You sat next to Sid on the bus ride, just as you had in the morning.

Sidney turns to you, "Hey, did Himbry say anything weird to you today?"

"Not really, though he was unusually friendly."

"Yeah, I had the same thought," she agrees.

You hum, "Like he was saving face or something. The police aren't even sure if it's school-related, so I don't know why he's trying so hard to seem like the school role model."

One of Sidney's friends overhears your conversation and pitches in with her own story. It's not long before a band of girls on the bus talk about Himbry's hospitality. You mostly tune out the conversation, not wanting to partake in a discussion you didn't feel welcome in.

Soon after, the bus arrives in front of your house. You and Sidney step off the bus leisurely.

"See you, Sidney!" one of Sid's friends calls out.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, Sid," another said.

Abruptly, they started calling out to you as if they just realized you were there too. They yell their goodbyes, and some told you to stay safe. The sudden attention left you flustered. You sheepishly nod at their words and faintly voice your thanks.

Sidney goes to check the mail while you head straight for the front door. By the time you managed to fish out your key from the depths of your backpack Sid was already at your side waiting for you to open the door. You go to open the door after unlocking the bottom lock, only to find the door wouldn't budge. That was odd, considering any time either of you locked the door, it was only ever the bottom lock.

The mechanisms of the lock made it so you could close the door, even after locking the bottom lock, but you could not do so with the top lock. While outside, you would have to use your key to lock the top lock or have someone lock it from inside the house.

You would've liked to chalk it up to your father's doing, if not for the fact that he had left for his business trip quite early in the morning. You hesitate to fully unlock the door, but Sidney seems antsy. She steps into the house, and it doesn't burst into flames like you thought it might've.

"Hey, did you do both locks when we left this morning?"

She turns to you with raised eyebrows, "I thought you did that. Well, I'm pretty sure I locked up like usual, but I could be wrong."

There was no reason for her to deviate from routine, so all you could do was nod and go upstairs. Upon entering your room, you promptly set your backpack in its place and strip yourself of your school outfit. After getting into more comfortable clothes, you go to your nightstand to look at the VHS tapes you had rented the night before. You tilt your head at the sight of them. You swore you had lined them up next to each other. Funnily enough, now they were stacked on top of one another.

Perhaps Niel had come into your room to check on you before he left for his trip, and he wanted to look at your selection. After all, he was the one who lent you the money to pay for the tapes. That or you have a ghost who got a kick out of moving things out of place.

Meanwhile, downstairs Sidney situates her backpack and puts on a gray sweater. The October weather, and the news that her classmates were murdered, left Sidney chilly. It was difficult bearing the weight of Casey's death, the ongoing grief of her own mother, and the fact that her father was out of town, leaving Sid in sole responsibility for you.

It's not like you were a kid anymore, yet she couldn't help feeling apprehensive. With the situation at hand, she made the executive decision that it wasn't safe for either of you to stay home alone. There was only one place she knew where she could turn to, so she picked up the home phone and dialed the oh-so-familiar number.

To Sidney's relief, Tatum picks up on the other line.

"So you're sure I can stay over, 'cause my dad won't be back 'til Sunday," Sidney reiterates, walking around the balcony.

Tatum's chipper voice chimes, "No problem. I'll pick you up after practice. You okay?"

"Uh-huh. It's just...you know, the police and reporters and everything. It's like deja vu all over again," she responds, making her way up the balcony stairs.

"How's your brother holding up? He ran off without saying anything this morning."

Sidney rubs a hand down her face, "I really don't know. He hasn't said much since my dad left. I don't know what that kid is thinking half of the time."

"I'll be there at 7:00, I promise."

With that, Sidney verbalizes her thanks to Tatum before ending the call. She takes a moment to view the back of her house surrounded by trees before walking into the opened balcony door, the one she hadn't entered from. She closes it behind her, making sure to lock it, and eyes the balcony suspiciously.

You could hear Sidney's muffled voice as she took a call on the balcony. Not soon after it ended, you hear a knock at your bedroom door. Sidney opens the door with your permission.

"I'm staying at Tatum's 'til dad gets back. I don't want you in the house alone, so could you please find somewhere to stay for the week?"

Knowing it wasn't a request but more of a demand, you nod, "Sure, what time are you going?"

"Tatum said she'd pick me up at 7:00."

You chuckle, "Knowing her, she'll probably come at 9:00."

Sid playfully punches your shoulder, "Look, mister, you better have a plan by then, or else I'll make you room with Dewey."

You gag at the thought, which causes Sidney to laugh. You slump, running a hand through your hair. How the hell were you going to find someone to stay with for a week last minute?

Seeing as you have no choice in the say, you begin your venture in packing. You stand in front of your closet, staring at your clothes and feeling like you were forgetting something. You exit your room and knock on your sister's door.

"Hey, Sid? Do you know where the duffle bag is?" you call out.

She answers from behind the door, "All the bags and stuff is in the closet."

"Thanks!" You say, skipping your way back to your room to gather all the necessities for the rest of the week.

Sidney grabs a change of clothes, an oversized sleeping shirt, toiletries, and a wide-mouth hair clip. She makes her way downstairs while holding onto her belongings. After opening the closet, she swiftly grabs a bag to place her things in. She puts in the effort to put everything in the bag except for her change of clothes, seemingly frustrated. She anxiously checks the time on her watch before turning on the T.V.

The screen shows various news crews reporting on the murders from the previous night. Seeing as none of the channels were broadcasting anything of interest, Sid flipped through them until a particular reporter appeared.

Your sheet-covered bed was concealed with your possessions. After mentally checking off a list of the things you needed for a week-long sleepover, you head downstairs to the coat closet. Your ears perk up at the familiar voice on the T.V Sid was watching. Your eyes fixate on the T.V even as you open the closet door, which happens to creak just as you emerge onto the screen, cursing out Gale. You cringe when Sid diverts her attention to your figure. Unfortunate timing on your part.

The cloaked figure in the closet soaks up your stunned expression with attentive eyes. They cover their mouth with the back of their hand to suppress their amusement. Getting to witness your sibling dynamic behind closed doors was refreshing. Well, mostly closed doors.

You hastily grab a random bag from the closet and sprint upstairs like your life depends on it. You hear her scold you, but she doesn't chase after you like you thought she would. The subject matter on the T.V upset Sidney more than your rebellious actions.

She hurriedly turns the T.V off and leaves the living room. As Sidney walks past the closet, it creaks under a shift in weight. She stands watching the closet before entering the next room. She examines the time again and looks at the framed photo of herself, you, and her mother. Her head pounds at the thought of all that has happened in a year. Hopefully, a nap would make her feel better, along with passing the time and letting her relax.

Meanwhile, upstairs, you are panicking and weighing out your options on who to say with. You hadn't gone to sleepovers as a kid since your parents were protective, and your limited amount of friends meant you rarely hosted sleepovers. All you knew for sure was you didn't want to stay at Tatum's. You don't have any personal gripes with Tatum or her mother but you'd rather not have to room with a barely competent deputy.

You're sure as hell not going to stay with Randy. The horror-geek would probably endlessly ask about Sidney.

Staying with Billy doesn't seem that bad if you were actually close to him. Plus, it would be a bit awkward since he's Sid's boyfriend. So far, he hasn't acted weird around you on accounts of being Sid's brother. If anything, his loyalty to Sid or the rest of their friend group was a tad aggressive. He seemed all too eager to have a word with Randy when you expressed your disdain for him.

Ideally, you would stay with Stu. He is the friendliest of the bunch and the funniest to top it all off. He was the guy everybody wanted to be friends with, not that he hasn't befriended most of the school by now. Moreover, it was common knowledge his parents were rarely home. There were plenty of parties at the Macher house to confirm it. You wouldn't have to deal with uncomfortable interactions with his parents. Maybe he would give you a tour of the house, it was noticeably large, and you had yet to see all of it. You've attended a lot of his parties and always wondered what all of it looked like. Exploring someone's house during a party seemed rude, so you could only let your imagination run wild.

You run your hands through your hair and sigh. There was no point in getting so worked up over who you're staying with. Deciding not to spend any more time stressed out, you lie face-first into your bed. You shift into a comfortable position and kick the duffel bag onto the floor when it gets in your way. If anything, you could just ask Tatum to drop you off as she gives Sidney a ride to her place.