Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Stu normally didn't drink this much at parties he showed up to. He'd make his rounds, talk to people he knew from his classes, snag a beer, and follow Billy around like he was his taller shadow. It was a routine that worked for him.

So how did he get here?

"Fuck," Stu muttered to himself, getting his foot tangled in the fourth vine that night. He wasn't going anywhere in particular. Sure, going home sounded nice, but Billy had told Stu to wait for him. "You're too irresponsible, if I let you go alone, you'd be dead in some ditch by morning." So instead of standing in some corner listening to Randy bitch in his ear about some new movie theory he had, he decided it would be better for him to step outside and get some fresh air. It would take too long to get back in Billy's good graces if he ditched entirely, and frankly, Stu wasn't really in the mood to kiss up to him for at least a week.

After walking on for what seemed like forever, Stu finally looks up to see where he is. "Bachelors Cemetary Grove. Huh." Stu slurs. He turns around to see the house he had just left, only to be met with trees, stretching on for what seems like forever. "Shit, if I've made it this far, I might as well keep going," Stu says aloud, grinning dopily. Stu's always had a fascination for things like this. He knew eventually his odd hobby would catch up to him, but that wasn't on his mind now.

Walking through the cemetery, he takes in his surroundings. Numerous graves, each with different dates and shapes. People's loved ones forgotten and lost to time. However, he stops to look up at the tombstone before him. A statue of a girl with long, curly hair and big eyes stared right back down at Stu. He looks down at the engravings. "Lisa Swallows. 1971-1989. She died young, tough." Stu grumbles. He grabs the statue's face with his hands, all serious. "I wish you were here with me now." Stu drunkenly slurs.

Although it passes Stu's eyes, the statue's eyes briefly flash a neon green.

Suddenly, He feels droplets of water fall on his face. "Shit!" He curses. Stu turns around, running back to the party. By now, Billy would be looking for him ready to leave. With every step he takes, the ground gets muddier, water splashing on his ripped, too big for him jeans. Stu runs up the steps of the porch, slipping back into the house. Maybe he could convince Billy he was busy throwing up in a bathroom upstairs. It was a pipe dream, he knew Billy was too smart for such a terrible lie.

"Where the hell have you been? I've searched this house at least twice. Then, I had to listen to Randy and some random film nerds theorize that some sicko attacked you from behind and dragged you off somewhere." Billy gripes. For a second, Billy takes in the mess of the teen in front of him. Out of breath, soaked from head to toe. "Well?" Billy snaps after too long of silence passes between them. "I-uh, fell in a ditch" Stu choked out, still trying to catch his breath from all the running he had just done. Billy glares at him, obviously not buying Stu's lying skills. "Whatever, I can't find it in me to care about that right now. I could kill for a burger right now. Come on schizo." Billy walks off, knowing Stu will follow him regardless of getting a verbal answer.

"Actually, I was thinking you could drop me off at my house." Stu chirps. "What? Why would I do that?" Billy turns around. "I don't think I can stand for any longer. Besides, tomorrow's a school day?" Stu says hopefully. "Since when have you cared about school? Billy quips. "Never mind, don't answer that. I'll take you home." Billy says. "You're the best man!" Stu proclaims, running back out of the house, and practically jumping into Billy's car with newfound energy. "Just this once, freak," Billy grumbles.

"How's you and Sid?" Stu questions. "She's still the same prude." Billy groans and turns the radio on. Stu leaves it at that.

The rest of the car ride was silent between them. Once they pulled up to Stu's house they said their goodbyes and Billy zoomed off. "Finally!" Stu grins. He opens the door to his house and drags himself up the stairs. Flinging his bedroom door open, he flops onto the bed, falling asleep once his eyes close.

Stu jolts out of bed after hearing a loud crash downstairs. Trying not to panic, he tries to reason with himself. Maybe Billy came back to drive him to school? Or maybe his parents came back after a business trip ended early? No, that couldn't be it. Billy rarely picked him up for school and his parents would never leave work early.

Carefully, Stu makes his way out of his bedroom and down the stairs. "It's probably nothing...Right?" Stu whispers, trying to reassure himself with every step he takes. However, he would've never guessed what was waiting for him. There, in his kitchen was some sort of creature, with mud and vines tangled in its long hair. "Holy shit!" Stu cries out. The thing turns around to look where the sound came from. After a very pregnant pause, the creature charges.

"Oh fuck, fuck, FUCK!" Stu screams. "Is this really how I die? By zombie?" He stops just enough to avoid crashing into a wall. Turning around, he starts to throw anything near him. Lamps, books, a mug, anything that'll get the creature away from him. "What do you want?!" Stu cries out as he trips, losing his slipper. The creature lets out a series of incoherent grumbles.

Stu runs to the bathroom, swiftly slamming the door closed and locking it. The creature bangs on the door pathetically before backing off, wandering off somewhere, Stu couldn't care less, his head pounding, still hungover from last night. He slumps down against the wall breathing a sigh of relief.

Stu waits on the bathroom floor in his disheveled state for what seems like forever. Finally, after hyping himself up to leave the bathroom and probably call the police, he unlocks the door.

Stu walks over to his living room to see the creature sitting on the floor, wallowing in self-pity. Upon further inspection, Stu sees that it's holding his missing slipper.

Stu crouches down to look the creature in the eyes.

"Holy shit. You're the girl from the graveyard."

Chapter Text

Stu stares at the creature, eyes practically bulging out of his head. How the hell had she risen from the dead? Why did she come to his house? Stu turns around to look at the clock on the wall. 6:55 am. He had a good 30 minutes before he needed to haul his ass to precalc. He needed to do something about the undead girl in his house.

Lost in thought, Stu jolts back to reality after feeling himself being prodded by something fuzzy. He looks down to see the creature poking him with his slipper, clearly wanting him to take it back.

"Oh..uh.. thanks?" Stu mumbles. Did she have a name? Stu swears the tombstone must've said something about her name. "Right! Lisa Swallows!" Stu proclaims. The creature, or... Lisa, perks up, happy that Stu remembers her name. "Well, Lisa, you have family or something?" Stu questions. Lisa stares back at him, not blinking. "Can you even talk?" Stu questions again. He's met with silence. "Guess not," Stu says.

Stu thinks about Lisa just staying in his house. It didn't seem like a terrible idea. No one was around inside and outside of his parent's mansion. Stu jumps up, knees hurting from crouching too long, "You can stay here then!" he beams. Stu looks down at Lisa. Her hair was tangled with twigs and leaves. She was wearing something that was clearly a product of the mid-80s. Worst of all, she had the most foul stench coming from her. It felt as if Stu was smelling garbage that was left out in the sun for days.

"Uhm, while I'm gone, you should take a shower. No offense, but you reek girly." Stu grimaces. Lisa continues to stare at him, saying nothing. "Wow, that's gonna get old fast." Stu quips. "Come on, I've gotta hurry up. School starts soon." Stu says, grabbing Lisa's hand, and dragging them both up the stairs. "Bathrooms down the hall on the left, go easy on the hairspray, no one uses that much in the '90s!" Stu yells out, slamming the door to his room. He rummages around his closet, looking for something half-decent to throw on. He hears the water turn on down the hallway. At least she knows how to use the shower Stu thought to himself.

Barging out of his bedroom, he stumbles through the hallway while zipping up his pants. While zooming down the stairs he yells out "I'm off to school Lisa, just stay here! I've got movies lying around the TV!"

Stu hops out of his car, racing over to the entrance of Woodsboro High. Pulling into the parking lot, he tries to push Lisa into the back of his head. He barely enters class before the bell rings.

Stu silently celebrates this victory as he slides into his seat next to Tatum. Stu looks around the classroom before nudging Tatum's arm. "What happened to you not showing up at the party last night?" Stu asks. "I was with Sidney, plus just because we're dating doesn't mean we have to do everything together." Tatum quips. Stu sunk back into his seat. Sure, they were dating, but Tatum wasn't really what Stu wanted. Frankly, he wasn't sure what he wanted girl-wise. He was fine hanging out with the friends he already had. But for now, Tatum would do.

After staring out the classroom's window for a while, the bell rings. Stu hops out of his seat, grabbing Tatum's books, and leading them to the quad. "Well, we can just go to the next one together. There's always another party popping up at someone's house" Stu says, looking hopeful. Tatum stops to think. "Fine, I guess I can spare my time for you." She smiles. "That's the spirit!" Stu grins, twirling her around.

"Are you two done?" A familiar yet grumpy voice coughs out. Stu turns to see Randy, along with Billy and Sidney. "Yeah, geek," Stu says, putting Tatum down. Stu looks at Billy, giving him a look that he knows all too well. "I-uh gotta take a piss." Stu chokes out. "I'll go with you," Billy states plainly. "Shit, should I go to? Seems like a boy's trip to the bathroom!" Randy says practically jumping out of his shoes with excitement. "Fuck off." Billy gripes before turning around and tugging Stu along. "Geez, what got into his cereal this morning" Randy complains to Sid and Tatum.

Slamming the bathroom door shut, Billy turns around to stare at Stu, his eyes boring a hole into Stu's head. "So...What did you wanna talk about?" Stu says while slouching, trying to ignore the icy stare coming his way. "Don't bullshit me, Stu. Steve and Casey Becker?" Billy questions "That's all we've been talking about for weeks?? Did you hit your head last night?" Stu jolts upright, remembering exactly what Billy was complaining about. "Right. Uh, what else is there to talk about?" Stu asks. "Not here. Your house, tonight." Billy says, not even asking if he could come over. "Yeah, about that.." Stu trails off. "What? I seriously don't have time for this Stu." Billy gripes. "I know! But I've got this thing tonight, you see?" Stu rambles out. "What? You don't do jack shit after school." Billy says clearly confused. "Well turns out I do!" Stu huffs. "I've signed up for math tutoring." He lies straight through his teeth. What else was he supposed to do? Tell him Oh yes Stu! Come over to my house where there is a girl who is not my girlfriend watching movies on my couch! Where did she come from? Why she's risen from the dead of course! Don't be silly Billy!

Billy stares at him for a long time, making Stu shift around. "You're lying. I'll be over tonight." Billy states before turning around and leaving the bathroom. It was worth a shot. Stu thinks to himself. Billy always has had some weird way of being able to see through him. He reaches for the doorknob in the bathroom before realizing something. What was he going to do about Lisa? If Billy saw her, it'd be over. Who knows what Billy would think or do about his new undead friend? Stu was stumped, he really couldn't think of anything to do in this situation. Most of the secrets he tried to hide from Billy normally came out. And that was just the dumb stuff like rumors. How was he supposed to hide an entire person from him?

Startling Stu out of his own thoughts, the bell rings. "Damn it." Stu curses. Was there really any point in going to class now? His physics teacher was a pain in the ass, he wouldn't let Stu's tardiness go unchecked. It was probably just better to skip school altogether. He needed to figure out what to do with Lisa before Billy showed up, and it would be easier to do that at home. Deciding this was the best course of action, he darted out of the school and back to his car, zooming back home.

"Lisa? It's me, Stu!" Stu yells out, unsure if Lisa even listened to him before. After a while, he hears footsteps. Lisa appears around a corner, and Stu's words die on his tongue, with his mouth hanging open idiotically.

Even after being dead for seven years, Lisa still had some style. Finally having gotten rid of all the debris on her and the terrible odor, she had been able to find a brush, her brown curly hair falling over her shoulders. She had rummaged through Stu's closet apparently, because Stu recognized one of his favorite Radiohead shirts on her, along with a pair of cargo shorts.

Why was Stu even surprised at Lisa's appearance? He had seen her before, after all. Stu came to the conclusion that it was probably because two of the only girls he was close to didn't dress like that. That was it, he was sure of it.

"Well, um you look nice." Stu finally coughs out, still staring. Lisa stares back. If she looked a little happier with the compliment, Stu couldn't be quite sure.

"Right! My friend, Billy, is coming over!" Broken out of his trance, he starts bouncing on the heels of his feet. Lisa follows his actions, clearly psyched to see a new face as well. "But guess what? He can't see you!" Stu says. Lisa stops jumping. "We need to hide you somewhere before he gets here," Stu says determinedly. "I was thinking of my mom's closet. Since it's in the master bedroom, it should be large enough." Stu says, proud of his plan. Lisa promptly turns around, stiffly marching up the stairs to his parent's room.

If Stu had known any better at the time, she might have seemed a little upset.

"I guess you got acquainted with my house while I was gone huh?" Stu tries to joke, but it doesn't really work when the target of your joke can't talk. Turning on the lights to the closet, the teens are met with loads of shoes, bags, and clothes. "This is perfect! You can hide between the coats and no one will see you!" Stu says. Lisa wiggles her way to the back of the coats, only her legs sticking out.

"Now that we've solved that problem, let's do something fun!" Stu says excitedly. "I feel like you've missed so much, you know? It's only been seven years, but things can change quickly." Stu adds on. Lisa nods seriously, pointing to his CD collection. "You ever heard of MTV?" Stu asks. Lisa shakes her head. "Come on, we can go watch Beavis and Butthead!" Stu grins, pulling Lisa out of the coats she was wedged between.

Lisa and Stu were strewn out on the couch, eating various junk Stu had found in the pantry. To Stu, it looked like Lisa enjoyed the show. Which was good of course. Stu didn't know much about what girls were into right now. He figured he could ask Tatum what music she was into, maybe Lisa would enjoy it too. For now, he would just entertain Lisa with his favorite things to do around the house. Suddenly, Stu hears the doorbell ring. Shit. Billy. Stu must've lost track of time. "Stu open the door, it's me!" Billy yells out, now banging on his door.

Stu and Lisa turn to each other and run up the stairs to the closet. "Whatever you do, don't come out alright?" Stu says closing the door and heading back downstairs to greet Billy.

"Finally, what took you so damn long?" Billy questions.

Chapter Text

From the couch, Stu nervously watches Billy pacing back and forth in the living room. Whatever Billy has to say can't be good. Frankly, Stu's not too sure if he's on board with the whole "murder Billy's ex-girlfriend plan" anyway. "I mean, what would my parents think, Billy?" Stu cries out, exasperated. "Screw your parents." Billy snaps. He jerks his head to face Stu. "Casey's brought this on herself. She thinks she can just dump me and get with the guy she's been seeing behind my back?" "Yeah man, how could she?" Stu snarks. "Whatever. If you don't wanna help, just don't get in my way." Billy says. "I'm not afraid to gut you too." Billy smiles. Stu closes his eyes and sinks back into the couch, sandwiched between the two cushions. I should just stay here forever. No more zombies or best friends with murderous intent, just cushions. Stu considers. He feels the satin of the cushioning in between his hands. Was the couch always made of satin? Whatever the material, it didn't really matter to him.

"What the hell is that?" Billy questions. Stu opens his eyes to see what Billy's eyes are trained on. He follows Billy's gaze all the way to his own hand. Turns out Stu was not feeling satin cushions, but a black lacey satin bow, stuck in the couch. Stu feels a shiver run through his body. He knows exactly whose bow it is. Lisa's. It was the exact same bow she wore after rising from the dead and chasing him around his own house. “You wear bows now?" Billy mocks. Stu chuckles nervously. "Yeah, dude. I've been trying to find a new style." "No seriously, who's bow is that? I've never seen Tatum wear something like that." Billy gets closer, inches away from Stu's face.

Before Stu can answer (lie), a loud crash startles both of the boys. "What was that?" Billy asks, fear starting to creep into his voice. The murderer being scared of a potential home invasion. How ironic. Stu ponders. "Come on, let's go look. You've got knives in your kitchen, right? We'll be fine." Billy says, pulling Stu up from the couch. "Wait!" Stu says, yanking Billy to stop moving. "It's probably nothing. Things fall around here all the time. Old house y'know." Stu says, starting to lose his grip on Billy's arm. "Maybe I'll help you clean it up," Billy says, dragging Stu with him up the stairs. "It's fine, I mean it!" Stu exclaims. If Billy gets to that closet, Stu doesn't know what he will say. "Just stop man. Why are you even acting like this? All day you've been batshit crazy." Billy stops at the top of the steps to see Stu squirming around in his grip.

"Let's just look around, make sure everything is alright, then go back downstairs. It's no big deal, quit your bitching." Billy grumbles. "A-Alright" Stu gulps. The boys look around Stu's room for anything out of place. Obviously, Stu knows nothing is wrong with his room. Billy marches over to the pile of clothes bursting out of Stu's closet. "It was probably just clothes hangers breaking. They're all plastic, so they..um..break easily?" Stu shrugs. "Of course." Billy rolls his eyes, turning around and leaving Stu's room. "Let's just go back downstairs alright?" Stu pushes. Billy was standing dangerously close to his parent's room, practically leaning on the door. Billy grins at Stu, before clicking open the master bedroom's door, rushing inside. "Billy, I swear there's nothing in here man!" Stu yells, chasing after his friend. "If nothing's here, why are you so damn nervous?" Billy questions. He stops in front of the closet door, listening for anything inside. Unsatisfied, with the lack of noise inside, he busts the door open.

There, in front of Billy, sits Lisa. She was covered in scarves. A broken bottle of fancy-looking perfume lay next to her. Defeated, Stu shuffles inside the closet next to Billy. He looks at the mess in front of him in misery. "My mom is gonna be so mad!" Stu whines. Bewildered, Billy turns to Stu. "Stu, who the fuck is this?" Stu looks at Billy. He runs his fingers through his hair trying to think of a feasible explanation. "Well, um, it's Lisa?" Stu tries. "Well, thanks dumbass, that explains a lot!" Billy looks at Lisa, his eyes practically bulging out of his head. "Does she go to our school or something? Is she some nutjob you found on the side of the road? What the fuck is this man?" Billy says, his hands practically tearing his hair out of his head. "Well, she...um...kind of rose from the dead?" Stu mumbles. "Are you fucking with me? You can't be fucking serious Stu." Billy says. "And why isn't she speaking? She's just staring at us. Say something damnit!" Billy yells, kneeling to shake Lisa. "Hey knock it off, man! She's my friend!" Stu yells, dragging Billy off of Lisa. "Just...lemme talk to her, okay? Go downstairs and I'll explain everything." Stu says. "You promise?" Billy questions. "I promise," Stu answers. "Alright, fine." Billy turns around and shuffles back downstairs.

Stu sighs. "How'd you get this place so messy already? You've been up here for only an hour?" Stu complains. "Because of all the noise you were making, I have to explain to Billy what the fuck is going on with you! Do you know how hard that is going to be? You can't " Stu continues to whine. Lisa stares at him, starting to shake. "Wha- what's wrong now?" Stu drawls. Lisa bursts into tears. However, instead of her tears being clear, there was a green foul liquid coming from her eyes. "Oh- man, that's putrid girly!" Stu stuffs a scarf in Lisa's face. "Don't cry, I didn't mean it, alright? I'm just...frustrated" Stu grumbles. He stares at the scarf in front of him. Then he remembers, "Did you leave your bow on the couch? Billy found it." Stu asks. He feels Lisa nod her head under the scarf. "That's fine. Next time, try not to leave anything downstairs. Who knows who else is gonna come over and find your stuff." Stu explains. "Listen, we need to come clean to Billy. If we don't and he finds out some other way, he'll slaughter me!" Stu cries. Lisa moves her head from the scarf and nods. "I'll do the talking and uh...you can nod in agreement," Stu explains. Lisa nods again. "Alright!" Stu jumps up, "Let's go face the music." He grabs Lisa's hand and runs out of the room.

Billy eyes the pair coming down the stairs. "So, shit for brains, are you gonna tell me what the fuck is going on around here?" Billy asks.

Stu glances at Lisa and nods. "Yup, we're coming clean." He grins. Lisa looks back at Stu.
He's not sure if he's imagining it, but there seems to be an unusual twinkle in Lisa's eyes.

"So, you were born in 1971, and that would make you twenty-five. But you've been dead since 1989, so you're still 18?" Billy asks, running through the facts. Lisa nods vigorously. "And my drunken idiot of a friend resurrected you a couple of days ago and you've been living with him ever since." Billy continues. "There you go, man!" Stu cheers while Lisa claps cheerfully.

"Stu, darling, do you think I'm a fucking idiot?" Billy glowers. Stu and Lisa stop cheering. "Well, no. But I'm telling the truth, I swear man!" Stu pleads. "We can even show you her grave..." Stu mutters. "Wait- she's got a tombstone?" Billy sits up, suddenly interested in the supposed bullshit going on in front of him. "Yes! It was behind that house party we were at like last week!" Stu exclaims. "Is that where you were when I asked you?" Billy mutters to himself. "What?" Stu asks. "Nothing. Show me that tombstone and I'll believe you. Deal?" Billy asks, standing up from the couch. "Deal!" Stu says.

Trekking through the bushes and vines, Lisa and Stu led Billy back to the undead teen's grave. It was only 6:00, but the air around the three teens seemed to grow colder. The sun in the sky seemed to dim as they got closer to the graveyard. Suddenly, Lisa stops in her tracks, looking up at the dilapidated sign in front of her. Bachelors Cemetary Grove loomed over the three of them while they moved toward Lisa's grave. "Holy shit, you weren't kidding." Billy deadpans, staring at Lisa's grave in front of him. Compared to the last time Stu had seen the grave, there was a large thunderbolt-shaped crack in the statue's face. Weird. Stu thinks to himself. Billy gets closer to the statue. "They made a whole statue of your face, your family must have adored you, huh?" Lisa shrugs. She starts to fidget with the hem of her shirt, her eyes shifting back and forth. The boys look at her. "Sore subject. My apologies, zombie." Billy quips. "Knock it off! She's got a name!" Stu says. "Fine. Sorry Lisa." Billy corrects.

"Well, now what?" Stu asks. "You believe us right?" "Yea, I guess so." Billy stares looking dumbfounded. "What are you going to do with her? Your parents are gonna come back eventually, then what? Billy presses. "I don't know man, I thought you would come up with some crazy awesome idea, and I could just follow it y'know?" Stu says, shuffling on his feet.

Quietly, Lisa looks at the two boys, eyes shifting from Billy to Stu. She tugs on Stu's sleeve. "Is she ever gonna talk?" Billy questions. "It's already fucking crazy that you were able to bring a girl back to life, but the non-verbal thing is making my skin crawl." Billy shivers. "Hey, cut her some slack! I'm sure she's been through a lot!" Stu defends. "What even is she to you, Stu? Some sort of personal project? You puttin' this on your college applications?" Billy quips moving closer to Stu. "It's not like that, man! You just...wouldn't get it, okay?" Stu says. He glances at Lisa, who is staring straight ahead at Billy, unmoving. "Yea, whatever. So, you two gonna start some sort of zombie romance? I think that technically counts as necrophilia." Billy cocks his read, raising an eyebrow at the pair in front of him.

Before Stu can defend Lisa, she jolts forward, her face just inches away from Billy's. Billy freezes, his breath hitching, and for the first time ever, he looks genuinely scared. "You're afraid of her," Stu says, wonder filling his voice. "No, I'm not!" Stu retorts, his voice shaky. Lisa won't move. Her big, brown eyes bear holes into Billy's face. She tilts her head, mirroring Billy's actions, brown curly hair falling on her face. "Lisa? What are you doing?" Stu whispers, inching closer to her and Billy, unsure of what to do. "It's alright, he usually says stupid shit like that. He didn't really mean anything by it." This explanation seems to relieve Lisa as moves back from Billy's face, not before snarling in his face. The unexpected movement knocks Billy back, landing flat on his back in the dirt. Stu bursts out laughing. "That was great Lisa!" "Fuck off and die, both of you," Billy says while brushing the dirt off of him. "That might be a little difficult for one of us to do, dumbass." Stu jokes. Lisa looks at him and smiles. "Hey, you can move your mouth now!" Stu exclaims. "I think that as time goes on, she'll be able to move and act like a human more fluidly." Billy guesses, looking at Lisa, her arms stiff and unnatural.

Suddenly, as if a light bulb in Billy's brain goes off, his face brightens in excitement. Turning to Lisa and Stu, he grins darkly. "I have a plan for zombie girl." Lisa's grip tightens on Stu's shirt. "What now man?" Stu shivers. It feels as if the temperature has dropped by 40 degrees.

"She'll help us kill Casey Becker."

Chapter Text

Stu sits in a pile of bushes, holding his knees to his chest. He turns to Lisa, whose eyes have been following Billy's chase scene around the yard.

Finally, after a painful-looking knee to the groin, Billy manages to tackle Casey to the ground. "I think now's a good time to help him finish this up," Stu says, holding a hand out to Lisa.

As they make their way over to the scene in front of them, Billy holds his knife over his head and stabs Casey, one final gurgling noise coming from her mouth. Billy stands up to meet the other two teens. "Let's finish up here, I'm starving," Billy grumbles.

"Wait." Stu turns to Lisa, "Open your mouth." Lisa obliges, showing Stu and Billy the inside of her mouth. Stu jolts back, realizing Lisa doesn't have a tongue. "Is that why she can't talk?" Billy questions. Stu looks back down at Casey, now pale and lifeless. "You still got that knife?" Stu turns to Billy.

"Yeah, why?" Billy asks, his eyes suddenly widening. "Shit, you're not really gonna do that, right?" Stu shrugs before grinning. "It's for Lisa. Besides, my mom probably has some thread sitting around at home." Billy hesitates for a moment. "This is so fucked." He grumbles, handing Stu his knife.

Stu wipes Casey's drying blood from the knife on his shirt and crouches down over the body. "Lisa, keep her mouth open, please," Stu says in a sing-song voice. Lisa shuffles over, holding Casey's jaw open. Stu reaches into her mouth, feeling for the back of her tongue. He stops. "How much am I supposed to cut off?" He says, looking up at Billy. Throughout this whole bootleg surgery, he's been awfully quiet, with a dark glint in his eyes.

"Uhm, well, how long is your tongue?" Billy asks, clearly inexperienced in this subject. "I don't know, mine's pretty long." Stu holds out his tongue. Lisa takes a look at Stu's tongue as well, looking up from Casey's body. "Maybe like, half of that? I mean, how much tongue does someone really need?" Billy rolls his eyes in exasperation. "Yeah, I guess you're right," Stu says, looking back down at Casey. He reaches back into her mouth, slicing what he deems a good amount of tongue out."

He pulls Casey's tongue out and holds it up for the other two teens to see. Lisa's face beams, clearly excited for an opportunity to speak. Stu hands her the tongue, and she wraps it using the ribbon from her hair.

"Now that's done, can we get out of here? Casey's parents will be outside any minute." Billy presses, already starting to drag Casey to one of the only trees in the yard. "Yeah, yeah" Stu grumbles, helping Billy drag Casey.

The three teens look at the supplies they found, spread out on Stu's kitchen table: a needle, thread, gauze, and some bandages.

Stu turns to look at Billy. "You wanna do this?" He questions. "Hell no. You do it." Billy gripes. "B-but I took the tongue off! You should do this, I mean it's only fair." Stu grumbles. "She's your freak, you do it!" Billy yells back.

Lisa looks back and forth at the two boys arguing. Without a second thought, she grabs the needle and thread from the table and walks to the bathroom in search of a mirror.

Getting to the bathroom, Lisa stares at herself in the mirror. Her skin was still the same pale color it was when she was alive before. Taffy, her stepsister, would have coaxed her into another tanning bed session. Taffy had a tendency to criticize her appearance, even if she was doing it out of the goodness of her heart. Even so, Lisa missed her sister.

Sure, Stu was great. With his crooked smile and warm brown hair. Surprisingly, he was also kind to her. Despite the fact that she had chased him around his own house and cried sewer water. She was grateful for that. Lisa imagined how awful it would be for her to wind up in someone else's care, like a scientist or something. But since her rise from the dead, she had been surrounded by guys: Stu and Billy. Sure, there was Casey, but she was dead. It would be nice to talk to another girl.

If this tongue-reattachment plan worked out, she would convince Stu to find her a new friend. A girl, preferably.

Finally, Lisa opened her mouth and began sewing the tongue on. Her short-lived job as a seamstress helped her current predicament. Lisa turned to find Stu and Billy staring at her, eyes wide open.

"Woah, you did that by yourself?" Stu said in awe. "Can you talk now?" Billy presses, prying open Lisa's mouth to see the stitchwork. "Stop touching her!" Stu smacked Billy's hands away, wiping away some of the saliva off Lisa's face.

Lisa fixed her mouth to say, yes, she could talk. But what came out of her mouth instead was more of a bunch of words garbled together. "Blargh," she spits out. Lisa pauses, getting ready to try again. "BLARHG!" she vomits, even louder than the last time.

"That's fine, Lisa, I mean you just got your tongue." Stu tries to reassure her, his hand resting on her shoulder.

Frustrated, she shrugs his hand off and storms off, shoving Billy out of the way.

Stu chases after her. "If it makes you feel any better, now you can sound more like Dracula!"