#scream iv

۝ rosemary’s baby. ethan landry

warnings smut, use of “good girl” lmk if i missed any! 1,327 words

“BUT I WANTED TO BE KAREN!” you whined to Tara about your group Halloween costume, your Regina bodysuit gripping like a threat made of glitter.

you, tara and anika were going as the plastics for halloween. tara as karen, anika as gretchen and you as regina of course.

tara only rolled her eyes. “You’re Regina. Deal with it. You look iconic.”

Iconic.

You didn’t feel it not until the party lights washed over you like neon moonlight, not until the bass throbbed against your ribs, lights flickered like broken camera flashes. Music pulsed like a heartbeat gone wrong.

Everywhere around you: glitter, sweat, laughter, the hazy glow of October magic.

But you felt it before you saw him. A slow, crawling awareness across your spine, like a gloved finger tracing your skin.

Ethan.

Not cardigan Ethan. Not shy, “sorry-I-bumped-into-you” Ethan.

Tonight he came as something else. A black skull makeup, bone-white and grinning, a hooded costume clinging to his broad frame, a presence that cut through the crowd like a quiet, sharpened howl.

He didn’t look at you, he devoured you with his gaze, the hollow eyes of his mask fixed on you as if he’d been waiting for you to step into the light. Your Regina heels clicked across the floor, sharp and confident, but your pulse fluttered like a whisper caught on a blade.

Across the room, Ethan tilted his head.

Slow. Intentional. Predatory. his thoughts were far from gentle. he wanted to feel like when he was watching you he was trapping you instead. He stepped closer through the crowd, silent as the secrets he kept. His shoulders squared, his chest rising with a calmness that didn’t match the storm in his head.

Regina George…

Queen dressed in a bunny costume.

And she has no idea she’s about to meet something far more dangerous than any Burn Book.

You caught his stare, heat sparking down your spine. The costume may hide his body, but not the tension simmering beneath his skin, that dark, coiled dominance that made the room feel suddenly smaller, the air suddenly thinner.

You were supposed to feel powerful tonight.

But Ethan’s gaze stripped you of it in an instant, not cruelly, just inevitably, like gravity claiming a falling star. And you couldn’t help it.

You thought:

He’s not just looking at me. He’s dominating me.

and Ethan felt something inside him snap into place.

Mine.

The word wasn’t a thought, it was a pulse, a drumbeat, a violence wrapped in velvet. He leaned against the wall, skull makeup catching the strobe lights, making him look half-dead, half-divine. And he watched you.

Cute.

Stupidly cute.

She has no clue, does she?

No clue I’ve been thinking about her for weeks. No clue what I’d do if she ever looked at me the way she looks at her reflection.

But then she did. You did.

Your eyes met his across the room, and everything stopped.

The lights. The music. The people, even the halloween vibes he waits for every year. Nothing existed except the way your breath hitched.

And Ethan felt the beast inside him grin.

Good girl. Look at me.

He pushed off the wall, slow and deliberate, the skull makeup making his expression unreadable but the hunger behind his eyes was unmistakable. He didn’t smile. Didn’t blink.

He just moved toward you like he had every right. You swallowed. Your fingers twitched against your legs.

Perfect.

She’s going to run, he thought. Or she’s going to follow. Either way she’s already in my hands.

You turned away for a moment nervous? Flustered? But Ethan wasn’t worried. Predators don’t chase. They wait.

And he knew you’d look back again.

without using words he signaled you to the bathroom. this nerdy guy from your econ class was suddenly a force. you didn’t know how he was able to do that. it was like he had some kind of magic in the tip of his fingers forcing you to join him, forcing you two together.

"You know what I love about this costume?" Ethan murmured against your ear as you entered the dimly lit bathroom together, his voice low and dangerous. He locked the door behind you with a soft click that sounded like a trap snapping shut.

"It hides everything."

“what do you mean?”

he didn’t answer. it was almost like he was talking about himself.

His gloved hands suddenly gripped your waist possessively, pulling you flush against him. You could feel every inch of him the lean muscles of his chest pressed against yours, the firmness of his thighs aligning with yours. His face pressed dangerously close to your neck. His hot breath ghosted over your skin as he inhaled deeply, as if breathing you in. The silence grew heavy, thick with unspoken desires. Suddenly, he spun you around, pressing you against the cold marble countertop. His gloved fingers traced the outline of your costume, making you acutely aware of every hidden curve. You caught your reflection in the mirror, Regina George pressed against a faceless monster, his costume hiding everything except the clear hunger in his body language. His hands drifted lower, tracing the edge of your costume that rode up your thighs.

"You know what else I love?"

His voice dropped lower, almost whispering.

"How easy it would be to lift this costume up and bend you over this sink." His gloved hands slowly slid up your thighs, pushing your costume up with them.

"No one would hear you scream in this bathroom. No one would know I'm..." His gloved fingers dug into your hips possessively as he leaned in closer, his skull mask pressing against your cheek.

"Taking you like a dirty little secret.” His hands gripped you tighter.

You could feel his hard length pressing against your ass through his costume. It was thick and impressive, making your heart race with a mix of fear and excitement. His gloved fingers traced the outline of your pussy through your soaked panties.

"I've jerked off thinking about this exact scenario. You bent over this sink, your hands gripping the edge while I pound into you from behind. Your moans muffled against the mirror." His thumbs hooked into your panties, pulling them aside.

”So easy." He unbuckled his belt.

He quickly freed his thick cock from his costume, positioning it between your legs. Without warning, he thrust upwards, pushing inside you in one smooth motion. You gasped loudly against the mirror as he filled you completely no foreplay needed tonight.

"Fuck," He groaned, "So tight..."

He began to move, his hips slapping against your ass as he fucked you hard and fast. The bathroom filled with the sound of wet skin meeting skin, your moans echoing off the walls. His gloved hands gripped your hips tightly, pulling you back onto his cock with each thrust.

"Take it," He growled,

He reached around and pulled your hair back, forcing you to arch your back and push your ass out further. He used the new angle to his advantage, hitting deeper inside you. You could feel his balls slapping against your clit with each thrust, sending jolts of pleasure through your body. With a final, deep thrust, Ethan buried himself inside you as he came, his hot seed spilling into your unprotected womb. He held you in place, his thick knot pulsing as he emptied himself completely. Once he was done, he slowly pulled out, leaving you feeling strangely empty. He fixed his costume, then turned to leave without a word. As he reached the door, he paused and looked back over his shoulder. "Thanks for the Halloween treat, regina” he opened the door and disappeared into the crowded party, leaving you alone and confused in the bathroom.

only when you got home you realized what happened. “im not having rosemary’s fucking baby.” you sighed on your way to the pharmacy to buy plan b.

- @dumbslvtforethan on tumblr

sooo it's been 5 months... but i'm back! just for you to get an idea of how fried my brain is... it took literally 4 months to write this. i'll try to be more active, i promise. also... been re-reading the harry potter series and i was wondering if you'd be interesting in reading fics about the marauders era (including barty, evan and regulus, i'm literally obsessed). anyways, let me know. i've been also thinking i can write for ethan being in the marauders era and mix both worlds!

⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅ he was my best friend — ethan landry

ᢉ𐭩 word counter: 2.6k

ᢉ𐭩 pairing(s): gf!ethan landry x fem!reader

ᢉ𐭩 contents: blood. violence. betrayal. emotional heartbreak. mentions of death. trauma. guilt. redemption arc. trial scenes. second chance.

ᢉ𐭩 in which ethan chooses love over blood and gets a second chance

Masterlist + taglist !

Scrap from Halloween bc it felt like a crime to leave this in my drafts :(, first time using a laptop for tumblr and holy moly I loveee it! Also be on the lookout for arcane posts! Use my inbox if you have any ideas on what I should write for scream or arcane

Content Warining!!: slasher!ethan x fem!reader, reader and Ethan are already dating, stalking, obsession, kind of manipulative, hickeys, fingering, fem getting eaten out, making out

The sound of chatter rang outside of your window. Your eyes opened as you jolted up, looking out of the window to see your boyfriend Ethan with a smile on his face. What is he doing up? You shyly walked over to the window, embarrassed of him seeing you in your pajamas. “Ethan what are you doing here?” You asked concerned, but all Ethan does is laugh.

“Cmon baby let me innn, please?” He asks with a whine. You were slightly taken aback, Ethan had never been like this before but you let him in. “What’s wrong babe, you’re acting funny” you ask a little more worried this time as Ethan climbs into your room. “Nothing I just missed you” he says, his tall figure being illuminated by the moon, outlining each and every one of his muscles through his shirt.

Ethan makes his way over to you, holding your jaw in place as he kissed you roughly. You gasp, pushing him back a bit by his chest. “Seriously Ethan what’s up?” You ask more seriously this time, making him groan. “Nothing babe I just-“ he stops seeing you look down at his pants, a prominent bulge in them. You blush harshly, seeing Ethan now choking on his words.

“I- I uhm…missed you..” he mumbled, putting his hands in his pockets. You both stand there awkwardly for a moment before you lean in and kiss him again. Ethan’s slightly surprised but doesn’t waste any time, kissing as rough as he was before, putting his hands on your hips pulling you against him. You wrap your arms around his shoulders, feeling something cold on the sleeve of his shoulder. You pull away from the kiss opening your eyes to see blood on his shirt.

“Babe- what is-“ he cuts you off. “Don’t worry it’s not mine” he says before pulling you back in with more lust. He pushes you harder against him as he plops you both on the bed, placing you in his lap. You groan, feeling the tent harden in his pants. “Ugh look what you do to me” Ethan says in between kisses. Ethan pulls away to look at you.

“God you’re so perfect..” he says nervously before taking your shirt off. You’re a little surprised but not upset, you’d always wanted to see if Ethan would ever get dirty with you. Ethan groans as he slides your shirt fully off, throwing on the floor next to your bed. He then takes his shirt off before connecting your lips again. You groan as you feel him touch your bare stomach with his hands, caressing you gently.

Ethan huffs, moving his mouth down to your neck and chest, kissing and sucking wherever he could find. You moan, throwing your head back. He reacts to this by licking and long stripe from your chest to your jaw. He quickly unclasps your bra with a gasp, taking in the sight before purposefully bouncing you in his lap.

You moan, feeling his erection in his pants touch your clothed pussy. Your tits perfectly bouncing in Ethan’s face as he bounces you, making him groan. You were just too perfect to him. Ethan practically throws you down onto the bed, you let out a sound of surprise before Ethan gets off the bed, leaning on the edge as he lovingly, but tightly grabs your thighs, dragging you to the edge of the bed, you knew exactly what was going to happen.

You squirmed in impatience. Ethan moaned at this neediness you were showing. “The more you squirm the longer I make you wait” he said darkly. You whined but tried to stop yourself from moving. “Very good” he cooed, rubbing his hands up and down your stomach giving you chills. Ethan slowly reached out to you, grabbing the waistband of your shorts pulling them down.

He threw the shorts down, bending down as you were now just in your underwear. It is now eerily quiet as Ethan lowers his face to you, feeling his warm breath along your clothed pussy. You whimper excitedly, aching for him to do more.

Ethan smirks, slowly pulling down your underwear, groaning at the sight of you fully bare. “Holy shit…you really are perfect..” he says as he looks at you. Before he can give you time to react to his words he shoves a finger into you, making you almost scream. You look up at him desperately as he just stares, fascinated with you.

He quickly snaps back to reality, putting another finger in you before curling in and out of you. “How interesting..” he mumbles as he quickens his speed. You moan bucking your hips as he keeps speeding up mercilessly. Ethan huffs as he sees your hips go up in the air, loosing every bit of control he has.

His fingers continue to ram into you at an alarming speed. You see Ethan’s arms flexing from all of the force he is putting into you, sending an electric feeling throughout your entire body. Ethan looks at you lovingly as you dig your nails into his back, almost like he’s enjoying how you cope with him doing this to you. “God this is better than the millions of times I thought it was like” he says, leaning into you, his lips slightly ghosting over your ear.

You moan again, finding a release in his words. Ethan whimpers as he pulls his fingers out of you, covered in your juices. He looks down at his glistening fingers for a moment before sucking on them, making eye contact with you. You grunt, watching his tongue gliding over his fingers.

He then ducks down, placing his elbows on the edge of the bed, kissing the soft skin of your legs and upper thighs. You gasp at his kisses, your knuckles gripping at the bedsheets. Ethan smirks, his hands rubbing your legs as he looks up at you. “So beautiful…” he mumbles, taking in the way you look in this very moment.

He continues to stare for a little longer before placing his face right above your entrance. You moan, feeling his warm breath sweeping through your walls. He quickly latched his mouth to your entrance, his tongue slipping up your walls making your hips buck.

He hummed, his lips kissing your soft cunt. His kisses making you weak, desperately moaning as his mouth tastes you. His tongue dances around your bud, having no mercy as he sucks on the sensitive spot. You moan loudly, your senses overcome with pleasure as he continues to use his mouth against you, his hands caressing you ever now and again.

He chuckles, watching the affect his mouth has over you, quickening his speed. You gasp at the sudden change in speed, your hands moving to clutch his hair as you adjust to the more intense levels of pleasure he was bringing you. As he continues you can feel him groaning into you, the vibrations making your breath catch in your throat.

You grip his hair harder as he sucks and licks at your cunt, sending you over the edge once more, the second organism violently pulsing through your body, causing your legs to shake with pleasure. Ethan's face comes back up, covered in cum and other bodily juices, the sight of him making your heart quicken.

He licks his hands thoroughly, making sure to taste all of you before wiping his face as he leans down to kiss you tenderly. "you taste so sweet" he mumbles against your lips making you chuckle slightly. After a few minutes of kissing he climbs on top of you, laying his head on your shoulder as he pulls the covers over both of you, concealing your naked form from the cold.

He lays with you, closing his eyes. "Ethan?" you ask, staring at him. "hm?" he responds, his eyebrows lifting in concern, leaving his eyes closed as he listens to you. "What's up with the blood on you're shirt?" you ask, the question had been lingering in the back of your head since he sunk in.

Ethan groans, his brows furrowing as he speaks, still keeping his eyes closed as he pulls you a bit closer. "some guy at work got hurt, I helped him, he's fine end of story" you lean into him, not fully believing him but dropping the topic for now and falling asleep in your boyfriends arms, he'd never hurt anyone.

Taglist:

it’s a random monday night and ethan came over to yours, to do his homework. you distract him, of course, and he ends up on the floor on his knees, painting your toenails for you. you’re sat at the edge of the bed, and ethan nervously take your left foot in his hand, his soft caresses making your spine tingle.

he’s almost halfway done with your first foot, when you decide to lay flat on the bed. he looks up at you as you do so, your crop top rising slightly, and he’s able to just see the bottom of your breasts. his face flushes a deep red, and he quickly looks away in embarrassment, and returns to painting your toes. he knows you can’t see him, though, and takes quick glances back up to your breasts every now and then.

you try to get comfortable at the awkward angle, and shift your upper body slight, causing your right foot to accidentally graze over ethan’s crotch. this causes his breath to audibly hitch.

“sorry!” you say, thinking you just hit his leg with your foot.

he takes a second to get himself together, and finally responds. “it’s okay..” he says lowly. another second passes by, and he mutters a “i didn’t mind” under his breath.

this causes you to lift yourself up on your elbows. “huh? what did you say?” you ask, genuinely not able to hear what the boy just said.

“oh- uh- uh… nothing. it’s not important.” he says quickly, and you notice how red his face is. you question it, but decide not to say anything out loud this time. you plop back down on the bed, and ethan watches as your upper half bounces, which makes your boobs bounce as well.

“christ,” he curses under his breath. you sit up quickly, and catch ethan staring at your tits. he returns back to painting your toes, not realizing that you had just caught him. you notice there’s a growing bulge in his gray sweatpants, and you can’t help but smirk. you lay back down on the bed while ethan continues.

you pick up your right foot again, this time, placing it directly on ethan’s bulge. his mouth opens, but doesn’t say anything, afraid you’ll realize what your doing and stop.

after a bit, and he still doesn’t say anything, you begin moving your foot back and forth on his now fully hard dick.

ethan seems to forget how to think. he doesn’t move, biting his lower lip and closing his eyes. the feeling of your foot is driving him wild from the bottom up, the feeling sending shudders down his spine. he doesn’t even bother trying to be subtle after a while. his face is flush and he’s starting to breathe heavily, trying in vain to think of the right words. his heart is pumping wildly in his chest, his body still going tingly and sending chills down his spine as little whines and moans come out of his mouth.

you lift your crop top up just a little, exposing your hard nipples to the cold air. this makes him fold even more. the poor boy is already so close, just the feeling of your foot and the sight of your bare chest is enough for him.

he feels paralyzed at this point, realizing he’s teetering on the edge of an orgasm. he begins to rock back and forth, in tandem with your foot. he can no longer hide his moans from you, starting to get loud, even though he’s so embarrassed.

“fuck, y/n… please…” he begs. you smirk, but don’t say anything, just adding more pressure with your foot.

“i’m.. im gonna… i’m gonna cum..” he says the last word harshly, still feeling so ashamed at the sinful act. “please.. i cant cum like this, y/n… please, baby..” the pet name makes your stomach drop, and arousal forms in your panties.

“it’s okay, e..” you sit up on your elbows. “i want you to cum in your pants, sweet boy… make a mess for mommy.”

he groans at that, and quickly reaches his high, rocking back and forth against your foot, his head shooting up to look at the ceiling, letting out soft “ah, ah, ahs” as he paints the inside of his boxers with thick cum. you instantly feel the wetness seep through, it showing up nicely on the gray he’s wearing. you smile sweetly at him.

once he returns back to earth, he looks back down at his pants, feeling so hot and humiliated, but he loved every second of it. he looks back up to your pretty face.

(maybe some praises like good girl and pretty girl but you definitely don’t need to write those in if those aren’t your thing)

ALSO i just love your writing so much like omg i even read some of your other fanfics for different characters even though i don’t want them cause i just love the way you write 😭

Ghostface's Good Girl (18+)

Your stalker, Ethan, couldn't hold back one night and went inside your house to take what was his.

pairing - stalker!ethan landry x reader

one shot length, 3.0k+ word fic

warnings: PIV, dom ethan, creampie, praising, minor slapping and choking, finger sucking, BJ, slight corruption, teensy size kink, ghostface ethan, whore reader, name calling, orgasm control

Ethan Landry loved you. However, it was all parasocial. You barely knew him. The only thing you knew was that he was Chad's roommate. You saw him occasionally when you were over at Chad's place.

“Hey, y/n,” he would wave to you at a weak attempt at getting closer to you. It was awkward, especially since at the time, he didn't know you and Chad were fuck buddies. He had always liked you and thought you were really hot.

You on the other hand, had never even thought about it. He looked so innocent, so sweet, and Chad was like his older brother. It'd be weird to screw with your fuck buddy's younger brother.

For Ethan, hearing the two of you fuck at night was both a blessing and a curse. He reveled in hearing your moans and begs, biting his lip to keep quiet as he touched himself to your sounds. He hated how it was Chad fucking you, hated more how you were whoring around, knowing Chad wasn't the only guy you were messing with at the time.

He knew that if you were his, he'd put you in your place. You wouldn't be caught with other guys because he'd be the only guy you'd ever need. And once you and Chad broke things off, that's when he started to stalk you.

𝐌𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭!! 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐈'𝐦 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐦, 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 ꨄ 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 1,2k ꨄ 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: ethan landry x meeks martin!fem!reader ꨄ𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: Aftermath of the ghost face attacks you grapple with betrayal of Ethan and of the love (loss) of your life, struggling to rebuild your life amid the pain constantly looking for the answers. ꨄ𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠/𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭: Angst/ grief

❛❛𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧' 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧' 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝

𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧' 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫❜❜

After Ethan died things were hard.

Like really hard.

After Ethan died, everything shattered.

Not just around you, but inside of you too.

Five months. You’d spent five whole months wrapped in the warmth of him—You had given five whole months of your life to that boy. Five months of laughter, secrets whispered under blankets, and late-night drives with music too loud and feelings too big. Five months of dragging him to frat parties, of him insisting you play his favorite video games in exchange. And in hindsight, maybe he was always pretending. Maybe the love you thought you shared was a carefully constructed illusion designed to get close—to destroy from the inside.

But it was all a lie.

The boy who once kissed your forehead and called you his world had been plotting your family’s murder the entire time. Every “I love you,” every inside joke, every shared hoodie—it had all been drenched in blood long before you ever realized. All along, while he smiled at you, kissed you, touched you…

He was plotting your death

And yet... the grief still came. Crushing. Relentless.

Worse than the betrayal was the emptiness that followed it. The bed that felt too big. The parties you stopped attending. The silence that swallowed your nights whole.

You caught yourself reminiscing more often than you’d like to admit. Letting your mind drift back to soft smiles, stolen kisses, stupid inside jokes—before reality crashed in, reminding you that the boy you loved, the one who traced shapes into your skin while you fell asleep—his crooked grin, the way he’d sneak snacks into your backpack, that one ridiculous night when he danced in the rain just to make you laugh. And then, just as quickly, it would hit you: That same boy had looked your brother in the eyes with a blade in hand.

Chad. He had tried to kill Chad.

And still—somehow—you missed him.

You hated yourself for it. For the way your heart betrayed you with every pang of longing. For the way love and horror had begun to look the same in your mind.

You spiraled.

Nights bled into one another, soaked with muffled sobs and questions you couldn’t answer.

Why?

Why would he do this?

How could he do this to you...? to Chad, Mindy, Anika, Tara, Sam?

How could you still love someone who had destroyed so much of you—inside and out?

Chad and Mindy had insisted on therapy. You didn’t argue. Not because you believed it would help, but because pretending to try felt easier than admitting you were falling apart. You sat through the sessions, To give them peace of mind. To pretend for an hour a week that you were trying. But deep down, you knew healing couldn’t happen in a tidy little office with a box of tissues and a clipboard. Not when the nights were still filled with muffled sobs you were sure they could hear through the apartment’s paper-thin walls.

Chad never said anything about the crying. He just knocked gently and held you when you needed it, never pushing, never judging. He understood. Because he had lost Ethan too—not just the version you loved, Ethan was his roommate, his friend, his best friend. 

And yet, even with all that pain, Chad had been your rock. Your warmth in the cold. Your constant. Even while carrying his own grief, his own rage, he never let you face yours alone. He held you when you broke. Listened when you couldn’t hold it in. Cracked jokes when silence got too heavy.

But he knew—no matter how many times he held your hand—you’d eventually have to face the worst of it alone.

Some nights, not even Chad could hold the weight of it for you.

Like tonight.

you were working or at least trying to work on an essay for econ which you hated. It always reminded you of Ethan. You tried to transfer out of econ but were told it was too late in the semester and you had to pass or retake the class later. You felt that familiar ache in your chest as you stared at your laptop screen and the empty doc. You tried to start it but just couldn’t.

Your chest tightened. Your breath caught.

And without another thought, you stood up, grabbed your keys, and made for the front door.

You barely noticed Chad sitting at the kitchen island until he spoke, his voice soft but sharp with concern. “Where are you going?”

You turned, eyes glassy with tears you refused to shed—not here. Not yet. Chad seem to notice as his face softened at your sad expression

“For a drive,” you whispered.

He nodded slowly, reading you in the way only someone who’s lived through the same storm can.

“Okay. Be safe, alright? Love you.”

You blinked, holding his gaze for just a second longer than you meant to. “Love you too.”

Then you stepped into the night.

The cold bit at your skin, but you welcomed it. It reminded you that you were still here—that your heart, broken as it was, still beat.

You drove aimlessly through the city, the rain beginning to fall in soft, rhythmic sheets. Traffic lights bled into the streets, neon and blurred like a memory you weren’t ready to let go of.

you pulled up to the theater.

That theater. The one still echoing with the ghosts of that night.

You sat behind the wheel for a long time, gripping it like it could somehow steady the ache in your chest. Your knuckles were white. Your thoughts louder than the hum of the rain against the windshield.

Eventually, you climbed out. Found your way in through the broken window you once swore you'd never go near again. The air inside was thick with dust and the scent of forgotten tragedies.

You walked into the center of the auditorium. The epicenter of your pain.

And you let yourself cry.

No pillows. No pretending. Just you, the ghosts, and the storm inside you.

Then—a jacket.

Draped gently over your shoulders.

You turned, startled, and found Chad standing in the aisle. Rainwater dripped from his hair, darkening the fabric of his hoodie. His eyes met yours, reflecting the same brokenness. The same exhaustion.

“I knew you’d come here,” he said, stepping forward. “I could feel it.”

You didn’t speak. Just exhaled, a quiet surrender.

He lowered himself beside you, his presence warm and solid. When he wrapped his arm around you, you collapsed into him, sobs wracking your body, raw and heavy.

“I miss him too,” Chad whispered, voice cracking. “But I hate him just as much.”

Your fingers curled into his hoodie.

“I don’t know how to stop loving him,” you whispered. “Even now.”

“You don’t have to,” he murmured. “Not yet. Love doesn’t disappear just because it’s misplaced. you didn’t put it there on purpose.”

A hush settled over the space—not hollow, but reverent.

Then, in a voice just above a breath, Chad said, "It won’t happen overnight but you’re not alone. I’m with you—for all of it."

And this time, his words didn’t just reach your ears.

They reached something deeper.

And for the first time in a long while... you let yourself believe him.

Even if it was only for a fleeting moment.