#the idea of Sam being the sameish age as the 2011 kids tho is super interesting

[krikeymate]

Okay but the real question is: in your larger age gap au, is Sam born 5 years earlier, or is Tara born 5 years later?

Both options would change different things, like whether Tara has the same friends as in canon or not. If Tara is born 5 years later, then she probably wouldn't be friends with Amber, so Amber and Richie's plot would have to be carried out differently.

On the other hand, if Sam is born 5 years earlier, then she would be much closer in age to the teens from Scream 4, which could also be really interesting.

You've exposed one of my fatal flaws, which is that when I'm thinking about Sam and Tara, I forget other characters exist.

This has given me some really interesting things to think about! And think I did as I made my dinner.

So the intention is that Tara is born 5 years later, in 2007 instead of 2002. I hadn't considered Sam being the one born earlier, and I think unless you really fuck with the Scream timeline in major ways, it wouldn't work. I actually thought out a detailed way of how that could work with Billy having escaped and actually still being alive and then I realised I was actually having Sam be born 5 years later not earlier, whoops, but great opportunity if you wanted to make Tara Billy's daughter too lmao. You could have Billy and Christina both be older and out of school, it would have the added bonus of making his relationship with Sidney extra creepy, but otherwise, I like to stick mostly to canon as much as possible.

So, here's what I'm thinking. Hicks and Sam have an entirely different relationship in this AU. Sam does get into some trouble with the law, she does have some trouble with drinking and drugs, but she doesn't go entirely off the rails. Hicks sets her straight, reminds her that between her and her mother, Tara is likely to get taken away. Hicks is the reason she wins a custody fight against her mother.

Sam still babysits Wes and his friends at Judy's (she lets her bring Tara), and even though they're older, they're so gentle with her baby sister. By the time the babysitting group are becoming teens (around 12/13 or so), they're too old to need a babysitter really, but Judy and Martha still pay her to do so (to keep them out of trouble). They start to invite their new friend Amber over. Sam doesn't really get why they're friends, her relationship is mostly borderline nasty snide comments and arguing with Mindy, but kids will be kids. Amber doesn't seem to like her friends, she definitely doesn't care for Sam (and feels the need to comment on them still needing a babysitter), but for whatever goddamn reason, this girl seems to adore Tara. Amber doesn't even like children! She's got a little sister of her own, and they've all seen the way she recoils from kids in the park. Now to be fair, Tara is very adorable. Who wouldn't love Tara? But still. It's weird. But Sam isn't going to deny Tara someone else who will be affectionate with her.

Years pass. Sam feels a bit weird that her friends are all high school kids and their moms, but these people buy her little sister birthday presents and invite them over for Christmas... they're like a family to her. Chad teaches Tara soccer, and Mindy introduces Tara to scary movies (Sam nearly murders her for this), and Wes, well he just does whatever Tara asks him to, the softy. Amber's her second confidant, she tells her things she's not ready to tell her sister. Sam doesn't like how close they are, but as Tara becomes a teenager, she knows there's no point fighting it. It isn't a hill she's willing to die on.

Sam never runs away, she stays in Woodboro, she gains custody over her sister. She rents a small two-bedroom home from a compassionate elderly woman who lives with her son now and is sweet on her sister. She's had some problems with... seeing things, her therapist still hasn't settled on a diagnosis yet, but the antipsychotics she's given her work, and that's all that matters her therapist says. All that matters is figuring out whether it's genetic and whether her sister is going to have problems too, is what she retorts.

She works at the bowling ally, she's thinking about Judy's offer to have her work at the station. A few months ago a new guy rolled into town, looking for a fresh start away from a toxic family, and they've been having fun. Richie keeps asking when she'll introduce him to her sister, and she laughs him off, he's so not at that point.

She's a couple of blocks away from home - the boss let her go early and told Richie he'll be making up for his constant slacking by staying late to clean - when a piercing alarm sounds from her phone. It's her security system, alerting her the police have been called.

Sam sprints the rest of the way home.