Notes: Guess who is back? :) Leave a comment if you like this story so far. I really appreciate feedback.
A couple of days go by without receiving a call from Roman Bridger or without Billy showing signs of being alive. Stu is invited to go out by two of his college friends to talk about things he doesn't even care about, but he puts on his charming persona and has a good time.
Stu is talking and laughing with them. He's still able to act friendly and happy, despite his current mental state. He's a very well-trained expert at doing this, though he does still have his dark and cold side, but for the most part, he's been able to keep it under control. He is still very troubled in his mind, but he's been able to keep up the mask.
"I tell you, being a film buff has its perks. I literally have over 5,000 movies on DVD," he laughs.
"You're already drunk," says one of his friends. "You started your bullshit about movies and scripts. Seriously, I think I would rather go home walking than with a drunk driver."
"I'm not drunk; I can get you home," says the second friend, laughing.
Stu rolls his eyes.
"Why can't I talk about one of my greatest passions while I have a good time? Are you guys just jealous?" He laughs, talking with a very sarcastic and mocking tone. Behind his laughter, he's really pissed off. He takes a sip out of his drink and says something in an overly loud and exaggerated drunken voice, clearly joking around. "Do... Do I need to slow down?".
"Because you always do, man. You're always talking about horror movies, and that's not my cup of tea," says one of his friends, shaking his head and drinking more.
"Yeah, neither is mine. But I understand you... If there were a horror movie based on me... I would be bragging all day about it. Even if I'm the stupid friend of the villain who didn't realize he was a psycho all along," The other said, more sober or not drunk at all.
"Yeah, they did you dirty, Stu. I'm sure you weren't even friends with that Loomis guy."
His friend looks at him cheerfully, waiting for Stu to agree.
Stu glares at his friends with a very menacing and sinister look on his face, as he has now fully lost his mask and his true nature is visible to others.
"Let me tell you guys something right now... " he chuckles. "I knew him better than anyone…" The expression on his face becomes very dark. He leans in right up to his friend's face. "I knew him…" He speaks with an incredibly dark and sinister tone) "better than... anyone."
His friend retreats into his chair and exchanges looks with the other. After a couple of seconds where none of them dare to say a word, one says:
"Relax, man. We were just joking about a serial killer, and you snapped as if we were insulting your lover. Chill out," he laughs, looking around but not into Stu's eyes as he speaks.
"Or were you?" Ask the other friend, with a sardonic smile on his face. "Lovers? I mean, I know there's a lot of censorship from real life to Hollywood."
Stu's eyes are now filled with anger. He gives his friends a very condescending and dismissive look.
"Is that so?" he says in a mocking tone. "You're right. I did snap a little bit there," he smirks, but quickly turns back to his friends with a clearly more threatening and menacing look. "But just remember something... No one insults Billy Loomis... " He stares at his friends in a hateful way. "And no one knows him better than me." He glares right into his friend's eyes. "You two understand me?"
Both friends are left speechless again. One of them laughs but immediately shuts up with Stu's menacing expression. They don't even move, waiting for Stu to laugh himself and indicate it was all a joke.
Stu maintains his menacing and terrifying demeanor for a few moments longer until the tension in the room gets just a little bit too much. He eventually breaks the silence as he chuckles a little.
"Alright, alright." His demeanor now returns to his regular and cheerful self. "You guys got me. I think the drinks may have gotten the best of me for a minute there. I hope you guys didn't take what I said seriously, though." He chuckles a bit again as he smiles, and he speaks in a friendly and polite tone.
"What the hell, bro? I almost pissed my pants." Laughs one of his friends. "You looked completely psychotic there."
Stu chuckles again.
"Oh? I scared you that bad?" He laughs. "You should see me when I'm mad then." He laughs again as he smirks. "You two better watch yourselves." He chuckles yet again. "Just kidding, just kidding. Sorry about that little scene," he says, nodding his head. "How about a round of beer on me to make it up to you guys?" He speaks with a charming smile. "I mean… after that little performance?
"Man, they could as well hire you as the next GhostFace," laughs his friend now, completely relaxed.
"Are girls into that, Stu?" As his other friends. "Have you got more chicks because there's a movie you're part of?"
Stu answers with more self-confidence.
"Oh yeah. Girls love this whole thing," he says with a very sarcastic and mocking tone. "They love all the death, murder and blood. It's all so... exciting... " He chuckles as he smirks. "But I can't complain; I do get the benefits of it. I do get a lot more "opportunities" than before, though."
"Yet you don't have a girlfriend at all." One accuses him.
"I think you're doing the right thing," says the other. "If the girls are into you because of the little fame you have, then they're not worth it," he chuckles. "Use them and ignore them. That's my move."
Stu continues to act confident and self-assured as he laughs. He smirks.
"Oh, I like your way of thinking. That is a good motto. 'Use them and ignore them," he repeats, as if testing the words on his tongue. "That's pretty good. You know, I like that. I might just steal that from you," he chuckles as he smiles.
"Look, see that blonde girl that is serving. I'll call her and say you're going to be in Stab 2. Let's see what she does. You in?"
Stu laughs as he speaks with a very smug and amused tone.
"Oh, I like where this is going." A big and sinister smile forms on his face. "Why, of course I'm in." He raises his glass. "To using them and ignoring them." He takes a sip of his drink.
The girl passes beside their table, and one of his friends calls her. She smiles and says, 'I'll be right back', going out of the pub with a glass of water in her hands.
"Well, she's dead now," his friend announces. "According to your movie rules."
"I thought you didn't like it," the other friend claims.
Stu chuckles and speaks with a bit of a sarcastic and offended tone.
"What do you guys mean you don't like my movie?" Stu raises an eyebrow. "Do you not love the blood and the killing?" He chuckles again. "I thought all of us loved a good old gory horror movie. I mean... " He shrugs and speaks in a more serious tone. "I think it's pretty entertaining." He laughs and speaks in a much happier tone again. "And you're right. According to my little movie's laws, she's definitely not making it through the next one."
"The thing is... It's a bit stupid that GhostFace manages to kill five people by himself without help or super powers, yet he does. It doesn't make sense." One of his friends says, with his eyes on the door to see if the girl comes back.
"Yeah... And the guy behind the mask was like... A teen? There's no way" the other friend laughs. "Seriously, Stu, how did he do all that shit by himself?"
Stu raises an eyebrow.
"It's called suspension of disbelief. I mean... " He explains with more enthusiasm and a big smile as he gestures in the air. "It's a horror movie. You're not supposed to think about it. Just embrace the violence and enjoy it. Now, if you're going to start bringing stuff like this up, that's kind of going against the whole 'Don't think, just enjoy' motto, and that's kind of like the heart of a horror movie."
The girl comes back and stands beside the table with empty hands.
"Good night," she smiles. "Are you ordering something?"
Stu looks at her hands, wondering where the glass went.
"Hi! We're with our super star, Stu Macher... Did you know he was the main character in Stab?" jokes one of his friends.
Stu laughs, but he gets a bit caught off guard by his friend saying that about him. He tries not to let it bother him, and he just shrugs it off as he sighs.
"Yeah, I, uh... " He chuckles a little bit and speaks in a friendly tone to the girl as he smiles. "I actually did have a small role in the Stab franchise." A part of him is a little bit annoyed that his friends keep bringing it up. He continues to speak to the girl. "My name is Stu. And you are?"
"Oh, you look nothing like the actor who plays you. I guess they didn't have a good cast at all." She says this, studying his face intently. "My name is Tennessee. My boyfriend is a big fan of Stab," she smiles, a funny expression behind her eyes.
"Didn't he tell you, "You can't say I'll be right back?" one of his friends questioned.
"Yeah, you just said it, and we thought you would just find GhostFace outside waiting for you," says the other.
The girl laughs.
"Oh, no, haha. That was just a homeless man asking for water," she explains, finding their jokes funny. "Although if it was actually GhostFace without the mask, I wouldn't know. The cast doesn't resemble real-life people at all," she says.
When Stu hears 'a homeless man," he looks at the exit. There's a part of him that wants to go check if it's Billy, but there's another one that doesn't want to have false hope. Even if he wants to see Billy again, the chance is minimal after three weeks without contact.
Stu is now looking incredibly nervous, and his heart is pumping out of his chest. He peeps around to see if anyone else notices it, and he clears his throat before saying:
"Yeah, it was like they were all wearing masks," he sighs. "It's like they were all wearing masks. I mean, literally," he chuckles a little bit. "But I betcha your boyfriend's a real big fan of me, huh? You've got yourself a real winner there." He brags.
She laughs, waiting patiently to see if they are going to order.
Stu keeps looking back towards the door. He doesn't want to think of it at all, but he can't avoid it. What if it is Billy and he is still hurt? Or hungry? Or worse, if someone sees him and calls the police,
He's still immensely nervous, and his heart is pumping so fast right now that he's having trouble breathing. If he doesn't calm down soon, he's going to have a heart attack.
"Do you need me to sign any autographs for him or anything?" He chuckles and jokes in a friendly tone that he's trying to put up, but he's still very uneasy.
"That would be nice. Are you ordering something?" Asks the girl now a bit more seriously.
"Well, here, our famous friend promised a round of beer," one of his friends points out.
"Okay," she says, smiling, and goes to the bar again.
"You're not going to be able to use her and ignore her, Stu. She's taken." His other friend grins.
Stu laughs, barely paying attention to their jokes anymore. He spends the rest of the night looking back at the exit, as if it were calling him. As if Billy were calling him. With a little bit more control of himself and a calm tone, he says to the girl when she brings them the beers:
"If your boyfriend would like, I would be more than happy to sign something for him. Let me know, ok?"
Stu chuckles... He's trying desperately to maintain his calm demeanor. He can't stop looking at the door. There's so much anxiety and stress building up in him right now.
"Sorry, I think he is really drunk," one of his friends warns, taking the bill from her.
"You were supposed to drive home, moron," his other friend complains, smacking his arm. "Let's go. Where is your van, Stu?"
Stu is still looking back at the door.
"What's the rush?" He speaks in a calm, relaxed, and friendly fake demeanor, chuckling a bit. "We don't really have to go right away, do we?" His heart is pumping hard in his chest, but he tries his best to ignore it and stay calm. He takes a deep breath as he speaks. "We can all have a little bit more fun, right?"
"Yeah, you say that because you don't work. I have to wake up early,' one of his friends scolds him.
"Yeah, me too, moron," the other agrees. "Pay, so we can leave," he laughs.
Stu gets annoyed yet again... His face turns into a frown for a moment, but he goes back to his friendly and calm demeanor very quickly.
"Alright. " He pulls out his wallet. "It's on me, guys." He chuckles again as he talks. He takes out a fifty dollar bill and puts it on the table. He looks at the waitress. "You keep changing, dear." "Thank you," she says, smiling and leaving. His friends take their coats and walk towards the exit. They see the white van in the corner, so they walk there.
Stu looks around for the indigent the girl was talking about, but there is no one outside the bar. Yet when he was about to get in the driver's seat, he noticed someone sitting in a bank in the park in front of the bar with a backpack beside him. It was too dark to see clearly.
He asks his friends to wait and walks towards the man alone, without being noticed. He doesn't know what he would say if it were Billy; he's still sad and hurt about the way Billy left.
Stu walks towards a dark figure that he can barely see and stops a short distance before him. He stands there for a few moments, silently staring at the figure. He sighs as he mumbles.
"Billy?" His voice is now shaking. Something about the dark figure reminds him of Billy. His voice is filled with anxiety, fear and stress. He's feeling a lot of emotions right now as he begins to feel his heartbeat quickening and the adrenaline pumping through his entire body as he waits for a response.
"Billy?" He insists in a pleading and nervous tone.
Stu notices that the man's shoulders are tense. He doesn't look up for a moment that seems to last forever, until he does. The known cold, piercing dark eyes of Billy look at him, emotionless. It would scare anyone, but it kind of comforts Stu to see it again.
"What...?" Billy chuckles.
Stu sighs as a huge wave of relief washes over him, and his voice returns to its happy and friendly tone.
"Oh my god! Billy!" He smiles and hugs Billy. "You had me for a minute there," he chuckles again. "I thought for sure you were gone," he whispers in Billy´s ear.
Stu pulls back and looks at Billy. He speaks from the heart as his voice begins to falter again, and his nerves are still shot. His heartbeat is very fast.
"I have missed you so much." His heart is racing, so he hugs Billy again.
"No!" Billy gasps at Stu's hug, freezing his whole body. Then he relaxes into it, hiding his head in Stu's shoulder. "Whatever," Billy mumbles.
"Whatever? Whatever? You're something else." You're something else." Stu holds him close in his arms carefully, and he laughs. He's incredibly happy that Billy is right here. He holds him for a few moments longer before he talks again, in a very vulnerable way. "What happened, Billy? What are you doing so late at night all alone?" he asks in a very protective and emotional voice. He sighs as he holds him close. "Why wouldn't you just let me know you were okay, Billy?" He squeezes him a bit tighter now.
There's a moment where Billy doesn't respond, and Stu fears he wouldn't say anything at all. But then Billy hugs him back and chuckles slowly.
"Stop saying my name out loud, you idiot."
Stu lets out a short breath of air as he chuckles a bit at himself. He breathes deeply and speaks in a kind, friendly tone.
"Ok, sorry about that." He looks incredibly concerned once again. He breathes in deeply and speaks very quickly. "Is it dangerous for you to be here? It's really dark. Is there someone you're hiding from? Is there something you need?"
A huge wave of anxiety and fear comes over him again now that the moment he's waited for is here. His heartbeat is pumping incredibly fast again.
Billy's body gets tense once more, and his voice is a bit cautious.
"How do you...?" He cuts himself, shaking his head. "I'm hiding from the police. You already know that." He whispers now, his body relaxing again.
The mention of the police reminds Stu of his chat with Deputy Riley and that he said he would call if he saw Billy again. How many more people were aware of that denunciation about Billy hiding in his house?
Stu's heart sinks into his stomach. He gets that terrible feeling in his stomach. He's still incredibly nervous and anxious, and his heart is still pumping harder.
"They're still looking for you, huh?" he sighs. "Is there anyone else that knows where you are?" He asks as politely as he can, but his voice still cracks a little bit. "Is, um... Is anyone else looking for you?"
Billy distances himself from Stu to look at his face, studying it.
"Why do you ask?" he says in a stern voice. There's a dangerous edge to it.
Stu now looks even more nervous, and he's still incredibly anxious. He sighs, and he shakes his head a little.
"Yeah…" he says in a soft and gentle voice as he nods his head a little bit. "The police are. They told me that they were going to arrest me on the spot if I had you hiding in my house a week ago." His voice begins to crack a little bit now, and he swallows the lump in his throat before he speaks again in a serious tone. "Is there anyone else? Is anyone else looking for you?"
Billy's eyes look surprised to hear that. Stu can see his mind pondering behind his eyes. After a moment of tension, Billy nods once but is distracted and looks towards one side of the park.
"Someone is coming," he mutters.
Stu notices that it's one of his friends who was waiting in the van. He almost forgot they were there waiting because he had said he would drive them home.
"Ok, no problem. Wait for me here. I'll be right back." Stu says to Billy:
Billy nods once.
Stu starts to walk towards them, thinking of an excuse to make them leave without him. Stu's heart is still pumping through his chest. He feels his nerves going crazy right now. He's incredibly anxious, and he really wants to be alone with Billy. He is willing to get rid of his friends for him.
Billy watches the tree talk; he can't hear what they are saying; he only sees Stu's friendly gestures towards them. They laugh a lot, and it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth to know Stu is ditching them just to interrogate him. Why does he care?
Stu walks back over to Billy once they are gone. He's smiling again.
"Ok, my friends left. Now we can have some alone time." He reassures in a very friendly and polite tone as he's feeling the relief that his friends left, but his heart's still beating very hard and he still has a very anxious feeling.
Billy just nods but stays silent.
Stu walks a little bit closer to Billy. He speaks more quietly now, but there's a vulnerable edge to his voice.
"Billy, we need to talk." His voice trembles just a tiny bit as he speaks. "I promise you, I'm not going to tell anybody. Please, Billy, talk to me." He tries to show love and care in his voice.
"Okay..." Billy sighs, still pondering something, and Stu wonders what's on his mind. Billy can hide it better than him, but Stu can see he is anxious too. "Can you... can you drive me out of Woodsboro?" Billy asks now, in a lower tone. "I'll tell you on the way."
At that moment, Stu notices the bandage on Billy's neck. It's clean, as if it was done recently.
Stu's heart sinks. He looks at it with a bit of shock. He sighs and nods his head. "Yeah... yeah, ok, I can do that," he assures in a very calm and friendly voice. "That's fine." Now he looks at Billy more closely. "Where did that bandage come from?" His heart is pounding, and his nerves are still going crazy. His voice is a little shaky, and he looks at Billy with a very worried expression as he speaks. "Did someone hurt you?"
Billy is tense as Stu storms him with questions, his hand subconsciously touching his neck. Then he frowns and looks around as he stands up.
"I..." then he stops talking.
Stu doesn't say another word. He looks at him, waiting patiently for Billy to tell him, but he feels very worried, and he seems to sense that something's wrong with Billy and also with how he is acting.
"What is it, Billy? Did something happen to you?" His voice is still calm and friendly, but it is just a bit insistent now. "Just tell me. You can trust me. I'll keep your secret."
"I'll tell you when we're far from here." Billy insists, his cold eyes looking at him directly, but they look too troubled and tormented to have a menacing effect.
Stu looks back at him with a look of worry in his eyes. His face begins to contort with a mix of confusion and sadness.
"Ok." He sighs. "Just don't feel like you have to go into details if you don't want to. Just if you want to tell me anything, I'm here for you. " His voice is still very gentle and kind. He's beginning to feel even more anxious. "How far away do we need to go?"
"As far as you can." Billy utters this and starts walking towards the white van. Stu sees that he's limping, but his ankle seems to be better for him to be able to walk like that.