Grinded 1

WHAT ARE YOU INTO?

## Grinded

Grinded is a slasher story and the first instalment in the entire series, created by Jack Cameron.

It follows a group of high school students find themselves at the centre of a grisly set of murders. When they begin to suspect that the killer is targetting them, they quickly realise that anyone is a suspect, and anyone could be next.

The story is led by Freddie Blackwell, August Thrombey, Sophie Dlamini, Lily Mason, with Thomas Strode, and Sarah Abbott.

The first chapter was released on 4th Decemeber 2022 with the final chapter releasing on July 17th 2023. It consists of 31 chapters.

## Plot

### Synopsis:

> When a teen is murdered in the idyllic town of Sunset Ridge, it rocks the small community to its core. As the bodies continue to drop and the authorities race to find out who's behind the killings, one teen and his friends quickly realise that the killer is after them and it's only a matter of time before they all end up grinded.
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### Summary:

High school student Michael LeBeck is studying for a test later that week. After being interrupted by his dad, Michael grabs his duffel bag and gets ready to head to the gym for a late night workout. As he leaves his house, he is unaware that someone is lurking within the shadows of the trees surrounding his house.

As Michael continues walking, he reaches the deserted park, with not a soul to be seen or heard. He decides to call Thomas Strode, another student and sexual fling of Michael's, in the hopes of getting laid. But much to his disappointment, Thomas rebuffs him before hanging up, leaving Michael alone once more as he walks through the park. It doesn't take long before Michael begins to receive Grindr messages from a blank profile. At first, the texts are suggestive, but they quickly take a threatening and scary turn. Michael tries to intimidate the profile, but he is attacked by someone donning a pale blank mask and black robes. Despite his best efforts at trying to evade his attacker, Michael is caught by Blank Face, who swiftly stabs him to death, leaving his body at the park.

The following morning, student Freddie Blackwell is awakened by the distant sounds of police sirens. Looking out to his window, he stares out longingly, wondering exactly what has happened. After he's gotten himself ready, Freddie goes downstairs to find his mother making breakfast for him and his younger sister, Peyton. Mrs. Blackwell is clueless as to what has happened and tells her son to quit speculating. As Peyton comes into the kitchen, Freddie states he'll be home late tonight as its practise again. Mrs. Blackwell warns him to be careful and to come straight home, just in case. Peyton then makes a crude comment about August Thrombey, who is walking up the driveway of the Blackwell. Freddie and Peyton tease each other as Freddie gets up to leave, causing Mrs. Blackwell to scold them both. Freddie flips off his sister before going to the front door.

Freddie is extremely happy to see August, the two having had a big crush on each other for quite sometime now, but neither of them have made a move. Initially, the conversation is a little awkward as they dance around their obvious feelings towards one another. Freddie then continues to speculate what could've caused the police sirens this morning, but August is just as clueless and intrigued as he is. They flirt with each other again before they reach the park, seeing it flooded with cop cars, reporters, and a gaggle of nosy people desperate to find out what has happened.

Local reporter Yun-Jin Park is busy reporting on the brutal murder of Michael LeBeck, much to the chagrin of town Sheriff Sarah Abbott and Deputy Erica Rhodes. The police department still have no leads as to who or where the killer could be, and Sarah is being pressured by the mayor, press, and community of Sunset Ridge to find the person responsible, and Rhodes offers her full support to Sarah. As they head back to Sarah's cruiser, their interrupted by Yun-Jin, who tries to pry for information regarding the investigation. She is bluntly shut down by Sarah, who then gets into her car along with Rhodes, stating that they have to get to the high school to get a start on the interrogations of both students and faculty members.

At Sunset Ridge High, Freddie and August arrive to find the atmosphere as crazy as it had been at the park; news vans loitered the front of the school as reporters homed in on unwilling students, desperate to get a quote on anything remotely relating to the murder. As they make their way through the madness, they find their friends occupying a picnic bench near the trees. Lily Mason, their typical blonde-haired blue-eyed friend, was busy talking about the murder while her boyfriend, Marcus Winters, comments that none of them are going to tell anyone if she indulges the details she learned from her mother, who works in the morgue at the hospital. Lily then reveals the identity of the victim, leading to August falling quiet. Sophie Dlamini, another one of their friends and an outspoken lesbian, picks up on August falling silent and asks if he's okay, knowing that he and Michael had a small fling.

Freddie states he was a sex pest, but Lily quickly scolds him for his insensitivity. August tells his friends he's okay and that he and Michael only slept together once, so it doesn't mean much to him anyways. Marcus points out their friend, Thomas Strode, finally walking over to join them, and as Thomas takes a seat on the bench, he picks up on the pointed frown from August. Not wasting a second, August whines at Thomas for clearly smoking weed before coming to school, but Thomas defends himself, blaming the death of Michael for his reasoning for smoking this morning. He then mentions that Michael called him last night, causing his friends to go quiet suddenly. Not wanting to look shady, Thomas claims he didn't do it, which Marcus agrees with, knowing Thomas wouldn't do something like that. Sophie brings up the possibility of the police maybe talking to Thomas about that, but Lily chimes in, saying that they'll all be getting interrogated over the course of the day, courtesy knowledge from her mom. The school bell for first period rings, and Thomas and August head off to Biology together. Once the duo are gone, Sophie demands Freddie to make a move on August as they're all tired of them both dancing around it. Marcus then brings up the fact that another student and a friend of theirs, Quentin Vaughn, also has a crush on August, who also happened to be walking straight for them. Greeting the group, Quentin asks how they're doing with everything going on. Marcus, Sophie, and Lily head off to class, leaving Freddie and Quentin to talk alone.

Quentin asks if August has mentioned him or their date from a few weeks ago, and Freddie tells him he doesn't know anything and that he should probably talk to August about something like this. Freddie, deciding to throw him a bone, offers to ask August on behalf of Quentin, on the promise that if August isn't interested, Quentin would back off. The two teens happily agree to the deal before Freddie asks what Quentin was up to last night. Quentin tells him he went on a long drive to figure out what he would say to August, before turning the question back on Freddie. Freddie reveals he was left home alone again, mentioning how much his mom had been working late lately, growing tired of it. After Quentin compliments Freddie's physique and jokingly flirts with him, they head their own ways to their seperate classes.

In the Principal's office of the schoo, Sarah, Deputy Rhodes and Deputy Clint Denson are undertaking the interrogations in the blistering heat, with no proper AC. Sarah notices Rhodes seems to be restless, and asks if she's okay. Rhodes replies that it's just crazy what is happpening, wondering how Sarah seems to be so calm. Sarah lightly chuckles and explains that just because it seems like she's calm and collected, it doesn't mean it isn't tearing her up inside, garnering a chuckle from both Rhodes and Denson. A knock at the door catches their attention, and Principal St. John peers in, ready to bring in another student for questioning. Denson thanks her, before informing her that the next student is Quentin Vaughn.

Sarah welcomes in the student, Paul Beauregard, and none of the officers are too thrilled at his presence. Waiting until Principal St. John is out of earshot, Sarah begins the procedure. Sarah asks how well he knew the victim, with Paul claiming not too well although if they were at a party and both were too wasted, they'd end up making out, but that's about it. Sarah questions him if anyone would want to hurt Michael over his sexuality, which Paul quickly dismisses, claiming that no one actually cares about what gender you sleep with anymore these days. Rhodes, tired of Paul's rude and insincere tone, suggests moving onto Quentin Vaughn, but Sarah asks him who else is openly gay in the school, with Paul listing Thomas, Freddie, August, and Quentin, with Sarah making a clear note of all the names mentioned. She excuses Paul and then tells Denson and Rhodes that she wants a close eye kept on the kids he mentioned.

Another knock at the door brings them out of their discussion, with Quentin quickly hurrying into the room with a nervous expression on his face. While Sarah begins to interview Quentin regarding the murder, she notices how unsettled he seems to be, making a mental note of it. Quentin reveals that he and Michael never really clicked, alluding to a possibility of him and Michael having a crush on the same guy at the same time, something Sarah quickly picks up on. She follows up on that remark, asking Quentin what he was doing last night. Quentin, who was only growing more nervous with each question, stutters his way through his answer / alibi. As Sarah tries to pry even further, Quentin stops her, asking if he's a suspect. Sarah observes him for a moment longer, before dismissing Quentin. Once he was out of the room, Rhodes closed the door, pointing out how twitchy he seemed before asking if Sarah wants tabs kept on him. Sarah doesn't give a firm answer, her mind instead going back to the list of names in her hand. As another light knock at the door snaps her out of her thoughts, the trio get ready to continue on with the interrogations.

The bell rings as the students are let out for lunch, eagerly racing out of the stuffy classrooms to continue their gossiping about the murder. In the cafeteria, Lily, Thomas, and August had taken one of the tables for them and the rest of their friends. When Thomas mentions a possible smoke break, August complains once more about his strong smoking habit, with Lily calling the pair of them unbearable at times. Suddenly out of nowhere, Sophie slams her bag on the table, complaining about her period cramps. Lily quickly offers her some feminine products. Sophie thanks her, but says she's got that part covered. They then start talking about their interviews with the cops, with Sophie mentioning them asking if she knew anyone that was aggressively homophobic, with August shooting her a confused look, stating that they never asked him that, instead asking him if he knew about Michael and Quentin clashing over their feelings towards him. When Thomas makes a joke about August getting flustered over him, Freddie interrupts him, taking a seat beside August. Lily asks Freddie if he saw Marcus on his way over, but he hasn't. They notice the cops and faculty members setting up for an assembly outside, and when Thomas asks if they should even go, he is reprimanded by August for his insensitivity, before they all agree on going. As they're talking, Sophie notices Quentin and Marcus talking to each other off to the side of the cafeteria, causing Lily to be visibly intrigued, not tearing her eyes away from her boyfriend. As Freddie and August begin entwining their hands with one another, Thomas suggests they head over to the assembly now, as everyone else is, and so the group grabs their belongings and head off to the assembly.

Sarah heads the assembly, backed by Rhodes and Denson, along with Principal St. John. She reveals the identity of the victim, although she knew that most of the school had probably heard by now. As she starts to mention new rules enforced by the police department, Paul makes a rude remark, with Thomas telling him to shut up, through gritted teeth. Sarah then announes a curfew to be put into effect immediately, resulting a collection of groans and complaints from the teens of Sunset Ridge High. She then reveals that this week's football game has also been postponed until further notice, followed by another flood of complaining and whining.

After the assembly finishes, Thomas whines about the game being cancelled and Paul then tells him to shut up, shocking the others at his sudden outburst. Just as things are about to get violent between the two boys, Quentin tries to defuse the situation, only for Paul to prevoke him too. Marcus gets involved, seperating Quentin and Thomas from Paul, telling Paul to beat it as no one wants him there with them anyways. Paul scoffs before walking off. August tells Thomas to ignore him next time as he's not worth it, Marcus jokes to Sophie that he's surprised she didn't have anything to say, but Sophie defends herself, stating that the last time she and Paul got into it, she was the one who ended up in the Principal's office, so she learned her lesson. Marcus then dismisses himself, before the group decide on heading back inside to the cafeteria to finish off eating.

Later that night, Paul is driving back home, enjoying the nighttime drive by himself. As he pulls up into his upper class family's driveway, he noticed that his car was the only one on the driveway. He sighs, not happy that he seemed to be in for a night alone at home. Wandering through the house, he calls out for his parents, but no response. Making his way into the kitchen, Paul starts scrolling through Grindr mindlessly, pulling a face at a majority of the profiles on the app. He then gets a message from a blank profile, and decides to engage with it, knowing he'd just block them once he got bored enough. Putting his phone down, Paul grabbed himself a glass before being scared by the sudden appearance of his younger brother, Justin. After a hostile conversation, that ended with Justin revealing himself to be going out for the night, Paul grabs his phone and heads up to his room, not bothering to say goodbye to his brother. The blank profile has continued messaging him, asking if he is home alone. After another creepy message, Paul tells the account that the fun's over and blocks it. He closes his curtains, now getting pretty terrified, when his phone buzzes again, asking him if he is scared yet. Completely terrified, Paul starts dialing 911 until another message comes through, sending chills down his spine - 'I asked you a question, Paul.'

Knowing that the person knew who he was, Paul flees his bedroom and heads for the stairs. Suddenly, the linen closet door is kicked open, revealing Blank Face. Paul screams just as the 911 operator answers, but Blank Face kicks his phone away as they walk towards him. Desperate to escape, Paul grabs the railing but isn't fast enough to do anything else, as Blank Face stabs him in the nape of his neck, the entirety of the blade cutting through his throat, killing the teen. Blank Face admires they're newest artwork before disappearing back into the shadows.

The following day back at Sunset Ridge High and the news of Paul's murder has already made its rounds through the school, as even more vulturous reporters and journalists hound students and teachers alike for any new insights or information. Freddie, who has just arrived at school, is clueless to what is happening, but when he's joined by Thomas, he is imminently informed of Paul's death. Thomas theorizes that the killer is indeed targetting the gay kids at school, but when Freddie asks if the police have anymore leads or new evidence, he shakes his head, stating that he only knows that Deputy Rhodes is rumoured to have an idea on a major suspect. Thomas then points out August nearby, telling Freddie to do his thing, before walking off.

At August's locker, Freddie leans against the locker with a bright smile towards the other teen. Neither of them can believe what's happening, but August doesn't want it to completely take control of their lives. Freddie smirks and decides to ask August out on a date, knowing it'd be a great distraction, and August agrees eagerly. Before Freddie parts ways with him to go to his own class, he also finally goes in for a kiss with August, much to August's delight. They both admit that that was long overdue, before heading off to class.

In Mrs. Baker's class, Sophie and Freddie are hushedly talking about the state of Paul's parents Sophie saw them in as she drove to school, mentioning how not even the Beauregard's deserved something like this. She then mentions that apparently, word is that it is a serial killer on the loose, in Sunset Ridge of all places. In an effort to change the topic, Freddie brings up him asking August out and Sophie is ecstatic over this new development. But before Sophie could get all the details out of him, she and Freddie notice someone come into the room and whisper something in Mrs. Baker's ear. Calling the attention of the class, Mrs. Baker informs them that with the latest murder, all classes have been cancelled until further notice, starting from now. The students erupt in joy and Sophie and Freddie both give each other a knowing look, thankful to Paul for at least giving them some time off school. As they eagerly leave the classroom, Sophie reiterates that August really does like him and not to worry.

Over at Sunset Ridge Police Department, Sarah is in her office, going over the two deaths repeatedly in her head. She's begun feeling guilty for herself, but Rhodes barges in unannounced, pulling her from her self-deprecating thoughts. Rhodes notices the look of dispair on Sarah's face and reminds her superior that she's always welcome to come to her with anything. Sarah politely shuts her down, instead wanting to know why she came in unannounced. Rhodes explains that another journalist is lurking and won't leave until Sarah has spoke with them. Sarah tells her to get rid of the journalist, but after a few seconds of Rhodes being gone, Yun-Jin waltzes into the office. Rhodes tries to get rid of her, but Yun-Jin insults her, telling her to let let mom and dad talk alone, angering Rhodes further. Yun-Jin then mentions the pattern of both victims being gay, suggesting the killer could be using gay dating apps to find and locate his victims, getting them to where he wants them. Sarah clings to the theory and then gets Yun-Jin out of her office, ready to start using this new theory in her practise. Rhodes questions the legitimacy of the theory, but Sarah thinks Yun-Jin is onto something, believing that if the next victim isn't in the list of names she has, then the killer has to be on that very list instead.

As the school begins to die down, with students and teachers all eager to get home, Freddie, August, Lily, Thomas, and Sophie are discussing their plans for the rest of the evening, since school is out for the time being. Thomas states he's going to the gym, not wanting to lose the momentum he is apparently building, while Sophie is having a night in with takeout food and trash TV since she swapped her shifts at work. Lily asks her friends if they all want to go over to hers tonight, as she's going to be home alone again and doesn't feel like being paranoid all night. Everyone but Freddie agrees, with Freddie being cautious that his mom wouldn't like him being anywhere but home, at least until the killer is caught. They eventually manage to persuade him to join them, with Lily saying she'll ring Marcus to invite him, too. She also brings up possibly inviting Quentin, causing an awkward silence among them. Freddie claims he doesn't care, as does August, and so Lily goes ahead and invites him too. They all agree to meet at Lily's place at about 9pm before heading off home, with Lily calling Marcus, letting him know she's coming to pick up so they can get everything sorted for tonight.

Night has fallen across Sunset Ridge, and at the police department, Rhodes is just leaving for the night. As she picks up her pace walking to the empty carpark, an uneasy feeling of someone watching her begins to fall over the deputy. She quickly gets the keys to her car, unlocking it until the sound of shattering glass stops her in her tracks. Calling out to whoever is there, Rhodes gets no response and begins to feel the fear creeping in. A car alarm suddenly goes off, scaring Rhodes. Not wanting to stick around, she hurries back over to her car but stops once again when the alarm cuts out randomly. Pulling her gun, Rhodes calls out again for the person to come out with their hands up, lest they want to get shot. But the sound of a haunting whistle freezes her in place as she realises the whistling to be coming from behind her.

She gives Blank Face the count of three to get down, but Blank Face attacks her, throwing her to the ground. After a brief struggle, Rhodes manages to gain the upperhand and knee Blank Face in the groin. Scramblign back to her feet, she demands to know who they are and why they're doing all of this, but Blank Face attacks again, leading to another brief, but incredibly brutal, fight between them, with Rhodes managing to pull off the mask. As she stared into the eyes of who's behind the mask, she claims she knew it was them. Blank Face is quick to act, wrapping their fingers around her neck in a deathly grip before dragging her over to a metal pipe, impaling her through it. Blank Face admired their work once more, watching as Rhodes' head lolled forward, a pool of blood forming at the bottom of her lifeless strung-up body.

Meanwhile at the gym, Thomas is still working out when the sirens of several police cars flash by, catching his attention. He then gets a notification his phone from Grindr, and when he checks it, its a message from the blank profile. Thomas engages in the conversation at first, while texting Sophie to see if he knew what was up with cop cars, but no response comes back, despite her quick replies just moments ago. Hitting the lockerroom, Thomas begins to get changed when a news radio bulletin announces the murder of Deputy Rhodes. Another notification startles Thomas and the conversation with Blank Face soon takes a sinister turn, with the account asking 'Do you think I made it inside the building before you came out of the lockerroom?'. Freaked out, Thomas grabs his bag and tries to call August, to no answer. Not wanting to take any chances, he then dials 911 but the cleaning closet door is suddenly kicked open, revealing Blank Face. Thomas throws his bag at Blank Face, who grabs it and pulls both of them to the ground in a struggle.

As Thomas pleads for his life, he sees the killer bring out a knife, ready to bring it down into his chest. Thomas manages to break free from the killer's grasp, but not without them slicing his arm. After another struggle, Thomas manages to trap Blank Face for a few seconds, enough time for him to flee the building. The driver pulls up and helped him into the car, promising to get him to the hospital, while Thomas looks back at the gym in fear, the thought of him being targetted sending him into a spiral.

A little while later that night, and Freddie arrives at Sunset Ridge Memoriam Hospital, desperate to find out what happened to Thomas. As the elevator doors open up, Freddie saw Lily and doesn't waste time in rushing over and pulling her into a hug. Lily tearfully explains that Thomas will be fine and that the cut on his arm wasn't as deep as it seemed to be. Freddie asks if they can go in to see him, but Lily mentions that his Mom is in there with him right now, before making a remark about how his Mom wasn't there for all of ten minutes before she'd posted a status on Facebook about the attack, irritating Freddie.

The elevator doors slide open again as Yun-Jin rushes out and makes a b-line straight to Freddie and Lily. The reporter tries prying for information until Lily snaps at her, telling her to leave them all alone. Realizing she overstepped, Yun-Jin apologizes and disappears back into the elevator, offering one last sympathetic smile before the doors slid shut. The teens take a seat when Freddie asks Lily what she had been up to this evening, and she explains that she and Marcus had been setting up for their little gathering later tonight. Lily mirrors the question onto Freddie, who says that he showered and watched TV.

After a few moments of silence, they are called over by Thomas' mother. Hurrying over to her, she takes them into Thomas' room and both teens ask their friend how he's doing. Mrs. Strode then brings up Lily's plan for a gathering, casting her disapprovement of it. She then tries to stop Thomas from going, but Thomas is persistent, telling her that no one, including her, is going to stop him from being with the people he trusts most.

A knock at the door breaks up the dispute as Sarah walks into the room, offering a sympathetic glance to Thomas and his Mom. Sarah and Mrs. Strode have a dry interaction, before Sarah excuses Mrs. Strode from the room so she can talk to the teens privately. Once Mrs. Strode leaves the room, Sarah doesn't waste time in telling them that she had Quentin brought in earlier for further questioning. Shocked, the teens demand to know why, but Sarah is hesitant in sharing anything further, instead asking if there's anything else they should know about him. None of them say anything, and Sarah knows she isn't going to get anything else out of them, so she then moves onto her next order of business. The Sheriff tells the teens that she and another deputy will be accompanying them to Lily's house tonight, and will remain there under watch of them, for their own protection.

Sarah then leaves the room, leaving the trio to speculate if Quentin could possibly be the killer. Lily defends him, calling him a lot of things, but a serial killer wouldn't be one of them. Thomas then says he's more than ready to leave the hospital, telling Lily to go get the car ready while he lets his parents know he's leaving now. Leaving the room, Lily and Freddie have a brief conversation over Freddie's date with August, with Lily promising that they're made for each other, comforting Freddie.

An hour later and Lily's car pulls up in her driveway, her house surrounded by the mountainside forest leading up to Blackwater Mountain. As the teens get out of the car, Sarah gets out of her cruiser and tells them that she and another deputy will be in their car if they notice anything weird going on or if something happens to scare them. The teens thank her before heading inside the nice Mason house.

When inside, Freddie and August have a private conversation over the text August sent Freddie and how he is ready for them to finally sleep together and move along with their relationship. Freddie asks if he is sure, with August pulling him in for a long kiss, asking if that answers his question. Sophie interrupts them, beckoning them to rejoin the rest of the group. August goes with Sophie to the living room, while Freddie goes off to the kitchen to offer his hands to help Lily.

As August heads into the living room, his phone buzzes and he is unsettled to see a notification from Grindr. Following the feeling in his gut, August wastes no time in deleting the chat. Sophie, August, and Thomas then start talking about how insane everything is, with none of them fully believing any of what is happening. Thomas then reveals that Quentin was questioned again by the cops, alarming Sophie. She is quick to voice her distrust in him, not wanting Lily to follow through on inviting him tonight. Thomas defends Quentin, but Sophie still doesn't trust him.

Lily and Freddie then come into the living room with snacks and plenty of beer for them, when Sophie brings up Quentin. She is annoyed to find out everyone knew he'd been questioned, and so Lily offers to un-invite him, if it meant peace of mind for Sophie. The group then each open up a beer and agree to have a fun night with no worrying or being scared.

Back outside in Sarah's cruiser, she and Deputy Waitts are talking about Sarah's older brother, with Waitts asking how he's liking Denver. Sarah then checks the time, realizing its time for her to do a round of check-ups around the house. Taking her flashlight, the Sheriff starts traipsing around the side of the Mason house.

In the living room, the music plays lightly as the teens have become a little more relaxed. On the couch, August and Freddie begin flirting quietly with one another, before Freddie suggests taking it somewhere more private. Lily begs them not to make a mess of her bedroom, and the boys promise giddily, eagerly leaving the crowded living room behind.

Heading up to Lily's bedroom, they turn on some soft music and it doesn't take them long for them to start getting down to business.

Downstairs, Lily is anxiously pacing the living room waiting for Marcus to come back when Thomas says he's going out for a smoke break. An argument between Lily and Thomas ensues over Thomas' addiction to smoking. Thomas storms out, telling them if anyone needs him, he'll be outside. Sophie comforts Lily, stating they need to stick together and not fight right now. A knock at the door brings Lily away and when she returns, Sophie is shocked to find Quentin right behind her. Sophie demands to know why he's here, and Quentin states that Thomas told him to come over. He notices Sophie's distrust and promises that he is simply just their friend, not a murderer. Quentin then asks if he can grab a beer and Sophie points him to the kitchen, watching him disappear down the hall. Lily gets a text from Marcus, telling her he's outside and the Sheriff is grilling him, so she excuses herself to go deal with him, leaving Sophie alone and frustrated.

After going up to her room to tell August and Freddie that Quentin is here, Lily urges August to go talk to Thomas in the backyard as she feels bad for the argument between them. With August going out in the back, Lily heads out to the front when she's startled by Sarah, who brings her over to Marcus. Marcus says that he can't stick around as his Dad wants him back home, but he can spare half an hour for a quick drive with him and Lily, who gladly accepts.

Sarah then attempts to radio Waitts, with him telling her that he'll circle back around through the garage now. Waitts is then killed off-screen in the garage.

A little later, Sophie, who is alone in the living room, hears a noise and goes to investigate when she and August walk into each other. August explains he went out to talk to Thomas but can't find him nor Quentin, and Sophie says Lily and Marcus aren't anywhere to be seen either. As panic begins to set in, Sophie tells him that she saw no signs of the cops outside either, just as August gets a message on Grindr that reads 'I'm already here.'

The duo head for the front door, but Quentin comes in, scaring everyone. Sophie is quick to point out how Quentin went to get a beer, questioning why he was outside. Quentin defends himself, stating that he saw Thomas' pack of cigarettes on the counter and grabbed one. August scolds them both for pointing fingers, instead electing to get out the house and find the cops. But when they open the door, Blank Face is sprinting up the front porch at full speed, knife in hand.

August runs up the stairs, while Blank Face chases Sophie and Quentin through the house downstairs. The killer smashes Quentin's face into a mirror before stabbing Sophie in the leg and grabbing her by the neck and throwing her to the ground. Quentin then jumps onto Blank Face's back and pulls him into a bookshelf. Blank Face is quick to overthrow Quentin, chokeslamming him into the glass coffee table. Sophie tries to help him, but is unable to. She watches in horror as Quentin is subsequently stabbed to death in front of her. As she tries to flee, the killer quickly catches up to her and grabs her by the hair before throwing her head first into the dining room window, watching her fall into the small pond, stilling.

When August flees back to Lily's room, he finds Freddie to be missing and the shower in Lily's bathroom is broken, with faint drops of blood splayed across the wall. August holds back a choked sob when he hears a car outside. He rushes over to the window and begins climbing through it, spying out Lily exiting Marcus' car, kissing him gooodbye before she starts walking up to the front door. As August scales the ledge of the window, he sees the bodies of Waitts and Sarah. He then tries to warn Lily, but Lily just waves, not fully able to hear what he's saying.

Coming into her house, Lily calls out for her friends, asking why August is up on the roof. When there isn't an answer, Lily grows suspicious and walks through to the living room, seeing Quentin's body. She opens her mouth to scream but stops herself, instead deciding that she needs to get ahold of the cops. Running back the way she came, she is ambushed by Blank Face, smacking her head into the door. Shaking her head, Lily sprints up the stairs calling out for help, with Blank Face stalking after her. As she reaches the top of the stairs, the killer stabs her in the back before throwing her through the glass stained window, watching her fall to her death.

Hearing Lily's scream, August comes out of her room and sees the shattered window. He decides to make a break for it but when he is almost out of the front door, he is grabbed by a wounded Thomas. August doesn't trust him, asking if he's the killer. But Blank Face emerges from behind Thomas, stabbing him and throwing his body to the ground. They pull off the mask to reveal their identity of Freddie. August is shocked and bewildered by the killer's identity. Freddie reveals that he did all of this for them and their relationship, fully believing that August belonged to him and that anyone that tried to come between them only infuriated him. August calls him psychotic and obsessed, but Freddie defends himself, claiming he did it all for love.

When August rebuffs Freddie's proclaimations of love, Freddie attacks him, claiming that if he can't have him, no one can. Sophie appears and tries to pull Freddie off of August, but Freddie slaps her to the ground before stamping on her stab wound. When he turns around to finish off August, he finds Sarah there, demanding him to surrender. Freddie pulls out her gun that he stole, shooting her. August begs Freddie to let him go, but Freddie doesn't listen. As he prepares to kill August, Freddie is startled by a still-alive Thomas, who tackles him. The gun falls to the ground and Thomas acts quick in grabbing it, shooting Freddie in the chest. As August and Thomas stand side by side, August says that he wants to be sure. Picking up Freddie's knife, August stabs him twice in the heart, leaving it impaled. They're startled once again by the groans of both Sophie and Sarah, revealing they'd survived alongside the two boys.

As the sun comes up, Yun-Jin gets on the scene, eager to report on the brutal final act of the killings that have plagued Sunset Ridge.

## Characters

### Main Characters:

* **Freddie Blackwell**: *The main protagonist of the story who also has feelings for August, he is a kind-hearted teen that is protective of his friends.*
* **August Thrombey**: *The crush of Freddie. He's caring, loyal, and observant, while not having a bad word to say about mostly anyone.*
* **Sophie Dlamini**: *The outspoken lesbian of the group. She freely speaks her mind and hasn't got an issue in calling anyone out.*
* **Lily Mason**: *Sophie's best friend, and the only straight of the group, besides her boyfriend, Marcus. Lily often makes clouded decisions, but her heart always comes from the right place.*
* **Thomas Strode**: *August's best friend. A member of the school football team, Thomas is confident and self-assured, and has a quick wit that sometimes rub people the wrong way.*
* **Sarah Abbott**: *The Sheriff of Sunset Ridge, Sarah is a closed-off woman that holds up a barrier in front of her colleagues. She becomes determined to solve the murders.*

### Supporting Characters:

* **Quentin Vaughn**: *A friend of August who also has a crush on him who later becomes a suspect in the murders.*
* **Erica Rhodes**: *A deputy of Sunset Ridge PD. She has an admiration for Sarah and encourages her superior to open up to her.*
* **Paul Beauregard**: *The middle child of the wealthy Beauregard family and a fellow student who frequently clashes with Thomas and Quentin.*
* **Marcus Winters**: *The boyfriend of Lily and a member of the football team.*
* **Yun-Jin Park**: *A reporter for Channel 6 News.*

### Minor Characters

* **Deputy Clint Denson**: *A deputy of Sunset Ridge PD.*
* **Michael LeBeck**: *A teen of Sunset Ridge High.*
* **Christina Strode**: *Thomas' overbearing mother.*
* **Jasmine Blackwell**: *Freddie's Mom.*
* **Peyton Blackwell**: *Freddie's younger sister.*
* **Deputy Paul Waitts**: *A deputy of Sunset Ridge PD.*

## Deaths

1. Michael LeBeck - Killer: Freddie Blackwell
2. Paul Beauregard - Killer: Freddie Blackwell
3. Erica Rhodes - Killer: Freddie Blackwell
4. Paul Waitts - Killer: Freddie Blackwell
5. Quentin Vaughn - Killer: Freddie Blackwell
6. Lily Mason - Killer: Freddie Blackwell
7. Freddie Blackwell - Killer: August Thrombey

## Trivia

* Marcus was originally going to die during the final act. When he gets to Lily's house, he initially was written to go inside with her where Blank Face would've impaled his mouth with a shattered beer bottle.
* Yun-Jin's role was expanded as the story was written, due to enjoyment of writing the character. She was heavily inspired by Gale Weathers from the Scream franchise. During the first draft, she was only set to appear at the crime scene of Michael's body.
* Early during development of the story, it was originally planned to be set at a college campus, with a larger set of characters. This was changed when the story ended up becoming overly complicated.