Chapter Text
It was autumn of 1995 in Woodsboro, a small town in California that with that American suburb vibe was the kind of place where everyone knew each other by name, where gossip and rumors circulated faster than the local newspaper and the biggest event of the week was usually a theft in the middle of the sidewalk or the neighbor's dog digging up someone else's garden.
The Video Vortex stood out as the favorite meeting point for the kids. Located on a busy corner the video store occupied an old red brick building with a wide and inviting storefront that displayed crumpled horror classic posters. On the facade a neon sign blinked the words "RENT A TERROR" in red and ghostly letters. The inside of the store was a paradise for cinema lovers with tall shelves crammed with VHS tapes.
Sidney Prescott was the most organized one there. With her brown hair falling in waves over her shoulders, attentive and expressive that seemed to catch every detail before the others, she organized the shelves in the "suspense" section with patience. She moved the boxes adjusting each tape so that the titles were aligned. Next to her Randy Meeks — her boyfriend for exactly three months and son of the owner of Video Vortex — would not stop talking. He rearranged the Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street tapes while discoursing about the sacred rules of the horror genre.
"Rule number one: never have sex when the killer is loose! That is suicide. Rule number two: never ever say ‘I’ll be right back’. It’s like signing your own death sentence! And rule number three..."
Tatum Riley rolled her eyes, popping her gum hard while throwing her mom’s car keys on the counter. Blonde confident and always with attitude Tatum was Sidney’s best friend. Sitting on the counter and swinging her crossed legs she painted her nails red, blowing lightly to dry the polish.
"Leave Sid alone Randy. She already puts up with you all day, poor thing. If I had to hear one more movie rule I would become the killer myself just to end it."
On the other side of the store Stuart Macher let out a loud and contagious laugh. Stu was tall awkward with a wide and silly smile that lit up his entire face. His blond hair was always messy and the printed t-shirts — that afternoon one of The Exorcist but it was covered by the video store uniform — that matched the worn jeans. He stacked newly arrived boxes of new releases shouting recommendations to customers who only wanted to grab Pulp Fiction and leave in peace.
"That’s it Tatum! Defend your best friend! I’m on Randy’s side just to cause confusion."
Billy Loomis leaning against the wall near the Hitchcock classics section watched everything with a half-smile. He was the opposite of Stu Billy was more serious he had dark eyes and his brown hair fell over his forehead. He didn’t talk much but when he did everyone listened and he had the gift of saying the right thing at the wrong time making the others laugh in an uncomfortable way as if they were laughing at something they shouldn’t but he was a good friend just more to himself.
Stu and Billy had become inseparable since Stuart’s first day at the video store a few months ago. No one in the group remembered exactly how the friendship started — maybe when Billy with his nonexistent patience was chosen to train the hyperactive new employee. Since then they had become friends incredibly enough.
On that specific afternoon Randy argued with Sidney about the ending of Carrie the Strange gesturing so much that he almost knocked over an entire stack of tapes.
"No Sid! The original ending is superior in every way! The director’s version ruined the psychological impact!"
Sidney smiled leaning her shoulder against his affectionately. They formed an almost too cute couple for the group’s standard. She was a responsible, resilient girl and he was the movie-obsessed nerd who found in Sidney a safe harbor. Their relationship was light, full of laughs and innocent discussions about cinema but it carried a genuine love that united them.
"You two are impossible. Instead of arguing about movie endings, why don’t you talk about what we’re going to do this weekend? There’s a party at Casey’s house I heard." Tatum at the counter interrupted with a laugh.
"Party? I’m in!" Stu dropped the boxes with a thud and approached rubbing his hands. "Billy what do you think?"
"Could be. As long as you don’t throw up in the garden like last time." Billy raised an eyebrow and the corner of his mouth curved into a smile.
"It was one time! I’m a victim dude." Stu pretended indignation putting his hand on his chest.
"Victim my ass you idiot." Tatum laughed loudly, swinging her legs on the counter.
"You know Casey’s mom is super strict about parties at home." Sidney exchanged a look with Randy who was still holding a Carrie tape and she shook her head used to the group’s chaos.
"That’s why we have to be subtle…" Said Stu lowering his voice in a ridiculous tone.
"Your impeccable planning usually ends with us escaping through the back window." Billy snorted, crossing his arms.
"Hey, what if we bring some movies? Something classic horror to make the vibe… interesting." Randy who had been quiet for a few seconds — a miracle — suddenly got excited.
"No." Sidney cut in quickly but smiled. "Last time you chose the movie for the party half the people left screaming when Jason appeared."
"It was epic." Randy defended.
"I vote for bringing beer and letting Randy choose the movie." Tatum jumped off the counter blowing on her freshly painted nails.
…
That night Stu Macher parked his car in the driveway of his simple house and turned off the engine and his shoulders dropped after an exhausting shift at the video store where he had stacked boxes, served irritated customers and listened to Randy discourse about yet another conspiracy theory from horror movies.
He got out of the car dragging his feet with the keys making noise in the pocket of his jeans and threw the backpack over his shoulder. The house was silent as always — he had decided to live alone a year ago. Stu pushed the front door and turned on the living room light with his elbow still with a silly smile on his face thinking about the party that was coming up at Casey’s house.
"It’s going to be incredible." He said to himself kicking his sneakers to the side of the rug.
But the smile died the instant his eyes scanned the living room floor. There near the sofa lay the small and motionless body of his orange cat, the fur without its usual shine, the little paws stretched out in a strange way. A pack of pills — those strong painkillers that Stu had left forgotten on the coffee table that morning after a headache — was open beside it with several pills scattered. The cat must have jumped on the table curious and ingested what it shouldn’t.
Stu stood paralyzed for a long second with his heart tightening in his chest.
"No… dude no…" He whispered as he dropped the backpack on the floor and ran to the animal kneeling on the carpet and his hands trembled as he touched the cold fur.
The cat which he had adopted months ago from a local shelter and named "Cheetos" because of the vibrant color did not react. Stu gently lifted him into his lap feeling the light weight and the tears came immediately running down his face while he rocked his body back and forth.
"I’m an idiot… a complete idiot." He said between low sobs wiping his nose with the sleeve of the long t-shirt he was wearing.
He stayed there for minutes stroking the cat’s fur with trembling fingers remembering the nights when Cheetos would curl up at his feet while he watched movies late or the times when the little guy would knock over his things just to get attention. Stu liked that cat and the guilt weighed on him. He had left the pills out in the open after all.
"Sorry buddy. I didn’t mean to… I swear I didn’t mean to." He spoke softly in a tearful voice wiping his face with the back of his hand.
Still affected, Stuart grabbed an old cardboard box from the kitchen and carefully placed the cat’s body inside, lining it with a soft towel. He cleaned the floor collecting the remaining pills and throwing them in the trash vacuuming the carpet to remove any loose fur. The smell of disinfectant filled the house and he took the box to the backyard digging a small hole and buried the animal with hands dirty with dirt releasing a simple goodbye.
"You were the best Cheetos. Rest there okay? I’m going to miss you a lot."
Back in the living room exhausted and with a tight chest Stu collapsed on the sofa and stared at the ceiling. The party at Casey’s house which before seemed like the best idea in the world now didn’t even cross his mind to go. He imagined his friends laughing discussing movies, Tatum rolling her eyes and Billy with that smile… but the idea of pretending to be excited of being the usual Stu seemed impossible that night.
"I’m not going." He decided out loud talking to himself as he did when the house was too empty. "They’ll understand or not whatever." He changed clothes slowly putting on an old t-shirt and sweatpants and turned off the living room lights walking to the bedroom.
Stu’s room was a mess with horror movie posters stuck crooked on the walls, piles of VHS tapes scattered on the nightstand and the unmade bed with crumpled sheets. He threw himself on it but sleep did not come easily and after tossing and turning for a while he grabbed the cell phone from the nightstand and opened the screen with a click.
The first conversation he opened was Billy Loomis’s.
The last messages were from a few days ago where they talked about the group’s last outing.
"saw tatum hitting on you again is something going on or what? she wont stop looking at you lol"
Stu had replied trying to deflect as always.
"dude she was just joking you know how tatum is right? its nothing serious"
"yeah…" Followed by an eye emoji and the conversation died there.
Stu read the messages again and his heart raced. He closed the phone and pressed it against his chest lying on his side in bed.
It was at times like these that the feelings Stuart kept so carefully came to the surface. He was in love with Billy Loomis.
It wasn’t a fleeting crush the kind that comes and goes with time, it was something deep that hurt in silence for months ever since the two had become friends at Video Vortex. Stu remembered vividly the day Billy trained him with that short patience and the serious way of explaining the tape categories but always with a dry comment that made Stuart laugh more than he should. Since then the friendship grew fast and that made Stu feel alive in a way no girl had ever managed.
But he never had the courage to confess. What if he ruined everything? Billy was his friend, the guy he could be an idiot with without judgment and confessing could end it in the blink of an eye. Billy might freak out, pull away or worse look at him with disgust or pity. Stuart was almost sure that Billy didn’t like guys, he saw him openly flirting with girls at the video store commenting on curves and it made Stu’s stomach turn.
"She’s hot right?" Billy said once about a customer nudging Stu with his elbow while they stacked tapes and the blond had forced a loud laugh.
"Totally dude! Go for it!" But inside it felt like a stab.
Lying in bed with the weight of losing the cat and the silent house Stu rolled to the side pressing the pillow against his face. He imagined impossible scenarios like Billy reciprocating. What if that little face hid something more? But reality was cruel. Billy was the serious type and Stu with his messy tall and awkward way of loud laughs felt inadequate.
"He sees me as a brother nothing more."
Stu picked up the phone again rereading the messages with Billy, his finger touching the name on the screen as if he could touch the person on the other side. He typed something and deleted it again…
"hey dude lost cheetos I wont be able to go :/"
But he didn’t send it, he just closed his eyes.
Thinking about the party at Casey’s house was tempting especially because Billy would be there… Stu would arrive, slap his friend on the back, drop one of his idiot jokes and see Billy roll his eyes but laugh anyway. It would be enough to push the pain away for a few hours and pretend he hadn’t just lost Cheetos.
"It’s not going to happen dude. You’re a wreck. Better stay here and… I don’t know, watch something alone."
The thought of pretending to be excited in front of everyone of being the usual loud hyperactive Stu seemed way too exhausting.
It was then that the phone rang. The shrill sound of the device on the nightstand made Stu jump in fright and he stretched out his trembling hand to answer sitting up in bed with his back straight. He breathed forcing a casual tone recomposing his face and cleared his throat quickly rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Hello?" He said and leaned back against the headboard crossing his long legs and messing up his hair with his free hand pretending everything was normal.
"Stu! Dude finally! Where are you? We’re almost at Casey’s house and you haven’t shown up yet. What time are you getting here? Tatum is already complaining that it’s going to be a dead party without your usual chaos." On the other end of the line Randy Meeks’s voice exploded full of energy as always.
He spoke fast and the blond hesitated for a second forcing a low laugh scratching the back of his neck and getting up from the bed to pace around the room.
"Ah Randy…. I’m still at home. It was one of those shifts today right? Stacked boxes to the ceiling served some really annoying customers. I’m exhausted dude. I think I’m going to skip this one."
There was a short silence on Randy’s side followed by an incredulous sigh. Stuart could hear the background noise — muffled voices, the sound of a car moving, probably them heading to the party.
"Exhausted? You? Stu Macher the party king who never misses a party? You’re kidding right? Wait…" Randy moved the phone away a bit and Sidney’s indignant voice emerged in the background as if she had snatched the device from his hand.
"Stuart Macher don’t even think about backing out now!" Sidney exclaimed. "The party is going to be lame without you. Come on, we're waiting for you!"
Stu smiled despite everything leaning against the bedroom wall and sliding slowly until he sat on the floor with his legs stretched out in front feeling the weight of guilt easing a little with his friends’ insistence.
"I’m dead, I swear. Heavy day…"
"That doesn’t fly Stu." Randy took the phone back laughing but with a tone of total disbelief. "Look Billy was kind of upset today, the idiot spilled coffee on his favorite horror movie magazine, that special edition with the full Hitchcock analysis and everything. He needs a distraction dude and you know how he gets when he loses something like that. Come so we can liven up the night!"
That lit something in Stu’s head. Billy’s magazine… and he knew exactly which one it was. He had seen him flipping through it at the video store days ago commenting on the theories with that sparkle in his eyes.
Stuart straightened up on the floor. He could stop by the convenience store or the newsstand that stayed open late, buy a new one, wrap it anyway and take it as a surprise. It would be perfect and an excuse for himself to show up and see Billy smile.
He got up at once already walking to the closet to change clothes with the phone stuck between his shoulder and ear.
"Okay okay you guys won. I’ll go, just give me a few minutes to get ready and I’ll head over." Stu spoke more excited now, smiling for real since he got home.
"That’s it! Knew you wouldn’t resist. Sid is smiling here see? Don’t take long, okay? We’ll wait for you there." Randy let out a laugh on the other side.
Stu hung up the phone, changed clothes and grabbed a bag. The night was calling and Billy was waiting. He grabbed the house and car keys, turned off the lights and headed to the nearest convenience store.
…
He parked the car in the closest spot to the convenience store. It was around ten at night Stu turned off the headlights and ran his hand over his face Randy and Sidney’s insistence on the phone had affected him and Billy needed distraction and Stuart needed to see him even if it was just to pretend everything was fine.
He got out of the car and pushed the glass door with his shoulder. The place was almost empty, just one or two customers wandering the snack aisles.
Stu went straight to the back of the store where the magazine and newspaper section was. There was everything local newspapers with weather headlines, celebrity gossip magazines, comics and editions specialized in cinema and horror. Stu stopped in front of them looking for the specific one Billy had lost.
"It has to be here… it has to be."
The fear of not finding the same edition that Billy had consumed him inside. If it wasn’t the same the gesture would lose the desired impact. Stuart would find the magazine even if he had to go to other stores until he found it.
A store employee, a young guy about Stuart’s age with a blue uniform and crooked name tag, passed by pushing a restocking cart. Stu quickly raised his head and took a step forward blocking his path in an awkward way.
"Hey dude you work here right? Do you have that special horror magazine edition? The one with the full Hitchcock analysis black cover with Alfred’s photo in the corner?" Said Stu moving his hands while talking, coming out a little desperate.
The employee stopped, raised an eyebrow and looked at the magazines with a tired air. He approached slowly and started rummaging through the shelves.
"Special Hitchcock edition… hmm let me see. We get few of these. The folks around here prefer cars or sports ones but luckily…" The guy pulled a magazine from the back of the cover exactly as Stu remembered and handed it to the blond with a nod. "Here it is, it's the last one left. Lucky you dude."
Stu took the magazine carefully as if it were a treasure. A wide and genuine smile opened on his face and he felt relief.
"Holy shit dude! Thank you! You saved my night!" Shouted Stu lightly tapping the magazine cover while stepping back almost tripping.
With the magazine safely under his arm Stu turned and walked to the drink refrigerators and opened the foggy glass door from the cold. He chose six cans of beer, the ones the group always drank at parties and balanced the cans in his arms heading to the checkout counter.
"Good night. Just this." At the register he placed everything on the counter.
The cashier was a young woman in her early twenties with dark hair in a ponytail and a bored expression. She started scanning the items first the beers then the magazine and while doing so something on the corner of the counter caught Stu’s attention.
One Wish Willow.
Stu frowned curious and reached out to pick up the product, turning it slowly between his fingers. The packaging was light made of paper and he read the printed text on the back.
"One Wish Willow: Break the branch only when you are absolutely sure of your deepest desire…" Read Stu out loud and spun the product in his hand.
It was cheap but Stu was not one to believe in these mystical things. He preferred the real scares from horror movies, Randy's rules about slashers and shocking endings but something in the description… made his mind wander.
The cashier noticed his interest and gave a low chuckle leaning on the counter with her arms crossed.
"Interesting that crap right? It arrived yesterday from a weird supplier. They say it really works but only if you break it with total conviction. I saw a guy take one yesterday and swear he won the lottery the next day. Nonsense but it sells well to people who are desperate. Be careful not to wish for something stupid like ‘I want to be rich’ and end up losing your soul or whatever." Commented the cashier moving her hand while talking the tone half mocking but with an underlying seriousness that gave Stu chills.
Stu stared at the One Wish Willow for long seconds but he didn’t really believe of course. It was just a cheap trinket probably made in China or something.
But what if it worked? What if he could wish for Cheetos to come back? Or Billy… No, that was crazy. Stu shook his head laughing at himself but he didn’t let go of the object.
"Fuck it’s too cheap not to take. Just in case, right? In the worst case I use it as a decoration in the room." Said Stu to himself placing the One Wish Willow with the other items on the counter and scratched his chin nodding to the cashier. "Okay add this one too."
The girl scanned the item and bagged everything in a sturdy plastic bag. Stuart paid with some crumpled bills from his pocket then carefully stored the magazine and the beers so as not to crush anything. The One Wish Willow stayed at the bottom of the bag hidden between the cold cans.
He threw the bag on the passenger seat, started the engine and quickly left the spot. The party at Casey’s house was waiting, Billy was there and now he had a perfect magazine and a crazy talisman that who knows could change something.