AN: Ok, this takes place at the beginning of Scream 3. This is Hank Loomis's (Billy's father) point of view right after Cotton Weary had been killed. His reflections and souvenirs about the two previous Scream and Billy's childhood. Do I need to mention that I do not own Scream or any of it's characters?

Hank Loomis had just started his car when he heard the news on the radio: Cotton Weary had been killed.

As soon as he heard this, Hank had to turn off the radio and shut his eyes for several seconds. He knew it was just the beginning of yet, another bloodbath. Would this story ever stop haunting him? He tried to think of anything else as he drove his car in the evening traffic. After all, maybe this didn't have anything to do with Woodsboro, Sydney, Maureen, Billy and all those awful murders… Maybe. But as soon as he entered his empty apartment, he knew he was lying to himself. Those damn murders would start once more and he knew what this meant. The reporters, would be back, asking all those questions about Billy, his son. Hank tried to keep himself from breaking into tears, but he could not help it. Billy, his son, his only child, had died because of him.

He needed a cigarette

Hank slowly lit one before walking into his office and taking an album that was laying on the highest shelf of his bookcase. He looked at it for a moment, not really knowing what to do with it before returning to the living room and letting himself sink into an armchair. He didn't move for a long time, contemplating his surroundings. This apartment was so small and empty, so different from the house he used to live in with his wife, Laura and Billy. Back when he actually cared about things. Now, he lived more like a ghost than a living being. He had ceased to really live the moment the police came to his door, that fatefull morning, to tell him about his son, his death and the monster he had become.

He heard the telephone ring in the background, but he didn't even try to take the call. He soon heard Katie's voice through the answering machine.

"Hank, it's me, I know you're there, pick up the phone will you. I heard about Cotton, please pick up the phone, you need to talk. Don't keep this to yourself!"

Hank heard Katie sigh a few moments later when she realized he would not answer.

"Call me when you'll be ready to talk, OK? Don't forget, you're not alone!"

Katie was a nice woman, Hank really liked her. She was funny, pretty intelligent and most of all, she didn't even care about what had happened. Too bad her daughter didn't think the same way. Katie pretended Angela was simply not over her father's death but the teenager made it pretty clear that she did not like Hank. One night, when Katie invited him for dinner, she simply started to scream at Hank to stay away from her mother, accusing him of being a murderer himself. After all, he did raise Billy, hadn't he? And maybe she wasn't wrong, he did raise Billy, he was responsible. Everybody thought so.

He tried to go on with his life, he really did, but people in Woodsboro didn't see it that way. It was such a small town where everybody knew each other. If the gossip didn't convince him to leave, the threats did. No one wanted to be seen with the killer's father and Hank understood them, he could barely stand himself! He had to leave town; people in Woodsboro did not forget, or forgave.

Moving out of the house where Laura and he had raised Billy almost broke his heart. He kept seeing him everywhere and that's what probably partly convinced him that moving out was for the best. Besides, he didn't feel at home in this huge house in the middle of nowhere whenre nobody was waiting for him anymore …

Hank looked at the photo album he was still holding. This photo album was a Pandora box and he knew it all too well. Looking at all those pictures would only revive the ghosts of his past. Slowly, he opened the album.

Laura

Their wedding pictures. God, they looked so young and so happy! Laura was lovely, so sweet, the nicest girl he ever met. What had he done to her? He never thought that twenty-seven years later, his happy home would be broken. Why did he break her heart the way he did? Hank still wondered. Damn, he had known her his entire life, used to live next to her house, he never saw her as a killer! It was, yet again, all his fault. Laura did not deserve to be betrayed, he should've made her the happiest woman alive and now, she was dead.

Hank quickly skipped a few pictures until he set eyes on the ones he took when Billy was born. Laura was so happy and he was so proud of their boy… Laura had not only been the perfect wife, she was the perfect mother. She adored Billy, spoiling him all the time and yes, maybe she was a bit overprotective, but aren't all parents when it comes to their only child? They should've had more kids, but his busy schedule kept him away most of the time so Billy never had brothers or sisters.

When Laura heard about Billy, he should have known, he should have seen it coming, he should have tried to stop her, but he didn't. Hank remembered her pain when he announced her that, not only was their son dead, but he that he had been a killer. That pain soon transformed itself into anger. She first blamed herself for leaving him into Hank's care. Back then, it seemed like they were doing what was in Billy's best interest… How could they have been so wrong! When Laura returned to Woodsboro, it was to attend Billy's funeral and to talk with Hank. He thought she was doing fine on her own, but he assumed wrong, once more. Just before she left, she told him that they were not responsible for their son's death… Sydney Prescott was. He tried talking to her, reminding her that the poor girl was the innocent victim in all this, but Laura wouldn't listen to Hank. He should have known what she was planning, especially when all those copycat murders occurred at the Windsor College, but he didn't.

Hank didn't want to believe the woman he had love so much could do such horrible things. Or maybe he didn't say anything because, deep down, he wanted Laura to succeed, because he blamed Sydney and wanted her dead as much as Laura did. Hank hated this thought, hated this part of him that denied his guilt, rejecting the blame on Sydney, for he knew she has innocent. Hank shook his head while flipping the pages full of happy memories.

Billy

Billy's birthday parties, Billy's first day of school, Billy at the beach … Hank used to think he had the perfect little boy. Billy, though he had been spoiled, never threw a tantrum for anything, and was very responsible for his age. He was so calm, had good grades, lots of friends and never seemed to be mean with anyone. What happened to him? Was the divorce really responsible for his behavior? Or perhaps, Billy had always been evil and Hank had been too blind, no… to busy to notice it.

But Billy was such a normal boy!

On his first day of school, he didn't cry like the other kids, he looked happy and confident. Billy naturally made lots of friends, which relieved Laura. His best friend had always been Stuart Marker. Hank remembered the day Billy had first introduced Stuart to Laura and him, his son must have been six years old at the time…

They had received a phone call from the principal asking them to come pick up their son who had been suspended from class for two days because he had a "terrible fight" with another student. Hank and Sarah had raced to school, only to find Billy, covered in mud, playing with another boy his age as dirty as he was. This boy was Stuart Marker. Hank remembered asking Billy why he had a fight in the first place and Billy simply answered him:

"We weren't fighting, we were just trying to see who was the strongest!

-I won, declared the blue eyed boy!

-No you didn't!" argued Billy.

And that had been the beginning of their friendship. Hank never would have though they would kill anyone. He was only starting to realize how close they were. It's as if they completed one and another; Billy with his quiet charm and Stu with his contagious energy.

Stu, being an only child like Billy, had soon replaced the brother and sister Billy never had. They shared everything, spent days together without ever getting into a fight. No, that was not absolutely true, they did fight about one thing…Stu's precious cat. Stu loved that cat called Gimsy so much he used to carry it around wherever he went, including to their house, even though Laura was allergic to animals. Billy tried to convince Stu his cat was way better at home, but he never succeeded. Of course, as he grew up, Stu eventually stopped carrying his furrball around, but Hank knew that the animal was still alive when the murders occurred. Hank was a little confused, weren't psychopaths supposed to hate animal and torture them in their childhood? But Stu was such a weird kid, very intelligent, but weird, unpredictable. Most people underestimated his intelligence, thinking he was nothing more than a clown, but Hank knew better.

Laura and himself were never concerned about their friendship, they seemed to have so much fun! They used to disappear for hours in the woods surrounding their house. Hank never really found out what these two had been doing in the woods and he was not sure he wanted to know. They had so many secrets, Hank believed they never would have told on each other. Maybe that was the reason Billy chose Stu as a partner in crime, he never would have been able to keep it a secret otherwise. Yes, Stu was the best partner Billy could ever have.

Hank skipped a few pages to stop and look at a picture where Billy, Stu and their respective girlfriends were posing. They were about 14… Stu had dated so many girls, Hank could not recall the name of the one on the picture. He was a very popular boy and he enjoyed parties to much to his parent's taste. Billy, on the other hand, only had a few girlfriends and was a bit more serious than Stu.

The girl Billy was holding on the picture was named Lana Wilson. Billy and her did not date for a very long time, for she had to move a few months later. Billy never said a word about Lana after they broke up, Hank didn't even know if his son had been hurt by the separation. He didn't seem to be, but than again, Billy didn't seem disturbed by his parent's divorce … Hank had spoken to Lana later on, after the murders and she seemed quite scared, even though she lived miles away from Woodsboro. She admitted that Billy and her had a terrible argument right before she left, something about her not caring enough about him… When the murders occurred, she was traveling in Europe and that's what maybe saved her life. Or maybe Billy simply didn't care about her anymore. There was no way for them to be sure.

A few weeks later, Billy started to date Sydney. Hank 's feelings towards the girl were still confused. Should he pity her? Hate her? He simply couldn't make up his mind. When Billy first started to date Sydney, Hank didn't say anything, but he didn't like her at all. In Woodsboro, most people knew Maureen Prescott was a whore and Hank was not sure if her daughter was anything like her. He did not want Billy to get hurt, but Hank soon realized Sydney was much sweeter and innocent than her mother. He could hardly believe the girl was unaware of her mother's behavior, but she really didn't seem to realize that Maureen was cheating on her father.

At first, Hank had to admit he had been contemptuous with Maureen when he met her somewhere. He felt like he was superior to her, after all, he was a good family man and she was... well she was cheating on her husband! But her attitude surprised him, she never seemed ashamed or even uncomfortable in his presence. She seemed amused and soon Hank found himself attracted to her. She never seemed to care about anything anyone thought. It's not that Hank didn't love Laura anymore, it was actually the opposite, but Maureen was different, being in her presence gave him such a rush! When he came to her one day, Maureen didn't even seem surprised. Of course, Hank had made sure their affair was much more discrete than Cotton's but that didn't keep Laura from finding out. They had a terrible fight, one evening, when Billy was not at home. Laura never told him how she had found out about Maureen and him, she simply announced him that she knew. She left that very night and Hank only heard from her a couple of days later when her layer called.

Hank, I want a divorce.

Hank had a lot of trouble realizing what had happened. Laura wasn't really leaving him, she was mad, and it was normal, but she couldn't be that mad! OK, he had messed up, but she would forgive him sooner or later. Hank didn't really remember paying any attention to Billy when he was going through that phase. When his son found out his mother was leaving, he didn't question them, he simply left to go at Stu's house. Hank never noticed how affected Billy was by their divorce. He seemed quite mature and understanding, though he never asked why his mother had left. Hank spent most of his time at work and Billy spent most of his time at Stu's.

Hank stopped seeing Maureen the moment Laura had found out and blamed her for his divorce, but when he read about her murder in the newspaper, he was shocked. He didn't know what to think except that Cotton was insane. He had to be after killing his lover in such horrible circumstances. What else could he possibly think? Why would he suspect his own son? Billy didn't have any reason to hate Maureen. Besides, as far as Hank was concerned, Billy didn't even know about his affair with Maureen.

At this point, he pitied Sydney, the poor girl had witnessed the entire thing and seemed quite in shock. Then, she had to go through the trial, face Cotton, it must have been a nightmare for her! Hank had been concerned that his own affair with Maureen be brought in court, but it never was. He had no idea the real killer was actually sleeping under his own roof. Hank remembered that Billy had been extremely nervous during that period, but he though his son was just worrying about Sydney. Hank never understood how Sydney could have mistaken Billy and/or Stu with Cotton. It's not like they looked alike one and another!

During the trial, Billy had been really close to Sydney and Hank didn't even try to keep them apart. He thought Billy wanted to comfort fort her, help her go through that difficult moment. Hank now realized that Billy's plan was simply evil. To continue to torture the poor girl by his mere presence.

When Cotton was finally condemned to death penalty, Billy seemed to get back to his usual self, but according to his son, Sydney changed. Maybe the girl sensed that Billy was the one who had killed her mother, or maybe she was simply too traumatized by the murder to pay attention to her boyfriend, Hank wasn't sure how to interpret her behavior. As for Billy, Hank was almost as lost. When he heard him talk about Sydney, he really seemed to love her, care about her. Had it all been just an act, a show to make sure nobody would suspect him when he would kill her?

The year which followed had been a great year, Billy started to talk with him a lot more, he seemed happier. Hank thought he had gotten over the divorce and was so proud of him. He still spent a lot of time with Stu, but he was home more often than the previous year. Hank remembered when the two boys rented videos on Friday evening and watched movies all night long. Then, the murders started once more. Hank didn't really worry after Cassy and Steve's murder, but when Billy was arrested on the next night, he expected his son to give him some explanations. The next morning, the tried to get Billy to talk with him.

Why did he go out on the night of the first murder?

Where did he go?

Why did he climb Sydney's bedroom window to see her instead of using the door?

Did he know Cassie?

Had he seen the killer?

When Billy refused to answer him, Hank had told him he didn't want him to see Sydney as long as this story wasn't over. He never should have said that. Billy simply gave him the darkest look ever before answering him.

"You can't keep me from seeing her, you're never around. Anyway, you of all people can't tell me what to do."

Those were the last words they exchanged. Hank had forbidden Billy to go out that night, but on course, he didn't listen. Hank realized Billy had snuck out around eleven, when he entered Billy's room to have a talk with him. He had been so disappointed to see his son had disobeyed him, but had promised himself they would have a talk on the very next morning. Unfortunately, they never was a morning. Maybe he should've rushed to Stu's house, but he was so weak, he had always been weak.

Sometimes, Hank wondered if he would have told on Billy if he had suspected him. Such toughs gave him awful nightmares. He didn't think he could've sent Billy to death row, but on the other hand, Billy was a killer! Hank hated to think he had lived with a killer for an entire year and never saw a thing! If only he had been less blind, maybe he could've saved lives! Hank couldn't decide how he even felt about his son anymore. Billy was and would always be his child, he didn't want or could despise him!

Slowly, Hank turned to the last pages of the album. He stared at those pages, there were no pictures, just words. Hank had read those pages so many times he knew them by heart. Notes, those were the notes Billy and Stu had taken after watching scary movies. Hank had found them after his son's death when he was about to move. Billy had hid them at the only place the police or himself never thought to look: under a family picture in the living room. Hank had found the notes when he was packing, the picture fell on the flour and the glassed frame broke. That's when he saw the pieces of paper under the photography. After reading the notes, Hank decided that the police would never get their hands on them. They didn't need it, the case was closed, everybody knew the truth, they didn't need to find these notes. Besides, he didn't want Gale Weathers to find out about those, she could write another book!

Hank hated the two books she had already written. She didn't know Billy or Stu, and had been unable to capture their personality. Hank had read the books and been insulted by the lack to resources the reporter had used to write "The Woodsboro Murders". As for the movies, Hank never dared to watch them.

Finally, Hank closed the album and his eyes. The phone rang once more in the background, it was Katie.

"Hank, I know it's late, but we really need to talk. Pick up the phone, NOW."

She waited a few moments to give him the time to pick up the phone. Hank still didn't move.

"Hank, I love you, I really do, but you're stuck in your past. You can't expect me to wait for you forever. It's time to move on with your life, you're not responsible for Billy's actions."

Katie continued to talk, but Hank didn't hear her anymore. He was still looking at the album. At the bottom of Billy's note was a name and phone number:

Norman Bridger/Maureen Prescott/Rina Renolds

555-2688

Hank never knew who Norman Bridger and Rina Renolds were, he never dared to call the phone number Billy had written.

On the other side of the page, Billy had glued a picture of a man, he seemed older than Billy and Stu, but Hank was sure he had never seen that man in Woodsboro. Hank often thought about that unknown man, Norman Bridger, and his connection with Billy and Stu. If Billy kept a picture of that man, it was probably because he was important, but Hank couldn't seen why.

Maybe someday he would call that phone number, maybe someday he would get answers, but not tonight. Tonight, Cotton Weary had been killed and something told Hank that Norman Bridger would not welcome is phone call.

Maybe he should call Dwight Riley, he would know what to do, he would know what to think of all this And if Sidney was in danger, he would protect her. Yes, maybe calling Dwight was the good decision. The best decision.

Maybe…