Disclaimer: Do not own anything Scream related
Warnings for unhealthy relationships and murder and implied child grooming
What we want is you
Tara had found herself in a rather sticky situation.
Being the center of attention for two ruthless killers.
After Tara had ended up in the hospital after the attack on her in her house, and Sam had come back, Tara hadn't known who was behind the Ghostface mask. Then when she was attacked again at the hospital, Richie having come in and she hit him with the phone, she thought she was safe, until Ghostface crashed in and attacked Richie, then she had rolled herself out on the wheelchair, finding a dead guard.
And that was when Ghostface had made the ultimatum when Sam called. Choose Tara or Richie.
Tara had screamed and cried as she tried to crawl away, but then Ghostface had made the choice even without Sam's help. Ghostface turned and went to Richie, gutting him, carving into his stomach, tearing his innards out.
Tara had screamed, crying, watching the scene, as Richie stared up at Ghostface as he was dying, blood leaking out of his mouth, and he mumbled a name out.
"Amber…." He grunted, as he died.
Tara stared over her shoulder at Ghostface as Ghostface pulled the knife out of Richie's stomach.
Amber?
Ghostface stood up then, staring at Tara.
Tara heard Sam screaming her name, asking what was happening, but Tara couldn't respond.
Time had stopped then, her and Ghostface staring at each other, with a dead guard and a dead Richie on the floor of the hallway.
Then Tara's blood froze, when Ghostface came over, and she tried to crawl away, whimpering, Ghostface leaned down and did something unexpected.
Ghostface leaned down and wrapped their arms around Tara's middle and lifted her up off of the floor and placed her onto the wheelchair.
Tara gasped, staring at Ghostface. Ghostface leaned down and grabbed Richie's cell phone, standing up and handing it to Tara.
Tara stared at the phone in Ghostface's hand, and she swallowed, a shaky hand reaching out.
Ghostface did nothing as she took the phone.
Tara held Richie's phone and kept her eyes on Ghostface, waiting for some violent action. It never came.
Ghostface then turned and walked away, the blood dripping from the knife's blade as the killer walked away.
When Ghostface disappeared down the corridor, Tara let out a breath she hadn't even realized that she had been holding.
Then Sam and Dewey entered the hallway, Sam running to a still stunned Tara.
Tara absorbed what she had heard and saw.
Ghostface had chosen to kill Richie. And Richie, with his dying breath, had called Ghostface "Amber."
Tara tried to tell herself it meant nothing.
But why would Richie say "Amber" when Amber was Tara's closest friend, and when Mindy had acknowledged that the killer had to be someone that she or Sam knew?
Later it was discovered that there were bloody gloves in Richie's pocket. And a knife that he had pocketed. The blood on the knife's blade and on the gloves, matched the blood of the security officer at the hospital.
Meaning Richie had been the one to kill the security guard.
There was a backpack that he had left in the hospital as well, that had the Ghostface mask, gloves, and robe in it.
Which left Sam and everyone else with the horrifying conviction that Richie was one of the killers.
And that his partner had decided to take his life because he fucked up somehow.
Then when Tara's friends came to see her, including Amber, Tara quietly asked for everyone else to leave, to wait outside and for Amber to stay with her in the room.
When the door closed, Amber smiled, waiting for what Tara had to say. Finally, Tara said quietly, "It was you, wasn't it?"
"Me?" Amber asked, "'It was me,' what, babe?"
Tara swallowed when she asked the next question, "You killed Richie, didn't you?"
Amber's smirk was lost a moment, then she snorted, "Ah, fuck it. Yeah, I did."
Tara felt cold, hearing this admission.
Amber had been one of the Ghostface killers.
She still was.
Tara suddenly felt the need to cry out for her sister and her friends, who stood just outside of the door.
But instead, she asked, "Why? Why did you kill Richie if you were working together?"
Amber's snicker appeared again. She said, "Because of what he did to you."
Tara's eyes widened.
Richie was the one that had attacked her at her house?
Then again, looking back, it made too much sense. The video that had been sent to her phone when she was being harassed by Ghostface, had been a live feed. Amber hadn't been the one shooting the video, because the phone's camera had been focused on her the whole time.
So, it had to have been Richie who was shooting the footage.
And there was no way that Amber could have put on the Ghostface getup and gotten out of the house in time, to enter through the door of Tara's house and attack her.
It had to have been Richie.
"You said that you'd hit the organs that you missed last time," Tara pointed out, feeling her throat go dry.
"I did," Amber said, "But that wasn't because I attacked you last time. I was trying to cover the fact that there were two of us."
Tara swallowed again. That made sense.
But….
"But you helped," Tara said, a feeling of betrayal giving her courage, "You might not have attacked me at my house. But you helped. You planned it with him. And you let him do it."
"Yes," Amber said, jaw tightening, actually appearing like she might flinch, "I did. I didn't think he was going to hurt you as badly as he did. We agreed we had to hurt you, to lure Sam back. But I didn't think he'd hurt you the way he did. I never agreed for the fucker to break your leg or stab your hand, or even to stab you. Just to slash your arms and legs and be done with it. Shallow cuts."
Tara looked at Amber now, as if Amber was from another planet.
"Shallow cuts?" Tara repeated, "Are you insane?"
Tara knew the question was ridiculous, because of course, Amber was insane. She had to be, to be involved in this.
Amber chuckled wryly, "Maybe. I killed Richie for what he did. I know it doesn't make up for anything-"
"No, it doesn't," Tara whispered, still staring at the young murderer.
A new thought ran through her mind and she asked, "Wes? His mother?"
Amber now looked away.
"It was you, wasn't it?" Tara said, feeling tears threaten to fall.
Amber quickly answered, "Wes was harassing you. Obsessed with you-"
"And you're not?" Tara spat, "Why did you do this?"
"To protect you," Amber answered, voice breaking.
Tara watched Amber, stunned.
"Protect me?" She demanded, tears finally falling, "You let Richie attack me. What was the plan, Amber? Kill everyone I love, so that you could have me to yourself?"
"No!" Amber said, all amusement gone from her expression, just desperation present, "I just wanted to get rid of Richie and Wes. And Wes's mom. She would never let your sister be. And your sister…she left you, she doesn't deserve you. But I wasn't going to keep you from her."
Amber took a breath as she spoke again, "I wanted to kill two birds with one stone. I wanted to make something that could be remembered, when I killed all three Sidney, Gale and Dewey. But I didn't want anything to happen to you. I was…when I was able to get Sidney and Gale and Dewey at my house, and I attacked everyone, I was going to keep you safe, no matter what."
Tara watched Amber, her heart stilling.
The fucked up thing was, she believed Amber.
Her whole life, Amber had been nothing but a protective presence. A protective, and intense presence, but she had still been there for Tara, the whole time.
Whenever Tara's mother had thrown her fits or screamed or drank? Amber was the one that protected her and told Tara not to pay attention to what the "bitch said."
Tara had no idea how Amber had become this way, but when Amber said that she was doing all this for Tara? Tara believed her.
Tara said quietly, "Amber, I'm going to need you to listen to me, okay?"
Amber nodded, appearing bizarrely timid now, now that Tara knew.
Tara took a breath as she began, "Okay…if…if you want me to stay with you? We have to make some rules here. No more killing. That's at the top of the list. No more killing."
Amber looked slightly upset at this and Tara could have screamed. She couldn't believe she was actually negotiating with a serial killer.
Then Amber asked, hope on her face and in her voice and Tara hated that she felt her heart almost break at that hope, "So….you don't hate me?"
Tara wiped some of her tears away as she said, "No. I don't hate you, Amber. I don't think I ever could. Even if you deserve it. I'm furious. And confused. But I don't hate you."
Though she knew that following with this conversation was a bad idea, Tara still asked, "Why did you want to do all of this for me in the first place?" She still wanted to point out that even if Amber thought it was "for Tara," there was no justification here.
Amber gave a weak laugh, "Tara, it's because I love you. I've always loved you."
Tara looked at Amber, startled.
Amber didn't just mean that she loved Tara in a platonic way, did she?
There was an interruption-Sam came in, watching the two girls cautiously. "Tara," she said, "Is everything okay?"
"Everything is fine," Tara said, not liking that she was lying to her sister, "Just give us a few more seconds, okay?"
Sam looked at Amber, hesitating, then nodded and closed the door, keeping her eyes on Tara.
Tara regarded Amber again and said, "I…," she shook her head, trying to ignore the desperate look on Amber's face, "I need you to get this-you can't kill anyone else. If you even think about killing again, you need to talk to me about it."
Tara couldn't believe this, she was attempting to become the keeper of a murderer. Attempting to put a leash on a serial killer.
Amber appeared startled, then nodded. "I can do that," she said, "But…..you don't hate me for what I did?"
"No," Tara sighed, "I know that I should. But I don't."
She watched the pain fill Amber's face.
"You should," Amber said quietly, "For what I let happen to you. For traumatizing you. I'm sorry. I should have killed him before he even called you."
Tara closed her eyes. She wished she didn't feel so much for this murderer. This serial killer.
But she did.
"You don't feel guilt for anything else?" She asked opening her eyes and staring at Amber again, "Not for what you did to Wes or his mom?"
"No," Amber said, "Only for what I did to you."
Tara gave a small moan of pain, that had nothing to do with her physical injuries.
How had she been unaware this whole time that her best friend was susceptible to this? To bloodlust?
Tara and Amber both had always liked horror movies.
But Amber always seemed to have this morbid and ruthless edge. Tara realized she should have seen this ages ago.
"When did you and Richie plan all this?" Tara asked.
"Three years ago," Amber answered.
Tara's heart fell.
Three years ago.
Richie had had his hooks in Amber that whole time.
Tara had heard of "groomers," but she hadn't thought that this would be one of the results.
Amber was a year younger than Tara, even if she was taller and looked older. She was seventeen. Which meant that she would have been fourteen when she and Richie began interacting.
"Why didn't you ever tell me that someone like Richie was talking to you?" Tara whispered.
The real question she wanted to ask, was "why did you choose him over me?"
"I…," Amber said, finally wincing, "I didn't want you to know. I didn't want you to know what I was going to do. I wanted to give you everything. I still do. But I didn't want you to know what I did."
Tara leaned back against the hospital bed.
She said quietly, "I don't know if I can forgive you yet. I certainly can't trust you again yet."
Amber's face twisted in pain.
But Tara continued, "But I don't hate you. I need to ask, just what do you want from me?"
Amber's eyes widened. "I want to be with you," Amber said, "Isn't that obvious? I just want you."
Tara breathed out, figuring it out quickly. She should have understood this before. Amber had romantic feelings for her. Amber wanted her sexually.
Tara said quietly, "You wanting to be with me, doesn't excuse anything you did, you know that, right?"
Amber nodded, appearing afraid of rejection, as if expecting a backhand.
Tara said, "You want to be with me, but you chose Richie over me."
"I didn't," Amber insisted, "I killed him for you."
"But you didn't tell me about him, and you worked with him," Tara said, "This is why I need you to promise me that you will tell me if you even think about killing anyone, and you listen to me when I tell you not to kill that person."
Amber hesitated, then nodded.
"Alright," she said, "I'll ask for your permission first. And won't do anything if you don't give it."
There was a slight smirk on Amber's face when she said it and it took Tara a moment to realize why, then she tried not to groan. She suddenly realized that what Amber said, could have been taken as an innuendo.
Tara asked the next question, tense, "What would you have done if I rejected you?"
Amber looked like she might wince again, when she said, "Not hurt or kill you, if that's what you mean. Probably just hand myself over to the police, to be punished for what I did to you."
Tara stared at Amber, startled.
Tara, it appeared, was all Amber wanted.
Tara took a deep breath. Okay, so, if she wanted to keep Amber in line, she would have to make a severe amount of ground rules.
But Tara found that she wasn't completely put off at the thought of being with Amber.
She knew she should have been. But she wasn't.
"Alright," she said, "We can be together," she watched as Amber's face brightened in sheer joy, "But only if you follow the rules that I have for you, understand?"
Amber sat down next to Tara's bed, moving in close and Tara thought that Amber might kiss her on the lips, but Amber leaned down instead, cradling Tara's uninjured hand and kissed its palm.
Tara gasped quietly, seeing Amber stare up at her softly.
Damn, what the hell had she gotten herself into?