ever since you’d moved into town, things had gone from zero to full-speed chaos in the best possible way. it had only been, what, two weeks? and somehow you’d already fallen into cole’s group like you’d been part of it forever—making dumb videos about fredo, the town’s cursed clown mascot that everyone weirdly adored, sneaking drinks at bonfires, ending up at house parties that were definitely not legal, but no one seemed to care. for once, it felt like you were living. really living. or at least something dangerously close to it.

and cole? he was the gravity holding all of it together. the mayor’s son with a habit of saying exactly what you weren’t expecting. he didn’t try too hard, didn’t take anything too seriously—except maybe you. it started simple: his hoodie draped over your shoulders without a word, long drives with the windows down and your legs on his dash, those texts that weren’t exactly flirty but still made your heart race. and then there was tonight.

after the founders day chaos died down pulled up in that beat-up jeep like it was straight out of a teen movie. one arm slung over the steering wheel, a half-melted slushie in your favorite flavor balanced in the cupholder, and that grin that always, always meant trouble.

you thought it would just be another one of those nights. another party. another drink. another moment with cole you wouldn’t know how to talk about in the morning.

but then the screaming started.

at first, you thought it was just someone being dramatic—drunk girls, a bad hookup. the usual. but then the lights flickered. then the power cut. and then someone ran past the open sliding door, barefoot, blood down the side of their face, eyes wide like they’d seen something they couldn’t unsee.

now? now you were running through a cornfield with quinn, ronnie, janet, rust, and cole, the stalks whipping against your arms, the air thick with dirt and sweat and panic. the music from the house was long gone, replaced with the sound of your own gasping breath and the crunch of footsteps that weren’t yours. laughter echoed somewhere behind you—high-pitched, wrong.

“cole?” you yelled, as you felt your eyes start to water.