"Can you please send Haven Grey to the principal's office?" Our principal's voice drifted from over the classroom loudspeaker.

"No way. Are you actually in trouble for once?" Jeremy Sanders snickered, leaning so forward in his seat that I thought his chair would fall. "What'd you do? Skip class to volunteer? Have a secret rendezvous with your boy toy in the janitor's closet?" The smile on his face grew. "Or wait, are the rumors about you and your little posse having to do something with Natasha true?"

I gave him a look, ignoring the whispers of some of my classmates.

After the list came out, the talk of the school was about the unfortunate tragedy of Natasha Ryan. And the prime suspects?

Me, Taylor, Luce.

Natasha's ex-friends.

In tune with every mystery lover's wet dream, we had the motive and were at the crime scene. And then there was the caption that looked like Natasha had written it, claiming we were never her real friends. It didn't look good.

I could see Jeremy making his new post, trying to get people to donate to the 'take down the criminals' fund.

He was harmless, I guess, but I hated how eager he looked. He was practically salivating, waiting for me to pull a Lady Macbeth and guiltily confess to everything.

Jeremy might've had wild guesses, but he didn't know the one thing that changed everything, something that made us look even guiltier.

And there was no way I was letting him know.

"Seriously, though. Do you think I could do an interview with you about this? My blog hasn't been getting any views, and it'd be nice to get an audience again. People eat up love and revenge. I've already gotten a few people telling me they're Killer Cupid."

It looked like Jeremy didn't even care that Natasha was dead. It was just another story to cover to him, and he was buzzing like a bloodthirsty mosquito. And it wasn't just him. Everyone was obsessed with the idea of a Valentine's Day murder like there wasn't an actual blood-thirsty killer on the prowl.

It seemed like the only people who genuinely cared about her death were Griffin and me, and we had burned any bridges between us the last time we talked. I remembered the ghost of the stormy expression on his face when we agreed it was better if we stayed away from each other. My stomach lurched, and I blinked so his face would disappear from my mind.

In its place, Jeremy's annoying face took over.

"Hey, Jere?" I leaned closer, pursing my lips. "If you weren't such an asshole, maybe your only friends wouldn't be your followers."

Jeremy's smile disappeared. "Alright. Have fun with your killer society meeting, or whatever."

I gathered my bag and rolled my eyes at him, pushing my chair back and walking to the office. The halls were mostly empty, so the click-clack of my wedges was the only sound until I reached the office. When I pulled open the heavy brown door, the secretary gave me a tight-lipped smile.

"Hi, Ms. Hernandez," I said. "Principal Moore, uh, summoned me."

Waita sound like you just made a deal with the Devil, Haven.

She fixed her tight ponytail and beckoned to Principal Moore's room. "He's in there with the others."

The others?

I thanked her and then walked to the door of Principal Moore's office before pushing it open. He was on the phone, and I saw Taylor and Luce seated. "Hey, guys." I exhaled as I took the seat next to Luce. "What do you think this is about?"

"Don't you mean who?" Luce said, chewing her lip.

Principal Moore hung up the phone and turned to us, smiling slightly. "Hello, ladies," he said. "I'm sure you know why you're here."

"Not really," Taylor said. "But if it means getting me out of history, sign me up." She smirked, but he didn't smile back.

"That's funny, Miss Hughes. But this is a serious matter, and you know what isn't funny?" He took a copy of the list from his desk drawer and pointed at it, watching us closely. "Do any of you want to explain what this is?"

"It's good you've seen that," Taylor said. "Whoever put those up should be suspended — no, expelled. Defamation of classmates without their knowledge or consent? Littering the halls?" She started ticking things off her fingers and triumphantly narrowed her eyes at him. "I think you've called the wrong people here while someone else is probably laughing at all of us."

He sighed. "Listen, girls. You are honor roll students, varsity players, all of that. You know I'm rooting for you. I don't see you guys around here often, at least not regarding disciplinary action. But I can't let your records overshadow the severity of this situation. I don't know if this is a stunt for attention or —"

"What? You think it's us?" Taylor said in disbelief.

"Well —"

"Okay, let's say your theory was right. Why would we talk shit about ourselves? You think I want my sister to know I was getting it on with her boyfriend?" Taylor snapped. 

"Language, Miss Hughes." Principal Moore coughed, a wave of discomfort flashing across his face. He turned to Luce. "Luce, Fairwood was supposed to be a fresh start from you. I expected better from you."

Luce directed her gaze to the floor, looking like she wanted to cry.

I felt a surge of anger. "Luce had nothing to do with it. None of us did. So why would you even think that?"

"Can you guys deny that you've never seen or heard about this list before?" Principal Moore said.

None of us said anything. We couldn't. Taylor looked at me as if to say, 'what the hell now?'

"Look, I can't turn a blind eye to this when it's brought to my attention. I won't suspend you three, but you'll have to face some consequences. You guys will have to sit out on the ski trip next week."

"The senior ski trip?!" Taylor sat forward. "What? I'd rather you give me detention."

"I can arrange that as well." Principal Moore looked unbothered.

Taylor glared at him, but her lips pressed shut.

"That is so unfair," I protested. "Luce and I helped plan the trip." Not only had we fundraised our asses off to raise money, but we had spent countless hours decorating signs and getting everyone excited for spirit week, the kick-off for a week of events before the ski trip.

He shrugged. "I'm sorry, ladies. It's that or possible suspension, and I doubt any of your families will be happy with that." He hesitated. "There is one more thing we have to discuss, but this is more police matters than school ground matters." He turned the sheet of paper around so we could see our faces.

"Everything from this point on becomes evidence. I know things are stressful, and feuds happen amongst friends. I highly doubt the circumstances have anything to do with you girls, but they'll ask you questions. If there's anything you wish to say to me, Miss Hernandez, or the school's therapist, our offices are always open."

I got what he was implying immediately — it looked like we had been involved in Natasha's murder. The possibility that others thought we could've done something to her made me sick.

"Natasha was the one who posted the list!" Luce blurted out. "She's done stuff like this before, too. Like this online gossip blog she posted. The list was her idea."

It was true, but it wasn't like it was believable. As if the dead girl would post from her grave.

"Natasha's doing it," Principal Moore repeated. He cleared his throat. "Like I said. The therapist's office is always open."

"Gaslighting douche," Taylor huffed under her breath.

"Something you want to say, Ms. Hughes?"

"If I do, will you believe me?" Taylor cocked her head.

If Principal Moore had maintained his composure before, he was on the brink of losing it now. Thin veins appeared on his forehead, and he moved back from the desk on his rolling chair, pointing at the clock. "I don't want you ladies to be late for your next class. You can go now, but hopefully, the next time we see each other, it'll be for better reasons."

We walked out of the office, quiet at first.

Taylor threw her hands in the air. "What an absolute dick. I'm going to make West's parents sue him."

"We're getting framed," Luce said, shaking her head. "How is Natasha making our life miserable even after she's dead?" 

Taylor scoffed, digging the heel of her combat boots into the ground. "I knew it was a bad idea ever to be her friend. I told you she was crazy. Her and that freak, Griffin Keely. I'm telling you, this is some lovers' spat gone wrong. He lost his mind, and now we're all looped in."

"Can you stop talking about them like that?" I glared at her. "And Griffin's innocent."

"Right, is that what you told him when you went behind our back and met with him in the bleachers? Were you going to take your clothes off for him after?" Taylor's voice had an edge to it.

Something inside of me sizzled and snapped. "I don't know, Taylor. It seemed to work for you with your sister's boyfriend."

Taylor's mouth dropped.

Before a mumbled apology could escape my lips, Luce exasperatedly threw her hands in the air. "Can you guys stop? You're supposed to be on the same side."

"I thought so, too." Taylor narrowed her eyes at me. "Until Natasha came into our lives, it was all about defending her, right?" She laughed, but it wasn't a kind one.

I stared back, my heart hammering against my chest. It wasn't just about ending up in the principal's office. This was something deeper. "Natasha was my friend."

She snorted. "Friend? Do you not remember what she put us through? Your friends are here, standing next to you. But you don't care because all you care about is a friendship you created in your head." She shook her head, her voice quiet now. "Why can't you just let her go?"

Tears threatened to prick my eyes. Even with everything that happened, my past latched onto me, and I couldn't let Natasha go. I didn't know why.

Taylor took my silence as a response and was the first to spin on her heel and leave.

Luce hugged her books closer to her chest. 

"Why aren't you following her?" My voice sounded bitter to my ears. I didn't look at Luce.

"Because I know what's it like holding on to someone," Luce said. "Even if it's bad for you."

I swallowed.

"It happened to me at my old school, and I had this dark shadow following me for months," Luce said.

"What happened?"

"It's stupid," she murmured.

"Luce — "

"I'm not ready to talk about it, Haven." Her voice grew harsh, and then the fight died in her eyes. "Just... it has nothing to do with this, okay? I just wanted you to know I get it. Taylor might not, but I do." She hesitated. "Just don't hold on to something so long that it kills you instead."

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Masses of students floated by. Many of them didn't look our way. But some of them did, and I didn't know if they looked at us by accident or if they looked at us and thought 'guilty.'

When you see a crowd, you don't notice most people, so you don't notice the wallflowers. They don't want to be seen, or maybe they secretly do, and the act of pretending like they don't save them from ever being hurt. But I noticed one when I noticed Natasha years ago, and today I saw another.

Kai. Her hair was in two buns, eyes trained on the ground as she navigated through the crowd, her oversized t-shirt hanging over most of her body. She looked up at the last moment, her gaze meeting mine. In the flicker of a second, she was gone, swallowed into the mess of others.

At that moment, I knew Kai remembered exactly what had happened two years ago.

The night everything changed.