Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Stephanie, Peter, Richie, Ruth, and Grace, had planned a prank on Max Jägerman. However, it went a little differently then they had imagined. Max wasn’t scared enough to run away, and they had to stop the plan.

“It’s not a ghost! It’s Peter Spankoffski.” Stephanie said.

“This was all a prank, a trick to scare the shit out of you. Cause you deserve it.” She added.

“What? You’re telling me you nerds put this whole thing together just for me?” Max questioned.

“Wow. ..I thought you guys hated me. But uh… thanks. This was really great.”

“You’re not pissed..?” Peter asked in disbelief.

“Oh, are you kidding? No no no, this is like the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me! When the uh— when the ghost came out and my heart was like DUHDUHDUHDUHDUH! Oh! And the skele’in. That was really special. Ya’ know, maybe I had you guys figured all wrong, ya know? I thought you were a bunch of nerds, but uh, you guys throw one hell of a party!” Max ranted.

Richie was holding the camera still, but hadn’t realized how indiscreet he was being. Max finally noticed he was being recorded.

He paused, mildly confused.

“Hey shit lips! What’s with the camera?” 

“Uh.. nothing..” he mumbled.

Max walked over to him and grabbed the camera from his hands. He skimmed the footage.

“Should’ve done a better job capturing my greatness. Your camera is blurry as hell!”

“That’s what I said earlier!” Richie rebutted. 

Max gave him a light shove. That was the most fateful shove to ever be given.

Richie onto the ground, and before he could get up, the ground below him gave out, sending him falling through the old building’s floor.

“AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! AGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”

“HOLY HELL SHIT LIPS!” Max yelled.

“RICHIE!!! JESUS CHRIST!!” Stephanie screamed right after, before Grace cut in.

“DON’T USE THE LORDS NAME IN VAIN, GODDAMN IT!!”

“YOU JUST DID TOO! IT DOESN’T MATTER! WE NEED TO GET DOWN THERE AND HELP—“

Thud.

CRACK.

…..

Silence.

“…Richie..?” Ruth said with a tremble.

Nothing.

“RICHIE!!!” Peter yelled down the gaping hole in the floor. 

…

He looked closer. Until he saw it.

“…OH SHIT! THATS BLOOD! HE’S FUCKING DEAD!” 

There was a moment of silence, before Ruth offered some words of denial.

“…n-no. I’m sure he’s alive. We just need to get down there and—“

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Max screamed.

“NONE OF YOU ARE HELPING! QUICK, THE STAIRS!” Grace pointed to a set of stairs that led down to where he had fallen.

The group ran down to find a gruesome mess. 

Richie was on the floor, skull shattered open over a few pieces of rotting wood and glass, breathing heavily with eyes bloodshot and unfocused. The only sound he’d make was quiet sobs. 

“W-we can get help… we need…” Stephanie tried to provide a solution, but the silence was deafening. 

Richie mumbled a few words while staring Max down. “Popular… pricks… must… pay…! Popular… pricks… must… die…!”

And then he went limp. And it was quiet again.

He was dead. He was absolutely dead. The lack of noise allowed the best experience for hearing his breath stop.

…

…

…

…

“We’re going to jail!” Ruth said loudly in terror.

“NO! No we’re not! This wasn’t our fault… it’s not murder… it…” Stephanie stopped to stare at Max with a look of disgust.

Max knew it was his fault.

Everyone knew it was his fault.

“You. You’re gonna help us get out of this.”

“We can hide the body under the floorboards. We just need to… chop him up a little. Hack all his limbs off.” Grace suggested. 

“Did you say hack all his limbs off?” Stephanie checked.

“Yeah, we’re gonna hack all his limbs off.” Grace doubled down.

An hour of destroying the body, cleaning, and hiding the pieces pass.

Nobody knew what would happen that night. Nobody could have predicted it in their wildest imagination. But those words still stuck to Max even after they had already left the building. What did he mean by that? 

Chapter Text

It had been around 2 weeks since the incident, and nobody had dared to speak about it. Despite Richie being declared missing, the group of teens hadn’t been questioned at all. Besides, everyone was occupied with the upcoming football game against Clivesdale. 

“So… you going to the big game tonight?” Stephanie asked.

“Well… no because Jägerman doesn’t let nerds go to football games.” Peter replied.

“…Oh yeah. I forgot about that.” She said.

Steph and Pete talked about what their plans were for the day, when Max walked through the hall with Kyle and Jason.

“Hey Max! These nerds are in your hallway! We should—“  Kyle was cut off immediately.

“Shut up dick head! I’ll deal with it myself! Leave!” Max shouted.

“Huh? Uhm… okay..” and the two left.

…

“Discussing the game, eh? You think you’re going?”

He said.

“…No. We’re not.” Peter responded in a slightly exasperated sigh.

“Why’s that?” Max added.

“Nerds can’t go to football games… Don’t need to tell us again. Plus, I’d rather be doing my homework.” 

“Let me put it this way, Spankoffski. I’m chill with Steph, and I feel like giving you and your… gang a chance to prove you aren’t a bunch of nerdy prudes. I better be seeing your sorry asses on the sidelines.” And he walked away.

What a weird interaction. The two were left a little confused by the switch up, expecting a fight, but supposed it was a result of the incident. At least he didn’t beat them half dead. But they still now had to show up and not make a fool of themselves.

“Uh… I have a feeling that if we don’t go we’ll be hearing it from him… so we should probably go, definitely not because I would enjoy your company or whatever.” Stephanie said.

“Fine. I guess we’re going then.”

And just like that, they were both now allowed-to-go-to-football-game-status.

…

…

…

That night, it was the football game.

Everything was great.

Stephanie and Peter may have been enjoying it too, even if they wouldn’t admit it to each other. Ruth and Grace also joined them, which they were both in good spirits.

…

Yet, something felt too… unreal.

You accidentally kill your friend, and suddenly the school’s most popular jock has declared you “cooler.”

Was that even something to be proud of?

Even in the exciting atmosphere, Peter couldn’t take his mind off the incident.

He shouldn’t be benefiting from it. Nobody should.

Not him. Not Max. Not Grace, not Stephanie, not Ruth..

But everything… was different.

And fleeting happiness will always fade.

…

It was halftime. Football players were either in the locker rooms, getting food, or hanging out.

…

Kyle was at some point the only one in the locker room.

…

Hahahaha…

…

“Who was that? Cause’ you aren’t funny!” He shouted.

…

HAHAHAHA!

…

“Seriously, what is your—“ 

He turns around.

“Oh! It’s lipshits! You have some nerve, coming to one of Max’s football games! When he hears about this you—…”

Step..

…

“Huh? Getting confident now? I bet you don’t even know the punishment you..”

…

Step…

…

“Wait a minute… you were reported missing right?”

STEP.

…

“Is that… blood?”

…

He took his water bottle and threw it at Richie.

…

It passed right through him.

“Kyle… hahahaha…”

…

“OH FUCK YOU’RE NOT EVEN ALIVE!”

…

Suddenly the shift in power was uncomfortable for him. He began to back into the locker.

“Get away you freak..! What even are you..? I knew you nerds weren’t human..!”

And then his back hit the locker and there was nowhere else for him to go.

…

“I’ll show you dead! I’ll show you the consequences for what you’ve done to me..! And my friends..!”

…

“What are you—- AHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

…

“Do you like it? Having your arm SNAPPED OFF?”

“STOP! STOP! PLEASE! I’M BEGGING YOU RICHIE, LET ME GO!”

“NEVER! And you know why..?”

“I don’t! Please just stop..!”

…

“POPULAR PRICKS MUST DIE! And once they’re gone.. nobody will ever have to worry about being picked on EVER AGAIN! Starting with YOU Kyle..”

“No.. NO..! PLEASE DON’T DO THIS—-!”

Snap.

…

…

…

…

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

…

“You know what’s NEXT?”

Kyle looked at him with utter pain and horror and he tried to deal with the agony of his arm snapping off his shoulder.

“Your SPINE!”

…

…

…

“No! NO NO NO! PLEASE I’LL DO ANYTHING!!! NO—-“

Crack.

Shatter.

…

…

…

“He’s… dead.”

…

“I did this, didn’t I?”

…

“How can I feel bad when.. it felt so right?”

…

“One less for.. my friends to deal with..”

…

Chapter Text

Halftime eventually came to an end. But Kyle was not back on the field yet. They kind of needed him here… but he didn’t show. Max was a little worried, but forgot about it when the game started up again.

Naturally, they started falling behind, cause the replacement didn’t play as well as he did.

…

In the end, they lost. 

They lost to FUCKING CLIVESDALE!

Everyone in town was horribly upset. The whole mood was ruined. 

Max was gonna find Kyle, and BEAT HIS ASS for hanging the team up to dry.

…

He walks into the locker room after the game.

…

He turns the corner.

…

…

…

…

“OH FUCK! OH FUCKING SHIT!”

He screamed at the sight before him.

Kyle’s body laid on the ground against the locker, arm detached on the floor, and back snapped sideways. There was a massive blood splatter against the locker that was still dripping down from the top.  

…

He didn’t know what to do.

And he always knew what to do.

How could it come crashing down like this?

Was fate mocking him?

Written on the wall in blood read;

“Popular Pricks Must Die.”

It couldn’t have been. 

Only the other 4 involved with the incident knew those words. 

But they wouldn’t have..

And they couldn’t have either. They weren’t strong enough for that. He saw it himself.

…no.

Richie was dead.

He watched him die. Right there.

But something was telling him it was more complicated than a simple coincidence.

Popular Pricks Must Die.

The words rung in his head.

Like a curse.

And it was tearing him apart.

LIMB . BY. LIMB.

What else could he do?

He stood there for a while before getting out his phone and taking a photo.

He was pretty sure he had the numbers of the 4.

He made a group-chat, sent the photo, and said “get over here.”

…

…

3 minutes later everyone was there.

Ruth was frozen in fear and couldn’t speak. Grace, being the person she is, had to say something.

“The writing! Nobody heard them, so it must be a sign from god!” She spoke.

“Come on! This is serious!” Stephanie sighed.

“Gasp! How could you say that about our savior!”

“Stop fighting! Listen! There’s no way someone happened to know these exact words AND have the motive to do anything with it. So? Anyone gonna fess up?” Peter challenged.

Silence.

“Nobody?”

…

“To be fair, we were all together outside during halftime, and Max was playing football.. so… how is this fucking possible?” Stephanie questioned.

…

“I guess we’re at a dead end. Literally. And we have to figure something out. We can’t tell authorities. They can trace it back to us.” Peter responded.

“Then let’s get out of here before someone else shows up!” Grace said.

Chapter Text

Eventually someone would find that body, because it was the middle of the locker room. Just… quite a few days later for some reason. Nobody had gone in there cause nobody truly had a reason to.

And for whatever reason, everything in school seemed strangely peaceful.

Max was too haunted by his own thoughts to pick on the unsuspecting losers of hatchetfield high.

The nerds didn’t truly feel the horror of Kyle’s death, since they weren’t friends, let alone on good terms. But the situation was terrible. Somebody knew exactly what happened and was wreaking havoc on ‘popular pricks.’ At least, that’s the best explanation they could decide was reasonable.

An investigation had started, and Richie’s corpse would eventually be discovered too, cause’ it’s inevitable. Of course not now, the Hatchetfield police weren’t that competent. They couldn’t even save Kathy’s cat from a tree. Not much could be said, since there was no evidence pointing towards anyone just yet. Grace had gone back to the Wayland Place to do some extra cleanup, realizing she had almost slipped up by leaving her bracelet under the floor.

Now everything was a dead end, and nothing made sense. Everyone was blaming everyone without evidence. The town was torn with chaos.

And they had lost to— Clivesdale! The horror!

When they got back to school, everyone was mourning the loss. To the chemists that is. Who cared about some loser dying, the big game was far more important.

“You know, I’m sure things would have went better if the full team was around for the second half of the game..” Ruth said. “Then maybe everything would be livelier here in school..”

“I agree. We haven’t been picked on for a bit, but everyone seems to be avoiding us too. Get this— I went to pasquali’s with Steph, and nobody beat me half blind this time. In fact, Jägerman wasn’t even there! On a Friday night of all nights!” Peter responded.

Steph quickly added to the conversation. “Well I think that was because I was walking with you, and not because they were being nice. But yeah, something’s been a little strange this week. Max is ALWAYS there on Friday nights with Jason and Ky— Ah. Right. Cause Kyle—“

“Shut. up! Shut up! Shhhhh! Don’t talk about that! We’ve seen NOTHING, and as far as anyone else is concerned, Kyle is alive and everything is fine!” Grace quickly tried to shut down the fact that they had seen him dead in the locker room.

But suddenly, over the loud speaker, the principle spoke. “Attention Hatchetfield high students.. Would Ruth Fleming.. Grace Chasity.. Stephanie Lauter.. and Peter Spankoffski.. please report to the principles office? The police would like to ask you a few questions.”

Everyone in unison groaned and turned to walk to the office.

When they got there, they sat down. There were two officers, Shapiro and Bailey.

“Hi kids, come on in. Have a seat. I’m Detective Shapiro, this here is Officer Bailey.” Shapiro said.

“Don’t look at me! Get your hands outta your pockets!” Bailey snapped at Peter.

Peter apologized and put his hands on his lap.

“Don’t mind him, he hasn’t had his coffee this morning. You kids want some coffee? Can I get you anything? Anything at all?”

Nobody responded. It was a little awkward.

“How about that game this weekend? Fuckin’ Chemists, right? We’ll get ‘em next time, though. Go Nighthawks!” Shapiro said.

Everyone responded with a low-energy “go nighthawks.”

“Too bad our boys weren’t playing with the full deck, though. You ask me, they were missing a very important member of the team during the second half. You know who I’m talking about, right?”

Everyone knew who she was talking about.

“Yeah. Without him, the Nighthawks went out there and they just shat the bed, didn’t they? Real shame what happened to him.”

“Damn shame!” Bailey added.

“You see, kids, he was murdered.”

There was more awkward silence. Truthfully, they didn’t know anything about Kyle’s murder, other than the fact that it was done by someone who knew what they did. And god, did it suck to be scrutinized by the police, when they had committed a separate crime themselves.

“So word is, you four were spotted entering the locker rooms during half time, along with Maxwell Jägerman.. Of which we know he was quite good friends with the deceased, but now, why you four were there is unknown to us. After all, none of you are on the football team.” Shapiro said.

No surprise, but Grace spoke up first. It was a bunch of nonsense until the cops received a call that they had found recently missing Richard Lipschitz dead in the Wayland Place. Suddenly they were ushered out of the office and back into school. Shit was getting real very fast, now that Richie was actually discovered.