Mon,

This is the last letter before I pack my bags and hunt you down. Reply to me, or you'll regret it. Yes, that is a threat from yours truly.

I miss you,

Chlo.

William and I locked eyes, now caught in a stare off, seeing who would falter first. If it wasn't for the crowd of people slowly gathering around us, I was sure I wouldn't hesitate to show him exactly how annoyed I was.

But, I couldn't do that with an audience.

The whispers of girls beside me caught my attention as time seemed to slow around out little spectacle. Oh but he's so handsome, I heard, if I were her, I'd be falling into his arms right now!

I knew I didn't really have an option. Not with Monica at the forefront of my mind.

Spreading the most love struck smile over my face, I took another step towards William's outstretched arm were the bouquet sat in all of its over-the-top blossoming glory.

I took it from him. It was heavier than it looked, and I cradled it awkwardly in my arm without meeting his gaze again. The deep green leaves framing the fragrant blooms almost matched his eyes perfectly.

My other hand wrapped around William's, but not in a particularly affectionate way. Instead, I yanked him away from outside of the classroom which I was supposed to be entering and around the corner, finding the first empty corridor before I let the scowl settle over my face.

"You didn't answer any of my messages yesterday," he stated. He didn't look particularly angry. Instead, his brows were set in an almost curious expression. He was trying to assess me.

I let my gaze find the nearby window, the perfectly pruned lawn of one of Arlington's courtyards filling my view. "No. I didn't feel like talking to you."

"Look, Chlo," he said, using Monica's nickname which he must have realized was so good at softening me. It wouldn't today. "It's no excuse but I had drunk a lot, and it was an in-the-moment thing. It wasn't just because she was there, it just felt like the right thing to do, with everyone around and... I don't know. There's not any excuse. It was awful, and unfair, and you didn't deserve that."

"It was unfair," I said, crossing my arms over my chest, which proved awkward with the flowers in one hand. I looked at them, the blood red forest of petals and thorns. "So was giving me these."

"Oh, they weren't completely for you. More for the show, but if they help you forgive me too, that's just a bonus."

"Flowers aren't going to win me over, William," I said, the words leaving my lips in a sigh. Maybe undoing Lola's growing hate for me would.

"Will. And I didn't think they would, they were mostly for the people who thought you were mad at me when you left the party early. I have something else for you."

I cocked a brow.

"You'll just have to trust me that it's worth it. I know the best way to earn your forgiveness, and that's with something that's actually valuable to you," he explained.

"And what would that be?" I asked, picturing a swarm of diamond jewelry or something equally as expensive. But no, material items wouldn't work. He knew that.

"Secrets," he said, a glint in his forest eyes. "You better get to class now, but meet me at exactly three twenty-five at the lacrosse change rooms. My locker is number nine, it'll be unlocked this afternoon."

I frowned, his vague explanation hardly enough to satisfy my curiosity. What was I supposed to do, see the lacrosse team get changed? I half shuddered, half marveled at the thought. They weren't exactly unfit boys.

But it had to be something more than that.

***

At lunch, the level one table was alive with chatter about the weekend's party. I was sitting next to Maddy, who was taking up a mocking annoyance with me for not dancing with her or trying her stuff. She, and everyone else, seemed to be oblivious about whatever happened between Lola and Will, or even Lola and Francis, who sat side by side as usual, reserved looks on their faces.

My mind was sifting through ways I could be preparing myself for whatever methods of destruction Lola was concocting for me. It was also planning counter attacks, ways I could use the little bits of information I'd gathered to take her down.

The salad in front of me was busy suffering a brutal stabbing with my fork when the level one table fell quiet. I looked up to see the red headed Stephanie, who'd been the victim of Sophie's rage the other day, standing with a sheepish look on her face. There was a garment bag on her arm.

"Um, hi," she squeaked, shifting her weight from foot to foot as she stared warily at Sophie and Li. "Li, I had your skirt dry cleaned. I'm really sorry for being so stupid."

Li looked as if she was about to open her mouth to speak, but instead, Sophie cut in before her. "She doesn't need that back, you should have just put it in the bin."

"I didn't want to throw it away, I mean, I was the one to stain it – I thought it was the right thing to do to—"

"You didn't think she'd just buy a new one?" Sophie asked, the glimmers of a smile flickering on her thin lips.

"Well, I thought she would – but I just thought I'd have it cleaned for her..."

The amused look on Sophie's face grew, and the silence continued to stretch on long enough for the girl to look as if she was ready to burst into tears.

"Keep the skirt," Li said, breaking the standoff. "Just forget about it."

The girl gave one more pleading look. She was pleading for some kind of forgiveness, or exemption from their wrath, but it wouldn't come. She had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time, and it would probably place her at level five until graduation.

"Chloe, you should hang out with us tonight," Maddy said after a few moments, the conversation slowly resuming around us. Lola, Sophie and Li were murmuring together, and I couldn't help but be afraid for whoever was on the receiving end of their scheming. I could only hope it was for poor Stephanie, because if it was for me, I'd be in big trouble.

I shook the worry from my head and turned my attention to Maddy instead. "Oh, I'm busy..."

The pout that fell on her lips made me feel a pang of guilt for lying. Not guilt for Maddy, but for the information I could have sucked out of an afternoon with her that I'd miss. I sighed.

"But what were you thinking? I could maybe make something work."

Her face lit up, her grin so wide it almost made me suspicious. "Coffee. Jermaine's. We do it every week."

I'd almost forgotten about the religious alcoholic coffee shop visits.

Maddy's gaze flickered over my shoulder to where Lola sat, and I followed it to see a deathly expression set on her face. Lola obviously didn't want me to join them at Jermaine's. And she probably wasn't happy that I was talking to Maddy. God, there was no way I'd be able to latch back onto her good side.

But, if I excluded myself tonight, then by tomorrow I could be completely shut out. If anything, it would mean I'd have to make this whole process quicker, to savor every moment I could in their ranks. "I'll do my best to make it."

At three o'clock, the bell rang, signaling the end of my chemistry class. In fact, it signaled the end of all classes for the day, and the corridors were crowded with students mingling and gossiping. I'd sat through the whole day of Claire's mindless babble about her plans to catch Zach's attention again, and I swear if I heard her swoon about his deep chestnut eyes one more time I was going to lose it.

I was a little hesitant to venture towards the change rooms. They were on an external building on campus, nearby the sporting field. I hadn't set foot nearby the whole area since Monica dragged me to a lacrosse game early last year, and before then it hadn't been since compulsory physical education when we were freshmen.

I'd expected them to be busy. William may have wanted to meet me after training, or just before. His time might have been limited. Why else would he give such a precise time? At lunch, he'd been pretty quiet, mostly engaging in conversation with the other guys. I'd been careful not to push the subject, either worried I'd raise suspicion with getting angry again, or that whatever he held secret was just too sensitive to acknowledge aloud.

But for now, I was more intrigued than pissed off. Whatever information he held for me better be worth it.

I hesitated in the threshold of the building. What I'd expected to be an atmosphere filled with testosterone and Arlington's sweaty lacrosse team was an empty room lined with benches and tall metal lockers. I was reminded of my locker in the main school building, which was currently overflowing with budding roses and my Birkin.

Locker nine. Something about locker nine was supposed to hold my interest. I paced over to it, trying not to let my gaze linger on the less-than-clean surroundings on my way.

Locker nine was indeed open, just slightly ajar. Casting a look over my shoulders to see if he was waiting nearby, I pried it open. The door slung forward to reveal a navy uniform hanging on the rack. I pulled at the shirt, the back of the jacket reading Bishop.

Then, something else caught my attention. It was a piece of paper taped to the inside of the door, the writing large and clear. HIDE.

I didn't have much time to decipher exactly what William meant in his message, because just as I'd ripped it from the door I heard the sound of footsteps outside of the change rooms. I followed my instincts, and William's instruction, and squeezed into the slim space of the locker before I could think about it much further.

Confined between clothing, a lacrosse stick, and the smell of William's cologne, I was barely able to see through the thin slats grooved into the metal. My heart was beating hard now, both in anticipation for whatever was to be revealed and the overwhelming fear that I was in a very bad position to be caught in, crouched in the Arlington's boy's changing rooms.

Then there was the sound of footsteps, pacing around the room. Squinting my eyes, I could barely make out the shape of a figure, their dark skin narrowing down the possibilities of who it could be pretty quickly. It was Zachary Plympton.

My breath was caught into my throat. Unlocking my phone revealed that it was three thirty-one. Maybe he was meeting someone here.

For a few long minutes the two of us were silent, Zach completely oblivious of my presence as he continued his pacing. But that was broken pretty quickly at the entrance of someone new, his voice easy to identify as it rang out through the small space.

"Sorry I'm late." Max Heath, Zach's best friend and the one who'd tried to seduce me the night I'd first confronted William.

"I'm hardly surprised," Zach responded.

"Don't act like that," Max snapped, it sounded like he closed the door behind him, the room suddenly dimmed.

"Like what?"

"Like you're already pissed at me," he said. "You're so easy to read."

Zach sighed, and continued to pace. "Well, nothing's new then is it?"

"Well, yeah it is," Max responded. "What were you thinking, Jasmine of all people?"

"We didn't do anything, you idiot," Zach said. "You're not the only one who can protect their image."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Max's voice had escalated slightly.

"You have a new girl every other weekend and here I am with a girl once and you're ignoring me all day."

"It's different, Zach. I have an image to withhold. We have an image to uphold. You can deal with suspicion, but what do you think your Dad would say, huh?"

"You don't think me seeing her would help the situation?" Zach said, a humor lacking laugh emanating from his direction. "I hear it all the time. I haven't had a girlfriend, Jasmine's the first girl I've been seen with in years. It's meant to be good for us. It's exactly what you do."

"It's different."

"It's not. You're just pissed because now you know how it feels to see the one you love with someone else."

Holy shit.

"You know I don't like them, Zach," Max said. "I only do it to hide us. I do what's best for us."

"And so am I. It's not like we did anything. Not like the way you do things," Zach huffed. "What are you thinking when you fuck them, how good it will be for your image or how much you're enjoying it?"

I heard Max's steps travel closer to Zach, and his voice was low when he spoke. "You know it's not like that."

"Do I?"

"What do you want, Zach?" he asked. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"How about we both just stop creating decoys. We could just act normal, without hooking up with girls to hide things. We only have a few more months and then we'll be too far away for our parents to hear anything anyway."

Max sighed. "If people get suspicious, and they will, then my life will be ruined. My parents will send me away."

"So will mine."

"Well then we need to keep being careful."

"Are you sure you don't just like the attention?" Zach asked daringly. "It's not about something more?"

There was a silence, and then a bout of heavy breaths and the light sounds of kissing. "Of course not. I love you, Zach. Only you."