Chloe,

I'm sorry.

Actually no I'm not. I'm pissed. Did you not learn anything from last year? Did you even consider the damage they can do? Jeez, Chlo. You need to stop being an idiot and step down. Level three is the safest place to be.

I miss you, and I hate that you're doing this.

Leave level one alone.

Monica

I don't think I took a breath for at least fifteen minutes after the newly outed love birds of Arlington's lacrosse team had left the room. But, when I did, I erupted into motion, flinging open the locker doors and grabbing William's note before anyone else could find it. My new season Louis Vuitton's slapped against the cobblestone footpath as I scampered to my locker.

What William was thinking by showing me that, I had no clue. I was still in shock that two of the most popular, yearned for boys who I'd known of for years were secret lovers. Shaking the thought from my mind for now, I grabbed the roses and my bag from my locker before making my way to the car park.

Just as I'd hoped, a certain silver Lamborghini was still idling in its park. I didn't hesitate to open the passenger door and claim the seat which I'd sat in so many times these past few weeks.

"Well that was interesting," I said. Understatement of the year.

"It worked out then?" he asked, the sliver of a smile playing on his lips. The afternoon sun was shining through the window, illuminating the little crinkle in his cheek when he smiled as well as the shimmer of his mossy eyes.

"If by worked out, you mean you just outed Arlington's most secretive couple to someone you know wants to take them down, then yeah, it worked."

"I thought you'd be happy with it," he mused. "God knows I've been sitting on that one for a while."

"How did you find out?" I asked.

"They meet in the lacrosse rooms every Monday at three thirty. I may have stumbled upon them several times and, well, eavesdropped," he said.

"William Bishop, you and I have much more in common than I thought," I said, a small, hysterical laugh parting from my lips.

"Look, Chloe." He sighed after a moment, fidgeting with his fingers. "I wanted you to find that out so you knew it, but I swear to God, if you out them to the whole school, or their parents-"

I pursed my lips. I didn't want to out them. I didn't want their sexuality to be their downfall. But, at the same time, after everything that they had done to help Monica's demise, destroying their reputations might not be such a big deal.

"Chloe," William repeated, his eyebrows knitting together. "You can use this without outing them. Even if it's just to blackmail them. I know how much you love that."

He was right. I could use this as leverage. I bit my lip. "The more people who know about me being here for Monica the more likely someone will take me down before I can even do anything."

"You didn't seem to mind when you got me involved," he noted.

"Yeah, well that didn't quite go to plan either," I said with a sigh. "And plus, you were easier to isolate. You're kind of the lone wolf in that pack."

He looked amused. It was true, everyone seemed to have their little groups of friends within level one, but it was becoming clear that William didn't have as close relationships with the other guys as they did with each other. Well, I guess there was Lola, but that was different.

"You could do it anonymously," he suggested. "Once you find out something you need that they could help with, just buy a disposable phone and text them. Or leave them letters, I don't know."

Once again, I was surprised at how good he was at playing on my side. "What could they help me with?"

William shrugged before giving out a short burst of laughter. "Naked pictures of Sophie? I don't know, between them I'm sure they have something valuable."

"You mean Max might have something valuable," I said. "Zach seems pretty clean."

"Oh, I think you'd be surprised."

This caught my interest, and I was ready to demand him to go further in explaining whatever scandals Zachary Plympton was involved in. But, then I caught sight of the time on his dashboard and groaned. "Crap, I'm late for coffee."

"You better go," he said. "Look, I know I'm still a dick for what happened Saturday, but I hope you can forgive me, at least to a degree."

"No, I'm still unbelievably pissed at you," I said, but the meaning of the words was a contrast to my tone. For now, this new information reclaimed what had become William's place at the forefront of my mind.

"Well, as long as you don't take down my family's business," William said light-heartedly.

"Don't worry, your crappy company security and dodgy taxation is safe with me," I reassured him. "For now."

He feigned a look of fear before glancing out of his windscreen and giving a sigh. "I'll see you tomorrow morning then."

"You can pick me up if you like," I said, opening the door and stepping back out into the school parking lot. I gave him one last smile before turning and walking towards my pretty little Audi.

***

By the time I'd gone home to change before circling back to Jermaine's, I was almost half an hour late to meet the girls. By then, they were already through their first round of alcoholic coffee, and when I walked in, their babble quietened to a series of whispers, making my skin crawl.

"Hi," I said as timidly as possible as I approached their table, sitting down on the one empty seat and placing my bag at my ankles.

"Hi, Chloe!" Maddy said loudly, drowning out the crippling silence that had developed. I shot her a grateful smile, completely aware that the nicer I was to Maddy the more Lola would loath me.

"Why were you late?" Sophie asked nonchalantly as she daintily stirred the mug in front of her.

"I was with Will," I said, trying to implant an element of dreaminess into my tone. "Sorry."

"Oh, really?" Maddy asked. "Those flowers were gorgeous. What did he do to make him feel like he needed to give you those?"

If the table's attention wasn't focused on me before, it certainly was now. Lola's expression brightened, her head tilting to the side. "Yeah, Chloe. What happened Saturday night?"

I gulped. "Nothing, we were fine."

"Oh please," Lola said. "We saw you run off home. He must've done something."

"You can tell us, Chloe," Sophie said, a terrifying and deceptive look of innocence plastered on her pretty face. "We're your friends now, right?"

I subtly took a deep breath, raising my chin and straightening my posture. If I wanted to keep any kind of dignity around them I couldn't let myself be belittled. "Yeah, and that's why it's no big deal. He was drunk and acting silly so I went home. The flowers were to say sorry, it was sweet."

"Oh, here I was thinking he'd be a perfect boyfriend," Li said, almost dreamily. "Not that he's my type, but out of the rest of the guys he's probably the better one."

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to detract the attention from me.

"Well Max has player written all over him, Piers is always on and off again with whatshername from Richmond Preparatory, Zach just doesn't seem to date because he's too absorbed in sports, and Francis is with Lola," Li explained. "William, although he's clearly not that hard to win over, is probably the most eligible bachelor."

Her analysis was both comprehensive and clouded with subtle digs. Beside her, Lola had a smug look on her face as she stared at me over the rim of her glass.

"Speaking of Richmond Prep," Maddy said, somehow sensing the awkwardness of the current subject. "They're versing our lacrosse team Friday night. Are we all going to go and watch like last year?"

There was a mixture of murmurs, and Maddy started to look annoyed. "Hello, it's Richmond Prep, and all the guys are playing. Well, except Piers and Franc, but still. Also, there's a really cute guy who plays midfield for Richmond. He asked for my number a few weeks ago."

The girls still didn't look convinced, until Li set her cup down and gave a thoughtful look. "I think I'll go, they do have an attractive team."

"Well, we should all go, then," Sophie said. "To support Arlington. School pride and all that crap."

"We could throw a party afterward?" Maddy suggested. "My house is empty Friday."

"That sounds perfect," Sophie approved, a devilish grin making her made up face look both seductive and mischievous. "I'll make sure to send out the invites."

***

By the time I arrived home it was night time and my head was spinning with both the tinge of vodka as well as the exhaustion of interacting with the girls. I drove up my winding driveway, locking the gates behind me and cursing the exhausting social agenda of level one. I'd hardly recovered from the last party with them, and now they were in the midst of planning another.

When I opened the door our house cleaner Myra was standing in the foyer, primping a large vase of flowers. My roses – which had definitely looked nicer in the morning than they did now after being shut in my car – were laying limply in my arms.

"Hi, Myra. What are you still doing here?" I asked. Myra visited three days a week to help mum with the large gardens and housework. It was unusual for her to stay longer than about four in the afternoon.

"Hi, Chloe. I, um." She cast a look over both of her shoulders before lowering her voice. "I didn't want to leave your mother alone."

"Alone?" I asked in one breath. I looked towards the staircase, a hurricane of dread pooling in my stomach.

"She's a bit upset. I just wanted to wait for you to come back instead of leaving her by herself. You might want to go and check up on her."

I nodded slowly. "Thanks, Myra. You don't have to stay, it's getting late, go home."

She nodded quickly, her glasses almost knocking off of her narrow nose. "I'll see you on Wednesday. Send Mrs. Whittaker my best. I hope she's feeling better soon."

When Myra had left the house, I quickly jogged up the staircase, taking the stairs two at a time. From there, I dropped my bag and my roses on the floor to skitter over to my mother's doorway.

"Mom?" I asked, knocking my fist against the polished wood. I heard a groan, and gave that as enough approval to enter.

She was lying in bed, her hand dramatically tossed over her forehead, her palm stuffed with a handkerchief.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, sighing and dropping onto the corner of her lavish bed.

"I'm fine," she insisted, her words slurred. I looked to her bedside table to find a bottle of champagne as the source of her intoxication. "Chloe, your outfit is so cute. When did you start dressing so cute? Is it for the Bishop boy?"

"Mom," I scolded. "Where's Dad?"

Mom let out a rattled sigh. "He just left for New York to visit... a friend from high school. No, baseball. Actually, his cousin. He's seeing his cousin."

I let my lips sink into a straight line. Of course, this was because of Dad. Why didn't he at least try to cover up his shady business trips better?

"Look, Mom, I'm going to take a shower and then I'll come in here and we can put some movies on and go to sleep. Like when I was a kid, and I'd sleep in your bed because I was scared of the monsters next door."

This brought forward an elaborate, drunken giggle. "Oh, the monsters. They were really the Barker's greyhounds next door. Skinny, spidery things, I could definitely see where you were coming from."

I smiled at the memory, thinking of how much my family life had crumpled since the days where I was scared of the greyhounds next door, seeking refuge in my parent's bed. "I'll be back in a second, Mom."

"Don't take too long," she said. "I want to hear all about the Bishop when you're back."