Can’t Lose You // Ethan Landry
request: none!
prompts: none!
summary: your boyfriend being ghostface wasn’t exactly how you planned this relationship to go. but how far would you go to protect the man you love?
warnings: major character death, stabbing, minor gore, injuries, angst
word count: 1.7k
a/n: i’m backkkkk
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You were cornered, trapped in the old movie theater with Sam and Tara. The smell of mildew filled your senses with each panicked breath you took. Everything had happened so fast. Chad had been stabbed so many times you were sure he was dead. You didn’t even have time to mourn your best friend, because Ghostface was still after you. How could Kirby have done all of this? Why? You still couldn’t wrap your head around it.
“Stay the fuck back!”
“We know it’s you, Kirby!”
Ethan and Mindy still hadn’t shown up yet. They were probably dead too. Your stomach sank into a swirling pit at the thought. Kirby had taken everything from you. You didn’t even know who you were without Ethan. How were you supposed to live the rest of your life without him?
“How could you?!” you yelled at her, edging closer to Sam and Tara, seeking safety within your friends.
Kirby looked confused, blood trickling down her forehead from a fresh wound. The gun in her hands shook from how hard she was trembling.
“No, one of them knocked me out,” you didn’t hear the rest of her explanation, the sound of the theater doors creaking open behind you pulled your attention away. Detective Bailey ran inside, his gun aimed at Kirby.
“Kirby, stop! Get away from them!”
The next few moments were a blur. The gun went off, your hands instinctively covering your ears. Kirby fell to the ground. You all turned to look at Bailey, Sam’s glare hardening as she realized he was Ghostface. They were talking, but you didn’t hear a word they said, your ears still ringing from the gunshot. Two people walked up behind him, both wearing Ghostface costumes. There were three of them?
You watched as one of them removed their mask. Suddenly, you couldn’t breathe. The ringing in your ears faded, but you still couldn’t hear, the sound of your heart pounding thrumming dull in your ears. The sight of your own boyfriend standing there with a bloody knife in his hand, you couldn’t think and the word shocked didn’t even begin to describe how you were feeling.
How could Ethan do this? He had always seemed so perfect. Surely it couldn’t all have been an act, right? The whole time this had been going on, you never suspected him. Not once. It had seemed so unfathomable. You had been so sure he was harmless.
He wouldn’t look at you. The whole time Bailey was ranting, Ethan didn’t look at you. Not once. Had it all been a lie? Maybe you really were just a means to an end, a way for him to get closer to Sam and Tara. You couldn’t read his face. For the first time in your relationship, you had no idea what he was thinking. A million questions spun around in your head, but for some reason the only one you could focus on was: did he ever really love me?
You watched in horror as Ethan slashed at Sam’s arm. You barely ducked out of the way in time, slinking away as the fight ensued. Hiding in a corner, you watched as Ethan and Quinn chased after Sam and Tara. The squelching sound of metal cutting flesh made your stomach churn. You couldn’t look. You didn’t know how they hadn’t spotted you yet, but you knew you wouldn’t last long in a fight like this. Sam and Tara could handle themselves, they didn’t need you.
Tara was slipping, her hand desperately gripping the railing as she dangled over the edge. Ethan stood below her, holding his knife out, awaiting Tara’s fall so he could stab her. But you saw something he didn’t. Sam handed her a knife. Tara was going to hurt him. You don’t know why you cared. Ethan had hurt so many people, maybe he deserved to be stopped. But, he was still your boyfriend. And you had no idea why, but part of you still loved him.
You were up and moving before your mind could catch up to what you were doing. Tara fell right onto Ethan’s knife with a sickening squelch. She raised her knife, but before she could plunge it into Ethan, you tackled her, knocking her off of him and the knife out of her hand.
“Stop!”
Tara struggled beneath you. “What’re you doing?! Get off!”
You forced her down, barely keeping control over her. Tara was stronger than she looked. “I can’t let you hurt him!”
“You can’t really still love him after knowing what he did,” Tara said, almost pushing you off. “You don’t have to help, but you need to let me do this.”
You shoved her back down, your free hand reaching out for the knife she dropped. “I won’t let you kill him.”
You wrapped your fingers around the knife handle, grasping in tightly. You pulled it back, stabbing Tara in the neck. She tried to push you off, but it was no use. Her strength slowly faded as she choked on her own blood. You choked on your tears as you watched her die.
You looked down at your hands in shock, Tara’s blood coating them. You scampered off of her, panic flowing through you. You couldn’t catch your breath. Tara was dead. You killed your own best friend to protect your boyfriend, and you weren’t even sure if he actually liked you. Your hands trembled. Arms wrapped around you from behind, you tried to fight them off, but you weren’t strong enough.
“Stop. It’s me.”
Ethan’s voice. You stopped fighting, letting him hold you. Your body instinctually leaned into him, as if it suddenly forgot everything you just learned. How could a murderer still make you feel so safe?
“Ethan…” your voice trembled.
You looked over at him. There was blood on him and your stomach sank when you realized it was his.
“Is it true? Did you really do it?” You choked on your words. You couldn’t even bring yourself to say the word murder, the idea of your awkward boyfriend killing people still feeling so inconceivable.
Ethan nodded, the crazed look on his face gone. He started to look like the boy you knew. But the more you thought about it, you never really knew him at all. You just knew the version of him that he decided to show you.
You bit your lip hard to force back your encroaching tears until the taste of your own blood filled your mouth. You knew what you had to ask him, but you were terrified of the answer.
“How much of it was real? Do you even love me?”
Ethan’s gloved hand gripped yours tightly, your friends’ blood staining your skin. You should’ve been nauseous, but the feeling of him holding you so tightly gave you butterflies.
“All of it. I never lied about how I felt for you. I love you so much and I never wanted to hurt you. I’m so sorry.”
“Then why did you?”
You flinched at the sound of another gunshot, this time a bullet whizzed by you, barely missing your head. Ethan pulled you out of the way just in time. You looked around, panicked, trying to find out where it came from.
Sam, still standing on the balcony, glared down at you, a cold and detached look in her eyes. She must’ve seen you kill Tara. And you knew Sam, she wasn’t the type of person to let someone get away with hurting her family.
“Look, I’ll explain everything to you later. I promise. But it’s not safe for you here.”
Ethan pulled you up to your feet, his arm tightening around your waist to make sure you stayed with him. Before you could even take a step, you heard Sam scream before she fell over the balcony. You flinched as she landed next to you, a knife embedded deep in her back. She must’ve used her last bullet on you, leaving her vulnerable to Quinn. Sam and Tara were dead, and it was all your fault.
“Oh my god…” you whimpered, your hands clinging to Ethan tighter.
“It’s okay. I’m getting you out of here.”
You didn’t get very far before you heard footsteps approaching you from behind.
“Ethan, stop! What’re you doing?”
It was Bailey. You tensed up, holding Ethan tightly, terrified his dad would kill you. Ethan turned around, still holding you against him.
“I won’t let you kill them. They’re not a part of this.”
Bailey shook his head dismissively, already reaching for his gun. “You know we have to. We can’t leave any witnesses.”
“I agreed to help you kill everyone involved with Richie’s death, they weren’t there. This has nothing to do with them.” Ethan pulled you closer to him. If Bailey tried to shoot you, he would hit Ethan too. “They killed Tara to protect me. They won’t turn us in, you don’t have to do this.”
Before Bailey could speak again, Quinn interrupted. “It’s true. I saw it.”
Reluctantly, Bailey put his gun back in the holster. “Fine. But if they try anything—,” Bailey started before you cut him off.
“I won’t, I promise.”
Bailey sighed. “Alright. You three get out of here, the cops will be here soon. I’ll deal with it.”
Quinn walked away, headed off to the hospital to make sure Mindy and Gale were dead. You and Ethan lingered near the entrance of the theater for a few moments longer.
“Thank you, for not letting your dad kill me,” you said softly, your hand holding Ethan’s tightly.
“I’m the one who should be thanking you. You saved my life.”
You winced at the memory, glancing down at your hands that were still covered in your best friend’s blood. Tara was dead, because of you. And yet, you still felt like you made the right decision. You could find another best friend, but no one could ever replace Ethan.
tags: @anglswoe @hyeyulove @abbyluvsjackchampion @mariaflor873 @shad-ade @ethan-landrys-left-scrotum @rose3heartzzz
