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Chad was jealous. And it’s so stupid because he knows that Tara wasn’t sober, and definitely wasn’t in her right mind to be making decisions about whether to hook up with a guy at a party, but he can’t help it. There’s a little part of him, when it’s all said and done, and the group is back at Sam and Tara’s apartment, that has to admit that he was jealous she had temporarily chosen someone else. For months now, Tara and Chad had been each other’s rocks as they tried to move on from everything that had happened the previous year. And Chad certainly understands the desire to want to be a little reckless. He just thought that maybe they were somewhat building towards something, and her almost hooking up with someone else- albeit drunkenly- makes him a little nervous that maybe he’s been reading the signs all wrong. Maybe he’s the only one that’s been evaluating their friendship in a new light lately. It’s a little embarrassing, and kind of soul-crushing to come to that realization, but he does his best to put those feelings aside to focus on Tara, who’s holed up in her room after an almost date-rape and the emotional turmoil the rest of the night had put everyone through.
He makes his way to her room, inhaler in hand, to make sure she’s ok. And the conversation is nice. It puts him at ease to see that she’s ok, all things considered. More than that though, she has sobered up, and seems to be just as interested in their obvious connection as he is. And maybe he was in his feelings earlier, and he needs to stop being such a wuss so that he doesn’t have to worry about whether Tara is interested in other guys, and what that means for him. Maybe if he would just confess his feelings already, there would never be another potential date-rape Frankie to contend with. With that thought in mind, he leans forward to go in for the kiss; thrilled when he realizes she’s meeting him halfway.
Of course the kiss doesn’t happen. Quinn comes in just as things are getting interested. Why would Chad ever think he would be so lucky?
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It’s old news at this point that Chad finds Tara incredibly impressive. Everything about her is extraordinary to him. However, he’s not sure he’s ever been more impressed than in the moment she comes up with the plan to trap Ghostface. For everything she’s been through, here this girl stands, still fighting. Still determined. He thinks she’s been through so much in her young life already that a lesser person would have given up by not. But not Tara! No, Tara Carpenter stands in the center of the group, commanding everyone’s attention as she details the plan. An outsider might be surprised to see Tara being the star of the show, but Chad’s not. Tara’s never been meek or shy like most people outside of their friend group usually believed. She had always been one of those people who really only spoke when they had something to say. And say something she did because it’s as solid of a plan as can be. Obviously there are risks involved. They are dealing with at least one murderous psycho on a rampage, and there’s still so much they just don’t know. But Chad knows this plan is better than anything he could have come up with, and there’s at least a slim chance that it just might work.
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Chad finally plucks up the courage to kiss the girl of his dreams, and of course, it is at the worst possible time. They are in an old abandoned theater preparing to set a trap for the murderous asshole(s) looking to harm them, and he should be solely focused on that. However, Tara is standing so close, she is so beautiful, and if all hell breaks loose, which he expects it will, he does not want to leave anything unsaid. So he kisses her, and she is stabbed in the back, and there is fighting and Sam appears and out of nowhere, there is not one but two Ghostfaces. And the only thing Chad can do is try to ensure that Tara makes it out alive even if he is a goner. So despite her protests, he tells her to go. He surrenders his fate, and pleads with her to save herself.
He passes out at some point. And who knows how long he was out for, but when he comes to everyone is gone. Tara and Sam are gone. Ghostface 1 and 2 are nowhere in sight. Chad prays that wherever they are, the girls have made it out safely. He prays that if any members of the Core 4 have to die tonight that it’s only him. He worries about Mindy, and hopes she does not find him like this whenever she finally arrives. He prays with every fiber of his being that Tara did not have to see his unconscious body bloodied on the floor. He thinks her having to watch him get stabbed like that was already too much to bear.
It is all so cliché really. He’s lying there in a puddle of his own blood, waiting for death to grip him, and his life flashes before his eyes. He thinks of all the things he has done, and all the things he wanted to do that he fears he now won’t get the chance to. He thinks of family, particularly how his fate now seems to be intertwined with that of the uncle he never got to meet. Both killed off by an entity in a stupid ghost mask before they ever really got to live.
He thinks of Tara, and he’s so sorry. Sorry that he’s one more person she will have to lose. Sorry, that he didn’t make a move sooner, and allow them to have a few happy moments together before it would all be snatched away. He hates that he could not 100% ensure her safety before succumbing to his stab wounds. He hopes that if she makes it through this alive, that she gets to live a life she truly deserves.
He comes to again, and this time everything is different. He doesn’t know how long he was out for again, but when he comes to this time, there’s a flurry of activity. There are voices yelling in all directions, and he is gingerly being lifted off the ground. The pain is excruciating, but whoever is lifting him is being as gentle as possible so he knows he’s not in danger.
He feels the gurney underneath him, and that is when things click into place. He’s being rescued. And the fact that he’s still alive means there’s a chance, no matter how small, that he might can stay alive through this. As he’s wheeled toward an ambulance, he hears multiple shouts of his name, and he could cry. He’s known Tara for well over a decade by now. He knows her voice from anywhere. She’s alive.