Chapter Text
It was just another evening at the Meeks-Martin household.
Chad was lounging on the sofa of his living room, scrolling through his phone while his sister was in the kitchen, cooking dinner. Tara was due to come over soon so they could catch up over the latest developments in their lives. Chad was excited to spend time with her. As the doorbell rang, Chad sprang up from the sofa and opened the door with a smile on his face. As always, Tara was dressed fashionably, and she flashed a grin at him as she stepped inside the door.
"Hey, Chad! How's it going?" she said, her infectious smile lighting up the room.
"Good! Just hanging out. What about you?"
"Same old, same old – work, school, and studying," Tara said with a shrug.
Chad could never figure out why Tara didn't realize she was the coolest person around. She was so smart, funny, and beautiful; how could she not know how perfect she was? As they settled into the sofa and began catching up, Chad found himself lost in the easy conversation. Tara had always been someone he could talk to about everything, from academic stuff to the latest gossip. However, despite all of their time spent together, Chad found himself hiding his true emotions from Tara. Tara, too, felt something she couldn't quite put into words when it came to Chad. She just loved spending time with him, but whenever she tried to put her feelings into words, they always sounded silly or trivial. As the night wore on, Chad went to get them some drinks. When he returned, Tara was staring off into space, lost in thought.
"Are you okay, Tara?" Chad asked, worried.
"Oh, yeah. I was just thinking about some stuff," she said with a sad smile. "What are you thinking about?" "It's nothing, really. Just some things that happened in Woodsboro," Tara said, picking absently at the sleeve of her sweater.
Chad could feel Tara's distress even though she tried to hide it. He knew better than anyone how hard it was to move on from the Ghostface, especially when they both had been attacked. Tara and Chad both had scarcely endured the steel, serrated blade of Amber and Richie's. They both knew what it was like to be so scared and alone, bleeding out slowly as dark tendrils covered their vision and gave them but a taste of death's cruel breath. But they were still here, scars and chronic pain, nightmares and panic attacks, and all.
"Tara, you can talk to me," Chad said, putting his arm around her protectively. Tara leaned into his embrace, feeling more comfortable and vulnerable than she had in a long time. The warmth of Chad's body and his strong arms helped her feel safe and secure in a way she had never experienced before.
As they talked and laughed late into the night, Tara realized that she had been in love with Chad for a long time. There had never been a moment when she looked at him and didn't feel something that she couldn't quite understand. Likewise, Chad was coming to the same realization about Tara. He was caught in her gravitational pull, and he didn't want to escape it. Several weeks passed, and Tara and Chad found themselves spending more and more time together, yet neither of them acknowledged the obvious romantic tension...yet.
One evening, as they were hanging out in Chad's living room, Tara suddenly bolted upright. "What's wrong?" Chad asked, dropping his phone and turning to her. His eyes were full of concern but glowed with a kind of look Tara had never really seen in his eyes before.
"T-There's something I need to tell you," Tara stammered, looking down at her lap.
"Okay, what is it?" Chad said, his eyebrows furrowed in concern.
"I-I think I'm in love with you, Chad. I know it sounds crazy, and you probably don't feel the same way, but I had to tell you," Tara said, feeling like she was going to be sick. She began to turn away, covering her eyes in shame, fearing she may have just uprooted the friendship which they labored and bled for with only a few simple words.
But once he heard her confession, Chad felt a weight lifted from his chest as he looked into Tara's eyes. He had been wondering how he was going to get the words out all this time, and now Tara had said them for him. He really did not want to fuck this up. "Tara, I'm in love with you too. I have been for a long time," Chad said, pulling her into his arms.
Tara felt a wash of relief flow through her like grapes in a press as Chad held her close to his chest. She felt like she was floating on air. As they settled down on the sofa again, Chad still holding Tara with his chin resting on her head, Chad lowered his hand from her side, and took Tara's hand in his. They looked into each other's eyes and shared an electric moment, realizing that their lives would be forever changed.
They leaned in and shared a tentative and intimate kiss, feeling like they were exploring something new and exciting. From then on, they were inseparable, spending all their time together, cuddling, touching, and exploring each other's personalities. Although they had experienced their share of trauma, they had each other to keep them grounded, and that was all that mattered.