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Pete is late to school.
Steph tries not to panic as she stares at the empty desk at the front of the class where he should be sitting. The bus driver probably just left him behind again. Or maybe a teacher wanted to talk to him. She pulls out her phone under her desk and checks her text thread with Pete. Still nothing. The last message is from this morning, a stupid gif in response to her asking if they can study after school. She bounces her knee as she closes and reopens the app, as if that will make a message appear. He would text her if something happened, right? Ruth and Richie aren’t in homeroom with them but they’re all in the same first period class. If Pete hasn’t shown up by then, hopefully they’ll have heard something. Steph tries not to worry. He’ll be fine. He’ll be here any minute, with an excuse about the bus or his blood sugar or his brother.
She spends the remaining five minutes of homeroom watching the door expectantly. He never shows up.
In first period, Steph tries to talk to Ruth and Richie but Miss Mulberry makes them sit down before she can. There’s faint singing audible from down the hallway and Steph drums her fingers in annoyance. Glancing around the classroom, more students than just Pete are missing. Kyle is gone and so is Grace. Steph shivers, Grace has never missed class in her life. What’s going on?
She can’t pay attention to the lesson - it’s difficult on a normal day and today there’s no Pete to help her out. On top of that, students keep getting called to the office and then… just not coming back. By the halfway point of the lesson there’s only four students left and Miss Mulberry scans them in confusion. The singing in the hall gets louder.
“Where has-” she’s interrupted when the door swings open, crashing into the wall and making them all jump. She turns to the doorway in annoyance. Grace stands there, flanked by Max and Stacey. That trio is weird enough but they look… off. They’re all smiling the same too-wide smile and Steph slowly starts to push back from her desk, scanning the room frantically. This doesn’t feel right. Miss Mulberry starts to lecture them for being late when Grace steps forward and starts to sing. Max and Stacey join in and then the three of them are singing and dancing. Behind her, Richie laughs uncomfortably.
“Is this a joke, or?”
Miss Mulberry, briefly silenced by the strange flash mob, steps forward again.
“Now is not the time. Grace, I’m disappointed, I expec-” her voice cuts off as Grace reaches out and wraps her hands around her neck. Steph watches, transfixed, as Grace lifts their teacher up by the neck, her legs kicking wildly as she tries to free herself. Stacey rounds her other side and digs her hand into Miss Mulberry's stomach, pulling out her insides. Steph hears someone throw up behind her and a quiet “oh fuck” from Richie as her intestines hit the floor with a wet slap. Grace drops Miss Mulberry’s body after Max does… something and then the three of them turn back to the rest of the class, smiling. Steph is frozen for a moment, then as the trio start forward her fight or flight kicks in and she bolts.
From the doorway she risks a glance back and sees Miss Mulberry rising to her feet, the dark blood that was staining her dress now a bright blue. She meets eyes with Richie who has been staring helplessly at Stacey as she approaches his seat, singing again. She sighs.
“Fucking come on!” He scrambles out of his seat, sparing a pained look behind him as he runs past Stacey and into the hallway with Steph. She glances down each end of the hallway, mind racing. Beside her, Richie is panicking.
“What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck?”
“Shut up!” Steph snaps, whacking his arm hard. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on but we have to go, okay?” The singing mostly seems to be coming from the right so she grabs Richie's arm just above the elbow and starts hurrying left down the hall. “You can freak out once we’re safe.”
It’s not looking good. Every classroom they risk peeking into either has those things in there, or evidence they have been. There’s that bright blue shit everywhere and as the minutes pass, the singing gets louder and louder. Richie is trying not to hyperventilate beside her and Steph tries to keep calm. Her two dozen frantic texts to her dad and Miss Tessburger have yielded no response, and she doesn’t want to risk calling the cops in case they’re overheard. Or in case the cops have got whatever this is too. She spots a maintenance closet by the stairs and her shoulders slump in relief. They can hide out in there, maybe call for help.
“Okay, Richie we can-”
“Ruth!” She jumps at his shout and spins to face him with a glare.
“What the fuck are you doing? Be quiet!” He’s not looking at her though, he’s looking down the hall to where Ruth is slipping out of a classroom. She spins to face them and Steph watches as her face splits into a grin.
“Ruth, are you okay? Where have you been?” Richie fires off questions as she approaches them and Steph feels a shiver go down her spine. He starts towards her but Steph pulls him back. He glances back at her, brow furrowed. “What are you doing? It's Ruth.” He shrugs her arm off and walks towards Ruth, pulling her into a hug. Steph’s shoulders tense and she watches carefully. Richie suddenly flinches and Steph catches a flash of red on Ruth’s hands as she starts to sing a song Steph vaguely recognises from this year’s musical in a clear, high voice. Ruth catches her eye around Richie’s folded body and Steph takes off running, blinking back tears.
She races down the stairwell and ducks behind a pillar, heart pounding. Steph tries to hold her breath as she listens for the sound of footsteps or singing.
Nothing.
Her shoulders slump and she swipes furiously at her eyes. Is she the last one left? All her friends and classmates infected, Pete missing… What can she do? She pulls out her phone and texts her dad again, trying to think of a plan. If she can get out of the school, she can hop a fence at the back of the parking lot and get home. Her house is gated, she’d be safe from whatever is going on. That’s probably what her dad is doing (she tries not to think about the alternative).
Steph swallows hard and squares her shoulders. It would be quickest to cut through the cafeteria but it’s probably full of those things. If she goes through the science block and turns down the hallway past the choir room, she’ll be by the teacher’s lounge and the window should be open and then she’ll be out. It’s not the best plan and she has nothing to defend herself against those things but it’s better than hiding and hoping they don’t find her.
She’s Stephanie fucking Lauter, she isn’t anything’s prey.
Steph feels like she’s going to be sick as she takes in the blue-stained hallways. The ground floor has fared much worse than the upper floors and she swallows hard at the thought of how many of her fucked-up peers she might run into. But right now it’s quiet so she risks stepping out into the hallway. A few lockers are dented and she shudders at the implication of how strong those things are.
The choir room is only a few paces away and if she turns her head she can just catch sight of the heavy wood door of the teacher’s lounge. She can’t help but grin at how close she is to freedom. She risks darting past an open doorway and is about to turn the corner when she hears quiet footsteps. Steph turns and presses herself against the side of a locker, trying to keep her breathing quiet. If they keep going straight she’ll be fine. She crosses her fingers and waits for them to pass on, down past the teacher’s lounge.
Instead, there’s a pause, then they start up the hall. Steph’s heart drops and she curses under her breath. She glances into the classroom beside her. It only sounds like there’s one. If she can get a weapon she might be able to take it down. She grips the door handle tight and prepares to swing the door open and grab the first thing she sees when-
“Pete?” It’s little more than a whisper but she curses herself for it nonetheless as the footsteps stop. But she’s right. Because standing just across the hall from her is Peter Spankoffski.
She stares, eyes wide, but he looks fine. He meets her eyes and smiles and it’s Pete's smile, thin lips just slightly parted to show a glimpse of his teeth. She smiles back, relief coursing through her. Her hand drops from the door. “Pete! Thank God. Where have you been? What are you doing here?” She steps towards him, reaching out her hand. He entwines his fingers with hers and her body relaxes, then tenses. His hands are cold. Steph swallows hard and tries to slow her heart. “Are you okay? Is your blood sugar-”
“Steph.” She smiles nervously. It’s Pete’s voice, yeah, but the tone is off.
“Steph.” He says again, in that same strange tone. Like he’s singing her name, not saying it. Her eyes fill with tears. She tries to pull her hand away but his grip is too strong. Steph can do nothing as Pete starts to sing softly, walking them backwards. She tries to pull away, looking around frantically for a weapon, but she comes up empty as her back hits into a locker door. His other hand touches her cheek and he turns her head back to face him. He’s singing about want and love and belonging and she can’t stop herself from crying now.
“Please Pete. Please, you don’t want to do this.” Tears are streaming down her face and she thinks she sees something flicker behind his eyes. There’s a tiny pause in his song, nearly unnoticeable but Steph jumps on it. “Pete, it’s me. Are you in there? Please, you don’t want to hurt me, you don’t want to-” His song ends and she looks up at him hopefully.
And her heart sinks, whatever was in his expression is gone. She thinks about trying to make a break for it again, kicking him, sprinting down the hallway with no care for the noise-
But she can’t.
There’s no point. Everyone is dead, part of whatever the fuck this is. Her friends are gone, her dad is probably gone, Pete is gone.
She lets the fight leave her body and looks back up. He smiles down at her, Pete’s smile again, and then he leans in. Steph closes her eyes as his lips meet hers, keeps them closed as their lips part, as something enters her mouth. He pulls back and she can feel herself choking on it and she’s scared but through half-lidded eyes she can see it’s still Pete in front of her, it’s still Pete smiling at her, so she smiles back as bright blue bubbles up in her mouth and spills out over her lips.