Rest In Peace

Summary: Set after Scream 2022, Sidney returns to the house that started everything and faces a ghost from her past
Warning(s): Spanking; spoilers for the Scream movies; references to violence and canon character death; redemption; supernatural elements

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Sidney stood outside the house, staring at it. There were so many memories tied to this place. Every time she thought she’d escaped the horror, she was dragged back into the nightmare again. And this time, it had been back where everything had started. At least for her.

The newest stab wound she’d been given throbbed, even though it had been stitched and was healing well. Maybe it was warning her not to go inside? She didn’t have to. She hadn’t told anyone she was coming back here. Hadn’t promised anyone apart from herself that she was going to come back here and face her demons.

She could just turn and walk away. What kind of closure could she gain from being here? What would it do, apart from tear open old emotional wounds that couldn’t be seen?

“I hope this fucking nightmare is over now.” Sidney spoke the words out loud, to the house. To the spirits that maybe still lingered behind. She knew that she could easily turn and walk away. She knew that most people would tell her to turn and walk away. That she didn’t need to prove anything to anyone, not even herself. No one expected her to face the demons of her past.

But if she didn’t, she would always wonder. She would always regret not finding the strength to face the darkness.

The crime scene tape was easy to lift; easy to slip under. And the front door wasn’t locked. Why would it be? It wasn’t like the police would be expecting anyone to go into the house.

It was quiet inside. There was no evidence of the horrors it had born witness to. For the first time since the whole nightmare had started, Sidney thought this was probably the safest place for anyone to be.

She walked slowly up the stairs, heading to the room where she and Billy had had sex. That had been the turning point. The moment that suspicion had turned into certainty. That the killers had revealed themselves.

And no matter how much she tried to escape that reality, she just kept being pulled back. How many more people would die, as others took up the mantle of Ghostface? She’d managed to survive, over and over, but how long would her luck hold out for? This time around, Dewey had been killed. Would the next one be Gale? Or Sidney herself?

“Hello, Sidney.”

The voice seemed to come at once from behind her and inside her. The words were Ghostface’s, but without the modulator, the voice was Billy’s.

She turned round slowly.

Hallucination or ghost, Billy Loomis stood behind her. He looked exactly the same as when she’d last seen him alive, shirt covered with fake blood. Forever a teenager. He’d been the first person she ever truly loved…and even now, all these years later, his betrayal was like a raw, festering wound.

The apparition took a step closer to her, lips twitching into a wry, humourless smile. “You saw her, didn’t you? My daughter. Sam.” A note of pride crept into his voice.

“She’s not like you.” Sidney didn’t know if she really believed she was talking to the ghost of Billy Loomis. Her life had turned into a list of so many rules to follow. But there were no rules for being confronted with the ghost of the first person who’d tried to kill you. Were there?

The smile faded and Billy looked sad. “No,” he agreed. “She’s better than me. Better able to fight the darkness she was born with.”

Sidney’s hand curled into a tight fist. Coming inside this house had been a mistake. What could she possibly gain from being here? “You’re going to pin the blame on some faceless darkness?” She shook her head. “You should be rotting in hell.” She strode with determination towards the door; towards Billy Loomis. Even if he was truly a ghost, he couldn’t hurt her. Not anymore.

“I can’t leave yet.”

She drew up short, startled into a bitter laugh. “Because you’ve got unfinished business? Is that unfinished business killing me?”

“I’m sorry.”

Sidney paused, hesitated, looking at the ghost of her old boyfriend. Of course, he could just as easily be a hallucination. Cautiously, not sure just who she was talking to, she asked, “Just what are you sorry for?”

“Do you want me to list off all my crimes?” Billy’s smile was self-deprecating as he continued, “I would have thought you’d know them almost as well as me.”

“Do you think you can just show up like this and expect to be forgiven so that you can…what? Go to heaven and move on from all this?” She shook her head. “You don’t deserve peace. You don’t deserve forgiveness.”

“Then punish me, Sidney.”

That brought her up short. She stared at him and slowly shook her head. “Punish you,” she repeated. “I already killed you.”

“And it still affects you even now,” Billy moved a bit closer to her; came to a stop when she stiffened. “I can’t hurt you anymore.”

“That’s not true,” she whispered. “What you did to me still hurts. My whole life’s been ruined because of what you did.” She took a step back, away from him. “You turned me into a victim. Do you have any idea how many people have followed in your footsteps? How many killers have turned against their friends, family, partners? This all started with you and now you want forgiveness just to be able to move on in peace?”

“I don’t expect to go on to heaven,” Billy replied. “I know I deserve to go to hell. Or just to disappear. Not sure what’s waiting for me on the other side, but I know I can’t go on to whatever comes next until I make things right here. With you.”

“I could just leave you here,” she whispered. “Walk away. You want peace? You want to move on? Maybe taking that from you would be fitting as a punishment.”

Billy didn’t say anything. He just stood there and watched her. And waited.

Sidney finally made her decision. She looked into Billy’s eyes and said, firmly, “I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing it for me.”

“I get it.” His smile was sad.

She took a deep breath and walked over to the bed. She sat down and looked slowly around the room. So many years and renovations later, but underneath it all, it felt the same. It felt like the room was holding its breath, waiting for what was about to happen. Like things had built up to this moment.

Sidney locked eyes with the ghost of her ex-boyfriend and said, quietly, “Come over here and lay over my lap.”

Billy arched his eyebrows, but he didn’t argue or protest. Instead, he walked over to Sidney’s side and settled in position over her lap, shifting slightly before reaching back and pushing his pants down.

Sidney couldn’t help but swallow, feeling his warm, solid weight across his lap. He didn’t feel like a ghost. She placed a hand on his lower back, pushing up on his shirt enough to bare more of his skin.

The first slap of her hand landing at the crest of his backside made her jump, though Billy showed no reaction. She looked at his backside, clad in white boxer briefs, and then tugged his underwear down to join his pants.

The crack of bare skin against bare skin was louder than the previous smack and Billy’s whole body jerked, as if in surprise. He settled down quickly, though, his body slowly going lax and limp as she continued to bring her hand down in firm, hard smacks all over his backside, down to the tops of his thighs.

Billy didn’t show much reaction to the swats, though after several circuits, his backside was pink and hot to the touch.

Pausing, Sidney shook her hand out, grimacing at the sting in her palm. Billy had begun shifting, but otherwise gave no sign that the spanking was having any effect.

Glancing to one side, Sidney saw, resting on the bedside table, a hairbrush. It was an old-fashioned one, with a wooden back and thick bristles. Sidney picked it up and rubbed the back of it against Billy’s bottom for a few moments. Then, she lifted the brush and snapped it down firmly on Billy’s right buttock.

He jerked, a hitched groan escaping him.

Ignoring the pained reaction, Sidney continued to bring the brush down in hard, firm strokes all over Billy’s bottom and upper thighs.

The difference in response was immediate. Billy began to squirm rapidly across her lap, letting out soft cries when the brush landed on one particular spot or another.

Sidney was surprised by how satisfying spanking Billy over her lap was. His bottom was a bright pink, shading to red in parts. And she could hear when he began to sob.

As the sobs grew louder, Sidney pressed down on his back and began to smack the brush down harder and faster, in random spots all over already punished skin. By the time she stopped, his entire backside was a uniform red and he was slumped in place, not resisting or fighting. He only twitched when the brush landed and his crying was audible.

Sidney stopped spanking and put the brush to one side. As she listened to Billy sob, she felt like a great weight had been lifted from her. She could finally let go of the awful pain that had left her with such deep scars for so long. “I forgive you,” she said out loud. “For my sake. Not yours.”

“Even so, thank you.” Billy levered himself up off her lap and pulled his clothing back into place.

And then he faded away, into nothing.

Sidney sat on the bed, hairbrush next to her, left alone. Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them away, then finally stood and walked to the door.

Leaving her past behind.

The End