Oh, Miss Whittaker,

They were so glad to see me leave, don't flatter me.

Ah, I remember that scarf. I guess you can keep it, my mother thought it was terrible.

What it's like for me? Hmm. Uneventful. But how could anything be as interesting as Arlington? A new scandal every day. I do admit I'm envious of your position, you can watch all of the drama. Keep me updated!

Love, Monica

On my first day of Arlington Preparatory, Francis Greene took Lola Davenport's hand in his and asked her to be his girlfriend in front of the whole of freshman year. It was cheesy, awkward and most importantly it drew the whole school's attention.

She said no.

And so the next week he stepped up his game. He got each of his friends to deliver her a single flower, a different type each. One peony. One rose. One tulip.

And then on the last day of the week, Francis arrived with the biggest bouquet I'd ever seen.

She said yes after that.

I guess that day forged the start of something. Lola's friends – Sophie and Li, met Francis' – Max, William and Piers. Soon their circle absorbed exclusive others, the 'lucky' ones, like Maddy and Zach, as well as a few other members who'd since fallen from grace. It was no surprise they inherited prime positions in level one when the years in front of us graduated.

I knew Francis and Lola cheated. Their relationship was more about ownership than romance, anyone could see that. But I didn't know just how close they were with the people they cheated with.

"You're going to have to give me a better reason than that," I said, shaking the image of Lola and William from my mind. Every time I formed a clear picture, I shivered in repulsion. Something about William sleeping with her. Him, of all people.

He exhaled quickly, his frustration evident as he leant past me to try another password. "Do you think there's a way to crack this?"

I sighed and turned to my laptop. Conveniently, I did have a rough code outlined for cracking document passwords. "I need to know, William. We can't both have hidden agendas here."

"It's Will," he reminded me. "And I don't know if it's something I want to talk about."

"Did you love her?"

Silence.

I scrolled through the code, trying to mentally list the things I'd need to change for it to work on Will's file. I bit my bottom lip in thought. Too far, Chloe, you idiot. I wouldn't hesitate to blurt out a question so personal to Monica, but Will and I weren't friends like her and I. We weren't even supposed to be friends at all.

"I don't know. It's not important," he said quietly, his voice almost hazy, like he wouldn't mind at all if I didn't hear it. "What's important is that Francis and her are together forever. They're a sealed deal."

"She wouldn't leave him for you?" I pressed, wanting desperately to form a clear picture. Or maybe I was just being selfishly nosy.

In one sudden movement, my laptop was suddenly closed, barely giving me enough time to pull my fingers away from the keyboard. I scowled at Will. "My Dad will be home soon, I'll drop you off to your house."

"It's only just five, I've hardly done anything-"

"Just drop it, Chloe," he said. "We can work it out tomorrow."

Now I was just pissed off. "You didn't want me to find out, did you?"

"It'd be easier if you hadn't."

"What, because I'd realize that involving you in this at all was a conflict of interest?" I asked. When it was time to take down Lola – number one on the list – would he stop me?

How could he even love her?

"No, because you wouldn't understand. Especially someone like you," he said. Now he was angry too. His brows were furrowed, his lips arched in a scowl.

"Someone like me?" I questioned, grabbing my laptop and rising from the desk chair, placing distance between us as I went to grab my school bag.

"Yes. You're crazy, you know that? Doing all of this, nobody sane would make that decision. Nobody would give up their life to get revenge for someone else," he said.

"So that's what you think," I muttered. It had been a long time since I'd been this angry. "I thought you understood."

"I understand your motivation, I can understand how it's reasonable," he said, clutching the edge of his desk, his eyes fixed on the screen, as if actually looking at me would make him snap further. "But I don't understand why you're choosing it over a normal high school life. You could have had it easy, blending in and topping all your classes, because somehow you're a fucking genius. But instead you're playing popular to get revenge for your best friend."

My hands were shaking now, and I was confronted with the strange sensation of hot, angry tears. I wasn't familiar with arguing, in my family we argued with passive aggression and unsaid feelings. Emotional manipulation. It was never confrontational. "Are you saying Monica isn't worth it?"

"No, I'm not saying that. This isn't about her, Chloe, it's about you. I'm not sure you even know who you are without her."

"I know exactly who I am," I said harshly, my tone low. "And it's not someone who'd fuck around with someone as horrible as Lola."

And with that I tossed my bag over my shoulder, exiting his bedroom and walking down the hallway with a pace as fast as I could manage. I blinked repetitively, clearing away the moisture with as much force as possible. He just had me so angry.

"Where are you going?" he yelled. His tone made it obvious he was still seething, but now I heard his footsteps behind me.

"Home," I said. My house was maybe a fifteen minute walk from his, though the fact that it was raining made it a little more undesirable.

"Stop being petty, I'll drive you. I'm just – we need to work out how to work together or we should just drop this thing now. It's too much of a risk if we're going to be pissed at each other."

Yeah, and it's going to be a risk if you're in love with my main target.

Not to mention the fact that he thought I was just a crazy girl.

I kept my mouth shut, the reasonable side of my mind reminding me that inflaming the argument would only make things worse in the long run. He was right, we either needed to sort this out now or end it all together.

If we ended it now, my ticket to level one was gone. And now that I'd gained a reputation, earning my position back in would be difficult, maybe impossible.

As if we'd made a wordless agreement, he grabbed his keys from the counter and we put our shoes on. We made it out to the car, the rain a little lighter than before.

The ride home was confusing. My cheeks were pink from the air conditioning, or maybe from the rage circling my mind. I was so angry, and also bewildered with the revelation. I could use it. In fact, using it could be a huge advantage. Francis and Will were close friends, and I was sure that he couldn't know about Will and Lola. Surely he wouldn't let Will live if he did.

But could I throw Will under the bus?

"Look," he said coolly when we were a few streets over from my house. He pulled over and killed the engine. "I'm sorry for what I said before, okay? You just confuse the hell out of me."

I took a deep breath. His apology helped a little, but the anger still simmered in my chest. Was I sorry? Not at all. He should have told me about Lola from the start.

"Do you care about Lola too much for my plans to work?" I asked bluntly.

"Your revenge?" he clarified.

I nodded.

He shook his head.

"So you don't have feelings for her anymore?"

He hesitated, his bronze hair falling from where it had dropped against his forehead. "Nothing that will get in the way."

"Do you promise?" I asked. I remembered when we'd first spoken and I'd said he could trust me. Back then, I was lying, but now I hoped he'd be honest with me. I might be a liar, but I sensed he had a little more honor than that. I was such a hypocrite.

Was I really in a position to put my trust in him? I'd have to be. Just like now, he was forced to trust me. Our relationship was fragile.

"Yes," he said in one short breath. "I'm all in for it. With all of them."

His own friends.

"Okay," I said. I knew there had to be much more to Lola and William's relationship, but for now I couldn't press the topic. "I'm sorry about the document. I can try and crack the passcode some other time, I have some ideas."

"That would be great," he said stiffly. It felt formal, and until then I hadn't realized how comfortable our conversations had been growing.

He started the car up again and drove the few streets over to my house. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you at lunch," I said, stepping out of the car and shutting the door behind me. He drove away almost instantly, and I got the feeling that, like me, he was still pissed and masking it for the sake of our deal.

I had a feeling he wasn't quite aware of what he was getting himself into, of how serious I was about taking down level one. About taking down everyone on my list.

Including him.