Matt, Why Are U Scarying Us

In the Quiet Moments

Pairing: Caitlyn Kiramman x Reader

Summary: After Caitlyn’s mother dies, the reader comforts her through her grief, and their unspoken feelings for each other quietly surface as they share a tender, emotional moment.

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The Kiramman estate was cloaked in silence. Tonight, it seemed like the mansion itself mourned, as if it understood the grief in Caitlyn’s heart. You found her sitting by the window, knees pulled close to her chest, the rain outside echoing her loss. She looked up as you entered, her expression hollow, as though some vital part of her had been torn away.

Without a word, you moved closer, sinking to the floor beside her. You didn’t ask if she wanted company; you knew the offer of comfort would only remind her of what she’d lost. Instead, you reached out and lightly took her hand, your thumb brushing over her knuckles in gentle, repetitive strokes. To your surprise, she didn’t pull away.

"Caitlyn…" you began softly, but the words caught in your throat. What was there to say that could ease this pain?

“It’s strange,” she whispered, her voice a fragile murmur. “You think you’re prepared for something like this… and then it happens, and you realize you never were.”

Her words broke your heart. Caitlyn Kiramman, who was always so steady, so composed, was unraveling. In this moment, you couldn’t hold back anymore—not your feelings, not your concern, not your need to protect her from this crushing weight. She deserved to know, at least tonight, that she wasn’t alone.

“I don’t know if I can make it easier,” you said softly, holding her gaze. “But I’ll be here… for whatever you need.”

For a moment, she just looked at you, her eyes searching your face as if trying to find answers there. Then, with a tentative sigh, she leaned into you, resting her head on your shoulder. Slowly, you wrapped your arms around her, pulling her closer, feeling the delicate trembling in her shoulders as she let herself lean into the comfort you offered.

You sat like that for a while, your fingers tracing soothing circles along her back, your other hand still gently holding hers. Gradually, her breathing slowed, and the tension in her body eased. She shifted slightly, leaning more against you, her hand tightening around yours as though afraid you might slip away.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her voice soft against your shoulder. “I… I don’t know what I’d do without you right now.”

You brushed a loose strand of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear with a tenderness that had always come so naturally around her, yet you’d always hidden it behind careful walls. But tonight, in this quiet vulnerability, it felt impossible to hold back.

“You’ll never have to find out,” you promised, barely a whisper, yet heavy with everything you felt.

Her gaze lifted to yours, something in her eyes softening as her fingers grazed your cheek, tracing a line so gentle it made your heart stutter. Her hand lingered there, her thumb brushing along your jaw as though exploring a secret she’d kept hidden for too long.

“Sometimes… I’m scared of needing anyone like this,” she murmured, her voice raw with emotion. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you too.”

You leaned forward, resting your forehead against hers, a silent response that she didn’t have to worry about that. There was something in her eyes that was both familiar and new, like she was only now letting herself show what she’d felt all along. You felt it too—an intense, quiet longing that had simmered beneath the surface, bound by unspoken fears.

“Caitlyn, you don’t have to hide from me,” you murmured, letting your hand slide down to hold hers again. “I’m not going anywhere. I never was.”

She closed her eyes, taking a deep, shuddering breath as if finally allowing herself to let go. And then, in a moment so small yet so precious, she leaned in, her lips brushing yours with a hesitance that spoke to both fear and trust. It was a delicate, fleeting touch, but it held everything she hadn’t said. It was a promise wrapped in fragility, a reassurance that you were right there with her.

You pulled her closer, gently, resting your chin atop her head as she nestled into you. You held her as she drifted off in your arms, letting sleep finally take her, trusting you to keep her safe. For the first time, it felt like you were both exactly where you were meant to be—wrapped in a silent understanding, neither of you needing to say more.

In the soft quiet of that moment, as you held Caitlyn close, you knew she felt it too: you weren’t just her friend. You were the anchor that would see her through this loss, and she was the part of your heart that you had always, always waited to share.

———

Together - CHO HYUN-JU x Fem Reader

Summary: Reader is scammed and abandoned by her boyfriend, leaving her alone in South Korea to her fate, so in desperate search of a solution to return to her home country she decides to join the squid games to get money, within the game she meets a couple of people who become her friends and could possibly be something more.

Warning: In this episode none!

In futures episodes: Violence, Strong language, female main character is considered heterosexual but she have feelings for a female (Cho Hyun-ju) and it is reciprocated, abuse for male characters.

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You were stupid, very stupid and naive, that was what you repeated to yourself every day since your ex-boyfriend scammed you and abandoned you in a country where you didn't know anyone, you couldn't even understand the language well and now you were locked up in a place full of strangers in a green uniform and with a headache you could barely bear.

Why were you doing such stupid things? You should have said no when that man approached you and offered you money, it was all for the damn money, otherwise how would you find another way to get home?

Barely a day had passed, you understood little of the first game where you saw one person after another die around you, what you had gotten yourself into, this wasn't a game, it was a massacre, as you sat cross-legged on the cold bed that had been assigned to you you could feel your hands shaking and you felt warm tears rolling down your cheeks.

Hey - a kind voice rumbled slowly but enough to wake you from your trance to look up and see a boy with long, slicked-back hair holding a small metal tray - I noticed you didn't come over for your food, I brought you some

His equally shaky hand moved a little closer to you, leaving the tray on the bed, staring at you, afraid you'd react

It's okay if you don't want to eat it, it's just that if we're going to keep playing you need strength for tomorrow - his kind but shy smile and his clear disinterest in leaving made you wipe your tears with the sleeves of your sweater, nodding taking a deep breath - Thanks - you told him, trying not to sound upset, because you really weren't and if you were it was only with yourself

My name is Dae-Ho, yours is… 144 - he looked at you curiously taking a bite of his food

Y/N… my name is Y/N - you sighed, hugging your legs uncomfortably and nervous

Hey, leave her alone - a loud and somewhat curious voice sounded behind Dae-Ho making the two look towards the sound - don't you see that you're making her uncomfortable? go away

I… I didn't want to make you uncomfortable, it's just that… - Dae-Ho looked at you embarrassed, walking away just a few steps

You don't have to give explanations, go away - the girl, a little taller than Dae-Ho, looked at him firmly, almost annoyed, following the man with her gaze as he walked away quickly and embarrassed, joining a group of men on the other shelf of beds

you can eat in peace - the girl looked at you kindly while you only responded with a slight nod and she walked away returning to her place two beds down on the shelf next to you

It was difficult for you not to go unnoticed and it was obvious that everyone wanted to get away from you, you weren't like them, you didn't share their nationality, their traditions, or their topics of conversation, you didn't even understand many of them what they were talking about, they all looked at you like a weirdo, like why a foreigner could come and want to steal their prize, it was unfair.

That's how you spent the first night, alone, trembling from the cold and fear, looking into the darkness while you cried silently and the gunshots echoed in your ears, it was a nightmare and that's how you were until sleep overcame you

The second day wasn't any better, you could barely carry yourself, you were tired, hungry and much more scared than yesterday, surrounded by hundreds of people in a courtyard with drawings of children and rainbows on the floor.

''Now, it's time to form teams of 5, you have 10 minutes'' the voice of the speaker sounded repeatedly before an alarm sounded and you saw how everyone ran looking for members for their team, but everyone seemed to avoid you like a plague.

They ran and pushed you but no one looked at you to join and if they looked at you it was to laugh and murmur

There she was again, standing in front of you with a sad look that barely met your eyes she looked at the floor and walked by your side.

Hey… - you murmured barely, only to her with fear and shame - if you still don't have a team… I can join you if you don't mind - she looked at you over her shoulder giving a sigh of relief nodding offering you her hand so she could walk by your side and not get lost in the crowd

Between your fingers you could notice the difference in size between your small and fragile hand and hers, it was big with a different strength and somewhat rough but still made you feel protected and confident

So you both walked almost in circles finding the fragile old woman and her son and then the little girl with bangs forming a team of 5

Again the games were confusing for you, you could identify some that resembled what you had once played in your country but fear consumed you making your hands tremble again

Calm down - her voice again fragile but somewhat thick made you look at her holding the air - everything will be fine, don't push yourself too much okay? Do you think you can take charge of throwing the rocks? It's just a matter of taking a rock, throwing it and making the second one fall, that's all you have to do - her voice was like a murmur trying not to interrupt the game of the first two teams that were participating

Should I just throw it? - you looked at her nervously, looking at her dark eyes behind her bangs

You just have to throw it, it's easy - she smiled at you giving you hope making you smile barely as you looked at the floor again nervously trying not to think about everything that was tormenting your head, in the background you could hear the screams and cheers that the other players made while the teams participated until a round of gunshots made you jump scared covering your ears and closing your eyes tightly - calm down, calm down nothing is happening - her arms surrounded you quickly, adjusting you against her chest, you could feel the strands of her hair on your face and a slight aroma of herbs coming from it - it's over, don't open your eyes until I tell you okay?

Your head barely nodded as you took a deep breath, the aroma of her hair made you remember the gardens where you walked when you first arrived in South Korea and her arms for some reason made you feel protected, nothing could happen to you

A couple of minutes (that seemed like an eternity) passed slowly, people were talking, some were crying and in the background you could hear the sound of the sirens of the forklifts that had come to pick up the bodies, one second after another it was a damn nightmare.

''Next team, you can take your position'' the voice from the speaker again

It's our turn - the old woman sighed getting up while you opened your eyes and stood up slowly with fear

The guards tied your ankles and after a shot the game for you began.

You walked counting the steps, being constant and fast in your tasks, first Ddjaki, the little girl with the bangs did well, then the flying rock, your trembling hands held it strong and letting out a deep sigh you threw it against the rock in the distance failing in the attempt

Girl concentrate, what's wrong with you! - the old woman shouted making your friend look at her annoyed and after her firm indication and walking as a team to pick it up the 5 of them returned to their position - don't fail, please girl!

We trust you… calm down, take a breath and throw it, you'll do well - Your new best friend looked at you smiling lightly giving you courage.

A sigh again, a fixed look at the rock and after throwing it it fell with a blow.

Everyone screamed, applauded and so on again until reaching the final task ''Team 2, you have completed your tasks'' you had never been so happy to hear that spooky voice on the speaker and once the guards untied your ankles they all ran screaming and laughing to the fence that separated you from the rest of the players, you could finally return to the dormitory and finally had survived another day.

Everyone was happy, so much so that all of you were jumping and screaming with excitement, your friend, the tall girl ran to you without wasting a second surrounding you with her strong arms making you spin in the air while both of you laughed

We did it, I told you, we did it right - she laughed jumping with you still in her arms making you scream when you felt the air on your face and your legs hanging in the air

Now, stop it, you're going to make her dizzy - the old woman laughed patting her back as a sign that it was enough until you heard gunshots in the distance again making the team erase their smile and remember the horrible place where they were

Come on let's sit down - her hand slowly and carefully took yours walking towards the bed shelves climbing up and sitting on the steps - are you okay?

Yes… I'm pretty well, thanks for helping me - you smiled rubbing your hands on your legs nervously

By the way, my name is Cho Hyun-Ju… are you? - she looked at you curiously

Y/N… my name is Y/N - you smiled shyly at her

You have a very pretty name - she smiled back shyly with her cheeks slightly tinted - thanks for letting me join you in the game you were the only person who approached me

You don't have to thank me, I think we are both rejected for certain reasons and that makes us unique in the crowd right? it's better to be united and be stronger than alone - your cheeks felt hot, the sign that they were red like cherries

You're right..

Part 2 ✨

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Thanks for reading, this is the first episode I've written about Squid Game and it was short since I have little time to update but I didn't want to go to sleep without writing the beginning of the story, I have ideas but I'd like to hear yours and write them down, just to reinforce the theme of this story the reader and Cho Hyun-ju will possibly have a romance so if these themes aren't to you please don't read it, I know you'll find something that suits your tastes. 🫶🏻

Again, Thanks for reading, I'll be back soon!

BTW: Happy New Year everyone 🥂✨

The Wrong Side - P4 [Ellie Williams x Fem!Reader x Abby Anderson]

Part Three

Warnings: language, last minute editing🏃🏽‍♀️

It has been months since you last saw Ellie. Months since you left her lying on the theater floor, despite her begging for you to stay. Her voice haunted you when you tried to sleep, her fucking crying.

You failed her twice, back in Jackson and in Seattle. She must hate you, and you don't blame her. You ruined whatever relationship you had.

You're almost glad you're far away from her, having traveled from Washington to California.

It was Abby's plan, go to Santa Barbara in search of the Fireflies. Something Owen wanted to do. And you went along with it, even if it was just a rumor and waste of time. It's not like you had a home to return to anyways. Abby explained what happened, the fight between the Seraphites and Wolves, what she did to protect Lev.

At first, it seemed irresponsible, sticking her neck out for a Scar. But the longer you spent with the Lev, you understood why. He wasn't like them. He was gentle, innocent, and just like Abby, you quickly adored him.

If it weren't for him, you don't know how your relationship would be with Abby, Lev almost acting as glue for you two.

The first few weeks with her were fucking insufferable. After the theater, you traveled back to the aquarium, burying the bodies with Abby in complete silence. You scrubbed his blood off the floor, the tile already stained crimson. You slept on the opposite side of the aquarium to Abby and Lev, or tried to, anyway. The urge to run off, back to her, was more present than ever. You overthought it, convincing yourself it was a stupid anger-based decision, and forced yourself to sleep.

In the morning, Abby was apologizing as soon as you woke up. How she didn't mean anything by it, she made a mistake, and how she loves you so fucking much. You didn't accept it, even if she was sincerely sorry. You were infuriated that she slept with him in the first place, and you needed time before you could even wrap your head around the idea of forgiving her.

When she first told you about Santa Barbara, you shot her down, telling her it was a stupid rumor. That resulted in you staying at the aquarium longer than she wanted, and in that time, you had almost wished for Ellie to return. She never did.

Constantly being in Abby's presence was torture. You were unable to look at her without thinking of her cheating on you or her violently beating Ellie's defenseless body. And that look in her eye as you knelt to Ellie. As if she was going to take her life right there at that moment.

These frequent reminders caused your anger to grow fast around her, avoiding any unnecessary conversations. That was unless Lev got you two to talk, which he seemed good at, starting the conversation for you and Abby then slowly exiting it.

Over time, being around her became tolerable, the uncomfortable tension became less noticeable, and your interactions got longer. Though you didn't forgive her, you missed talking to her, even if you hate to admit it. You're able to hold eye contact with her, admiring her hypnotic blue orbs each time. You've found yourself studying every last one of her features, eyes lingering a little too long on her fucking lips. Usually, that's when you'd abruptly walk away, excusing yourself and mentally scolding yourself.

Eventually, you said yes to Santa Barbara, you had nowhere else to go, and the aquarium never felt like home. It was eerie, uncomfortable. So you got on the boat, where you were always under Abby's gaze, unable to escape. Avoiding her was impossible, and you were overwhelmed with your mixed emotions about the woman. You couldn't exit fast enough when you finally reached California.

The summer sun would beat down on you as you walked throughout the day, and though it was beyond uncomfortable, you couldn't help but appreciate its effects on Abby. The glow on her sun-kissed face, how her freckles multiplied on her rosy cheeks. The way sweat glistened on her built arms, the sight making your mouth go dry. She was attractive without even trying.

She fucking betrayed you, and you're falling for her fast.

God, the feeling sucks. Because it would be a complete lie to say Ellie hasn't crossed your mind many, many times. Figuring out your relationship, what it was, was mental gymnastics.

You jeopardized Abby's life by not telling her about Ellie, because you wanted to keep Ellie safe. When Ellie kissed you, you reciprocated, and you were fucking disappointed when she pulled away. When she cried your name, both at Jackson and Seattle, you were the only one that could defend her, and you didn’t. You remember wanting to crawl out of your skin, ashamed of yourself.

And, when she needed you most, you abandoned her.

Even after all these months of trying to forget, attempting to block out the memory for your own sanity, you can't. Sometimes you even question if Ellie made it home safely or if her corpse is lying on some highway. Though you'd like to believe otherwise, you wouldn't know, and the thought terrifies you.

You don't understand what you two had, unable to label it. All you know is you care about Ellie, maybe more than yourself. Even if you didn't express it when you had the chance, you did. You never looked at her as the enemy, nor did you ever treat her like one, though she killed fellow Wolves and ultimately wanted to kill Abby. You just couldn't.

If you thought too hard about it, you know exactly why, but it doesn't matter. None of it matters now. Ellie is out of your life. She's not coming back, and you know if she did, it wouldn't be under good circumstances. Maybe it was for the best.

All you have is Abby, and that should be enough for you. You want it to be enough.

The heavy thoughts distract you from the creaking of the front door, back facing the woman as you sat on the porch steps, eyes glued to the sky. "Hey."

You gasp, hand clinging to your chest, "Fuck, Abby!"

She chuckles, taking a seat beside you, "Sorry."

You look at her, noticing that her long hair was free from its usual braid, the waves perfectly framing her face. You loved it, and you made sure you told her that whenever she wore it down. "Full moon?" Abby tries to make small talk, eyes dancing over the night sky. It was. Big and full, casting a bright glow over her face, and you're stuck admiring how beautiful she is.

Out of habit, you bite your lip, entranced by her features.

She glances back to you, another small chuckle as she notices the hold you had on her. Fuck. You tear your eyes off of her, thinking of something to say to distract her from your obvious staring.

"Is he um- is he asleep?" you question, playing with your fingers.

"Yeah," Abby replies, "told him I wanted to head out early...and he wanted to pass out before you got the chance to tuck him in."

She lets out a soft chuckle as you scoff, shaking your head. "It can get cold in the middle of the night," you mumble. As she put it, you're 'soft' for Lev, and she loved teasing you for it. "It's cute."

"Hm?" you hum, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "How you are with Lev. Never seen this side of you."

You feel the heat rush to your face, as it always did whenever she said anything remotely sweet about you. You never got used to it. There's a beat of silence before you speak up, "When I imagined us taking care of a kid, this isn't what I pictured."

Abby slightly grins, "You thought about that?"

"Of course," you shyly say, almost embarrassed to admit it. "At the stadium, passing the classroom every day, seeing all the kids...I thought maybe one day..." you trail off, shaking your head, "never mind."

The tiny smile on your face completely fades, and Abby notices. She feels guilty, like it's her fault you'll never live this life you had desired.

Everything seems to go quiet, the tension between you suddenly skyrocketing. "Will things ever be the same between us?" her voice cracks, her lips curving into that frown. Her question is heavy, not having a straightforward answer. "I-I don't know," you unintentionally whisper, which wasn't the answer she hoped for, though she expected. "You really hurt me, Abby."

It was frustrating how years of your relationship got blown up within just a few days. Your daily hugs, kisses, and sweet whispers in the middle of the night, stopped so suddenly. It would be a blatant lie to say you didn't miss all of that and more, and you were embarrassed that part of you wants it back. Maybe it’s because you never stopped loving her, unable to just throw away the feelings you had for her for years.

And now, she’s all you have, whether you liked it or not. It only made sense to try again. Or, that's what you want to believe.

"But," you speak once more before she gets the chance, "When--if, if we find the fireflies, and we get the chance to settle down...maybe we can try again?"

Abby takes in your words, a faint smiling growing on her face, "I'd like that."

"Me too."

-

"Here," you say, looking back at Lev and Abby, "no numbers, this has to be it, right?"

2425 Constance, the house you've been searching for for the past few weeks. With the information you received, this should be a Firefly outpost, and you're hoping the outside was dingy to avoid attraction, that it wasn't just a rumor.

"Nice catch," Abby smiles at you, her hand gently caressing your arm as she walks past. "Over here."

You and Lev follow the woman, noticing the garage door was cracked open, and she pulled it up with ease. You enter first, listening closely for infected or humans, nothing. You continue walking, the house seemly abandoned. "Well, no welcome party," you mumble, "fucking empty."

"Keep searching," Abby tells you, ignoring the sigh you let out as you look for supplies instead. You let Lev and Abby get the other rooms as you raid the kitchen for whatever was left, which was hardly anything.

The disappointment begins to set in, until Lev calls yours and Abby's names.

You adjust your backpack as you stand up, joining Abby and Lev in a different room. They surrounded a bookshelf, staring at the floor around it, the wood covered in scratches. Lev begins to push the piece of furniture, at least by a few inches, before Abby intervenes. "Scooch."

You help as she leans her body against it, the two of you moving it with ease, revealing a flight of stairs.

"Hello?" Abby calls out as you follow her into the basement, your flashlights dimly brightening the area. There was no response, but with the amount of furniture in the room, it appears people lived here before.

"Been a while since anyone's been here," Lev comments, as he continues to explore with Abby while you're behind picking up the few supplies lying around. The dark room suddenly lights up, Abby mentioning that they have solar. "Hey," Abby says, getting your attention. You walk over, noticing working radio equipment on the wood desk, and Abby is quick to try it out. "Is this frequency currently in use?" she speaks, "This is..."

"Do you see a call sign anywhere?"

You search the desk, moving around papers until you found something useful. "Here." You give her a clipboard that contained frequencies, hoping they would work, that the right people would be listening.

The first one failed, nothing but static. The second one is the same.

She tries once more, nothing but static and the sound of Lev's footsteps as he begins to walk away. "If anyone can hear me, please reply," her voice was desperate, and you feel bad. "Please answer."

"Abby..." You put your hand on her shoulder, sighing before you speak, "Let's go."

Before she gets a chance to speak, there's a voice coming from the radio. "Hi, Abby. We got a clear signal on you."

She quickly looks at you, a glimmer of hope in her widened eyes. Out of excitement, you grab her hand, not letting go as she talks to the unknown person. They were asking questions, a lot of them, and Abby was not hesitant with her answers. If this weren't a Firefly, you'd be fucked.

"We pulled everyone back from the satellite stations and brought them back here to home base."

Owen was right. It wasn't just a rumor. There are Fireflies, apparently two hundred according to the man over the radio. "How do we find you?" Abby questions.

"Get to Catalina Island. Approach the large domed building in Avalon. We'll find you."

Catalina Island. You couldn't be too far, maybe get there within days. You think about what you said to Abby, how you're willing to try again, though you meant it, the reality hits you hard. It scares you. You do love her, and that's why you wanted to fix the relationship, but something doesn't feel right.

You find yourself squeezing Abby's hand, the woman glancing over as she tells them goodbye. "Everything okay?"

"Perfect," you smile, mirroring her own. "Let's get back to the sailboat."

You both glance at Lev, who was watching you like a puzzle he was trying to figure out, and you know exactly why. Your hand is still locked with Abby's, shyly pulling it away. She's unsure how to react, almost wishing you didn't let go. Before she can overthink the interaction, she's walking ahead of you and Lev, eager to be back in the boat.

All she wants is to safely make it to Catalina Island, and start over with you.

You find yourself back in the garage, exiting the same way you entered, not expecting what was waiting on the other side. It happened so fast. In just the blink of an eye, two strangers were assaulting Abby.

"Abby!" You pounce on the man hitting her, taking both of you to the ground. He climbs on top of you, pinning your wrists to the dirt beneath you. You're violently thrashing, but his hold is too strong. It suddenly weakens, noticing an arrow through his shoulder, knocking him back. You look over, Lev preparing his bow again, before another man hits the young boy, his fragile body falling to the ground.

"Lev!" You and Abby are quickly reacting, trying to get to him, but you can't. A sudden blow to your head knocks you down. It was intense, as though you slammed your head into a brick wall, the pain worsening as your vision seems to blur.

The last thing you saw was Lev's unconscious body, mind slipping while Abby's screams echoed in your ears.

Part Five

You really do

(Katniss Everdeen x Fem Reader) ❀

Summary: You and Katniss attend the party together at Snows mansion, then she starts acting a little weird, a little jealous.

Warnings: None really. There’s like one swear word in there but nothing dramatic. (Also, small note, thanks for the request!) (SFW)

Word Count: 2494

A clammy hand gently ran down your arm, clenching your fingers in its own.

The party was loud and colorful. People were everywhere, talking, eating and dancing. You were still at the top of the stairs but you could already tell how overwhelming this was going to be.

“Breathe it all in, children.” Effie spoke with a dreamy sigh. Her wig was tall, shiny, and hard enough to be made of plastic, just like the rest of her outfit. Her eyelashes were dangerously long as she turned to face you. “This is all for you.”

You and Katniss exchanged a glance, hands still locked together.

“Looks cozy.” You stared ahead at the bustling party ahead. Sweat was beginning to prick the back of your neck but you shook it off the best you could.

Effie let out another sigh, this one more exasperated.

“Attitude.” She warned, snapping her fingers. “Smiles. I want to see big bright smiles.” Then she lowered her voice. “I’m talking to you, Katniss.”

Beside you, Katniss mumbled something under her breath but you couldn’t quite catch it. You two looked at each other once more, only snapped back to reality by Effie’s high pitched “Come, come!”

Together the two of you made your way through the heavy Capitol crowd. You took in the odd, exotic looks of the civilians around you but mostly kept your gaze on Katniss as you followed her up the stairs.

Once you two could walk beside each other again, you slipped your hand back into hers.

“A little overwhelming, huh?” You whispered softly into her ear. You two entered Snow’s mansion, still hand in hand and on the trail of Effie.

Katniss let out a soft chuckle, a real smile breaking across her face for the first time in the past hour. “A little?”

You flashed a mischievous grin back at her.

Eventually Effie led the two of you into the backyard that was covered to the brim in decorations, lights of all colors, and various buffets of food.

Katniss locked her arm with yours this time, sticking close to your side. She wasn’t scared, not that she would admit it, but she was definitely a little intimidated by it all.

You were too, but feeling her warmth pressed against your side made you feel a little better.

When the time to dance came around, you rescued Katniss from a group of chatty women and brought her to the dance floor, arm wrapped around her waist.

“You don’t look like you’re enjoying this.” Katniss said after a few minutes, her arms wrapped loosely around your neck. Her movements were a little stiff but the fiery makeup and gorgeous dress made it seem almost natural.

You rolled your eyes playfully, hands resting on her hips. “I’m not a big party person.” You responded teasingly. “But you really look like you’re enjoying this. We all know you partied every night back in 12.”

Katniss let out a soft groan and gently bumped her forehead into yours. “Oh, shut up.”

A small smile teased both of your lips and you leaned your forehead back into hers, just resting it there for a moment.

Both of you were stiff and as awkward as a board, clearly not in your element and dragged far out of your comfort zone, but together on the dance floor things seemed almost nice, like you were meant to be here as long as you were together.

“I know the makeup and outfit is a lot but… you do look really pretty tonight.” You murmured softly, standing on your toes to be eye to eye with her. “Cinna did his job well. As usual.”

Now you noticed the faintest blush dancing across her face and that drew a bigger smile out on yours.

Sure, maybe you two were just together for the publicity of it. Your fake love story saved both of your lives in the games and it got you this far together, what was the harm in playing into it just a little more?

Especially if you were supposedly getting married soon.

Not to mention that you’ve had a crush on Katniss for… as long as you can remember. As the only two female victors from District 12 that won the screwed up games together, you both had some pretty cruel shared trauma and were the only ones that really understood each other.

Sometimes you thought maybe your fantasy romance wasn’t really that fake after all, but in the end, things never progressed past TV kisses.

Katniss recovered quite quickly from your compliment. Her gray eyes studied your makeup painted face for a moment and then flicked to your lips.

“Sounds like you want to amuse the Capitol.” Katniss whispered in the same low tone. She leaned a little closer.

You tightened your grip on her waist and let that same mischievous grin lift the corners of your lips. “Who says I’m doing this for the Capitol?” You responded, although you said it in a teasing way. You could never admit the truth to her.

Katniss took the hint. She moved her face closer to yours, just about to kiss you when–

“Katniss, y/n!” Effie called in a shrill voice, scaring the two of you apart. Beside her was a shorter man with white hair and wise eyes. She introduced him as Plutarch Heavensbee, the head gamemaker for this year's games.

You didn’t get another word in as Plutarch guided Katniss away for the two of them to dance. You let out a soft sigh and returned to the food table to maybe find those chocolate strawberries.

Once you found the snack you were craving, you scooped some up onto a plate. When you turned around, three other Capitol women were standing there.

They were even more decked out than most of the others there. Each of their hair was a bright, vibrant color and at least 2 feet tall. They were wearing equally colorful and blinding dresses and their faces were so caked in makeup you could hardly make out what they really looked like.

“You know, y/n, you were my favorite tribute from the 74th games.” One of the women chimed, nudging you with her elbow.

Another one of the women snuck up to your other side, her elbow bumping into yours. “Mine as well! I donated almost all of my money to sponsor you.”

You raised your eyebrows in amusement, knowing you’d barely gotten a single parachute in that rough arena, much less one that you really needed.

This whole situation, as overwhelming as it was, was still quite curious to you. You figured that while Katniss danced away with Heavensbee, you could learn just a little more about the Capitol citizens.

You spoke with the women for a while, most of your conversations were either about the games or about fashion, two things you didn’t quite enjoy talking about but you went along with it either way.

One of the women in particular had no fear at all getting as close to you as humanly possible. You didn’t really know how to stop her as every time you pushed her away, she just came back even further into your bubble.

It’s a good thing you were charismatic enough to keep their attention on your voice rather than on your lips. They weren’t put off from touching your face and the jewels in your makeup.

Finally, when the announcement music began to play, you noticed Katniss staring at you from a few feet away. The expression on her face was shielded and unreadable, but she did not seem happy.

You excused yourself from your fanclub and went to join her on the dance floor once more as President Snow stepped onto his balcony to make a speech.

You tried to slide your arm around Katniss’s waist as the two of you listened but she pulled away. Effie nudged her back into your grip and Katniss reluctantly gave in, though she didn’t make it easy.

You figured this was what hugging a log was like.

President Snow spoke about your wedding and how glad he was to have you here, though his face showed no emotion at all. He lifted his glass to a toast and so did the crowd.

Fireworks went off behind you and you felt Katniss flinch. You pulled her a little closer, arm still around her waist.

She wedged her hand in between your and her side and put a little space in between you two, even though her other hand was still clamped around yours.

After the firework show, you two returned to the dance floor for one last dance before returning to the train.

“Are you okay?” You asked the second you two were dancing. Your hands were connected with hers this time. Hers were clammy again.

Katniss said nothing for a moment. Her eyes flicked from your face, to the ground, and then beyond you. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Katniss snapped softly at you. She tried to pull away from you but you held her in place.

That’s when you noticed the whole dance floor was staring at you.

“To our lovely victors, and to-be-weds!” Effie smiled widely and pointed to you two. She mouthed the words “kiss,” and then waited.

Katniss pretended not to see, so you stood back up on your toes and pressed your lips into hers. She stiffened and closed her eyes.

When you pulled away, you frowned at her. Something was definitely wrong. Even when you and Katniss kissed for the first time in the games, she seemed to enjoy it much more. Now it felt like there was all sorts of pent up anger and resentment in her kiss.

You two stood there silently, soaking in the applause.

Katniss was the first to break out of your grasp. She said nothing else and headed towards the exit.

Effie looked at you with an annoyed gaze but said nothing on the matter. She just hurried you up to follow Katniss.

You two went straight to the train. You stopped to speak with Haymitch for a few moments and then marched right over to Katniss’s room.

Katniss was staring at herself in the mirror, still adorned in her party outfit. Her gaze hardened when you stepped into her room and she inhaled sharply.

“Katniss, did something happen at the party?” You asked. You were worried that maybe somebody had said something to her or done something while you weren’t looking. “Should I tell Effie?”

“No.”

“Then what happened?”

“Nothing.”

Her tone was telling you to shut up and fuck off, but you weren’t giving in that easily.

Katniss finally looked at you. Her face was red with anger and her eyes were dark. She glanced over your shoulder at the door and started towards it, muttering something about getting changed out of her uncomfortable outfit.

You grabbed her wrist just before she could make it out the door.

“Katniss, come on, talk to me.” You pleaded. “I know you don’t like opening up, but I’m your friend! You can tell me things. I want you to tell me things!”

Katniss whirled to face you. “Are we really just friends?” She asked you. “Is that what you think? Is that what you really think?”

You frowned, taken aback by her sudden explosion.

“Isn’t that what we are?” You asked, furrowing your eyebrows and tightening your grip on her wrist as she tried to wiggle out. “I thought that was our deal.”

“And so did I.” Katniss sighed, half of her anger melting away with just the release of a breath. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m getting upset, I shouldn’t be pissed over this…”

“No, tell me.” You brought her over to the bed, the two of you sitting beside each other. “Tell me what’s upsetting you.”

“It’s not important.”

“It’s bothering you, it is important.”

Katniss sighed again, this time a little softer than before. She let her eyes lock with yours and you saw the various emotions swimming in them.

“It’s stupid. I just… I get upset when I see you with other people.” Katniss finally admitted. “When you’re close with them, when they touch you, when they try to kiss you. It makes me so angry.”

You almost let out a noise of surprise but held it back so you didn’t anger her even more.

“Really?”

“Yes.” Katniss glared at you, though she wasn’t mad at you, she was just mad. “And I hate it. I don’t understand it. You’re my friend, you don’t really love me. This is all just for show.”

“Is it really just for show?” You asked, almost hesitantly. “People don’t fake kiss each other the way you kiss me.”

Katniss wrinkled her nose as if the idea of admitting the truth disgusted her. Her upset gaze darkened and she stared at you, almost daring you to prove yourself.

You were going to make the first move, but surprisingly, Katniss beat you to it.

Before you had time to react her lips were pressed back into yours, her arms sliding around your waist in an almost passionately angry attempt to prove you wrong. She kissed you for a few seconds, and then pulled away, face redder than before.

You were blushing too, but not from embarrassment, from a relieved surprise.

“You think I don’t really love you?” You said softly, running a hand down her arm until your fingers locked with hers. “Katniss, I’ve loved you for years. What I said in the games wasn’t a lie, and you know that.”

Leaning into you, Katniss just rested her head on your shoulder for a moment. Her breath tickled your neck and her body relaxed.

“I can’t love you… I don’t.”

You shook your head, gently picking her head up off your shoulder and cupping her face. “Come on, Katniss. I think you being jealous that I just spoke to a few other women is a pretty clear indicator that you love me.” You said, letting your voice raise a teasing pitch.

Katniss huffed and rolled her eyes, leaning into your hand. “I wasn’t jealous.”

“You were so jealous.”

The blush on Katniss’s face grew even brighter. She pushed your hands away and then pulled you into another kiss.

“You do love me.” You whispered softly into the kiss, letting one of your hands gently climb back up her face. “You do.”

Katniss’s arms snaked around your torso. “Shut up y/n.” She mumbled, kissing you again. When she pulled away, she kissed your cheek. “Stop saying it, you’ll wear it out.”

“You say it, then I’ll stop.”

Katniss sighed in annoyance. “I love you.” She said softly, her eyes still resting on your lips. “I really do…”

“Good, because I love you too.”

This time, when Katniss knocked you back onto the bed for another kiss, she was smiling.

The Wrong Side - P5 [Ellie Williams x Fem!Reader x Abby Anderson]

y'all remember this fic?? me neither😹😹 sorry it took many many years </3

Part Four

Warnings: language.

Ellie is beyond exhausted. Traveling from Wyoming to California would not be easy, that she knew. What Ellie didn't expect was a whole new group holding Abby captive. As much as she enjoyed the idea of Abby suffering, she hated that they got to her before she could.

And another part of her is worried, worried about you.

She should hate you, hate you for leaving her in that situation, for choosing Abby over her. As though she meant nothing to you, like you had forgotten every shared memory. And her feelings would be valid. However, Ellie can't bring herself to resent you to that extent.

She wishes all her feelings for you left when you did, but it would be a lie to say they did. Ellie wouldn't admit she loves you-- she doesn't want to believe she does. But she knows she still cares about you deeply, even more than some of the folks she saw daily in Jackson.

Every time you crossed her mind, which was often, Ellie only hoped you were somewhere safe. She knew it was pathetic, being so concerned about the woman who betrayed her, but she did anyway. She couldn't help it.

After the theater, Ellie had returned home just as she left it, dark and lonely. She had a broken arm and bruised face, her damaged appearance mirroring her mental health, both equally as bad.

It angered her. The plan was to kill Abby, end this for good. And instead, Abby took another person she cared about away. She felt like a fucking failure.

So when Tommy had told her about Abby’s whereabouts, she wasn't hesitant to pack a bag and leave. She had nothing to lose anyway.

Abby had to die. You'd have to watch, and that would solidify where your complicated relationship stood. You'd hate her for good, maybe want to take her life after she takes Abby's. Or, you'd both go your separate ways for the last time, and she'd leave you sobbing over the blonde's corpse. The idea bothers her, knowing the sight would destroy her, but there were so few options.

Even after it all, Ellie is still considering your feelings.

She wishes you had stayed. Then maybe she wouldn't be in this situation. She feels like she went through hell and back. The side of her abdomen is bleeding, thanks to a trap she fell for earlier in the day. Her feet are sore as she drags her converse through the sand, and the only thing she wants more than to rest is to find Abby.

The prisoners in this hell told her Abby was at the pillars, and it wasn't long before she realized what those were.

Bodies hanging on wooden beams, hardly looking alive. Panic set in her body, Abby no longer in her mind, only you. She's searching each face, recognizing one nearby. Despite the lack of muscles and short hair, it's her. It's Abby.

Abby notices a figure approach her, not knowing who it is. "Help me," her voice is weak, hardly using it nowadays. Her eyes slowly blink open, not expecting the sight in front of her. "It's you."

Ellie walks behind the pillar, knife equipped as she cuts her down. Abby falls to the ground, not bothered by the impact.

Ellie intently watches as she picks herself off the ground, walking to a nearby pillar. Hanging from the wood is the boy you were traveling with, and he looks so terrible that Ellie could almost feel bad.

Ellie tightens the grip on her switchblade, anxiety officially setting in. She needs you to be okay.

"Cut her down." Abby points. Ellie doesn’t question it, picking up her pace as she walks to the pillar, where your weak body hanged. Whatever anger and distrust she felt towards you disappears, heart aching as you clung to life. Your skin was dry, peeling in various places, much like your chapped lips. As Abby did, you had also lost any muscle you before.

The sight disturbs her. It also causes her hands to tremble with fury, wishing she had fought harder in Seattle and prevented all of this from happening. You wouldn't be in this fucked up situation. You would be safe at Jackson.

Ellie cuts the rope, a small groan escaping your lips as you fall to the ground. The sand felt like concrete to your body. "I got you," Ellie tells your hardly conscious self, "I got you, Y/n."

Ellie picks you up, ignoring the throbbing wound on her side, forcing herself forward with you in her arms. Abby’s eyes land on you, then back to Ellie, "There are boats this way."

Ellie follows the woman, stumbling over her feet, tightening her grip on you.

Abby was right, relief setting in as two empty boats gently swayed on the water, Abby placing Lev in one of them. Ellie watched them before glancing back at you. She didn’t have to think twice, walking to the empty one and kindly laying you in it. She wasn't losing you again.

"You’re safe," Ellie reassures you, unsure if you can even hear her. The longer she stares at you, the more guilty she feels. Ellie remembers wanting to protect you from every bad thing in the world. You cared too much, too kind for your own good. Maybe that’s why you liked someone like Abby.

Ellie feels a sting to her side, her hand clinging to the wound, blood covering her fingers. The thought of taking you and leaving was gone. Joel’s bloody figure on the cold tile floor flashes in her mind, as your frail frame is in front of her, and all she can see is red.

Abby’s voice interrupts Ellie’s dark thoughts, "She’s coming with me."

"You’re not going anywhere." Ellie's voice is threatening, but Abby can only scoff. She dragged her feet through the water, ignoring the heavy glare Ellie held on her. "I’m not doing this," Abby states, hands reaching out for your body. "Don’t fucking touch her!" Ellie grips Abby’s hair, pulling her back and throwing her to the water. "She would’ve never been here if she wasn't with you!"

Abby shakes her head, this wasn't her fault. She refused to believe that. She glares at Ellie, the woman's gaze just as harsh. "Okay," Abby says, slowly getting up from the water. If Ellie wanted a fight, Abby was going to give her one.

Abby makes the first move, lunging towards Ellie and knocking her into the water. Ellie struggles as Abby holds her down yet manages to kick her off, swinging her knife in the process. A whine escapes Abby's lips, hand clinging to her face, quickly backing away. Ellie doesn't hesitate to attack her once more.

Abby deserves this. She deserves worse. Right?

Ellie approaches Abby with her knife once more, failing to cause any harm. Abby was using all the muscle she had left to resist, and it worked, the two falling in the water again. Ellie was on top of the blonde, her knife so close to Abby's skin, and with a bit more strength, she punctured her chest. Abby yells in agony, forcing Ellie off of her.

Both of them are weak, energy depleting as they continue to fight.

Ellie lost her knife, throwing her bruised fists at Abby until she had her pinned on the sand beneath them. Ellie's hand pressed against Abby's face, the blonde thrashing against her. Ellie doesn't notice her fingers slipped in Abby's mouth, not until she feels a sudden sharp pain. She screams, your consciousness slowly regaining at the noise.

Abby only lets go when Ellie punches her off, her head going under the water as Ellie puts all her weight on the woman.

Abby is desperate, trying to find air, but Ellie is too strong for her. Her knee dug into Abby's stomach as she put all her weight on the woman.

Ellie wants to believe she's doing the right thing. Abby murdered Joel, nearly got you killed. Her death is justified, and Ellie needs to believe that.

"Ellie," your voice is quiet, throat dry and aching. She had tuned everything out, not hearing you, or noticing you had managed to sit up. Her mind is only thinking of one thing, Joel, but she wasn't doing this for him.

Ellie's not even sure if she's doing this for herself anymore. She wouldn't gain anything from this. As her grip remained on Abby, it suddenly felt wrong. It's not satisfying. It's not the feel-good moment she had anticipated.

So, she lets go, Abby quickly coming up and gasping for air.

"Go," Ellie nearly whispers, holding her injured hand as her tears drip into the water, "just take them."

Ellie is sobbing as Abby walks towards you, every emotion hitting her at once. Including losing you for good. You will leave with Abby and Lev, find a better place for your family, have a good life. And she will return to Jackson, knowing she failed Tommy, and go on with her life with even more trauma.

And she had to be okay with that. Are you?

"C'mon," Abby's voice is gentle as she reaches out to you, not being this close to the woman in months. You still remember when she tried to escape, despite you telling her it was a stupid idea beforehand. She argued, and all three of you suffered the consequences.

"No."

Abby's confused at your response, brows furrowed as she takes a step back. "What?"

"I can't leave her, Abby." Your eyes fall on Ellie, crying to herself in the cold water. The sight reminds you of how you left her in Seattle. Weak and alone, and that haunted you for several nights. You couldn't do it again.

"Y/n–" "Tall round building, right? I'll know where to find you. Right now, she needs me."

Your eyes travel from hers to the boat opposite of you, heart aching at the sight of Lev. He didn't deserve to suffer as you or Abby did, spending what felt like years up there on those fucking pillars. He needs to be far, far, away from here. "Take him," you tell her, "get him help. Both of you."

Abby could stay here convincing you this was a mistake, but she knows your mind isn't changing. It would just be a waste of time. Soon you'll realize that on your own, when you show up to Catalina Island, where she'll still be waiting for you. But for now, she has to let you go. She nods, "Yeah, okay."

Abby places a gentle hand on your cheek, pressing a short kiss on your forehead before pulling away. Her eyes observe your features for a moment, not knowing when she'll see you again. With slight hesitance, Abby forced herself to walk away.

Abby glances at Ellie as she passes her, the woman not acknowledging her surroundings. Her head was down as she cried to herself, oblivious to the fact Abby got in the boat alone.

When she finally looks up, she sees Abby driving away through her blurred vision, and Ellie assumes she's finally alone. And that everything was over.

Your legs are weak, but you force them out of the boat, falling as soon as you meet the water.

Ellie is startled by the sudden noise, turning her head, brows furrowed as she sees you. "Y/n?"

You don't bother trying to stand, crawling to her and wrapping your arms around her body. Your touch is soothing to her trembling body; your presence in general comforted her.

Both of you are still comprehending the fact that you stayed, as it almost felt unreal. Ellie's hands eagerly find their way to your skin, needing to touch you, needing to know you're actually there.

You knew you couldn't abandon her, not in this state. Abby and Lev will be okay, and that's why it was easy to let them go. You couldn't say the same for Ellie. You owe it to her to protect her, failing to do so before.

Even if you go back to Abby later, right now, Ellie is your priority.

You have so much to say to her, as she does to you, but neither of you speaks. The waves crash around you, the ambient noise calming despite the conditions. It almost feels impossible to move, so you stay.

You stay in that water with Ellie, holding her, not ready to let go.

Writing Advice: Third Person Point of View - The Problem with Head-Hopping

A personal pet peeve in fanfic—and even some published books, unfortunately—is an author head-hopping.

I understand that not everyone learned about writing point of view in primary school, and many fanfic writers are new to writing and might not even realize they're writing head-hopping.

So, this post is an educational means for those who are interested in learning how to improve their writing.

I'm going to give a quick overview of point of view, a breakdown of third person point of view, and how to spot head-hopping in your writing.

What Is Point of View?

Point of view (POV) is the perspective (voice) from which a story is narrated.

There are three POVs.

First person

Second person

Third person

Third Person: Limited vs. Omniscient

In third person POV, the author is narrating the story through third-person pronouns (she, he, they).

Third person POV is subdivided into two categories: third person limited and third person omniscient.

Third Person Limited

In third person limited, the narrator is an external observer who knows the thoughts and feelings of ONE character at a time.

Here's an example from R.F. Kuang's, The Poppy War, page 341:

The Cike were stretched to their limit, especially Rin. Each moment not spent on an operation was spent on patrol. And when she was off duty, she trained with Altan.

Note that this paragraph—the entire book, actually—is from Rin's POV. We have access to Rin's feelings, thoughts, and observations throughout the book, while also seeing how other characters are acting.

But we are only in Rin's head. We do not have access to the thoughts and feelings of other characters. This is third person limited POV.

Third Person Omniscient

In third person omniscient, the narrator is an all-knowing observer who has access to the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of ALL characters in the story.

Here's an example from Jane Austen's, Pride and Prejudice, page 104:

As they drove to Mr. Gardiner’s door, Jane was at a drawing-room window watching their arrival; when they entered the passage she was there to welcome them, and Elizabeth, looking earnestly in her face, was pleased to see it healthful and lovely as ever.

Notice how we have access to both Jane and Elizabeth's 1) physical locations, and 2) thoughts. Even though Elizabeth is in a carriage and Jane is inside a house, the narrator is all-knowing and can narrate both of them at the same time.

The problem I see from many fanfic writers: they attempt to write in third person omniscient when they're actually writing shoddy third person limited, constantly switching between the POVs of multiple characters.

This is called head-hopping.

Head-Hopping vs. Omniscient

Head-hopping is when an author shifts between the POVs of multiple characters without a scene break. Meaning, the author is inside Character A's head but abruptly—and randomly—shares the thoughts, feelings, and/or observations of Character B.

Here's an example:

Kathy arrived at the cafe in hopes of showing Brittany her completed sweater. It was the first time she had knitted and she was eager to share her hard work with her best friend. Brittany took one look at the sweater and cringed. She hated it, but she didn't want to hurt Kathy's feelings. She didn't know what to say.

In this example, we are inside both Kathy and Brittany's heads. Both characters have distinctive voices, and because of this, the narration of the story is inconsistent.

It's jarring to read, and pulls you out of the story.

Here's the same example written through omniscient POV:

Kathy arrived at the cafe with the intent to show Brittany her completed sweater. After hours of hard work, the opinion of her best friend was important. At Kathy's approach, Brittany observed the sweater in her friend's hand and wrinkled her nose. The sweater was hideous.

In this example, we are inside the head of the narrator. The narrator is telling the story through its voice, rather than the individual voices of Kathy and Brittany.

Remember: Omniscient means the reader is inside the NARRATOR's head, not the characters'.

The Scene Break to Denote POV Switch

Back to my definition of head-hopping: Head-hopping occurs when a writer suddenly switches POV without a scene break.

Like the first example of Kathy and Brittany—there is no scene break between their thoughts. If the author wanted to write from both Kathy and Brittany's perspective, the author would have to include a physical break to alert the reader to a switch in POV. See below:

Kathy arrived at the cafe in hopes of showing Brittany her completed sweater. It was the first time she had knitted and she was eager to share her hard work with her best friend. ~~~~~~~~~~ Brittany took one look at the sweater and cringed. She hated it, but she didn't want to hurt Kathy's feelings. She didn't know what to say.

The squiggly lines demonstrate a switch in POV, and the scene would then continue in Brittany's POV. [Please note that a single paragraph space (as seen in the first example of Kathy and Brittany) is not a scene break. It is a paragraph break, and therefore cannot be used to demonstrate a switch in POV.]

You can write multiple POVS throughout a story. These will all be in third person limited POVs.

For example, each chapter in Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series is dedicated to ONE character. Throughout that chapter, the reader is inside the head—reading the thoughts, feelings, and observations—of that singular character.

Individual chapters can also have multiple POVs (again, these are third person limited POVs). These are denoted by a divider or additional paragraph space.

For example, Timothy Zahn's Thrawn switches between the POVs of multiple characters in each chapter. The switch between his characters' POV is shown by an additional paragraph space.

Why Should You Care about Head-Hopping?

If writing head-hopping makes you happy, then keep at it. It's fanfic, and most readers are so desperate for content they don't care.

But, if you're interested in improving your writing, here are a few reasons why head-hopping is problematic:

It's jarring to the reader, and takes them out of the story. Frequent head-hopping can confuse readers as they struggle to keep track of whose perspective they are currently experiencing. It disrupts the flow of the narrative and can make it challenging for readers to form a strong connection with any one character.

It makes it harder for readers to truly immerse themselves in your story. Consistent use of a single POV allows readers to immerse themselves in the story's world through the eyes of a specific character. Head-hopping disrupts this immersion by constantly pulling readers out of one character's perspective and into another's.

It hinders character development. When the narrative constantly shifts between characters, there may not be enough time or focus on any one character's growth and development.

It takes away the emotional impact of the scene. Head-hopping can prevent readers from fully empathizing with or understanding any particular character's emotions, motivations, and inner conflicts.

Even well-established authors struggle to write omniscient without head-hopping. It's a nuanced subject that can be confusing to understand and difficult to overcome.

Again, this post is simply to inform writers about third person point of view and the subtle differences between its subdivisions. It’s not an attack on fanfic writers.

exceeded caution part 6

i get it now

series masterlist | previous part | next part

a/n: OKAY OKAY this is a super fucking long chapter i am so sorry but i had to finish up the rest of the canon and add some cheeky little sam and tara moments for y'all. plsplspls forgive me.

pairing: ex!tara carpenter x f!reader into sam carpenter x f!reader

warnings: LONG ASS CHAPTER. cursing, threatening language, gun usage, knife usage, major character deaths, stabbing, blood, gore, descriptions of murder, straight up murder. 6.7k words.

𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩

“you’re not woodsboro.”

sam’s voice rang in your ears as your head pounded. you were in pain, your arm stung, your eyes felt heavy. it’s like you were coming out of a coma.

when you regained consciousness, you saw that danny was already awake. you tried to speak but you found that there were several layers of duct tape holding your mouth shut. you tried to move then realised you were restrained— that’s why your arm hurt so much.

you were tied to something. you tried to turn your head and you felt a rough, coarse material against your cheek. looking further, you were tied to a mannequin.

you turned over to danny and saw that he was trying to figure out where you were. the room was nearly completely dark, you guys were working only with the light that was shining through cracks in the door.

you deduced that you were probably inside the theater, you were just unsure about where exactly. you knew how you got here, it wasn’t hard to figure that part out. a part of you was frustrated that you allowed it to happen.

you heard commotion outside. it sounded like rattling.

and then it was screaming.

it sounded like tara for a second, you tried to fight against the rope that tied your hands together. you had no idea what was happening out there but there’s no way it was any good.

as the sound got further away, the door clicked open, revealing bailey.

you tried to speak against the tape on your mouth, asking him for help. as he tilted his head, looking at you mockingly, you quickly put together that he wasn't here to help.

"you were just too easy of a target." he said, the shift in his tone was unmissable. he had gone from a man that you relied on to a ruthless killer. "and now sam is gonna suffer the consequences of her actions."

he was a ghostface walking in to collect you and danny. danny tried to fight against the movement but you knew it was no use. the ghostface wheeled you to the stage, setting you on the right side of the glass enclosure that held billy loomis’ get-up. danny was placed on the opposite side.

god, you felt like you were about to throw up. they trusted him. you even trusted him. he was police, he was supposed to make you feel safe.

you suddenly felt a mesh fabric fall over your head. you were wearing one of the ghostface cloaks. you had no idea who it belonged to but you were uncomfortable knowing it belonged to someone that died.

you saw him do the same to danny. your cloaks looked similar, as if they were a part of a matching set. you looked straight ahead and squinted your eyes. the lights were blinding, the fact that there was a sheet in the way wasn’t helping.

you managed to make out shadows running towards the cinema’s entrance door. two, to be exact.

when the doors swung open, you saw sam and tara running into the room. where was chad? and mindy? and ethan? and kirby? you had too many questions. they were down too many people.

strength in numbers.

suddenly, you heard footsteps trade places with each other. one was running towards you and the other was walking away. someone in a ghostface attire brushed past you, you turned to see bailey walking backstage.

you watched as the ghostface leaped down the stage through the sheet. you only had a sliver of vision to work with. you tried crying out again once you saw the two girls come closer, but it was no use. they were too occupied by... two ghostfaces?

fuck. there were three of them.

only two sisters.

a gust of wind opened up more of the sheet. you watched as sam grabbed two bricks and handed one to tara. smart girl. you heard tara cry out for her sister, you felt yourself start to cry at the girl's helpless pleas.

"ready?" you heard sam ask, it was only met with tara's breathless sobs. "i need you to be ready. you ready?"

they were about to fight. you were scared shitless. they had bricks. the killers had knives. it could go any way. you knew that the girls were more than capable, but that didn't stop the images of their dead bodies on the carpet flooding through your head.

"come on motherfucker!" you heard tara scream. there she fucking was. a fire in you was lit when you heard that, you felt yourself ready to spring into action the second you were free.

suddenly, gunshots.

"it's okay!" you heard kirby walk out from the other side of the sheet. fuck, if only she saw you.

"stay the fuck back!" sam yelled at her. what the fuck was going on? why did sam suddenly distrust kirby too?

"we know it's you, kirby." tara said. you saw sam step back, bringing tara along with her.

bailey must have said something to them. him and kirby were in the same field but they butted heads too much. you knew he would try and turn them against her.

"somebody knocked me out!" kirby said in a begging tone, she needed sam and tara to believe her.

"kirby, stop!" you heard that deep authoritative voice again. he switched over too quickly. "get away from the girls!" you saw him come down the aisle with his gun drawn.

"what are you doing?" kirby asked him.

"did you kill quinn? did you kill my daughter?" his act was convincing. if you didn't know any better, you'd believe him too.

wait. quinn. why would he kill his own daughter? unless... oh my god.

"jesus christ!" kirby exclaimed. "whatever he's been saying to you, please don't listen to him. he's probably the killer."

please, please, please.

believe her. please.

the sheet covered your vision again, you had no idea what to think when you heard "behind you!" and three shots fired.

when your field of view increased again, you realised kirby was nowhere to be seen.

no!

you couldn't make out anything more. you heard faint voices but not enough to make anything clear out of it. for a theater, it had horrible acoustics.

you watched as the reveal happened.

ethan went first. he took of his mask, a sinister smile on his face. mindy was right, she was always right.

"fuck it felt good to kill him!" was the only thing you could make out from ethan's speech. him? chad? you had no idea where he was. you hoped that he didn't mean chad.

and then there she was, in all her very much alive glory. quinn.

you knew he wouldn't kill his own daughter.

it was eerily impressive, how they faked her death. you had to hand it to them for that one, it broke hearts. it tore down their morale.

you saw ethan and quinn disappear from your view, replaced by bailey wielding billy loomis' mask, handing it to sam. he wanted her to put it on, she looked repulsed by it.

"if you don't put it on... well..." ethan and quinn worked together to yank the sheet down, revealing you and danny. two spotlights were pointed directly at you. there was also a series of clips projected onto your skin, you couldn't make out exactly what they were.

sam and tara turned around to face you. the looks on their faces were a mix of things; fear, anger, worry, and most importantly, regret.

you were crying.

crying so much that your chest felt tight.

sam wanted more than anything to just run to you and set you free. she owed you a million apologies when you got out of this, but it was her call that ended with you in this position, so she didn't know if you would ever forgive her.

and tara would never forgive her either. seeing your snot and tear covered face broke her to pieces. she still cared for you, and she never wished this on you.

"we have two of your very dear friends to use as leverage!" bailey laughed, stepping closer to the two girls. "the more the merrier!"

quinn stepped closer to you, roughly ripping the tape off your mouth. the skin that held the adhesive grew hot, stinging. ethan walked back down the stage to join his father.

your voice was choked down by saliva and breathlessness, but you still managed.

"sam!!" you shouted at her. you were going to say more but quinn stepped behind you, holding a knife to your throat. you backed your head up as far as you could against the mannequin.

"stay the fuck away from her!" sam barked an order at quinn. but quinn knew she had the upper hand.

"hey tara!" quinn called out to the younger girl. tara turned to look at her, a glare on her face.

"the fuck do you want, quinn?" tara hissed at her.

"isn't it ironic that she's wearing your girl's cloak?" quinn tilted her head. "we thought it would be a little bit symbolic. you wanted her to be so much like amber and now here she is, sporting her wardrobe."

that was revolting. you wanted to take this thing off and take a five-hour long shower. you wanted to claw and itch at the fabric until it was torn into shreds.

"and not just that! sam... your boy toy is wearing richie!" ethan covered his mouth to mock snicker at her. "it's just too good!"

"you made it so easy, sam. when you made that call to leave them outside? we thought we would have to work harder." bailey sneered. "i bet you're regretting it now."

he was right. she was regretting it. she should have trusted you. and even if you ended up being the killer, she would have found a way. sam always finds a way.

"why the fuck are you doing this? you did this as a family?!" sam asked bailey, simultaneously spinning around to keep an eye on you and danny as well.

"oh yeah, bitch! you should know better than anyone!" quinn snapped at her.

"they're still not getting it!" ethan ridiculed them.

"i don't know what you believe but i didn't commit those murders in woodsboro! it wasn't me!" sam was trying to multitask figuring something out, how you could all get out of this alive.

"of course you didn’t! you think this is about that conspiracy theory bullshit?" bailey scoffed. "who do you think started those rumors about you in the first place?"

from behind you, quinn raised her hand.

"do you know how easy it was to turn sam from the hero of woodsboro to the villain?" you weren't surprised. you knew how tech-savvy quinn was, even outside of ghostface. "how easy it is to convince the world to believe the worst in people rather than the best?"

while ethan went on about destroying someone's character, your eyes scanned your surroundings. maybe you could figure out your own way of escaping so tara and sam had less to focus on.

"ah, ah, ah. eyes up, pretty girl. can't take any chances." quinn said, nudging your chin up with her knife. she leaned closer to your ear. "you know, it's a shame tara got to you first, i think you and i could have been fun."

you rolled your eyes at her, "dream on, quinn."

"i never had a chance anyway. i heard you have a thing for carpenters." she giggled. "i wonder how you're gonna feel when we slaughter them both in front of you."

"fuck off, quinn!" you spat at her. she just laughed softly and stood back upright.

"so when dad here 'discovers' your horribly mutilated bodies posed with sam wearing her father’s mask? he’ll say some poor dumb bastard must have read on the internet that you’re the real ghostface and took matters into their own deluded hands!"

it was an interesting plan, you thought, they would get what they wanted. they would get sam out of the way and get away with their own crimes. the only way for you all to get out of it though? kill them first.

"and even better! we'll say you went crazy and wanted to relive what you had with richie, so you dressed poor danny up in his clothes and killed him!" ethan's laughter hurt to hear.

"that's why it’s the perfect alibi!" bailey was practically jumping for joy. "because like all the best lies are based on a truth - you’re a killer, just like your father was."

"don't listen to them, sam!" you interrupted him. bold, you knew. but you had to say something to get her to focus on the real goal. she looked at you and nodded.

"i'm not a killer!" sam screeched.

"yes you are motherfucker, you killed our brother!" quinn's voice was piercing your ears. she had raised her voice and you had to recoil to avoid your eardrums being burst again.

"your brother?" tara started. "your brother died in a car accident."

"people lie, tara!" ethan interjected. "our brother died in woodsboro... at the hands of your bitch sister!"

sam blinks for a beat. she looks at ethan, then at quinn, then at he detective. she saw him in them. she just had to look hard enough. there was only one person it could have been.

"richie?" she pauses. "you're richie's family?"

ethan lunged forward, driving his knife into her collar. you let out a scream as sam clutched her wound, tara holding her up to support her.

"ding-ding-ding! she's getting it now!" ethan said, stepping back again.

you watched as tara and sam knocked over a statue and made their way to the side of the theater.

ethan gave chase,. tara swung a brick towards him, nearly nicking him.

"come on!!" you roared, trying to push them. you were about to scream again until you felt a sharp pain at your side. your cry of fury turned into a cry of pain. quinn had stabbed you, her knife completely inserted into your side. "fuck!" you cried out.

sam and tara both turned their attention to you. the knife hanging out of your side was enough to send both their lunches back up. sam's eyes hardened, like she was turning into a completely different person. she swore that she would wrangle the life out of quinn, even if it was the last thing she did.

"there she is." quinn smirked at sam. "there's the fucking killer."

you felt the wind sucked out of you when she retracted the blade, blood trickling down into your hipbone. the pain was unbearable, you didn't know how sam recovered so quickly after being stabbed.

"nice job with the parenting." tara mocked bailey.

"shut up!" ethan yelled, shoving tara and sam back over to the middle aisle. "get over there!"

bailey huffed. "am i a perfect dad? no. did i overindulge richie's fascination with these silly movies a little too much? maybe." he held his hand out. "for me, they're just a little dark."

you agreed with him. they made your stomach churn. you first watched them with mindy when you discovered the series of killings in woodsboro. she wanted to show you the films to give you a better insight on what happened. yes, they were overexaggerated but they still played a big part in the franchise.

"but... richie really loved them." he feigned a crying tone. "he even made a few of his own."

you realised that the clips being projected on your body were richie's films.

bailey ascended the steps, moving closer to you and danny. quinn made her way over to danny too, you knew that if the sisters tried anything, he would suffer an injury too.

"richie was a very passionate collector, as you can see." bailey gestured to the entire theater.

"this... this was all his?" sam asked, her voice stuttering.

you had grown to hate this richie guy. you hated the idea of him hunting sam down and earning her trust, only to turn out to be an obsessive creep.

"it was. and he even seemed to inspire others. so we had to kill those wannabe's... because we wanted the privilege of taking your life." bailey shrugged. "i built this shrine for him after he died to honour his memory." he turned around to watch his son's film again. "which is why this is where you have to die, sam."

"what happens next? after you're done with us, what? you just disappear?" sam asked, shaking her head.

"no!" bailey waved his hand at her in dismissal. "we gotta hurry over to the hospital to make sure mindy and gale don't pull through!"

mindy. mindy was at the hospital. you knew something was wrong when you didn't see her come in with everyone else.

"because everybody dies, sam!" bailey raised his gun to point the barrel at sam. "everyone who had anything to do with the death of my son! suffers. and dies."

"fuck yeah!" quinn and ethan cheered for their father. they were pumped up and ready to slash their knives at anything.

"now put on the mask." bailey ordered her.

you watched as sam looked at the ground. her face changed. she had all that pent up rage brewing deep down inside of her. it was reaching its boiling point. you almost leaned forward in anticipation.

"he was..." sam breathed slowly. "so pathetic."

yes, he was. cause anyone who decided that it would be fun to cross sam was absolutely fucking pathetic.

bailey stumbled over his words, his voice turning nasal. "that's... that's not true!"

sam was drawing them in, poking at all their weak spots. she was trying to rile them up then shoot them down. tara knew what she was doing, she understood her sister more than anyone.

"yeah... he was a man-baby." she prodded further, "who made his girlfriend do all the killing."

you wish you could see the detective's face right now, he was beginning to crack. you found amusement in it.

"he was a strong, virile young man?" jesus, who uses virile?

"he was a limp-dick little fuck." she stressed her words. "who cried before i slit his throat."

there she was, that was your sam. the sam that carried the rage of a thousand suns and the sam that wouldn't hesitate to use it to save the ones she loved.

"shut the fuck up!" quinn yelled from the stage, running straight towards tara. she jumped down and tara swung the brick at her. you swear you saw her teeth fly out of her mouth.

kirby suddenly rose from her state, firing bullets at detective bailey. tara ran straight for you, grabbing a blade from one of the cases. as she cut you loose, you watched kirby get tackled to the floor by ethan.

sam turned around to help her. as he plunged his knife into her, sam hit him in the head with a brick. she yanked the blade out of kirby as ethan recovered, a hand on the back of his head.

"got it!" tara declared, undoing the ropes. you put a hand to your side, it was still bleeding but you were confident you could pull through.

"go help danny!" you told her. she was about to turn but you pulled her back suddenly. "thank you. you did well." you said to her, she nodded and turned back around to run to danny.

danny ran out the back door, tara pushed a prop closet in front of it to block it. she sent him to get help and wanted to maximise your chances of getting it.

you faced sam again, only to see her jabbing her knife into ethan's chest, multiple times.

good, you should do it more. you said in your mind.

more. more more.

she stopped after tara got her attention, staring to climb the ladder to the second floor. sam ran to where you were standing at the bottom. she wanted to throw her arms around you, but you weren't even looking at her.

you wanted her to do the same but not now. she left you earlier, she left you to get taken. sure, she didn't mean to serve you up on a silver platter.

but she broke her promise to you.

you couldn't face her but you had no choice.

"i can't do it. my arm." you had been working on regaining mobility in your hand, but your arm wasn't strong enough yet.

"tara! i need your help!" sam called out to her sister, who was already up there. she then turned to you. "it's okay, we'll get you up there."

you had zero confidence in yourself at the moment. you knew it was going to be incredibly hard for you, but wishful thinking sometimes gets you places.

you put your foot onto one of the steps, using your good arm to hoist yourself up a bit more, climbing the steps you could make. you leaned back a little then lunged your body forward, grabbing the next railing. tara leaned over the banister, reaching a hand down to help you in that last bit.

you had gotten a fair amount up, before quinn suddenly shoved sam out of the way, knocking her down and grabbing you by the shirt. she yanked you down and you fell on your back, groaning.

quinn dragged you by the hair to the middle of the stage. sam was about to follow but you stopped her.

"no, sam!" you commanded her. "tara needs you! i've got this!"

she hesitated. but you were firm in your choice. you would get angry with her if you had to.

"go! now!" she made her way up the ladder and joined tara upstairs. you caught them slowly making their way through the ruins of the abandoned theater.

quinn dropped your hair and took a few paces away from you. you managed to get yourself up but you were slightly hunched over due to the pain from your side.

"hey, pretty girl." quinn taunted you. "you look good covered in blood. maybe you should join our little troupe here." she twisted her blade around her fingers.

"like hell." you scowled at her.

"what? you can't blame a girl for trying!" she chuckled. "come on, you're the perfect killer! just like sam, maybe that's what makes you good for each other, actually."

you tried to regain your breath and strength back as quinn monologued. you winced as you applied pressure on your stab wound.

"you're kind and very very injured. nobody would ever suspect you." she said, her voice turning sultry. "don't you wanna hurt tara for what she did to you? that was your first real heartbreak, wasn't it?"

she took your silence for an answer.

"don't you see? these carpenters are fucked up. they're scum. it would be so much better if the world went on without them." she pointed the knife at the two sisters. "use that fire in you."

you were letting your anger get the best of you now. you wanted to kill quinn for even thinking badly about them. but the question is, could you actually kill someone?

the thought was repulsive. you hated pain, blood, it wasn't something you could take. you didn't think you could take someone's life as easy as anyone else in the room. nevertheless, you wanted her subdued.

"shut up, quinn. you wouldn't know about fire even if it was burning your eyebrows off." you spit out a little bit of blood that was filling your mouth, glaring at her. "this is so fucking boring, you're all talk. where's the fight?"

your head turned sharply at a clattering noise. tara was dangling from the second floor, sam was holding onto her for dear life. ethan took the chance and started swinging at her feet. quinn screeched and charged at you, her blade in the air as she knocked you down to the floor with her shoulder.

she immediately went for your weak arm, stepping down on it and applying her entire body weight on it. you shouted at the sting, you felt like you were a kid all over again, remembering how you felt when it first happened.

she straddled you, one knee on each of your sides. you struggled against her as she used two hands to bring the blade down on you, you were able to get your hands to push against hers.

good! your arm was functional but extremely weak and painful. you had functionality of your fingers still, giving you less of a disadvantage.

you gritted your teeth as you tried to overpower her.

you saw tara still hanging in the corner of your eye. you had to do something now.

you swung your leg up to knee quinn in the back, throwing her off balance. you shoved her until she rolled off you. you stood up to go after her and at least knock her unconscious.

your head practically turned on its own when you heard crashing behind you. tara had fallen off the balcony and into ethan’s knife. your eyes widened as you watched the knife enter her stomach.

your attention flickered to sam on the second level who was coming face to face with bailey.

quinn battled cried behind you, recovering from her stumble. she thrusted her knife into your shoulder, you wailed out in pain. you shouldn’t have gotten distracted. you had to focus.

you kicked her again, ramming the heel of your foot into her thigh. her leg gave out, releasing her knife that was still inside you. you clamped your hand over it’s handle and pulled it out of you with a grunt.

you swerved sideways and switched places with quinn, standing directly behind her. you stomped down on the back of her other leg, getting her to kneel in front of you. you grabbed a handful of her hair, forcing her head up.

could you really do it? you had the upper hand now, you had a choice to make. did you have it in you to rob quinn of the rest of her life? this was so far from how you made yourself out to be. you thrived on being good to others in hopes that they would do the same for you.

on the contrary, you were good to quinn. and here she was, ready to end your life if given the chance.

as the sight of her brother taking a blade to the mouth unraveled in front of her, you thought that maybe death was too generous for quinn. she could continue to live a life without her family. you watched as tara twisted the knife in ethan's mouth, a proud smile tugged at the corner of your lips.

you almost released quinn and succumbed to your desire to simply knock her out and tie her up so she couldn't interfere anymore.

but then you remembered.

"the last two people that fucked with us ended up dead."

and so has everyone that has fucked with them since. and so has everyone that tried to before. who were you to break the pattern?

"how do you like it now, quinn?" you leaned forward, whispering into her ear. you placed the blade against her throat. "down two brothers." you chuckled, pressing the blade down against her skin.

you watched as sam and bailey fell off the railing in a fight. sam hit the floor while the detective hit the glass case. you were worried for a split second before reminding yourself where you were. you weren't going to give up this advantage.

"and now your father will join you too. i hope you all have a nice family dinner in hell."

front and center stage, you dragged the knife across quinn's throat. the blood spilled like a gushing river. you couldn't watch even as you committed the act. you averted your eyes as you let her body drop to the floor.

you stepped down from the stage, holding onto your wounds. you let your severely damaged arm hang from your side. you felt like a zombie.

you rejoined sam and tara. you saw that tara was holding onto her own battle scar. you coughed up blood but chose to ignore it, wanting to check on the other two.

the three of you stood above the detective's unconscious body. you turned to the two sisters. this really was a damn family matter.

"so... what now?" you asked them. sam sighed softly, relieved that she didn't have to worry about two more of them anymore. she had her sights on bailey.

"i have an idea. but you and tara should take a second." sam put a hand on her sister's shoulder. tara nodded, slowly starting to make her way towards the seats. you followed behind her.

sam grabbed your wrist to stop you. you couldn't do this now. you yanked your hand away, just as she did to your hand when you tried to hold hers. she looked hurt, but understanding. she expected this reaction out of you.

"not now, sam." you shook her off. "i'm not having it."

and truth was, you geniunely weren't. you didn't want to deal with apologies right now, you wanted to make sure everyone was okay.

she was at least thankful for your honestly. she sadly nodded at you and turned back to bailey. you watched her take the stage, opening the glass enclosure that held her father's attire. she gripped it tight in her hands then put it on.

you sat next to tara, grunting as your back hit the seat. tara cautiously leaned her head on your shoulder, you found that you didn't mind the contact. you were glad that she was there with you, very much alive.

"i get it now." you murmured. "well... not to your extent, obviously. but i get it now."

she looked at you, a confused look on her face.

"never gonna be okay after this." was all you could get out.

she sat upright again and turned her body to face you. "i'm so sorry." she bit down on her lip, not knowing how to reassure you.

"we'll have each other though, right?" you asked her. she nodded quickly.

"always." she grabbed your hands, holding them in hers. your eyes trickled from her to sam, she glanced over at her sister too.

"you know she didn't mean what she said." tara turned back to you as she said that. "when she left you behind outside?"

"she definitely said it with her chest, tara." you breathed out through your nose. you know sam wanted to protect everyone, but you couldn't help but feel upset that she didn't trust you enough. "even then, she was right. i'm not woodsboro, i'll never understand fully what you all went through."

"yeah, i know. but that doesn't mean that you aren't one of us." tara said. "and she knows that. you're important to her. she was doing it to protect you too."

sam was wielding her father's own blade. she looked like she was in her element, which was strange as you never saw her as a killer. even when she did have a higher kill count than most people. but you knew it was her will power to end this whole thing that was driving her.

she walked over to the middle aisle, picking up billy's mask and putting it on herself. she looked frightening under the mask. it sent a shiver through you.

sam departed from the aisle, moving back towards the stage. you spotted bailey starting to stir, you grabbed tara and ran off. you took her to the backstage area, both of you deciding that you would stick around for sam.

𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩

"what's your favorite scary movie?"

she embodied ghostface well. you admired her dedication to the bit. you knew it would scare the daylight out of bailey, to have the tables turned on him this time.

you watched as bailey ridiculously fired his gun at the mannequins. you flinched at the loud noises and held onto tara as she did the same. you didn't know where sam was, you were watching from the shadows.

"stop fuckin' around and show yourself!" he growled into the phone. he was trembling, sam had him right where she wanted him.

quiet.

"i’m a fucking police officer! what are you gonna do, huh? who do you think they’re gonna believe?" he spun around, trying to keep an eye on all his blind spots.

"probably the one that's still alive."

that shook him. he threw his phone away out of frustration.

from the shadows emerged sam's silhouette. as bailey turns at the last second, sam rams the knife into him. into his shoulder, his chest, everything she could get.

she was a fucking force of nature. a powerhouse if you'd ever seen one. the legacy her father held, she rewrote it herself.

she retracted her blade and lifted the mask off her face. and she was sam again. she was panting softly, the force she used to mutilate bailey took some energy out of her.

you and tara joined her on stage just as she was about to take another hit. she paused, her gaze softening at the two of you.

you looked at her. really looked at her.

you tried to keep your thoughts to yourself but you couldn't help it.

she looked good.

"my father was a murderer." she lowered the knife. "no matter what you think. i’m better than that."

bailey thanked her for her mercy. but then she looked to tara, as did you. tara tilted her head, as if giving her permission to change her mind. and then she looked to you. you read tara's expression and knew what sam was looking for in your eyes.

you met her stare, before looking away. you gave her a single nod. and you almost missed the smug smile that was plastered across her face.

"but you did fuck with our family so..."

the detective didn't even take a breath before sam jabbed the knife into his eye socket, all the way in.

he groaned in pain, his body shaking. he tried to raise his arms to fight back but it was too late.

you had looked away in time. you still felt your stomach churn at the sight of another dead body.

you heard his blood gurgle in his mouth as he took his last breath.

"nice." tara awkwardly said, trying to break the silence.

"are you guys okay?" sam asked, starting to take off the cloak.

"hell no." tara said. sam looked over to you and you shook your head too.

tara walked back down to the steps of the stage, sitting down on it.

you were about to follow then you spotted quinn's body. you felt yourself grow increasingly repelled at the sight. you reached for the sheet that was torn down to reveal all the masks and cloaks and threw it over her. it was the last good thing you'd ever do for her.

you let sam and tara have their moment to talk. you figured that they didn't have many talks together over the past few days, always being surrounded by others.

you walked over to the gate that locked you all inside the theater, hearing footsteps outside.

just then, ethan resurfaced, screaming his lungs out at the girls. you were about to run back to them but he was quickly stopped by a tv flying at his head. you almost laughed.

"saw that in a scary movie once." kirby joked through her injuries.

"you'll have to show me that one." you joked back.

𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩

danny came in with reinforcements shortly after.

you watched as tara and sam talked to kirby who was now lying on a stretcher. when she was wheeled into the ambulance, you rejoined them.

you and tara both had your left arms in casts.

"hehe... matching." you said, nudging her side. she appreciated the banter returning.

"we should try cooking together like this or something." tara's dimples were flashed at you as you saw her crack a smile.

"that could be really fun." you snickered.

sam approached the two of you and tara got the hint.

"i'll give you two a second." she said, walking away and towards a group of officers.

sam rubbed her hands nervously, not knowing what to say to you.

"i'm sorry for leaving you." she started off. you admit, it was a good start. it was what you wanted to hear. unfortunately, she wasn't going to get a pass.

"you broke your promise to me." you gritted your teeth at her. "you said you wouldn't leave me alone."

"i know, i know. and i regret it. so much." she bit down on her bottom lip to try and stop tears from falling.

"i opened myself up to you, sam!" you choked down your own sobs. you were so afraid that you were going to die without saying anything to her because she left you behind. "i thought we were... i thought we had something!" you prodded your pointer finger against her chest.

"we do! we do have something!" sam dropped her jacket, opting to grab your hands and hold them against her. "i never meant to make you feel like i didn't want you. i just wanted to protect everyone. i thought that by leaving you behind, you wouldn't be hurt." she shook her head. "i never meant any of that, i just knew you would be determined to join us inside. and i couldn't have you hurt."

she was so sweet sometimes, she knew exactly what to say to pull you in. you were still angry at her, but you saw where she was coming from a bit clearer now.

you scoffed in her face, rolling your eyes. "that's bullshit!" you sneered at her. "we said we'd protect each other. i would have been safest next to you. i will always be safest next to you."

"you don't know that. this could happen again." she had to be realistic about the situation no matter how devoted you were being.

"i know. and i will be right here no matter what. the least you can do is return the favor."

"okay... i'll never leave you behind ever again." sam said, kissing your knuckles.

"you can do better than that." you grumbled, not wanting to settle for just a kiss to your hands.

sam grinned at you, stepping closer and wrapping her hands around your waist. she pulled you closer and captured your lips in a soft but passionate kiss. she was being gentle with you, trying not to hurt you. you found it sickeningly adorable. it was a juxtaposition from the intensity you saw from her earlier. your good arm wrapped around her neck, pulling her in closer. it was your way of saying that she wasn't going to break you.

"chad!" you heard tara yell. you quickly pulled away and saw chad being wheeled out on a stretcher.

thank god.

you and sam jogged over to chad.

"how are you alive?" sam asked. he raised his hand with four fingers up. mindy quickly came running in.

"are you guys okay?! i know who the killer is! it's ethan and bailey!" she said, stopping in her tracks.

"and quinn." sam added.

"and quinn? fuck!" mindy's hands slapped against her side in frustration. "did i miss the monologue again?"

you smiled at the sight of the four of them together. mindy was mumbling incoherent words to tara and chad. you giggled softly as she exclaimed that you all made it out alive.

you turned to sam again, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"hey, you." you poked her side, trying to get her attention.

"yeah?" she asked, turning to you with a smile on her face. it was to die for.

"i'm kinda starving." you chuckled, your stomach grumbled. fighting off a masked killer was hard work.

"okay well, we can go and get something to eat at the hospital." sam suggested.

you groaned softly at her not getting the memo.

"okay. that's fair. but i'll be kinda starving in a few days too so how about we go on an actual date then?" you flashed a sheepish smile her way.

she laughed at your attempt to ask her out.

"okay sweetheart." she pressed a kiss to your temple.

"promise?"

"hell yeah."

𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩

authors journal OKAY I KNOW IT LOOKS LIKE THE SERIES IS DONE BUT IT ISNT I PROMISE I HAVE LIKE 3 MORE PARTS UP MY SLEEVE. anyways i am SO SORRY for how long this chapter was, bailey fucking talks so much in the movie and i was trying to keep a lot of the final fight elements in. this literally took me a full 12 hours to write. anyways, back to MY yapping this time. i figured i should probably mention that i didnt forget about the tara kiss and i will bring it back for later. its my secret mousekatool. i also wanted to talk a bit more about the title of the series. i was thinking of changing it to 'promises, promises' cause obviously thats a thing with sam and the reader but i actually got it from a song! it's this one right here.

it actually has nothing too much to do with the series itself but i love the song heaps and i think the reader would too. its about getting away from something that was ruined for you by a relationship, i think thats pretty symbolic still. i also really wanna know what side stuff you guys want! i do have a few headcanons that i wanna write up but i wanna know if there's anything specific you want like blurbs or specific headcanons. i have one for 'if the reader chose tara' coming up which is pretty fun. overall, i hope you guys have been enjoying so far and i wanna hear everythinggggg you guys have to say. whether its in comments or reblogs or my inboxes, i'm so happy to read all of it. anyways, i shall stop yapping now. much love to everyone that has supported me in this so far. xx.

Together - CHO HYUN-JU x Fem Reader Part 3

Summary: Reader is scammed and abandoned by her boyfriend, leaving her alone in South Korea to her fate, so in desperate search of a solution to return to her home country she decides to join the squid games to get money, within the game she meets a couple of people who become her friends and could possibly be something more.

Warning: Violence, homophobia mention of attempted rape and sexist language

----------------------------------------------------------------

◻○△ Hyun-Ju POV △○◻

The lights had barely gone out when Y/N had fallen asleep using one of her arms as a pillow and even though I was lying on my side, the space she used was still tiny, I could cover her with my arms and make her disappear without any problem.

The strands of her hair fell carefully and perfectly arranged around her head, some on her face where her long eyelashes adorned her cheeks, it was so strange to see and even more difficult to understand.

Previously, before I began with my identity recognition, my appearance attracted too many girls, many of them interested in my position and the economic benefits that this could bring to their lives, but I never felt attracted to them, they were all the same and empty.

But then why did I feel like this now? She could be my little sister, the fragile and sweet girl that I could take care of but my heart didn't feel that way, my stomach turned when she took my hand with fear, taking care that the bond didn't break so she wouldn't get lost from my side, my heart beat a thousand times faster when her eyes narrowed every time she smiled, my head spun every time she told me those words of encouragement making me see that I never made a mistake and that being who I am is no problem, she was the reason now for wanting to get out of this game and it didn't matter if I won the money or not, she was the best thing I had ever won.

Aren't you sleepy?…- she whispered making me jump slightly but I remained silent looking at her - don't pretend you're asleep… I can feel your gaze I'm sorry, I'm not sleepy yet..- I smiled at nothing feeling embarrassed for being discovered You should rest, tomorrow we will need strength to continue playing - her eyes barely opened illuminated with the warm light of the piggy bank - what are you thinking so much about? Thinking? What do you mean? - I looked at her curiously trying to pretend that everything was fine If you can't sleep, it's because your head is busy, what's wrong? - Damn, how did she know me so well? Just 3 days were enough for her to read me like the palm of her hand I was thinking… that… that this would be the last game we could play and then we would vote to withdraw from the competition - I smiled barely arranging a lock of her hair that covered her eyes I see, I was thinking the same thing, I don't want to be here anymore, when I get out I'll look for a job, no matter how bad the pay is, I just want to get out and go home - she sighed tiredly

If you don't mind telling me, now I would like to know why you decided to come to these games, what's your story?

Well… -she sighed deeply biting the inside of her lip a little and with another sigh she looked at me again- a year ago I met a guy online, he fell in love with me and he promised me that we would have a long and happy relationship, we went out for a couple of months just through messages and calls and one day he proposed to come to Korea to meet him and if everything went well I would stay with him to live and we would start a family, so… I quit my job and bought a ticket to come here… I met him and everything was going well but a couple of months later he… took all my money and disappeared, he barely paid the last month's rent and luckily they didn't throw me out but… -her gaze lowered sadly feeling ashamed- it was a stupid thing, I should never have trusted someone I didn't know

Men are disgusting… well.. you.. you understand - she laughed a little wiping her wet eyes - then you need the money for?..

To go back home, buy a plane ticket and go back to my country, I'm not welcome here and people have let me know in many possible ways, I just want to go with my family and start over what I left behind

Oh… - my heart felt like it was breaking into a thousand pieces, a part of me thought that by leaving this game she and I could get to know each other a little more, but she just wanted to run away from here, like I wanted and never hear from anyone else again - then… you'll leave

Yes I think so, but don't worry, once we get out we'll continue being friends and when I have a job I'll pay for all the necessary trips to visit you in Thailand - her eyes narrowed with the smile that formed on her lips, it was so comforting but at the same time so painful to hear that.

I didn't understand why it hurt, I had never felt that feeling of pain and abandonment in that sense, the sense of being in love with her.

Is something wrong? - Her small hand slowly touched my cheek making me focus my attention back on her just shaking my head smiling a little

Everything is fine, it's just that… I will miss my best friend as long as she doesn't come to visit me… - I lied and lied again when I told her I was sleepy and we had to sleep, I spent the night awake, watching her sleep once sleep overcame her again

The next morning, at the sound of the loudspeaker, everyone got up, as if so many hours had passed without even feeling the passage of time.

She barely woke up and jumped out of bed as if she had regained all the energy she had lost in the previous days, put on her shoes and almost ran down to greet Jun-Hee and ask her if she had slept well and if her baby had moved during the night. Y/N had barely found out that 222 was pregnant she kept asking her questions, excitedly showing that she couldn't wait for her turn.

Her authentic happiness made me feel much worse, it made me feel selfish, I wanted her for myself but I couldn't give her anything she wanted, I wouldn't give her the happy life, nor the family she dreamed of, it was a martyrdom and I only thought that I had made the worst decision to be the way I am now.

That is your punishment - the shaman laughed leaning on the bedposts - for following the wrong path that the gods wrote for you, now you will suffer, you love her but you will not have her

I don't know what you are talking about ma'am - I looked at her closing my sweater and arranging my hair with my fingers

Oh no? We are not stupid, we all know what you think when you look at her, how much you want to kiss her and show her that you love her but you don't, because you know that she doesn't like people like you, she only talks to you out of pity and she will never like you - the woman laughed, knowing that she had broken the last thing that was left in a piece inside me, she knew my secret and could use it against me to make me weak at any moment

Shut your mouth you damn bitch, you only know how to say shit, why don't you pray to the gods to give you a new brain uh? Get out of here - Geum-Ja confronted her pushing her away with her hands making the shaman go away laughing while I sat on the steps with my insides destroyed - girl, don't listen to her, that woman attacks where she knows she will truly destroy, don't give her that pleasure

She's right… - I looked at her sadly while she sat next to me brushing my hair with her fingers

Is she right? About we all know you have feelings for that girl? Of course she's right, but she'll never be right in stating what she feels or doesn't feel for you and we won't know until she tells you, maybe she sees you as an older sister or maybe as her best friend… -she smiled at me taking my hand- or maybe, deep inside, where no one knows her secrets, she feels for you the same as you do for her and it doesn't matter if you think you're not enough for her, when you're the right person for someone, all dreams come true

Do you believe in that? - I looked at her again feeling my lungs fill with air once again with her loving motherly smile

Of course, it doesn't matter what you were before or what you are now or if you are both girls, if love is sincere then love can do everything and I know you will fight to save yourself but especially her and I promise you that once we leave you two will go to my house and we will eat the best kimchi you have ever tasted, do you understand? - She laughed patting my back making me smile

''Players, it's time for a new game, please line up and leave in order following the masked soldiers''

Hyun-Ju, let's go - Y/N called me making me look at her quickly while she smiled

Go with her, I'll go with my son - Geum-Ja patted me again standing up as we both went down

Don't leave my side okay? - I looked at her as she nodded smiling and stood in front of me in the line of players

◻○△◻○△◻○△◻○△◻○△◻○△◻○△◻○△

The instructions had been clear and one thing was clear to me, I should not separate myself from Y/N at any time, she would be my priority in this game and no matter how many players there were, she would be the one who would always be by my side.

The platform spun to that traumatizing childhood song, everyone silently looking at each other

''10'' - The speaker spoke making us freeze

There are 4 of us, we need 6 more - Yong-Sik shouted desperately pulling his hair

Y/N! Here, there are 5 of us - Dae-Ho shouted pulling Y/N's arm making her look at him

There are 4 of us - I pulled her other arm bringing her back to me looking at him annoyed - Run to a room I'll look for one more

No Hyun-Ju I won't leave, let's go together - Y/N looked at me scared shaking her head

Don't worry, run! - I took her hand giving it to Dae-Ho making him pull her while I screamed looking for person 10 taking whoever the first person I saw was pulling her into the room

''10..9..8..7.''.- the speaker spoke making me nervous when I was able to enter the room and close the door almost fainting without oxygen in my lungs and the countdown reached zero we all looked at each other, the shots could be heard leaving us stunned as we caught our breath

Everyone is alive thanks to me! - the shaman shouted looking at us one by one - ah… I see why I'm here, to save your little friend's life - she laughed pointing at me

Don't start you damn crazy - Geum-Ja looked at her annoyed

As soon as the lock was removed and the door opened, everything was a bloodbath, we all walked in fear looking around confused when I felt a warm hand take mine.

You said we wouldn't separate… don't do that again - Y/N looked at me with her wet eyes

I'm sorry..- I smiled barely squeezing her hand walking slowly together so as not to slip with the blood on the floor

Again the song began to play and the platform turned again, this time with fewer players on it

''4'' - the speaker rang as soon as the song stopped making us look at each other

Run! Run now - I squeezed her hand pulling her as Geum-Ja and Yong-Sik followed us into the room and I closed the door leaning my back against it so no one could open it

This is so tiring… it's torture - Yong-Sik sat on the floor with his head in his hands desperate

Are you okay? - I looked at Y/N who was breathing heavily looking at the floor

Yes.. - she barely answered catching her breath

Again the lock opened letting us out, there was more blood and fewer people, the floor was sticky making our steps difficult until we reached the platform, once again the game began, the lights came on and the song played loudly

''3'' - the speaker announced making us look at each other again

What do we do? - Y/N looked at me scared

Come with me, we're doing in pairs and we'll look for someone - I grabbed her hand tightly, running screaming looking for someone, being pushed by Yong-Sik into the room

What are you doing here? Where's your mother? - I looked at him scared as he caught his breath

What?…what are you talking about? - he looked at me adjusting his misplaced glasses

The teams are 3 Yong-Sik, where did you leave your mother? - Y/N looked at him screaming upset

What? I understood 4, damn it - Yong-Sik tried to leave stumbling and throwing his glasses on the floor

This time Y/N let go of my hand and left quickly, grabbing Geum-Ja by the clothes skillfully by the back pulling her into the room with such force making her almost fall when she hit the wall and then she takes the door and closing it, now she was outside

No…Y/N NO, COME IN! - she looked at me through the gap in the door, her bright eyes looked at mine for the last time and then she ran - no, please no - the sound of the lock on the door rang and no matter how hard I pulled on it, it was impossible to open it

'' 10..9..8..7 ''

NO, NOT LIKE THIS, NOT HER - I looked at Geum-Ja pulling on my hair, my knees became weak making me fall on the floor as my tears fell

''6…5…4…3''

PLEASE DON'T KILL HER, DON'T SEPARATE HER FROM ME!..

''2…1…''

◻○△◻○△◻○△◻○△◻○△◻○△◻○△◻○△

Can you guess what would happen in the next episode? Can you guess who have a crush with Y/N? Let me read you! :3

Thanks for reading, I'll be back soon!

Tag List!

@kuureii @sann1e @sunflowers-are-heaven @bridellashiper @etta-huracan @cupiid1 @alianacelinecolux @juliexz @duchcess

exceeded caution series masterlist

summary: when your relationship with tara fails, you find yourself in a predicament. why can’t you stop thinking about sam?

—

chapter 1: she would have chosen the devil

chapter 2: first time for everything

chapter 3: promise to keep

chapter 4: our thing

chapter 5: how dare you?

chapter 6: i get it now

chapter 7: upcoming...

drabbles:

carpenter v carpenter

exceeded caution: part 1

she would have chosen the devil

series masterlist | next part

summary: when your relationship with the younger carpenter sister fails, what happens when thoughts of her older sister start to take over your mind? 4.1k words pairing: tara carpenter x f!reader into sam carpenter x f!reader warnings: toxic relationship, cursing, fighting, alcohol consumption, drug consumption, frankie mentioned, out of character tara.

a/n: this is actually such a bad first chapter because its mostly set up but i promise the next chapters are so much better. but ily carpenter sisters mwah mwah.

•*¨*•.¸¸♪

couples fight, right?

that’s how they show they care, right?

that’s what you were always taught when talking about relationships.

you and tara had started off as friends with benefits. you met early in freshman year and the attraction was instant.

when you started to meet her friends, you quickly learned about their experience in woodsboro. you had known about the notorious killer but you never thought you would find yourself amongst the people associated with the incident.

as time went on, you decided to shoot your shot with her. your feelings became deeper than the desire to satisfy each other in bed.

you asked her out on a proper date after chasing her halfway across campus. you were sweaty and panting but when she delivered a kiss to her cheek with a "yes, i would love to", you knew it was worth it.

after a few dates, you learned that tara had a fear of getting close to people. she told you about amber and how she'd developed issues with commitment after that disastrous relationship.

so when you and tara started fighting at a higher frequency, you thought it was just because you didn’t want to lose each other.

you chalked it up to the perpetual state of stress she was in due to her sister being overprotective and not letting her go out as often as she used to.

then you started noticing the cracks in your theory when tara started fighting with you over the smallest thing. your jacket didn’t match her skirt, you chewed a little too loud, you handed her the wrong coffee order.

you did your best to calm the girl when she was in her angered state, your efforts proved to be futile when she would just kick you out of her room and you’d have to do the walk of shame out of her apartment.

only to make things worse, you usually bumped into sam on the way out. you knew your girlfriend’s older sister was overprotective of her and you were worried about what she thought of you.

sam often watched you leave from the kitchen, shooting you a look that you couldn’t decipher.

𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩

"there's a party tonight for halloween, we should all go." mindy proposed to the group. it was a frat party, and you hated frat parties.

"we should!" your girlfriend, tara, exclaimed.

"is sam even going to let you out of the house?" chad asked, chuckling softly at tara's excitement.

"uhh... that's an issue for later." she said, looking away. you saw the gears turning in her head.

"you're not gonna tell her, are you?" you asked her, you knew her all too well. she turned to you with a small glare on her face.

"and what of it?" she said, snapping a bit. you seem to have taken her out of deep thought. you should have known that would be her response.

whenever a sore subject would come up, you tried not to bother her too much about it. you should have held your tongue, knowing you were talking about one of the sorest subjects— her sister. you frowned at her.

"i was just trying to tease, tara." you clarified. "it's okay, i won't judge you for it. i know sam's been overprotective recently."

tara seemed to back down from her anger when you said that. she just turned back to her phone as you turned back to your uneaten lunch.

you agreed to the party under the impression that it might be good for you and tara. it might be nice for her to get out of the house for once and spend time just being a young adult.

"i'll go as a cowboy." chad chimed into the conversation again. you had no idea what you were going to put together at the last minute.

"i'll throw together a pirate outfit." tara shrugged her shoulders, thinking back to her own closet.

"maybe i could be the parrot on your shoulder." you joked at her, she rolled her eyes at you with a small smile on her face.

"please don't." she laughed softly. you loved her laugh so much, and you loved being the reason for it. you’ve grown to cherish those little slivers of happiness between the two of you.

“okay.” you retreated your statement. “i’ll go as an angel.” you grinned. you had a dress waiting for you back home and some spare angel wings you used for a previous costume party.

𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩

you were on your third drink of the night and had your arms around chad and ethan, singing the lyrics to sweet caroline. you three were swaying together on the dance floor.

mindy and anika looked over you three and rolled their eyes. it’s like they were meant to be.

you realised that your girlfriend was nowhere to be seen, that was concerning. she’d usually be joining you three in your antics.

you turned around to see her at the drinks table, talking to a taller man in a white shirt. you recognized him from somewhere but you weren’t entirely sure.

you opted to trust tara instead of the sinking gut feeling you had. she tended to get angry at you when you acted impulsively, you wanted to avoid that tonight.

you stepped away from the boys and made your way over to mindy and anika. you put your arm around mindy, you both had a great relationship— it was like you were her non-sibling twin flame.

"hey spoilsport. you suggested coming! why are you hiding all the way out here?" you asked her, leaning your head on her shoulder. you spotted a smile creep up her cheeks.

"because someone has to make sure all of you get home safe and sound." she poked your nose and you pulled your head back reflexively.

"that shouldn't stop you from having some fun with us too." you prodded more, trying to get her to loosen up.

however, mindy's point proved itself when you heard commotion come from the stairway. you turned your heads to see chad and tara along with the man in the white shirt by the staircase.

"holy fuck, is that frankie?" mindy asked.

it was like a jolt had electrified your entire body.

frankie.

you should have listened to that gut feeling. it got worse as you spotted tara by his side, his hand wrapped around her wrist.

you felt a fire rage in your belly and an overwhelming concern for tara. you made your way over only to already hear chad telling him off.

"what's going on?" you asked as you approached, standing shoulder to shoulder with chad.

“none of your business.” tara spat out at you, you looked at her with worried eyes. you never provoked her when she was like this but you realised the gut feeling not only applied to frankie but also tara.

“chad.” you called the boy’s name out, indicating that you wanted an explanation.

“frankie was trying to take tara upstairs for god knows what.” chad glared at the man a couple of steps above him.

your jaw clenched and fury filled your pupils.

“she wanted it, dude.” frankie shot back, “she asked me to.”

you looked over at tara only to see that she wasn’t looking at you, she was looking down at the accumulating crowd.

“tara, surely not.” you said, almost pleading. it was a contrast to your angry stare.

she didn’t respond.

she didn’t say a word.

“bro, shut up. she’s drunk and she isn’t thinking straight.” chad fought back at frankie. you snapped out of your thoughts and looked over at the two men.

“he’s right. she isn’t capable of making decisions. you have no right.” you said.

“whatever.” frankie rolled his eyes and pulled tara up the stairs, causing the shorter girl to tumble.

chad snapped and grabbed frankie by the shirt, throwing him down the stairs. you immediately went to check on tara.

“hey, love. let’s get you up. are you okay?” you asked her but you were simply met with silence and her trying to yank her arm away from your touch. she helped herself up but not without struggling.

you watched the altercation between chad and frankie go down, the two boys shoving each other back and forth.

you looked over at tara. you had almost forgotten the look on her face when you asked her if she was really wanting to go upstairs with frankie. she was inebriated, she wasn’t thinking clearly. she didn’t mean it— you could tell yourself that all you want but tara was never one to hide her emotions— especially if it was annoyance.

your thoughts were cut short when you saw sam carpenter walk straight in to the party.

fuck.

you couldn’t zone in enough to hear their conversation from the stairs, but your eyes did enough when they saw sam tase frankie’s balls.

you almost laughed at the sight of the man falling to the floor, but you knew you had to do something.

you stepped in suddenly, holding the older carpenter’s shoulders.

“let’s go. we don’t need any more trouble.” you thought you would be met with a scolding but sam simply nodded at you. she walked over to tara and helped her down the stairs, practically dragging her out of the party.

“sam, let me go!” your girlfriend protested. you followed behind the sisters along with chad, ethan, anika, and mindy.

tara managed to break herself free from sam’s grasp when you were all outside on the street. you stopped in your tracks and it landed you beside sam.

“tara, really?!” sam yelled at her sister, “sneaking out?! i had to find out from quinn that you were here. what if something happened to you?!”

“nothing was gonna happen, sam!” tara rubbed the inner corners of her eyes, trying to wrap her head around the situation.

“really?! cause i don’t think that guy was gonna let you go easy!” sam gestured back to the house. “and what were you thinking?! you have a girlfriend.”

“oh please, she won’t care.” tara scoffed. you were standing right there, but it was like she looked straight through you. how could she say that about you?

“right.” sam stopped her before she could say anything else. “i’m taking you home.” she said. she turned around to you, making eye contact. your breath hitched in your throat. “and you too. c’mon.”

you had to oblige, you weren’t going to fight against an angry sam.

𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩

the car ride was more eerie than silent.

despite the looming quiet, you looked over at tara in the rearview. she was staring outside the window in the backseat while you sat in the front. sam had forced her into the back, saying she didn’t wanna get thrown up on.

you looked over at sam, her eyebrows furrowed as she drove you both back. you wondered what was happening in that head of hers. she had been through a lot too. her protective nature was a product of everything that had happened in woodsboro, you found your concern growing for her too.

you helped tara up to the apartment with sam. at one point, you gave up and decided to princess carry her. she protested at first but realised she had no other choice.

you put tara down on her bed, taking off the bandana that covered her hair. you went into her closet to grab some clothes for her, kneeling down about to help her.

she suddenly turned away from you.

“tara, please. let’s not fight.” you pleaded with her, wanting to get her comfortable more than anything.

“fighting is the only reason i stay with you.” she mumbled.

“what?” you looked up at her from your kneeling position, trying to help her take her shoes off.

“you’re so nice all the time.” she glares at you. “you’re too different from her.”

oh, her. you knew.

“but i like controlling you. it’s almost too easy.” she had a venom-laced tongue tonight, the alcohol allowing the toxin to seep through your skin. “but i feel absolutely nothing for you.”

you finally knew the reason for your fighting.

“i almost even hate you sometimes though.” she admitted. “i only said yes to going out with you cause we were in public. if it was anywhere else, i would have rejected you.”

you were silent, you were stunned.

“i’m too young to settle down too, y’know?” she followed up, it was never-ending. “nothing was gonna happen with frankie. i knew better— he’s disgusting. but you had to end the fun when i was finally allowing myself to realise i had other options.” she scoffed.

her words didn’t make sense to you. she wouldn’t do that, she couldn’t do that. surely she had some heart in her.

you felt disgusted with yourself. you stepped back and had to hold back from saying anything. it was late, they had another roommate who was asleep and sam was waiting for you in the living room to take you home.

when you stepped back, tara rolled into bed, pulling the covers to her chin. you stared at her, tears forming in your eyes from what she said.

you were being used.

and she played you like a fiddle.

you were dressed as an angel, which was ironic.

because tara would rather have the devil.

you had tried to be the best possible person for her. you took everything she’s been to into consideration, always looking after her. but you realised she didn’t want that, she wanted someone else.

you covered your mouth to stiffle sobs that threatened to escape your lips.

you walked out of her room only to nearly come crashing into sam, who was leaning on the wall by the doorway the whole time.

𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩

sam had previously been in the kitchen, preparing a glass of water for tara. she realised you were taking a bit longer than she expected, she figured you fell asleep next to tara.

she knew the nature of your relationship with tara. she had to listen to tara’s entire thought process of saying yes to you asking her out. she even discouraged tara, letting her know that it wasn’t fair to you.

but tara always had a mind of her own.

when she heard soft voices, she decided to come and check on the two of you. she stopped walking and listened in when she heard what you were talking about.

oh, she felt sick.

she felt sick hearing her younger sister say those words to you. she always cherished tara. she missed her sister that wasn’t capable of hurting a fly but quickly let those thoughts go when she acknowledged that the girl that she cared for was gone.

she leaned against the wall and heard your footsteps quickly approach. she didn’t expect you to almost crash into her, her hands flew to your waist, stabilising you.

she hadn’t gotten a good look at you earlier, you were dressed as an angel. a part of her almost smiled at how pretty you looked. sam always thought you were pretty, her eyes weren’t painted on.

“hey…” she said, watching you wipe your tears away. “here, take this.” the water meant for tara quickly changed ownership.

you declined the water, shaking your head and waving it away.

“please. you’ve been crying.” you hated that sam carpenter caught you in this state. you hoped to compose yourself before seeing her again.

“sam, it’s fine. let’s just go, please.” you brushed past her, she quickly turned and followed you out. she grabbed her jacket and her keys before following you downstairs.

𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩

“you didn’t deserve that.” sam broke the silence. you slowly turned to her and just stared, you were still trying to find the words.

“sam…” you started.

“no. it doesn’t matter.” she interjected. “i’m sorry about tara.”

“it’s fine. i can handle it. she's right anyway."

“it’s not. and she isn't."

you felt yourself crawl back into your shell. the order in sam’s voice, like she was a general, made you feel like you couldn’t say a word.

“you deserve better than her." she suddenly turned to look at you, her glare wasn't like tara's though. hers was more angry at you for saying those things about yourself.

"she's just stressed." you try to justify tara's actions. you still harboured feelings for the girl. it was going to be hard to see it any other way.

"don't try and do that." sam shook her head, pulling up outside your apartment. "you're a grown ass woman, you know better than to try and justify someone hurting you."

you'd never seen that side to sam before. she was always tara's timid older sister, a strong but silent type. you didn't expect to hear her suddenly standing up for you.

"i just need a night, sam." you didn't want to talk about it anymore, it was all too much for you.

"get some rest." she nodded at you while you pulled at the door handle, unlocking it and hopping out. you leaned down and poked your head back into the car.

"thank you for the ride home. i appreciate it. i'll see you soon."

sam nodded at you. "goodnight."

"goodnight, sam."

𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩

tara thought her eyes were burning in the sunlight. she felt herself wither away as she was hit with a pounding headache.

her throat was dry but as she blinked away the exhaustion, she realised there was a glass of water by her bedside. she practically leapt for it, chugging it all in one go.

she was still in her clothes from last night. she got up to change into something more comfortable and take her make-up off. it was the weekend so she had nowhere to be, deciding to dedicate the free day to recovering from her wicked hangover.

she walked out of her room to see sam making breakfast. she could literally eat anything right now.

sam looked just as exhausted as her.

memories started flooding in from last night, the fight that ensued coming back to her

"jesus sam, no way you actually used a taser on someone last night." tara grumbled as she took her seat on the dining table.

"i absolutely did. and i'm not regretting it." sam retaliated, setting a plate down in front of tara. "eat up. you're gonna need the energy for today."

"why? what's today?" tara asked, already wolfing down the food in front of her.

"do you really not remember anything from last night?" sam asked her, sitting down beside her with her own plate of food.

tara shook her head which led to sam explaining what you two talked about that night.

tara was horrified. she felt so guilty. sure, she knew she didn't lie completely, but she knew you didn't need to hear that.

and it was too late to take it back now.

𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩

five knocks woke you from your own slumber.

you groaned and pushed yourself off the mattress, glitter still coating your eyes from your costume last night. you immediately rolled into bed after changing last night.

you threw the door open, a frustrated look on your face.

tara.

oh, and sam around the corner.

sam shot you a sheepish wave, you waved back at her. you knew the only reason that tara was here was because sam brought her. while you appreciated the gesture, you knew there was only one way this was ending.

"you shouldn't have kept this going for as long as it did!"

you yelled at tara. you two had been going at it for ten minutes now, you were sure the entire apartment complex could hear the two of you. and you knew they could hear your heart breaking.

"what the fuck was i supposed to do?!" tara exclaimed back. "walk up to you and oh hey, i don't actually have any feelings for you?!"

"yes! exactly that." you shot back, scoffing and crossing your arms across your chest. "you should have been honest with me, tara."

"i couldn't. you... you were good for me." tara whispered, her anger subsiding. "you were kind and just what i needed after everything that happened. i thought that maybe i could grow to have feelings for you."

"you shouldn't have taken that chance. you basically lied to me for months." your posture straightened, your jaw tightening. "it wasn't fair."

"i know... i know..." tara said, trying to calm you a bit more. "i'm sorry."

"you know that sorry isn't gonna cut it, right tara?" you huffed, shaking your head at her. "we're done."

she stared at you for a beat, she didn't believe that you ended it. you were so quiet all the time, always kind and happy. you never took the initiative, she thought she would have to do it. to say you surprised her was an understatement.

"i understand." she nodded. "i'll go."

"yeah... you'd better." you weren't going to stop her, she was the last person you wanted to see.

you opened the door for her and saw sam avoiding your eyes around the corner.

𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩

three weeks later, you hadn't seen much of your friends. you decided to be the one to keep your distance, you hadn't even seen mindy all that much.

it wasn't until you heard your phone buzz on a random friday morning that you realised that you were missing your dear friends.

"come over tonight, we're watching a movie." a text from mindy.

"we're?" you responded. you knew that mindy would pick up on what you were putting down.

"yes. tara will be there. but we haven't seen you in ages. i'll put you on seperate ends of the room." she typed quickly.

"okay. what time?" you missed your friends more than anything, it was worth seeing tara if it meant you got to see everyone else too.

"4 plus 3." mindy replied, you chucked your phone to the side and sighed. you had to spend the rest of the day psyching yourself up to face everyone again.

𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩

you arrived at the twin's place at exactly seven sharp.

you walked in and saw that everyone else was already there, surrounding the television.

"bystanders reported seeing the killer with a black cloak and sporting the infamous ghostface mask."

oh no. oh no no no.

you knew all the stories, you'd seen what the killer had done to the carpenters and the twins. and you couldn't believe that he was back.

silence coated the walls of the room, everyone was too shocked to say anything.

tara ran out of the room into another area of the apartment, mindy and chad following behind her. sam walked out the door. you wanted to go after tara, but you thought you might make things worse in that sector. she already had the twins following her, and sam had nobody.

you trailed behind sam. she ran down the stairs, sitting down on the end step, her head falling into her hands. you slowly approached, sitting down on the end step beside her.

"i'm so sorry." you whispered, looking straight ahead.

"its never gonna fucking end." sam sobbed out, her fingers tangling into her hair.

you sat in silence, your palms flat on your lap. you didn't know if you should do anything or say anything.

"there's nothing i can say or do to make this better... but i hope you know, there's more of us now. no way in hell are we leaving you alone in all of this." you said, determined. "you aren't going to go through this alone, sam."

sam peeked her head out. your words were something she had heard before, but coming from you, she felt different about them. she knew you didn't know how to reassure her, you hadn't been through the same thing. you two only knew each other in passing, but she appreciated it.

she turned to you, and you turned to her.

this was the closest you two had been ever.

had she always been this beautiful?

had you?

you shook your head to shake away your thoughts, now was not the time. you could tell she was also trying to push her own thoughts away.

"thank you, i appreciate that." she whispered, a small but genuine smile flashed at you.

"do you want to sit here for a bit longer?" you asked her.

sam begun to think that tara was right. you were incredibly kind and considerate, you could read people like they were an open book. she nodded at you and you nodded back at her.

you two proceeded to sit in a comfortable silence.

you could hear thumping above you, knowing that the twin's apartment was active with stress and fear.

but you couldn't move. you had to be there for sam.

and you meant what you said.

no matter what, you weren't leaving.

•*¨*•.¸¸♪

author's journal i actually am also unsure about this set up for the series. i hope my writing gets better as it goes on but the set up was a bit rough to write and even read. but i promise better content soon y’all 😫 i also would have written a longer drunken argument scene between tara & reader but i needed some sam emphasis, this might get edited in the future

on another note, okay yeah i have so much love for the carpenter sisters actually. this idea came to be out of nowhere when i was watching scream vi to fall asleep and i immediately told emma about it so everyone say ty emma ilysm liefje. she's had to deal with all my bullshit recently so this entire series is dedicated to her <3

another thing is heaps and heaps of credits to @shdysders one of my current favorite writers because the drunken argument scene is hella similar to theirs from one of their fics, if only (which you all should read btw.) thank you babes.

andddd let me know if you wanna get added to the taglist for this fic also and i’ll be more than happy to oblige <3