Killer Geek (SLOW UPDATES)

Randy slid into a booth across from me, his usual animated energy practically buzzing off of him as he stirred his coffee. I wrapped my hands around my own cup, letting the warmth seep into my fingers.

“So, what’s the verdict?” Randy asked, watching me expectantly.

I took a sip, considering. “It’s good.”

“Good? Good?” He scoffed, placing a hand over his heart like I had personally insulted him. “That’s a gross understatement. That coffee is perfection, YN.”

I smirked. “It’s coffee, Randy.”

“It’s art.”

I rolled my eyes but let myself enjoy the moment. It had been so long since I felt normal—since I laughed without the weight of my past dragging me down.

Randy grinned, clearly pleased with himself. “You’re smiling. That’s progress.”

I ducked my head, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “Yeah, well, it’s easier here. Away from Woodsboro.”

His expression softened. “I get it. You needed to get out of there. People weren’t exactly… kind.”

That was an understatement.

After Billy and Stu, the media had exploded. The sister of a psychopath—the whispers, the rumors, the stares. I had been picked apart like some tragic, living ghost of a horror movie.

Some people pitied me. Others thought I had to know what Billy was planning, that I had to be involved somehow.

And then there were the sick ones. The ones who romanticized it, who came up with disgusting theories about why Billy and Stu had spared me.

I shook the thoughts away, focusing on Randy instead.

“You were the only reason I survived that town.” I said it before I could second-guess myself.

Randy’s lips parted slightly, his usual quick wit momentarily failing him.

Then, a soft smile. “I wasn’t gonna let you go through it alone.”

I reached across the table, my fingers grazing his. He immediately turned his hand over, lacing his fingers through mine.

We weren’t official. I still wasn’t sure I was ready for that. But Randy never made me feel like I had to be.

He was just there. Steady. Safe.

And for now, that was enough.

The moment was broken when Randy’s pager suddenly buzzed against the table. He sighed, pulling it out of his pocket.

“Damn, duty calls. There’s a film theory club meeting in ten, and if I don’t go, they’ll probably start debating if Psycho or Halloween had the bigger cultural impact, and I just can’t let them get it wrong.”

I smirked. “And which is it?”

He shot me an exaggeratedly offended look. “Halloween, obviously. Carpenter redefined the genre.”

“Obviously,” I echoed, grinning.

He squeezed my hand before letting go. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

I nodded, watching as he headed toward the door.

For the first time in two years, I wasn’t looking over my shoulder.

I just hoped it would last.

A Few Days Later

The whispers started the moment I stepped out of my dorm building.