"Baa baa, black sheep, have you any soul?
No sir, by the way, what the hell are morals?
Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jill's a little whore, and her alibis are dirty tricks"

-ˏ͛⑅　‧̥̥͙‧̥̥ ̥ ̮ ̥ ⊹ ‧̫‧ ⊹ ̥ ̮ ̥ ‧̥̥‧̥̥͙　⑅ˏ͛-

Mickey leaned up against the brick wall, his head occasionally whipping back and hitting the wall in an attempt to keep him awake. Ever since a few days ago...at the party, he hadn't been able to sleep as well. There were too many thoughts going through his head, all clashing together like metal pots and pans.

He groaned and rubbed at his eyes, snapping to attention when he heard a car door open.

He glanced to the side, at the opening of the alleyway, a sleek white van with some bullcrap news logo printed on the side of it, blocking the entry. A woman stepped around the front of the van, smoothing down her skirt as she walked up to Mickey with a stern expression

"Took you long enough," he huffed, scratching the side of his face. Damn. He really needed to shave.

"You're fine," The woman snapped, her eyes wide as she tried to adjust to the dark light of the alley "Surely you're not afraid of getting hurt? A big strong man like you?"

"Cut the flattery, Nancy. We're good to go for the premier?"

Nancy Loomis straightened her spine, standing up with an air of importance far beyond her status "Yes. Tomorrow. You'll be there." It wasn't a question.

"I understand. Starting at the beginning. Steven." Mickey rolled his eyes. Phil Stevens. He had been watching him closely for the last couple of weeks, waiting for the perfect moment...even became loose friends with him. Loomis had bought tickets for him- Mickey didn't want the police to notice that he bought tickets to the "Stab" movie...just in case. And so Mickey had sold them to Phil for quite the low price, even encouraging him to bring his girlfriend. It was all perfect so far. Mickey knew which seats Phil and his girlfriend would be in because he studied the tickets religiously...perfect.

Nancy looked at Mickey with narrowed eyes. He was used to her...she gave off the aura of someone you'd meet in a loony bin. Someone you would pass on the street and clutch your bag tighter. Someone you'd see from a distance and duck inside the nearest building to avoid coming in contact with her. In short, she gave him the creeps.

But this look that she was giving him now..was different, somehow. It was the same look she had whenever she spoke about Sidney. Hateful. Vengeful. Other words like that. Except this time, there was something calculating in her glare. Something that made even Mickey want to wriggle out of her look.

"This Y/N." Nancy said slowly "Is going to be number four."

Mickey snapped out of his thoughts "What," He asked in a soft voice. Did he mishear her? Perhaps it was just a slip of the tongue.

"She's going to be number four. Phil, then Maureen. Then Cici. Then Y/N." Nancy's voice was cold. She spoke as if she were only hoping to get a reaction out of Mickey. Which she was, honestly.

"But-" Mickey hesitated. Why did he care if she were to die? He and Loomis had discussed it before, over the message boards. But that was late at night, when Mickey was alone with his thoughts of violence and perfect movies and plot twists...in the moment, it felt perfectly natural for him to say all those things, to boisterously declare that he had no feelings toward Y/N. He was himself in those moments. But...speaking about it out loud, that- that was a different story. Somehow. He didn't quite understand it himself, couldn't decide whether he liked the way he felt around Y/N. Didn't know if he could handle this sudden burst of emotions, if it was even POSSIBLE for someone like him to feel something like that.

"It doesn't make any sense." Mickey started "It doesn't follow with the- with the story."

"Of course it does. It throws people off the trail." Nancy inspected her nails, picking off a small sliver of skin hanging off "Allows for us to have more time before the final...act"

"Well-" why was he even defending her? She would already be scared out of her wits and depressed after her friends were killed...maybe it would be for the best if she were to die.

Mickey licked his lips, frowning as he trailed a finger over them. Hmm "Just seems a little unnecessary, is all."

"Unnecessary? I would argue that killing Steven's girlfriend is unnecessary."

"No- well- she might know that I was the one who gave Phil the tickets, and could lead the police back to us." Mickey explained, swaying side to side a bit as he spoke "I'd rather not be on the suspect list that early in the game."

"Then find a reason to kill Y/N. You two seem to be friends. Very close friends, I'd argue. She might suspect something."

Mickey suppressed a groan. She might be right. "If we're looking for loopholes, then why are you even so interested in doing all of this?"

Nancy gave a hateful glare "Because that little bitch ruined my son-"

"Well, maybe you should have taken him with you if you loved him so much," Mickey shot out before he could think, hissing when Nancy lifted her hand and back-handed him across the cheek.

Damn. Mickey's vision went a bit blurry at the hit as he put a hand over his cheek. It stung. He pulled his hand away with a grimace, biting the inside of his cheek to avoid saying anything else to anger Mrs. Loomis.

A small trickle of liquid dropped onto his chin. Great. Either it was starting to rain, or Loomis had managed to draw blood with her little cat-fight.

"You shut your filthy mouth." Was all Nancy said, taking a few steps away from Mickey in case he were to retaliate. "Y/N will be fourth. Do you understand me? If you can't do the job yourself, then I'll kill her, and then you. I can finish this job by myself. Don't forget that."

The man forced a smile, the blood from his cheek leaking into his mouth and staining his teeth with a pinkish hue "Yes ma'am," He whispered as mockingly as he could muster, growling under his breath as he walked past Mrs. Loomis, out into the opening of the alleyway.