The rain poring outside caused the November leaves to descend faster, littering the ground with a mesh of reds and oranges. The scenic trail did not reflect the mood of your high school, where the atmosphere was as stiff and cold as the fluorescent lights of the cafeteria.

“According to eyewitness account, her remains were strung from a tree, and authorities weren’t contacted due to trick or treaters believing her body to be a Halloween decoration…” Gojo reads aloud from the newspaper in his hands, his glasses perched on his head of white hair.

“Gojo…”

“Police later found organs such as a spleen and pancreas in the family’s mailbox—”

“Gojo!” You hiss, reaching over the table and snatching the newspaper out of his hands, glancing around before crumpling it up and shoving it into your bookbag. “Jesus, dude, people are trying to eat…!”

Your small town was shaken when Mei Mei, a popular upperclassman at your school, was murdered in her home on Halloween night by what the media was calling the “Ghostface” killer.

You didn’t know Mei Mei personally, let alone talk to her. Neither did Gojo, despite the occasional claim that he was gonna ask her out even though he would shake in his cargo pants at the mere thought of her, or any girl for that matter, approaching him.

But even though you didn’t know her, at the very least you had the tact to not discuss the grisly details of her murder in a cafeteria full of other students, some of whom were her grieving friends…

Gojo startled at being cut off, squinting at you before setting his glasses back on his face and pushing them up the bridge of his nose.

“Guy’s a total Michael Myers wannabe…” He figures, sitting up and picking at his lunch as he talks to you.

You shake your head in exasperation, looking around once more to make sure no one is overhearing either of you debating about who this “ghostface” killer could be. There was already a lot of tension in the town, a crime like this had been unheard of. A curfew had been set in place and police had been interviewing students on campus all morning.

Some of the popular boys, football players who were friends of Mei Mei, had already threatened to kick Gojo’s ass in Biology lab this morning for talking about the case. Of course, this threat was courteously extended to you on account of Gojo being your best friend.

“The police are nabbing anyone who acts out, which wouldn’t be great if people overheard us, particularly you…” You warn him, to which he wags his finger in front of your face.

“They won’t have anything on me. I was at work that night, thank you very much…” He retorts with a gleeful smile, taking a large bite out of his sandwich as if to punctuate his argument.

Right, his job at the local video store is what kept him occupied outside of school. It was practically his sanctuary, a place where he could get his studying done and indulge in any movie he wanted to watch with his employee benefits.

Ever since news of Mei Mei’s murder broke out, Gojo made a constant effort to prove to you that his limitless knowledge of horror movies is what would keep the both of you safe from this “inevitable” killing spree.

“What I mean is that you going on and on about killers and guts is gonna make people think you’re a weirdo…” You trail off for a moment, wincing slightly before rephrasing. “Well, you are a weirdo, but they’ll think you’re a killer…”

Well, he can’t argue with you there… Gojo’s personality did already put off those around him, at times making him a target of bullies. Like he gave a shit. All he knew was that these boneheads had a higher chance of being killed than him.

“No… I already know how this guy thinks. It’s standard horror movie stuff…” He shakes his head, picking at his food. “That’s why the cops haven’t found a suspect yet, they don’t watch enough movies…”