are waving around as she talks excitedly.

Maybe it was the sentimental mood she was in, but the mother could see a lot of Stu in her daughter. Aside from the light colored hair that the Macher's had, but a lot of his personality. It's the way she gets upbeat and bouncy when she gets excited about something — Stu was like that, too.

"Anyways, I gotta get to school," Athena ends her rant, clearing her throat as she stands up. "Wes invited me to his for dinner. I'll probably be back a bit, so don't wait up for me."

"Be safe," the mother calls out after her teenage daughter, who is already rushing out towards the front door.

"Always!"

"No way. Infinity Wars is a better choice to End Game," the blonde teen argues, her hand clenching the strap of her bag to keep it from falling off her shoulder. "It really has it all — the villain's motive, the action, the humor, even the loss at the end! It was unlike any other superhero movie we've gotten before."

"You know, I will give you that one," Tara, one of her best friends, points at her with a slow nod, "Very true. Fair point."

The two continue their conversation, moving onto a discussion on the perfect choice of villain with the best motive. They keep their arms pressed against each other's to keep from separating in the crowded school halls. Their pathway leads them straight towards a set of lockers, surrounded by a small group of teenagers chatting.

Chad Meeks-Martin leans against the lockers, his arms across his chest. He is the nephew of Randy Meeks, a victim of the 1998 Woodsboro Murders. His twin sister, Mindy, stands besides him with a bored expression. And there's Wes Hicks, who pulls books from his locker and shoves them into his bag. Wes's mother, Sheriff Judy Hicks, was a survivor of the 2011 Woodsboro Murders.

Oddly enough, most of the friend group were related to the Woodsboro Murders in some way — well, except for Tara, Amber, and Chad's new girlfriend, Liv.

Athena grins, her cheeks already flushing at the teasing stares of her friends as she approaches her boyfriend. She stands on her toes to wrap an arm around the shoulder of Wes. She struggles to press a soft kiss to his cheeks, making him smile softly and lean back to allow her to succeed in the showcase of affection. "Morning, handsome."

"Morning," he responds, eyes shifting to the watching eyes of their friends. A blush spreads across his cheeks, the usual pale hue shifting to a light pink. "You're in a good mood today."

"You say that every day," she responds, dropping her arm to let him face her.

"Cause every day, you seem happier," Wes shrugs, zipping his bag up and draping it over his shoulder. He closes his locker, leaning against it to face his friends.

"And this is where she says, cause you make me happy," Mindy mocks, rolling her eyes with an exaggerated expression of disgust as she looks over at her brother. "God, you guys make me sick."

The couple smile at that. They subconsciously leaning closer together so that their sides press against each other's. Wes even goes as far as tucking his thumb into the belt loop of her pants to pull her hip flush against his own.

"They're happy," Chad cuts in, gently smacking his hand against his twin's arm. "It's gross, but at least they're happy."

"Thanks, Chad," the blonde teenager responds, her grin twisting into a confused look. "I think."

At this point in time, the couple wasn't sure how their friends weren't exactly used to it. Not that they were super into PDA around other people, but they were constantly next to each other and touching in some way. And yet, every time, the group point it out after a year and a half of them dating.

But of course, the group have no problem in giving the couple privacy without them even having to ask. It just became a silent agreement that on Fridays, the couple have lunch with only the two of them on the bleachers of the football stadium. The two always sit at the top section, facing each other with a couple snacks that Wes' mom voluntarily makes for them. Sheriff Hicks is a tremendous cook, and an even better baker.

Athena laughs, putting the last piece of the lemon bar in her mouth. She watches with loving eyes as her boyfriend pulls out the book she rereads constantly, opening it up. The pages are still fresh looking, except for the different colored highlighters and small notes in pen.

Wes smiles, clearing his throat for dramatics as he finds the quote he had remembered from freshman English class. He recites, eyes glancing up at his girlfriend between every couple of words, "Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night."

And her cheeks flush, heart beating in her chest rapidly. Times like these make her wonder what she did to deserve a guy like Wes — incredibly sweet and genuine, and everything a girl can dream of. He could have any girl if he tried, but he chose her.

Gently, she grabs the book from his hands and tucks it back into her bag. She scoots closer to her lover on the bench, one hand sliding into his gently. The other is on his leg, her thumb gently rubbing the top of his thigh. She compliments him, "You're perfect."

"Cause I know Romeo and Juliet?" He asks, raising his eyebrows slightly with a grin. "You know, you're kind of like Juliet and I'm Romeo."

And just like that, the romance of his English reciting is gone. She leans way from him with furrowed eyebrows as she asks, "You do know they both die at the end, right?"

Her boyfriend sighs, looking down at their entangled hands with a small nod. His lips purse into a straight line. "I meant, like, without the death?" He continues to add on, "And without the rivals of families."

She laughs, "Right." Her hand travels slightly higher up onto his forearm, leaning forward so that her lips are inches from his. "Well, I guess that makes it a little more romantic."

Before their lips could connect, Wes pulls back with his mouth open in offense. "You guess?!"

The teenage girl sighs, her head falling into her hand as she leans against the window sill. Her bare legs are crossed on the bed, her body only covered by the large t-shirt of her boyfriend's. Her eyes stare out the window, landing on the starry sky of the night. "What're you thinking about?"

Wes sits on his bed behind her, in nothing but plaid pajama pants. His hair drips onto the shirt she wears as he presses soft kisses to her shoulders. She leans back towards him, her hands traveling to his that wrap around her waist.

"Just can't stop thinking about the whole Ghostface situation," she mutters, barely audible enough for him to hear. "People are so obsessive that it's sick to me. I was so excited for the baking lesson from your mom, and she got held up because of . . ."

Her words stop as she feels no need to explain no longer. He knew exactly why his mom has missed dinner again. It's constant this time of year as the anniversary of the  Woodsboro Murders creeps close. Every year, people go crazy with decorating town with the masks. And every year, the Sheriff's department spends majority of their time getting rid of the masks.

It's weird to her that her uncle had been a part of this whole situation. Her relation to one of the original killers isn't one she particularly likes telling people about. Honestly, it gives her goosebumps every time she thinks about him behind one of the masks. It's something that's still so surreal to her.

"I think she prefers that more than cleaning up after an actual Ghostface," her boyfriend murmurs, his warm breath burning her skin through the shirt. "And it gives us the house to ourselves."

"Teenage boys are always so horny," Athena grumbles, gently elbowing his side. Though, she doesn't make an actual attempt to move him. Instead, she leans further back into his figure and extends her neck out to give him better access. "Can't we just enjoy this moment? Look at the stars. They're beautiful."

"Absolutely stunning." Wes doesn't bother to make himself sound interested at all. His attention is all on his girlfriend as his lips travel from her shoulder to her neck.

"You didn't even look," she argues, moving away from him to lay back onto the bed. Her legs remain in contact with him, sprawled in his lap as his fingers travel up and down on her skin. "This could be our last moment together, and all you wanna think about is sex?"

His face goes from content to a deep frown in disappointment. His fingers stop the trail on her leg, frozen on her thigh. The look in his eyes is full of hurt, as though even the thought is painful enough for him to feel it. "Do you always have to make everything so morbid all the time? I'm not thinking just about sex. I'm thinking about you."

The blonde smiles, feeling her chest warm up at his statement. Despite her question being playful and sarcastic, his tone was dead serious. It's reassuring for her to know that her feelings are reciprocated, not that she ever really doubted him.

Wes moves, using his arms to hold himself up as he hovers over her. His lips return to their spot on her neck, placing soft kissing along the skin. He moves one of his hands to her leg, lifting it up for her to get the idea. And she does — she wraps her legs around him to pull his body closer to hers. Her eyes flutter shut, letting herself fall into the feeling of euphoria in his arms. Still, a question pops into her head and it's one she can't seem to shake.

"But what if this is our last time together? Like what if I—" she stops, skipping over the words she doesn't want to whisper, and it's a favor to him as he doesn't want to hear those words. "What would you do?"

like i think the burning of the macher house would’ve been especially important and impactful if it’d actually been stu doing all of it. because that house was always super important. at least to him!!

that house he always felt so lonely in, where he spent most of his days partying, and like, where he spent time with billy watching whatever horror movies they felt like watching. he spent so much time there and he’d be burning it all down.

that house where he dedicated so much time in would burn because he’s not that teenage boy anymore. he’s not attached to billy anymore, really (physically attached, i guess?). he’s alone now, but he’s sort of free now too, in a kind of fucked up way.

no longer bound to anyone’s commands. never having to worry about anything anymore. his parents aren’t around either, so he’s just throwing whatever he knows about (some of) the past away to finally finish what was started back in 1996. he’s going to kill sidney prescott and end his own story the way he wants it to end.