Wow

Nothing lasts forever,

but you were gone too soon

You were robbed of summer

I was robbed of you

I'm feral about these sad dead kids.

:']

You Belong with Me 💙🏈📖

Wally Clark x fem reader Y/N slow burn story

Part 12

Summary: You and Wally share a special moment as you watch the sunrise, you confess your feelings to Janet. And you and Wally decide to write your obituaries when Wally tells you something he has been hiding.

After opening to Wally about your death, both of you decide to write your obituaries. You and Wally walk the halls, looking in all the classrooms looking for Mr. Martin but coming up short. You sport Dawn in her usual spot. “Dawn, have you seen Mr. Martin?” you ask. She continues to stare blankly at the light and stroking her hair through her hands. “No haven’t seen him.” You and Wally continue to walk around going to all the classrooms and nothing. Where the hell is he? You thought. “How about we just wait for group tomorrow we can ask him then.” Wally said. You nod and decide to walk to the cafeteria for some food.

It was the next day and you have woken earlier than usual like before sun rise, so you take that opportunity and head to your spot on the roof with an apple and watch the sun rise. You try to leave quietly trying not to wake Wally up asleep on the couch beside you. It was going good until you accidently bang your knee on the coffee table. “Darling, are you ok?” Wally yawns and his gaze on you. “Sorry Walls I couldn’t get back to sleep so I was going to watch the sunrise. Go back to sleep.” You whisper back to him. “Darling, its November, we may be dead, but it will still be cold. You know what I’m coming with you. Grab some blankets” he says as he gets up from the couch. “You don’t have to I will be ok.” You respond. “Too late I’m coming. I want to watch the sunrise too.” He says grabbing some blankets and some pillows. You and Wally leave the library and make your way to the roof. It was still dark out when you got on the roof. Wally arranges the pillows and blankets for you too and you and him sit down, wrap yourselves in more blankets and cuddle up next to him for extra warmth. He’s right bringing blankets I would freeze if he didn’t come with me. Suddenly you can feel your heartbeat beat faster as you are in Wally’s arms and a warm feeling spreads all through your body. You feel calm, at peace. The sun rises and paints the sky in yellow, orange, and pink. You and him don’t say anything just enjoy the peaceful moment watching the sun rise over the horizon. As the sun fully rises you and wally pack up the blankets and pillows and head back downstairs to the library.

“Hey, you two, where were you?” Janet says as she sees the blankets and pillows in your arms. “I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep so I decided to go on the roof and watch the sunrise. I accidently banged my knee on the coffee table and woke Wally up and he decided to join me. It was so peaceful. Exactly what I needed from all the emotions of yesterday.” You reply. Janet looks puzzled. “Are you ok, what happened yesterday?” she asked. “I told Wally about how I died yesterday.” You respond. “Oh, are you both ok? That must have been a lot” she said as she embraces you in a hug. “It was a lot but I’m glad you told me.” Wally says. “I’m going to go on my morning run if you want to join?” he asked. “No thanks I might just go have a shower.” You say. Wally nods and heads out to the field. You don’t realise you have a big smile on your face as he leaves the room and Janet notices too. “I see that smile Y/N you can’t deny it either. That’s a type of smile you have when you are in love. Oh, my goodness are you in love with Wally?” she says eagerly as this is the biggest thing to happen in forever. “I- I” you stutter not knowing what to say. “Ok, yes I do love him. I have loved him since last year. I was going to tell him at the homecoming game, but we all know how that went.” You say with a sigh of relief. It feels like a weight has been lifted you have finally admitted your feelings aloud even if it wasn’t to Wally. “But you can’t tell him I don’t want to ruin anything between us.” You add. “Eeek this is so exciting tell me everything! When did you first fall in love? How long as it been? Oo who else knows” Janet says rambling on with question after question. “I will tell you if you promise not to say anything.” You say. “Of course, I promise, now spill” she says after finally stops jumping around. Wow this really must be the most exciting thing to happen in a while. “It was our junior year, and we just came back from a family holiday Milwaukee, and I can’t actually pinpoint the exact moment I realized I had feelings for him, but it was on that trip. So, I eventually decided that I don’t want to tell him, he’s my only friend that I had since I always have my head in books always studying and never interacting with others. I didn’t want to lose him I can’t be alone.” You admit to Janet as more relief overwhelms you. “What’s stopping you from telling him now?” Janet asks. Not needing anytime to think of an answer you blurt out “Because whatever this thing is, whatever is trapping us here, I can’t face it alone. Wally has been supportive and so understanding that I can’t risk it admitting that I love him. If he doesn’t feel the same way and he can’t be around me anymore that- “tears well in your eyes “- that would break me.” “It’s ok Y/N come here.” She extends her arms giving you a hug. “Your secret is safe with me. How about you go have your shower and we can head to group when you’re finished.” Janet says. “Thank you for letting me talk, it helped get this off my chest.” You say. You head to the girls change rooms and no one is in there you make sure the door is locked and have a warm shower. You may not actually need a shower since you just reset but it felt good to be under running water to clear your mind. As you finish you dry off and put your clothes back on and head back to where Janet was to walk to group together.

You and Janet are the first ones there, so you decided to help Mr Martin with the chairs. “Um Mr Martin, is it ok if Wally and I talk to you after group today? It’s about our obituaries.” You ask. “Yes, of course I will go fetch the samples from my office.” He says as he leaves the gym. “He has his own office?” you ask Janet confused. “It’s just an old room no one uses that he uses and keeps his belongings. Though I don’t know where it is.” She said. You aren’t sure but you think she may be lying about that last part, the look on her face when you asked was weird, even weird for Janet. Who knows they might have been close since they died not far apart maybe he was her teacher in life? And they have been here just the two of them for a while before Rhonda died. You let it go but also keep a mental note just in case

“Y/N and Wally have decided it was time to write their obituaries today.” Mr Martin said to the group. “Its brutal. When I wrote mine, I cried for a week which is weird to admit.” Tommy said weirdly neither you or Wally knows how he died or even how Rhonda died. “If you don’t mind me asking, what happened to you?” You ask. “It’s ok it was during summer school, I flunked on maths and if I didn’t attend summer school, I would have had to repeat a year and not be with my friends. I was walking to school and just got on school grounds and suddenly collapsed. Then I ended up here. I didn’t find out until my memorial 5 days later I had a sudden brain bleed and died instantly” he said. “Holy shit that’s terrible” Wally says as you gasp in shock. “Yeah, it was scary but not as scary as Rhonda’s she- ““Shush blondie I haven’t told them yet.” Rhonda buts in. Yours and Wally’s eyes lad on hers as she snaps at Tommy. “I was murdered by my guidance counsellor and that’s all I want to say ok newbies.” She said as yours and Wally’s jaws flew open in shock. “Yes, but you have done some healing and that’s what I want from Y/N and Wally. Mr Martin says as he looks at Rhonda as she gives a sarcastic nod. “So, here’s some examples, no rush when you’re ready” he hands you the examples as group ends. You can see Wally is overwhelmed and you take his hand letting him know that you are there for him. “So, that was a lot. Do you want to do this together? It might help.” You said as you can feel his hand grip yours harder. “Actually, yeah that will be ok.” He says as you leave the gym and head to the library.

In the library you find a quiet corner away from the main door so no one will disturb you and luckily it was Sunday so there was no students or teachers as distraction. You look over the examples and even if they were old and no one you knew you felt emotional reading them. You gave Wally a reassuring nod and squeeze his hand as you grab a pencil and paper and begin writing. You finish before Wally; you actually didn’t notice he has barley written anything. “It’s ok Wally, you don’t have to finish today.” You whisper as you can tell he’s emotional. “No, I have to do it now otherwise I will properly never do it.” He responds fighting back tears. You take his hand again and give it another squeeze. “How about I give you some space, if you want you can read mine.” You say. “Um actually yeah but don’t leave the library.” He crocks still fighting back tears refusing to let them fall. “I will go find a book to read and be over there.” You say to him as he turns his attention back to the paper. You get up and leave Wally but not going too far away so you can keep a close eye on him. Writing your obituary was the hardest thing you have done but you know it will be harder on Wally as he doesn’t show his emotions. You find a book and sit at two tables away from him so you can keep an eye on him but also far enough that he can’t see you are watching him.

Two hours have passed, and you notice he’s finished. he breaks down in tears and you rush over to give him a hug. You don’t say anything, you don’t need to as tears stream down your face. You rarely saw him so emotional he always kept to himself which isn’t healthy. You on the other hand was always emotional. During high school and the levels of stress subjects put on you was overwhelming, but Wally knew exactly what to say to help. You hoped that he thought he had to be the strong, stable one between you too, maybe now in this afterlife he can let go and not be afraid to show those emotions. “That was the second hardest thing I’d ever had to do.” He said as he wipes his tears on his grey shirt. “What was the first one?” you ask curious. “Watching you die, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.” He said softly. You sit back into your chair. “I didn’t even know you actually witnessed it; I was focusing on my mom that I didn’t even know where you came from.” You whisper as reality floods your brain; you had witnessed his death and he had witnessed yours. “Yeah, I guess that’s how you felt when I died but, you didn’t have enough time to react.” He replied. You sigh as you hug him again. “No human ever has had to witness each other’s deaths like we did Walls, how do we even recover from that? When that guy tackled you and you didn’t move it felt like the world stopped like all the air in my lungs was sucked out of me.” “That’s exactly what I felt when I saw you die, my best friend, my person getting flung over a car and I couldn’t even help you. I tried to actually push you out of the way, but nothing happened.” You and him sit in silence as the realization overwhelms you both. “I’m glad I have you to talk all this through I don’t think I could do this without you, as selfish as that sounds.” Wally says as he looks at you through tear-stricken lashes. “I feel the same.” You say as you embrace in each other’s arms. “that’s enough sadness for one day how about we go do something to take our minds of this and we can give the obituaries to Mr Martin tomorrow.” You say wiping tears away from your eyes as well as his. He nods and you and him walk out the library.

You find Mr Martin down the hall and hand him your obituaries in hope to never see them again. “Here’s our obituaries, I kind of understand why you made us write these, so we can move on and not hold on to our deaths.” You say as you and Wally hand them over. “Exactly right, when the others did it, they felt relief and you will do eventually. Now if you excuse me, I have to go” Mr Martin says he rushes of. “Was that just me or was he in a rush?” Wally asked. “No, he was, wonder what that was all about?” you replied. You wondered what he could be in a rush for, I mean he’s dead what could he be needing to do so urgently.

Part 11 Part 13

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October Moon

summary: the day after Dawn's ascension, things had picked up speed. research had uncovered more of the school's secrets. meanwhile, Maddie's memories had been triggered, and Simon had made a connection that'd dragged your family further into the mystery.

pairing: Wally Clark x fem!reader

warnings: smutty smut smut. mad spoilers. and obvious Canon divergence. very involved, very dense plot.

bon reading, frens

___________________________💀

OCTOBER MOON pt.11

Monitors beeped—long intervals, pitched notes—and, below that, your great-aunt's rattled breathing. Everything stank of disinfectant.

Visiting Ginny in the hospital never got easier.

"She was such a quiet girl, you know..." Nanna said softly, holding Ginny's hand as she spoke. Her eyes were distant as she fell into the past, reliving memories of their childhood.

Ginny was much older than Nanna. Nanna had been a surprise after their mother, your great-grandmother, had been told she wouldn't have been able to create—never mind carry—another baby. Ginny adored Nanna. Had adored her the moment Nanna came into the world.

After a fire had killed their parents, Ginny took on multiple roles (sister, mother, guardian, friend) and did her best to raise Nanna. Though she'd still been young herself, it hadn't stopped her from doing what needed to be done. There'd been some relative outside of Split River who could've taken Nanna, but Ginny had insisted they not be separated.

Ginny and Nanna had been two peas in a pod since. Where one went, the other followed.

"What changed?" You finally asked, gazing at Ginny as she slept, oxygen tube down her throat. That was the worst you'd ever seen her.

Your eyes pricked and your stomach clenched, and you so badly yearned for her to wake up. To hug you, pet your hair, and tell you that you were being ridiculous to worry over her.

Nanna chuckled, her thumb stroking the back of Ginny's hand, "The reason her lungs are so weak." She said, quiet, tired, "The fire."

"The fire made her more—" Blunt, dramatic, stubborn, batshit insane with a warm heart and a warmer smile. You settled for, "Loud?"

"It scared her. You come face to face with death like that, sweetpea, and it changes you. Either for good or for bad." Nanna cast you an amused smile, "I like to believe that's why you and Aiden were so mischievous. Obnoxious little munchkins, the both of you."

"What do you mean?" You asked around the lump in your throat, pictured Aiden at that farmhouse as he clutched Limon and asked strangers to play.

Nanna gave you a surprised look, one that indicated you should've known what she meant.

She told you anyway, "Aurora was an easy birth. Out in minutes. Squalling like a banshee." She chuckled, shaking her head with a fond smile. "But you...you were impatient. Wanted to be in the world as soon as possible." She paused, patted your knee, "You came early. Such a wee thing." Nanna's smile fell, "You weren't breathing. But," Her smile returned, "They saved you. You recovered quickly and I have a feeling my wily sister had something to do with it..." Nanna cast Ginny's unconscious form a playful look of bemusement, "You didn't have to suffer years of treatments like most unlucky infants."

Amelia's words rung in your head like the knell of a church bell: Death ushered them into the world and left a piece of himself within them.

So...you'd been delivered with Death at your heels. Amelia had mentioned that that was how you could interact with the metaphysical world and those who inhabited it. Holy shit.

"And Aiden?"

Nanna sighed, "Poor little bug." She made the sign of the cross, something she only ever did when Aiden was mentioned. "I always wondered if he knew..." She shook her head as if to dispel the very thought and diverted, "He was blue as a violet. The cord had...had wrapped itself around his neck. He was dead for almost a minute before they revived him..." Nanna's eyes glistened. She gazed over her sister again, lips pinched in despair.

Death had had its arms open for Aiden since the day he was born, you mourned. You weren't surprised that Nanna thought it possible that Aiden knew, somehow, someway, that he hadn't been destined for a long life. If anyone in the house would've known, it would've been her. She'd examined his palms the same as she'd done everyone else's...

"Did you know?" You had to ask, uncomfortable that you hadn't remembered until now exactly what your grandmother's connectedness was capable of. "That he wouldn't live long?"

Her face was grim as the reaper, eyes haunted, "I hoped against it. Reading the Awen isn't precise, sweetpea. And I prayed, in that instance, I was wrong."

But she hadn't been.

You almost wanted to confess to her about Aiden and the farmhouse and the other ghosts. You didn't, of course, but you suddenly realized how ill-equipped you were to face everything alone. The responsibility of stopping Amelia, retrieving Maddie's body, and freeing the ghosts. Freeing Wally. It was a vise that strangled your heart without remorse.

Nanna brought the conversation back to Ginny, faraway eyes and compassionate smile, "That fire might've weakened her body, but it strengthened her spirit." She ended wistfully, "Few realize that Death is also capable of giving gifts. It can be kind as it can be cruel."

Minutes later, Nanna excused herself to fetch a cup of hot water to steep the dry ingredients Aurora had delivered from the flower shop. She left with a kiss on your head and a squeeze of your shoulder. You took her place in the chair beside Ginny. Held Ginny's hand in yours, and tried to tamp down the slurry of emotions that rose within you.

After a long moment of silence, you choked, "Everything's fucked up." A plea to someone who couldn't hear you.

She couldn't Travel, you imagined because her body and mind were too weak, but you desperately needed her right now. Or you needed to finally unload the burden of truth on someone you could trust because it had become too much.

"There weren't any stupid storms or squalls or whatever you and mom said there would be. But it feels worse. Like everything is out of control—" A thick sniffle, a hiccup, "Maddie's a ghost and her body is missing. I think there's someone out there who wants to use it for themselves," Your voice broke when you continued, "I--I don't know what to do... I-I don't even know where to look. Or how to look. I need help, Ginny. Xavier and Simon are great and they want to help, they do, but they don't know this stuff and now I'm expected to be a walking encyclopedia and—" A self-deprecating snort, "Fuck. I barely know anything..."

The heart monitor beeped a steady rhythm. The ventilator whirred. Ginny remained a gaunt statue in repose.

You leaned over and pressed your forehead to the back of her hand, hot tears falling onto her cold skin, "Please wake up..."

‗‗‗‗•‗‗‗‗

Simon ran his thumb over the pendant, his other hand in Maddie's as she urged him to lure her mother to the school. Get her here, he heard Maddie plead, I always know when she's lying.

But Simon's mind was elsewhere, his eyes flicking over the pendant's design, teeth clenched as he berated himself. He should've asked more questions when he'd—God dammit, the answers might've been right fucking there and he'd been too busy minding his pleases and thank yous.

He couldn't believe he hadn't recognized the pendant the night of the dance, strung around someone else's neck. One of a pair, your great-aunt had told him. Maddie had worn the necklace every day since he'd known her. A gift from her father she rarely, if ever, removed.

Without acknowledging Maddie's insistence to get Sandra in a room with her, Simon asked, "You said your dad gave this to you?"

Maddie's teeth clicked when she abruptly closed her mouth, visibly stunned that Simon would ask that now. A brief moment of contemplation and then, "Yeah. Right before he died."

"And you're sure about that?" Simon's eyes never left the pendant, but his grip on Maddie's hand tightened marginally, a gesture expressing that it was important, that he needed her to be precise.

"Yeah." One beat. Two. "I mean, not really. I got it in the mail. Mom said he sent it when he was still in Texas. That it took longer to get there than he did. He was back for a couple of weeks before..." Maddie trailed off. Simon could fill in the blanks.

Christopher had been home for a couple of weeks before he'd killed himself while wearing your body like a meat puppet.

"In the mail?" Simon prompted as he released her hand to cup her jaw, gaze boring into hers. "And you're sure your dad was the one who sent it?"

Maddie swallowed. "Yeah. It was definitely him."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, Simon, I'm sure." Prickly, fierce. "My dad sent it. I know he sent it. There was a note with it in his handwriting."

Simon dropped his hand back to hers, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it sound like you don't know what you're talking about, Maddie. I just want to make sure that we have all the facts."

"Why?" Maddie asked and leaned back to examine him since he wasn't making sense.

Simon hesitated for a moment, unsure how to put into words the weird coincidence he was beginning to think wasn't a coincidence at all.

"When I went to pick her up for the Homecoming dance... Maddie, her great-aunt had exactly the same pendant. Ginny said that it was one of a pair, earrings or something, but she lost the other one a while ago."

Maddie frowned and then her face went slack in shock, "You think her great-aunt might've been the one to give it to me?"

Simon shook his head, frustrated, confused, steadily more defeated as he realized he was so far out of his depth that he couldn't hold his head above water anymore.

"I don't know." He slumped, rubbed his eyes, and gave Maddie an apologetic look. "But we have to find out. Someone has to know."

"Si, I know my dad gave me that necklace."

"I don't doubt it, I'm just saying: We know one of the two earrings isn't in Ginny's possession anymore. We know Amelia has been in her house. We also know that Amelia stole your dad's body," He stopped, his tone shifting when he realized how indelicate that'd sounded. Simon regrouped, squeezed Maddie's hand, then continued, "We know that your dad asked her to give you something."

"And you think it was my necklace," Maddie murmured, staring at it as Simon laid it carefully on the table between them, bits and pieces of information scattered in her mind like shattered glass.

"It makes sense. She doesn't remember what your dad asked her to take you. But what if it's this? If it's the same as Ginny's..." Simon leaned in to draw Maddie's attention from the necklace to him, his hand on her knee, "If it's like Ginny's, it probably works and keeps the bad spirits away from you."

Maddie snorted, a weak, light huff of air, "Didn't stop someone from knocking my spirit out."

Simon let that sit in the air for a moment as he devised a plan.

Taking Maddie's request to bring her mother to heart, "Your mom might know something. Like you said, you can tell when she's lying."

"Get her here." Maddie reiterated. "And we can figure out if—if my mom..." Had anything to do with Amelia and golems and hurting Maddie, she didn't need to elaborate.

Cutting her off, "Okay," Simon put the necklace back in the manila envelope, folded it, and shoved it into his back pocket before promising, "Okay, I'll figure something out."

Maddie sat silently for a long moment, gazing into the middle distance, so worn and small that Simon nearly choked on his heart looking at her.

Sandra might not have been the best mom, but she was Maddie's, and Maddie loved her. Simon couldn't imagine Sandra hurting Maddie. However, in light of all Simon had learned about in the last few weeks, it was easier to assume someone had used Sandra to do the work on their behalf.

Amelia, Anabelle, a secret third other, it didn't matter. Someone had the kind of power that could be used to control minds, bodies, the very fabric of the universe. His gut rolled.

As he stood, Maddie stopped him with a touch to his hip, "Simon?" She rose to her feet and shuffled into his space, looped her arms around his neck and held him, "Yesterday, what you said about whether or not us figuring it out means me moving on—"

"Don't worry about that right now," Simon murmured into her hair. It was jarring, how she didn't smell like anything. Just clean air. He stammered, "I was being selfish."

Maddie tilted back a fraction and said firmly, "You're never selfish," which made Simon's heart skip a beat and break at the same time.

"Maddie...if it was her," He started, nervous to voice his concern, his fear, but he wanted to understand, "Are you sure you wanna know?"

She didn't answer. Simply tucked her head into the crook of his neck and held him close.

‗‗‗‗•‗‗‗‗

Everett sat in disbelief as he listened to his students. Things were far worse than he'd been led to believe. He picked at a thread on his suit jacket, fidgeted to maintain his composure under the onslaught of questions his students asked.

For someone who'd prided himself on having all the answers, he wasn't sure how to address what his students were demanding he address.

Had Amelia left him be, had she stopped interfering and dragging him away to help her on a quest he couldn't actually help with—trapped behind a barrier as he was—none of this would've happened.

It'd been her fault, anyway, that Janet had done what she'd done. Everett didn't know everything, the hows and whys, but he knew enough to understand that Janet had been pushed to the edge by something Amelia had done or planned to do...

If only Amelia had let them be.

Dawn's ascension had happened while he'd been in the fallout shelter. He'd felt it. Felt that peace. That warmth. That omniscient truth that he'd never felt before because crossing over was supposed to be impossible inside the barrier.

Wally and Charley and Rhonda spoke over each other, a cacophony of questions with no answers. None that he was at liberty to give. He finally snapped the thread from his blazer, hands shaking because of what it signified that his clothes were deteriorating instead of resetting as they'd done since 1958.

"—the light at the same time as the goosebumps. Simultaneous goosebumps." Wally ranted between Charley's retelling of what they'd experienced.

Everett's collar felt too tight.

Bernie and Katelynn agreed and confirmed and Everett wanted the ground to open and swallow him whole. The noise of their curiosity caused his mouth to dry, his heartbeat to quicken, his palms to get clammy.

His students' eyes were on him, pinning him in place. He strung together the right words in the wrong context, anything to supplicate them, but they continued to press like walls closing in. And then Mina's face, sad and scared, seared behind his eyes, and he couldn't manage the pressure.

"After all these years, how can you still be so clueless?" Charley demanded, and Everett absorbed it like he'd absorbed Amelia's outrage when Janet had vandalized a plan that had been decades in the making.

It had been such a struggle to attain the right pieces and set them on the board. Amelia had been righteous in her anger. A glorious, beautiful blaze of fury that had left Everett wounded and weak. All because of Janet, who'd argued with him and accused him of being naïve. Who'd rearranged the board under his nose to steal what didn't belong to her.

"What if looking back isn't a bad thing?" Charley hounded, "What if it's actually the key to get out of here!? Why shouldn't we at least try that?"

They weren't allowed. They weren't allowed to look back. Amelia had warned him that everything he'd worked for, everything he'd done for them, everything he'd ever wanted would be snatched away if they looked back. And he couldn't have that. They needed him. To put them back on the right path, to guide them and teach them and be the person they relied on.

He refused to lose them like this.

"Because it's painful to constantly be thinking about it!" Everett's tone hit his ear belatedly and he deflated in his chair, eyes imploring, begging his students to listen to him like they used to. "Right!?"

His students went still, their eyes on him, willing to receive what wisdom he imparted. He gave them his impassioned speech, voice pleading, hoping his vulnerability would get them to see sense.

Subdued and seeming remorseful, they listened. Eyes down, features contorted in regret. For now, at least, Everett had won.

‗‗‗‗•‗‗‗‗

Wally kissed you like it was the last time. Slow, deep, explorative; memorizing every shape and taste of your mouth as he held you by the hips in his lap.

The school was empty aside from the teachers involved in the awards ceremony. Ajay had snuck you in and escorted you to Wally before he'd accompanied Maddie to the teacher's lounge for a coffee and a heart-to-heart.

Wally had stumbled upon Maddie in the hallway after Group. She'd been in bad shape. He was grateful that Ajay had stepped in to be there for her while she waited for Simon to arrive with her mom so that Wally could soak in your presence privately.

Needless to say, Group had left him rattled, and he needed the comfort.

"Wally?" You asked, likely having noticed his mind had wandered. "You okay?"

Wally's grip tightened on your hips, then smoothed down to your thighs, back up under your skirt to drag you closer by the ass. He gave you a weary smile, about as much as he could muster.

Between Mr. Martin's behavior in Group and Maddie's comment—"What would you do if the one person who was supposed to protect you was the one who hurt you?"—unleashing a repressed sense of betrayal toward his mama, Wally's strength of will had rapidly declined.

He didn't think he could do this anymore.

Call him selfish, but he missed the simpler times. The times before Maddie and the mystery and the cloak and dagger he and the others were forced to come to grips with. There was peace in ignorance and he wanted to find it again, just for a second, just to regroup and start fresh and—

"Hey," Your hands on his jaw, angling his face toward yours, "You still with me, big guy?"

"Sorry baby," Wally said, low and solemn, "Too many thoughts."

You nodded, "Yeah. Me too. I can't believe I never noticed Maddie's necklace. I see it every day, you'd think I would've put two and two together as soon as I met her, yanno?"

Not exactly where Wally's mind was, but that was odd.

"You said you and Maddie weren't that close before now," Wally tried to reason so you wouldn't drive yourself crazy thinking about it. "Who really pays attention to that kind of thing?"

You raised a brow, "I noticed Nicole had the same spider ring as Maddie as soon as she started wearing it."

"Okay. Fair. But that spider ring didn't ward off evil spirits, right? Maybe it's a magic necklace thing." And then he put on an all-powerful, godly voice, "All who look upon this necklace shall forget its importance lest they be cursed!"

You giggled, a sound as beautiful as a summer breeze, and beamed at him. Jesus, he wanted to see that smile every day for the rest of his existence. He lifted one hand to tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear, dipped in to brush his lips against yours, a smile of his own forming.

"Very impressive use of the word 'lest'," You teased, "I didn't know you had it in you."

"Hey, I was practically a straight A student, thanks."

"What I'm hearing is that you bullied nerds into giving you test answers."

Wally scoffed, "I didn't bully anyone! I used my popularity to charm certain academically gifted individuals into helping me along. It was give-give, baby, I swear." He grinned, both hands back on your ass, massaging your flesh.

"You may be onto something though, Wally." You said after a moment, "I wouldn't be surprised if Amelia glamoured the necklace so that no one would recognize it." A cheeky grin, "Lest her whole plan go up in flames before she could finish it." You raised your hands and made a poof gesture.

Wally drew you closer by the back of your head, his gaze flickering over your face as his eyes went heavy and heated, "Have I ever told you how sexy your brain is, baby?"

"Once or twice," You smirked and brushed your lips against his, "But you're welcome to tell me again."

A slow, thorough kiss before Wally said, "You have a very," kiss "very," kiss as his large hand pushed your closer so you were planted flush against him, "sexy brain."

‗‗‗‗•‗‗‗‗

Xavier was insubordinate on a good day, but the little nuisance had been more so in recent weeks. Austin didn't like it. By then, Xavier didn't need to be cagey or deflective for Austin to recognize when Xavier was hiding something.

In fact, Xavier had been combative, had shown up of his own volition to once again challenge Mr. South's innocence. And hadn't that been the cherry on top of a taxing day...

It was hard enough keeping the deputies' instincts from firing on all cylinders, pumping them with enough tea to fill an ocean. But Austin was at a pivotal point in tracking down and locating Madison Nears' runaway body and getting the plan back on the rails. He couldn't afford any more disruptions or screw-ups.

It rankled to think that perhaps, as had happened to Amelia's little pet who'd stopped drinking the tea under Amelia's nose, Xavier might've done the same thing. Austin was not one to be trifled with, and refused to acknowledge that that could possibly be right. He had a far stronger influence than Amelia.

But, he supposed, it needed to be looked into. After all, things had shifted since Madison Nears had been unceremoniously (prematurely) separated from her body. Xavier's manipulated subconscious could be another thing affected by it.

Pausing at reception, Austin noted the address he'd scribbled down earlier. Another possible lead.

At his hip, out of sight of those milling about the station, he typed a text to Dave's phone. The address and a blunt reminder that Amelia had better not let her former student slip through her fingers again or Anabelle would snatch her precious vessel right from her clutches without remorse.

'Find her.' Austin texted and hoped it was simple enough to get through to Amelia.

He didn't want to have to do it, but Austin was willing to discard Amelia to this lifetime to rot. Age had not given Amelia wisdom, that was clear, and Austin—Anabelle—wasn't sure he cared to coddle an idiot for the rest of time.

Dave's response came through.

'I will. I promise.'

Austin should've known better than to trust Amelia after everything she'd already failed to do...

‗‗‗‗•‗‗‗‗

"Are you finding anything?"

"Dude, this thing was old when I went here," Wally told Charley from his place at the microfilm reader.

The file room was dark, claustrophobic, filled with a lot of information yet very few answers. So far, anyway. You sat at the single tiny table, flipping through transcripts from 1960 while, at your feet, back against your leg, Ajay perused the stack of yearbook printouts from around the same era.

Your mind was torn between doing the research in front of you and what you'd been slowly translating in the books you and Xavier had found at the farmhouse. Unfortunately, you'd done a very poor job in the early hours of that morning, your eyes crossing as the Old English script bled together on the page. Flipping through the first book was a chore, the pages so fragile that you'd lost margins and corners that might've been important.

The second wasn't as cumbersome to flip through, but it made about as much sense as the first. Tonight, you'd decided, you'd lock yourself away in your room, roll your sleeves up, and get stuck in for as long as it took to find something about the barrier around the school.

"Dawn found something yesterday when she looked into her past." Charley said, determined, "I mean, Janet must've done the same. So...maybe if we look into their pasts, too, we could find something that could explain all of this."

Ajay sighed, "Don't we already know?" When Charley snapped a pointed side-eye at him, Ajay flapped a hand, "I get why we're doing this. What, against all odds, made Janet and then Dawn special enough to clock out of this place. But do we really think it's going to be written on paper?"

"Or microfilm." Wally inserted, peeking out from behind the machine.

"I think Charley's onto something, actually." You said as you scanned another transcript from 1960: Maria Volkov. "Maybe there was something special about their pasts that allowed them to move on easier." You glanced up, eyes finding Wally's, "I mean, you've all looked back before, right?"

"More or less," Ajay said, flipping through another yearbook. "Yet, here we still are."

Wally corrected, "We've thought about our deaths, bro, we haven't looked back the way Dawn did at the séance."

Ajay seesawed his head and made a noise of acceptance, but didn't add anything.

"Really?" You glanced at Wally. "You think it's the lobotomy thing?"

Wally nodded, chewed his lip in thought before disappearing behind the microfilm reader again.

A few minutes later, "What year are you on?" Charley asked Wally as he carded through the accordion folder containing Dawn's student files.

Wally responded, "1959. I'm trying to move backwards, but I am not seeing Janet's name anywhere." He glanced between you and Charley. "She died in 1960, right?"

"Yeah," Charley confirmed though he was distracted.

"That's what we have in our files, too." You added and then sat up straight to stretch out the kinks that had settled between your vertebrae. "Apparently she fell down the stairs and broke her neck?"

Wally cringed, "Sounds shitty." He looked at Charley again, "Did you know that? Because I didn't know that."

"As we've established, we've been discouraged from asking each other personal questions," Ajay muttered so only you could hear.

"Especially related to your deaths..." You murmured, a frown on your face. "Huh."

From his perch on the picture files cabinet, Charley rummaged through more of Dawn's files, engrossed though managing to reply to Wally, "And things just get creepier..." He exhaled sharply through his nose and finally looked up, "Nothing of much interest in Dawn's student file, either..." Awkwardly, tinged with a thread of guilt, he admitted, "I know we weren't super close, but I feel kinda awful that we didn't get to say goodbye to her."

You listened as Wally answered, heart twinging, "I don't want it to happen that way for me." He caught your eye, let his gaze hold yours softly, "I didn't get a goodbye last time..." You stood, shuffled around Ajay, and went to Wally, settling in his lap when he shifted to accommodate you. "I do not wanna just disappear..."

You nestled into his body, kissed his temple before pressing your brow against it.

"Me either." Charley said quietly.

Though it was obvious he felt the same, Ajay didn't say anything. Simply allowed Wally and Charley's grief to be heard and sat with it.

Wally turned his head, his lips pressed to your neck, his hand squeezing your hip before he tucked his face into your shoulder for a minute.

You felt him breathe in and out deeply, absorbing your presence, your scent a balm for his soul, and then he returned to the slide he'd just inserted under the lens of the microfilm machine. Beneath you, he tensed.

"Whoa. Whoa, wait. This is weird." You peeked up at the screen, adjusted as Wally leaned in to read the small print. At Charley's prompting, Wally read, "Split River High School has been chosen for a national pilot program to protect students and teachers from the threat of a nuclear strike."

Oh. Shit. Had you not told Wally about the fallout shelter below the school?

"A fallout shelter will be built below the east wing of the school," No. No you had not. You'd been too busy dry humping him and then throwing Xavier under the bus about the kiss he'd stolen from you. "The same location where a fire destroyed the former chemistry lab on January 14th, 1958." You were a terrible girlfr—wait.

"Wait...1958?" Charley voiced so you didn't have to. "That must be Mr. Martin's fire. Does it mention him?" Charley moved closer, half-sat on the side of the desk, and watched Wally scan the rest of the old article.

"I don't see..."

You pointed to the screen where you saw Mr. Martin's name, "There."

"Oh, yes," His hand snuck under your shirt, thumb stroked your skin in thanks as he began to read again, "Authorities determined the fire was accidental. Four people were killed in the fire that overtook the lab during a routine chemistry lesson. Beloved Chemistry teacher Mr. Everett Martin was one of the deceased—"

"Wait." Charley interrupted, confused, "Four people? He said he was the only casualty."

Ajay was on his feet now, positioned himself behind Wally, a hand on Wally's shoulder as he curved forward and reread what Wally had already dictated. "Four people..."

Wally's attention returned to the screen to pick up where he left off, "Uh, two other staff, secretary Melinda Fontaine and school nurse Karla-Anne Mayfair, who had tried to help contain the fire while students evacuated were killed in the blaze as well as one student, sophomore..." He stopped, causing you, Ajay, and Charley to squint at the screen.

"What? What's wrong?" Charley asked.

Wally picked his gaze from the screen and skirted it to Charley, "Janet Hamilton." A moment of tense silence, and then Wally, pinning you closer to his body to quell his anger, wanted to know, "Why did they both lie to us?"

You stared at the name Wally had pointed to. It didn't make sense. Even in your family's files, Janet was cited as dying in 1960... Only... She hadn't had a death date until Ginny had remembered something and had Nanna write it down. You slipped out of Wally's lap and went to the stack of yearbooks Ajay had been scouring through to find the right one. Bingo. 1958.

You opened it, flipped through the pages until, "My great-aunt was in that class." That was the fire that'd weakened her. You'd assumed it'd been the same fire that had killed your great-grandparents, but no. There was Ginny's young face, smiling shyly from the page between your neighbor, Darcy Behr, and Mr. Anderson's father, Douglas.

"What does that have to do with Janet and Mr. Martin?" Ajay wondered as he, Wally, and Charley crowded around you.

You scrutinized every other student's face for clues, because stealing bodies was the work of expert connectedness. And though they became new people in new bodies, their connectedness had always and would always remain. If you were right...

"There were only two ghosts." You uttered, and you felt Wally's hand on your hip, a steadying force, as he pressed himself against your back. "If the symbols were already around the school to trap Mr. Martin and Janet—"

Somber, Wally asked the question on everyone's mind, "Then where did the other two go?"

💀___________________________

PART TEN - PART TWELVE

also available on AO3!

MASTERLIST

17 notes View Post

schoolspiritsfan14

1 month ago

What’s your favorite time of day?

Oh you know the time where I get to read about fictional characters being in love with me

991 notes View Post

schoolspiritsfan14

1 month ago

Finally posting these ❤️ Loff them sm

I'm drawing the 'living team' next 🤩

985 notes View Post

schoolspiritsfan14

1 month ago

The end is near

Okay heres an edit while I draw

45 notes View Post

schoolspiritsfan14

1 month ago

Death Star - Ben Plunkett

all dividers cred: @cafekitsune

Pair: Ben Plunkett x fem!reader

Description: When Y/N and Ben entered senior year, they were optimistic. For Y/N, it was one last year to survive and then she was free. But for Ben, this was his last opportunity to make a name for himself. His goals were clear; get accepted into any college, ask his dream girl to prom, and become prom king. Y/N's goals weren't so simple, considering the only person she could see herself going to prom with is head over heels for LaToya Reynolds. Y/N is seemingly forgotten once Ben prom-poses to LaToya and can't seem to get a moment of his time anymore. When prom rolls around, Ben and Y/N are forced to confront the new space between them.

Warnings: fairly angsty, mostly fluffy, swearing, arguing and making up, overbearing mom <3

WC: 1.9k

A/N: Don't you love it when it takes you months to get the motivation to start writing again and then it doesn't live up to your standards? 😃😮‍💨

ben plunkett masterlist × main masterlist

"Breathe in...breathe out..." Y/N held her breath in sync with the audio. She was currently going for the record for the longest headache held in 24 hours. She had tried everything. Hydrating, taking a nap, taking a shower, and now, meditation. It was her mother who had sparked the throbbing pain pounding against her cranium. Of course, Y/N had brought this upon herself in a way. Telling her mother, who was prom queen back in her day, that she no longer wanted to attend the prom was her first mistake. Her second mistake was not sprinting out of the house the minute those words fell from her lips. Even if she had somehow escaped the conversation, she had no where to go. Her best friend, whom she had been avoiding most desperately, wasn't someone she could talk to anymore. Not since the prom-posal. Since Ben Plunkett, the man she had been pining after since they were 13, had asked LaToya Reynolds, the woman he'd been pining after since they were 14, to prom, she had become a ghost to him. Not a single text was returned until at least 3 days after it was sent, no more midnight phone calls, no more snack runs, no more bookstore, movies, waffles, and no more death star.

Something shifted the last time they spoke. It was a quick phone call, curt and nothing special. It was a Friday night, he was apologizing for ditching their plans. It was a tradition they had, the bookstore-movies-waffles thing they did every Friday night. Even before either of them could drive or knew anything about quality cinema. It was theirs and only theirs until it wasn't. His apology was absentminded and rushed, she could hear LaToya in the background telling him to hurry up. The call ended after about 2 minutes, cutting her protests short and gripping her in the stomach with a sharp pain she didn't recognize. After that night, Ben made no effort to return her calls or even talk to her in school. He sat with the Everests and waited on LaToya hand and foot. She wasn't sure what hurt more, the fact that she lost her best friend or that he didn't even seem upset about it. She was torn apart, throat becoming bone-dry every time she saw them together, her heart racing in her ears from both frustration and embarrassment.

Her mother had insisted that she reconsider her decision but Y/N stood firm. Even Mandy begged her to go with her and Graham but there was no swaying her. She was sick at the idea of attending prom or being anywhere near Ben or anyone else for that matter. So here she was, the night before prom, with no dress, no date, and no appetite. She chewed her lips and willed the headache away (or prayed to be put out of her misery). When she and Ben were younger, they would talk about how they were on the same wavelength. That somehow their thoughts were linked, telepathically or spiritually. They knew when one needed the other. Now, Y/N was sure that idea was nothing but a childish notion. She turned her head to the side to examine her bedroom, littered with memories and moments she wanted so badly to go back to. She stood up and felt lightheaded from a combination of crying and basically not moving all day. It was the last Friday she had before graduation next week and she was spending it reminiscing.

She walked over to her nightstand where there stood a gigantic Lego Death Star, unfinished. She and Ben had planned on finishing it before the school year ended. She picked it up carefully and took in every detail, it had taken them the last year to get as close as they were now. They had decided not to glue the pieces down in case they ever wanted to start over, she smiled down at their efforts and, just for a second, allowed herself to miss Ben. That's when she heard her doorbell ring, her mother was always very quick to invite her friends over and allow them to grace her daughter with their sage advice which often consisted of them telling Y/N how much she was breaking her mother's heart over a seemingly meaningless argument or difference in opinion. She heard the creak of the stairs, placing the death star back on her nightstand and moving to open the door. Ben beat her to it and slowly popped his head into the room. The silence was deafening.

Ben walked fully into the room and shut the door behind him. The lump in her throat was impossible to swallow, anything she had to say to him was gone now. So he cleared his throat and decided he would start. "I'm sorry." He chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "I probably should've called. I just..." Y/N maintained eye contact, begging him to make this right. "This is weird right?" She nodded and patted the bed, urging him to sit next to her. He trudged over and sat down, sighing. "I know...I fucked up." There's a pause, a comfortable silence. "I don't why but...I broke it off with LaToya." She finally met his eyes. "You did what? Why? What happened?" He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. "Is she okay?" He nodded, avoiding eye contact. "She took it surprisingly well. In her words she 'saw it coming' and that I 'needed to see you.' She's actually pretty great." Her face became red, she didn't know what to say or how to react. "But the whole time I was with her, something was so off." I held a bubble in my mouth. "She had hot breath? Bad kisser? Glass eye?" He finally laughed. "Not exactly. Everything about her was great." She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"So what was it?" He finally turned to her, fully facing her and smiling like a dork. "Guess." He said softly. It was then that Y/N realized just how close they were. "Did she...have bad taste in music?" The air was buzzing, something was pulling them towards each other. "No." His hands were clammy. He had known immediately what LaToya meant when she said that he needed to Y/N. Every date, every kiss, he was somewhere else. His heart wasn't in it, not because of LaToya, but because of Y/N. But how could he be so stupid? He finally had exactly what he wanted, the girl he'd been infatuated with for years, and he couldn't have been more unhappy. "Did she...chew with her mouth open?" Ben shook his head and smiled knowingly. "Not really." He replied, coming to the conclusion that she wasn't gonna get it. Little did he know, she had butterflies from the anticipation. She wanted desperately for him to tell her why he was here with her rather than with LaToya. LaToya knew why, she had known about a week into dating Ben. The reason they weren't together was because of her. LaToya wasn't mad, she wasn't upset, she was understanding, which only made Ben feel like a bigger dick for not giving her what she deserved.

"I give up. Tell me. What was it?" He wiped his hands on his pants and looked nervous. "She wasn't you." He said, voice shaky. Y/N stayed quiet, but a smile played on her lips. "What?" Her face was on fire, she wasn't sure how to speak anymore. Ben wasn't sure what to say next. They sat there in silence, a weight in the room, a pressure for someone to do something, say something. Ben wanted so badly for her to respond or react in some way, even if it was negative. Y/N felt nervousness fill her chest. "She didn't make me laugh, or make me nervous. There was no... spark. Do you ever-" He cut himself off by rubbing his eyes in frustration. He was struggling to express what he had felt, what words could he use? "I thought I knew what I wanted." Y/N was seeing stars. Ben was wringing his hands in concern. Never, in any conversation they'd ever had, had she been so quiet. "Do you?" She finally spoke, "Know what you want?" All they could do was look at each other. All it took was one look to his lips from Y/N and Ben crumbled.

His hand held her cheek, leaning in to place a sweet, short kiss on her lips. When their lips connected, Y/N remembered the first time she had held his hand. They had decided to go see a horror movie with a murderous clown and cheap jump scares. One jump scare in specific got her and, out of fear (and maybe something else), she had grabbed Ben's wrist to ground herself. She recalled how he laughed at her and grabbed her hand, locking fingers with hers. For him, it was probably nothing. But for her, it was the start of something so much more. Although the the interaction was short, Ben had always wondered about that night in the theater. Did she mean to grab him? His thoughts always raced when he thought about their little touches like that. When she laughed, she'd lean against him and grab his arm (he made sure to make her laugh every chance he got). When she was bored, she'd lean her head against his shoulder or wrap her arms around his neck. Until this moment, he always figured her touches were strictly platonic. He never thought about the possibility that there was more behind each look. Her lips tasted like cotton candy against his. When he felt her return the kiss, his lips curled into a smile.

Though the kiss was short, their palms were sweaty and heads were spinning. As Ben parted from the kiss, he was stuck in place and grinning like an idiot. Y/N couldn't look at him, he looked so goofy. She burst into laughter and laid her head on his chest, trying her best to suppress her fits of snorts. Ben fell back on the bed in bliss, there was no overthinking this part. He quickly got up and grabbed his backpack. Y/N looked at him, red from the laughs and head pounding from a mix of blush and shock. He unzipped his bag and pulled out a piece of paper and a red marker. He placed the paper on her desk and began to write. "What are you doing?" Ben always had random moments of genius, but he considered this to be his best idea yet. When he was done scribbling away on his paper, he held up on display for Y/N to read. There, in red ink, read the word 'Prom?' in bold letters with little red hearts all around it. She examined the paper and beamed, "Yes..." Ben fisted pumped the air and tackled her in a hug, slamming them both onto her bed. "Wait!" Y/N quickly sat up in the bed. "What?" The boy shot up next to her. "What am I gonna wear?" Just then, her mother barged in with a puffy pink and purple dress, perfect for the 80's theme, and a cheesy smile on her face. "Already covered!!"