Sophia was 10 years old when her father had finally told her why they were separated from ‘the good guys’. He claimed he would have told her much sooner had it not been for her mother who threatened him whenever he got close; “its what he loved about her,” he’d always say. “She was ruthless, sarcastic, and took to my charms.”

Her mother passed a week after her and her brothers tenth birthday from Meningoencephalitis, probably from the “swimming pool” her and her father had attempted to build for them using parts they found and using rain water so they didn’t use any of the water they had. Turns out its not the best idea.

After she passed, Sophias father was different. He took to drinking and smoking more, caring for the twins less than he should have, but he did start to open up to the kids about his past. He told them about what him and Uncle Billy had done in Woodsboro, every gory detail. He recounted everything like it had just happened and made sure to drill it into their heads that it was something that was needed, a drug to stop them from going insane in the small, mundane town.

His stories always ended in anger. Anger at Sidney Prescott for stopping their finale and anger at Billy for losing control. Sophia always wondered why her mother kept this from her. Yeah, it was gory and violent, much like a horror movie. However, Sophia loved horror movies. She took in every detail, learning more and more every time her father talked about the crimes and even went as far as to write them in her journals, wanting to keep the stories fresh in her memories.

Her father took her under his wing, more so than her brother who showed he was more analytical than physical. He showed her his tricks of the trade, taught her everything he knew and even helped her go around to a couple others in the community for advice and ideas, recording everything in her journal and to memory.

When it was time for Sophia to head to Mist Haven, she was prepared. She packed everything in her suitcases, not that she had a lot, and made sure to hide her journals under her clothing. She had to keep up appearances as a simple girl who liked horror movies, though was harmless to anyone. She had plans, but she would save them for later when she was better equipped and more familiar with the town in question.

Trigger Warnings: Language and drugs

When: Several years ago

Alex wasn't sure what to expect when Tess sent him a text and asked if they could talk. The first thing his mind jumped to was his running out after she had tried to kiss him. They hadn't discussed that yet and Alex was sure the talk was coming. But sitting across from her in his dorm, he wasn’t sure if that’s what she wanted to talk about. Tess had been silent for a couple of minutes and something felt off to Alex. Things felt very awkward. She didn’t seem like her normal self and she didn’t really seem mad at him either. He just hoped it wasn’t anything bad. “So, uh... What do you wanna talk about?” Alex finally asked, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"I've been thinking about a lot of stuff recently. Life stuff. And I've been beginning to realize that I've grown up with unfair expectations of what's going to happen in my life," Tess said.

Alex had absolutely no idea what she was talking about, other than this wasn’t the first time she’d spoken like that. Clara had never got back to him again when he’d mentioned it before so he wasn’t sure why Tess was suddenly talking this way. “Okay,” Alex slowly drew out, not sure where this was going or how they could talk about it. “And?”

"And one of the things I realized was that I had unfair expectations of how my love life was going to be.” Tess began to nervously pick at her nail polish. “I always thought it would be like Cory and Topanga; boy meets girl, boy dates girl, boy falls in love with girl. The end. I wanted to be like them, to have my first relationship be the one."

Okay, so it was the same thing again and Alex still couldn’t help but feel like he was to blame for it. He and Tess had had a thing for so long, neither one really doing anything about it and then with the whole triangle thing, it had kinda messed that up for Tess. “Yeah, I guess we haven’t really had things be that simple and straight forward.” Alex also felt bad that he was still grappling over the idea of breaking up with her. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Tess but he really wasn’t happy dating her, no matter how much he tried. “Nothin’ wrong with having expectations though. You like fairy tales and stuff.”

"I do like fairy tales but... Fairy tales aren't reality and I need to stop expecting them to be. Instead of just expecting things to to just be magic, I need to learn how to make my own magic and that starts with deciding where I actually want my life to go,” Tess explained, moving her hands around a lot.

Alex nodded as Tess spoke. It made sense and knowing how Clara and Barnabas had protected her from a lot of things growing up, it was probably a good idea too. What didn’t make sense to him was why she was telling him like this. It seemed more like something she’d talk about with Clara. “Where’s that?” Alex asked. “Where’d you want it to go?”

Tess continued to pick at her nail polish, looking down at her nails as she spoke. "I guess I want it to go where I'm happy and where I feel like I belong.” She finally looked up at Alex. “That seems like a good place to start if I'm looking for magic, don't you think?"

Still not sure where this conversation was going, Alex smiled reassuringly at Tess as everything she’d said sounded like it made perfect sense to him. “Yeah, that sounds like a real good place to start. You should be happy. You deserve to be.”

"We both deserve to be, Alex,” she instantly replied. “The thing is... I don't think either one of us actually is happy. You can lie and say that you are, because that's how you are, but we both know it's not true."

Huh. Alex’s smile instantly fell off his face. Out of everything he’d guessed this conversation could be about, Tess calling him out on not being happy with her hadn’t been one of them. He hadn’t thought she’d known that. He’d thought he’d probably have to eventually tell her, and end up hurting her in the process. “I’ve tried to be, but yeah, I guess I’m not.” Alex paused, suddenly realizing that she’d said neither one of them was happy. “You’re not happy either?” Tess simply shook her head, not saying a word. He’d already felt bad before for everything, but now Alex felt even worse. “Oh. Okay. I’m sorry.”

"If you're apologizing, then I guess I am too. I can see now that I wasn't the best person following the events of Halloween. Seeing you with Clara... It scared me. Not because I was actually scared at losing a shot at a good relationship but because I was afraid of losing the idea of the perfect relationship. It felt like my story was being taken away. That's not a good reason to go after someone."

Somehow, Alex managed to feel worse about the situation at the mention of Clara, knowing that he was still in love with her whilst dating Tess. He grew silent for several moments as he tried to put his thoughts together because this was a lot and he really wasn’t used to talking about feelings with Tess. They’d never really done that before. “It’s okay and y’know, I get that. I thought it was fate when you fell on my lap and I used to always think we’d be real good together, but as much as I’ve tried, this hasn’t been like how I thought it’d be. Nothing’s really been the same since we went to North Carolina.”

"Nothing's been the same since before then. Maybe we missed our window or maybe we were just always mistaking this for something that it wasn't. I do know that we were better when we were friends,” Tess said, before reiterating, “Just friends."

Alex wasn’t sure what Tess meant by that. It was learning Clara had feelings for him and kissing her that had started to change things for him. He’d thought things had always been the same for Tess. They really were bad at the whole talking thing. “Yeah, you’re right. Just friends sounds like a better idea for us. ‘Specially if we’re not happy as more than that.” Alex paused. “So, is this you breakin’ up with me?” he playfully asked, nudging her side with his arm.

"This is me breaking up with you." Tess bumped his side back.

Upon hearing those words, Alex instantly felt relieved as though a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He hadn’t had to break up with Tess. She’d done it for him and he was okay with that. “Consider me dumped.” He knew he probably should have done it a while ago, probably shouldn’t had asked her out to start with knowing how he felt about Clara, but Alex was happy to know that he hadn’t hurt her. “But we’re still friends, right? It’s not gonna make stuff weird between us?”

Tess nodded, and then shook her head in response. A confusing gesture but Alex knew what she meant. "In all honesty, I think it's going to make stuff less weird between us,” she said.

Although Alex and Tess had been watching a movie together, another one of her choices, he hadn’t really been paying much attention. Instead, he’d been thinking about his conversation with Levi and whether or not seeing where things could go with Tess would be a good idea. Tess had ended up resting her head on his shoulder halfway through the movie and it had felt nice. Familiar. Everything was slowly getting back to how it used to be between them, and that just made his idea of asking her out make even more sense.

Not that it hadn’t made sense before because it had. They’d spent a full two years in a will they/won’t they scenario before everything with Clara had happened. Even though Alex had wanted to be with Clara and realized he was in love with her, she’d now moved onto Tess’s uncle and he knew he needed to do the same thing. Alex had been stuck between the two girls but he’d only actually dated Clara. It made sense to see if there was something there with Tess after all of that.

It was also what Clara had wanted, and her words kept swimming around his head. That he should give Tess a chance. That they should get to have a proper try. That she thought they could be happy together. Although Alex had been against it at the time, he couldn’t deny that it made some sense. He needed to know all these things.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Alex asked once the movie had ended, and he continued once she’d nodded. “I know everything’s been kinda crazy with us lately, but I was just wonderin’ if you maybe wanted to go on a date with me sometime?” He paused for a brief moment, and then quickly spoke again, not sure what her reaction would be. “It’s cool if you don’t. I’d get it and we can forget I just said it.”

Tess sat up and looked at him, surprised. "I thought that you weren't choosing? When Clara backed out, you said you should have taken yourself out of the situation before..."

“I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to hurt you guys. But now it’s all over with and Clara’s with your uncle...” Alex trailed off, not really wanting to think about him at the moment. “I’ve just been thinking ‘bout us lately. We never managed to get anywhere.”

"We were a kind of thing for two years and it never felt like the right time. Do you think now is the right time?" Tess asked.

That was a good question, and one Alex wasn’t sure about. His opinions on their relationship had changed so many times over the past months. “I think stuff’s different now, and it could be the right time,” he slowly said. “I’d like to find out.”

Tess fell silent for a while and just fiddled with the gummy worms Alex had brought her. As the seconds drew on, he began to wonder if he’d done the wrong thing. They’d only just started getting back on track, and he didn’t want to ruin their friendship already. Just as Alex began to wonder if he should just leave, Tess finally spoke. "I'd like that too. I always wanted it to be you and me. I always hoped it would be."

Alex felt bad that he couldn’t agree with that since he had chosen Clara, but it was still good news. “Yeah?” he asked with a smile.

"Yeah. I always thought that you were my very own Prince Charming. I pictured us having movie dates... You'd bring me chocolates and we'd hold hands. Can we hold hands?" Tess asked.

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” Alex was thrown for a brief moment, not expecting her to ask that but he held his hand out, and Tess slotted her fingers between his. They hadn’t held hands in a long time and he’d become used to holding Clara’s hand, but it still felt good. Familiar. With his spare hand, Alex rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “So we’ve already been watchin’ movies and we’re holdin’ hands... That mean next time you want me to bring chocolate instead of gummy worms?”

"Gummy worms seem like an appropriate movie date candy,” Tess said, shifting in her seat, closer to Alex. “I guess I was more thinking about how romantic it would be that you were thinking about me even before the date."

“That’s why I brought them. ‘Cause I know you like them and you wanted them last time,” Alex said. He hadn’t really meant the gesture as a romantic one, instead more of a considerate one, but perhaps it was a sign. A sign that they were on the same page again finally, and maybe things could work out between them. Maybe Clara was right.

"You're always so thoughtful. I look forward to seeing where this goes and to holding your hand,” Tess said, smiling at Alex.

The more that happened this trip, the more Alex regretted agreeing to it. It had been one bad thing after another. Clara had threatened to never speak to him again, he’d gotten thrown off Mudslide the bull and ended up with a sprained wrist after lasting 4.3 seconds that had felt like an eternity.

The hospital visit for an x-ray that had followed with Levi and Grampy Joe had been interesting. Levi kept alternating between being relieved that his best friend was okay and had survived the bull, and being close to punching Alex in the arm for not agreeing to his plan to get him out of it. Alex was thankful he hadn’t actually punched him because he did feel sore after being thrown off the bull. Grampy Joe seemed to be proud of Alex for lasting as long as he had considering he was a first timer, and also amused because he knew what Alex’s mother’s reaction would be, and it wouldn’t be pretty for Alex.

Once they’d arrived back at the ranch after he’d had his wrist bandaged up, Alex had headed straight for a swing bench to the side of the house, wanting some time on his own with his thoughts after such a stressful and confusing day. He’d been so lost in his thoughts that he jumped when he heard footsteps approaching him, and he was mildly surprised to see Tess standing in front of him. “Hi, Alex. Can we talk?” she asked.

It sounded serious, and Alex just hoped it wasn’t anything else bad. Maybe it was about Clara. He hadn’t heard anything about her since she’d stormed away from him, and he hoped she was okay. “Uh, sure thing,” Alex said, gesturing to the empty seat next to him. “What’s up?”

Tess sat down, but instead of sitting next to him, she sat at the complete other side of the bench. Weird. “You were amazing today, just like I knew you would be. You should be really proud of yourself because you raised a lot of money for a good cause. I'm sorry that you ended up hurting your wrist because of it though,” she said, gesturing to his bandaged up wrist.

Alex grinned at her praise, glad that he seemed to have been able to make her proud. He’d faced his fear and hadn’t let her down. “It’s alright. I’ve sprained my wrist a few times before. It’ll heal up in no time.” He shrugged it off as nothing.

Scooting closer to him, Tess spoke again as though she hadn’t heard what Alex had said. “But... Look... I've known that I loved you for a long time now but I was never sure of how. After doing some soul searching, I've realized that the way I love you is as a brother. I'm sorry that it took me so long to realize that but that's what we are. We're siblings.“

Alex’s grin fell off his face, and once again that day, he was left impossibly confused. How could she only love him as a brother? They’d flirted around a potential relationship for over a year. Not to mention they’d kissed. You don’t kiss your brother on the lips. That wasn’t what they were. “I don’t understand, Tess,” Alex said, his voice wavering. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

Tess smiled sadly. "You don't need to understand it, Alex. This is my decision and it's not something that we can work out. Hopefully soon you might be able to appreciate my reasoning.”

“Hey,” Alex said the moment Levi stepped into their dorm, and he tossed his phone at him. “Do you know what Clara’s talking ‘bout? She said to ask you.” He’d been racking his brain for a while, trying to figure out what starfish had to do with horses but he’d come up with nothing. Knowing Clara, it was probably something rude, however, he still wanted to know.

Alex turned his attention back to his textbook whilst Levi read through all of the text messages he’d been sending to Clara that day, and so he missed his best friend mutter “I cannot believe you’re so blind” underneath his breath. He shook his head, and tossed Alex’s phone back to him.

"Man, why do you never read the urban dictionary posts I send you? Starfishing is when a girl ain't involved when you're laying it down. You know like..." Levi said, and he started to demonstrate but Alex immediately looked away, his face flushed bright red. Why had Clara even said that? They were just going to ride a horse, not do anything like that. Levi’s explanation of Clara’s words made him imagine him and Clara in that position for just a split second, but Alex quickly pushed the image out of his mind, just like the few dreams he’d had about her. It was way too weird, and it just felt wrong. He liked Tess, not Clara.

"But my real question here, and now I'm just sayin' this as your best friend, is why the hell would you let Tess enter you in a bull riding contest? You used to see a bull and be like... 'AH MOMMA' so you know agreeing to this is bull. No pun intended,” Levi said.

Alex looked up at his best friend, and simply shrugged. He knew Levi was right. He didn’t have a good reason for letting Tess go ahead with it other than how could he possibly say no to her. There was no excuse. He was terrified about it, and he really didn’t want to do it. But, Alex didn’t want to let Tess down. He wanted to impress her, and she’d been so happy when she’d told him about it. “It’s for a good cause, and I don’t wanna disappoint Tess,” Alex finally said. “She’s real excited ‘bout it.”

"You know what she gon' be real excited about? When she gets to live out her fantasy of being your nurse when the bull bucks you off and you break every bone in your body,” Levi said.

Alex paled at Levi’s description of what could happen. What would probably happen. Horse riding he could do, and he’d been forced to have a go at mutton busting once as a kid. But bull riding? That was a no go area for Alex. He was okay around them now, but not okay enough to want to climb onto one and hold on for dear life. He knew it was dangerous, and his momma would probably yell at him for even thinking about doing it. But, he had no choice. He had to do it. “I’ll be fine. Nothing bad’s gonna happen,” Alex said, desperately trying to convince himself. “You’re gonna come, right?”

"Man, I'm your best friend. Of course I'll be there. Besides, you think if given the opportunity I'd miss your funeral? Nah. I want to see it all unfold." Levi tossed his dance bag to the floor, and headed into the bathroom, leaving Alex alone with his thoughts once again.

Matt had been away working as normal, it wasn’t like he hadn’t let the stress of the job get to him before but at times he allowed the stress to over take him a little.

He knew this was the best place to come, regardless of the history he’d had here because this would allow him to get the rest he needed even if it was only slightly more than he was getting elsewhere.

He recalled what a friend had told him about just relaxing, letting the stressful stuff just go over his head and instead living everyday as if it was his last...so Matt had decided that is what he would do and maybe that was because he’d recently turned thirty nine and the whole idea of turning forty was slowly but surely dawning on him..

Or it was just a matter of embracing what he had; he couldn’t really complain much it wasn’t as if his life was horrible and he hated every minuet because he was more than thankful for all he had including his family and friends.

The most surprising part of that was the fact that Matt had managed to stay on good terms with most of if not all his ex’s because what was the point in holding grudges or hating people for means of a difference in life choice.

Letting out the smallest of sighs, Matt headed to finally unpack the boxes and his suit cases, grabbing the boxes with the main decorations or objects to be placed around his home. First placing the cutlery in the sink to be washed because there was no way he was putting them in a draw without them being washed first and then onto any extra kitchen equipment which was all currently coloured in black or a turquoise colour which Matt had become rather accustom too in choosing a theme for the house.