Chloe,

False. You don't value your soul. You gave it to me in freshman year in exchange for a chocolate glazed donut.

If I could, I'd be there. Even if it meant seeing level one again. I could totally do it.

Could you imagine their faces if I turned up at the cafeteria on Monday? God, their expressions would be priceless.

Love,

Monica

William and I locked eyes for a moment, as if daring each other to react. Then, he sighed and answered the phone.

"What?"

There was silence as she responded on the other end of the line. William ran a hand through his hair and started pacing. When he finally spoke, his tone was rushed.

"No, I haven't answered them. And there's a reason for that. I don't want to hear from you, you know how I feel."

More silence, and more bundling of anticipation in my stomach as I desperately tried to overhear what she could be saying. The volume wasn't loud enough for me to hear anything but muffled speaking.

"Yes, Lola, she is here actually. But it still doesn't make a difference, you know that."

I swiveled in the chair so my eyes could follow him as he paced to the window, not bothering to hide the fact that I was completely eavesdropping in on his conversation.

"I'm not pretending," William said through gritted teeth. "Yes, she's right here... I don't need to go anywhere private, D-Lola. I've got nothing to hide from her."

Nothing to hide from me. He looked over to where I was watching him from my seat at the desk, a look I couldn't quite decipher in his eyes.

"No, I didn't tell her, you did. But, you know I probably would have told her anyway. It's like suddenly, now that you see me with someone new, you want to mess with me again, and it's not happening," he said. "I'm going, and I want you to stop calling. Don't you have a boyfriend for that?"

Then, he pulled the phone from his ear and hung up.

"Sorry."

"Didn't know you two still talked," I said absent-mindedly.

"We don't," he stated. Then he flopped back onto his bed. The T-shirt he was wearing rode up a little as he stretched his arms out beneath his head, revealing a sliver of bronzed, toned skin, with a hint of dark hair scattered over it. I averted my eyes. "She keeps calling me. It's almost obsessive."

I kept my lips sealed shut. But it didn't take long for the words to trickle out, my moral self struggling to keep quiet. He needed to know if he didn't already. "I don't think she's happy with Francis."

Will's mouth formed a solid line. "I don't think she is either. But it's not healthy for her to keep running to me, and it's not fair if she refuses to leave him. I can't get past her if she keeps calling me back into her life whenever she wants. She loves the power too much. Besides, I supposedly have a girlfriend now. I need to keep the image up. Don't want you looking like a fool, right?"

"I appreciate that," I said. If it was known that William was cheating on me then I'd just look like an idiot, not only to level one but to the whole school. Him considering that above his own personal relationships made me feel relieved. Even if he was only doing it because I was blackmailing him.

"What are you thinking?"

"What?"

"You have a very thoughtful look on your face. You know, without all that makeup on I think I can actually read your expression," he mused.

"Is that supposed to be a good thing?" I asked, frowning. I didn't like the idea of him looking at me so... deeply. Not when I was so exposed.

"It depends. I think lipstick is your armor, and to see you looking like, well, you, is refreshing."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, to answer your question, I'm thinking about how this all works out. Lola Davenport isn't exactly the kind of person to let herself look desperate."

"No, you're right," he said. "I think there's more to it."

"Maybe she's scared," I pondered. "Maybe you've always been there, and now that you're taken, she feels like a child losing her toy. She's left with an abusive boyfriend and a psychotic best friend."

"Well, I guess she has Li," he suggested. "Not that she seems to like Lola very much."

"Really?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"No. Lola took a lot from Li, the worst being the virginity of her brother, from memory."

"You're telling me this now?" I asked, my mouth agape with the gossip.

"Hardly like you could use it," he said, a wry smile on his lips. "There's no proof."

"Proof," I repeated. "That's my biggest issue right now. I have no proof of anything."

"Maybe it's time you stopped snooping and started photographing," he suggested.

I narrowed my eyes. "Are you sure you're on my side with this? I know you said you didn't even mind that they're your friends, but... you do realize there'll be a time when I'll be on the offensive, right? I'll have to start shattering level one."

"Level one?" Will asked, frowning.

Oh, right. The level system. I shook my head. "It's nothing, just something Monica came up with to describe Arlington's social system."

"No, I'm intrigued," he said, looking genuinely curious. "Enlighten me."

I bit my lip. "Will, I'm here for the documents."

"You've said it now," he pushed.

I huffed. I felt like there was a possibility that he was just trying to change the subject. "Fine. We just came up with five levels. Level one is the elite, like you and Lola and Francis and the others. Level two is your gigantic flock of admirers. Level three is the people who don't give a shit, but still hold a relatively good status. Level four is the weirdos who are laughed at, and level five is the younger kids and the people you guys hate."

"Interesting," he pondered.

"Sounds stupid, I know," I said. "But it makes sense. It's always worked that way, you all under the spotlight, getting the attention of everyone with your immaculately juicy and beautiful lives. And then the higher the level the worse your life is. It's how it goes."

"I've never really thought about it like that," he said. "It makes us sound like celebrities."

"To most of the student body, you are."

"Seriously?" He looked doubtful.

I nodded, thinking of Claire and the dozen or so other students who'd pestered me just for dating William alone.

"Huh." He rose from his laying position, propping himself on his elbows. "Never thought about it like that."

"Yeah, you probably wouldn't have, considering you boys are mostly there to look pretty and pine over. It's the girls on level one who do the law enforcement and make the system stick. Surely you can't be oblivious to that."

William sighed. "Yeah, I can see that much. But, we wouldn't be where we are if people weren't obsessed with the idea of joining our circle."

"That's true," I said. "Though God knows why anybody would want that."

"You did."

"That's for a different reason though," I reminded him. "You guys fucked up my best friend."

A grim silence fell between us and I returned my gaze to the screen, my mind anywhere but focused on the code. My thoughts followed a turbulent cycle, iterating between Monica and my lists.

"Can you tell me about Mike?" I asked after a moment. William might actually be able to help me much more than the internet stalking I'd planned for later on.

"Mike?" Will's brows furrowed for a fraction of a second before it must have dawned on him. "Oh, the photographer?"

"Yeah," I said. "Something Sophie said during your game yesterday stuck. He records level one parties?"

William looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think I know where you're going with this."

"Then why do you have that look on your face?" I asked.

"Because it's a long shot," William said, letting out a rattled breath. "Mike's from Richmond Prep, he wants to be a paparazzi when he's older, I'm not even kidding. The girls love him. He lives with two other guys in a flat on the edge of town because he was kicked out of home for robbing a gas station when he was drunk with his friends."

"Wow," I said, not expecting the influx of information. "You sure know the gossip."

"I'm not really a big fan of the guy, put it that way," he said. "But, he's also pretty private. He gets his income from recording and taking pictures at parties, he probably has hours and hours of footage. Probably footage that could get a lot of people in trouble."

"And possibly footage of Monica."

William stretched, his expression heavily in thought. "The night Monica... well, it's a bit crazy for me to remember. It's hazy because I've tried to analyze it so much since then. But, I think he was there. It was the opening of Sophie's brother's club, and I'm sure Soph would have booked him. She loves the guy."

"But even if he did record it, it's going to be a hard time getting my hands on it," I said, thinking aloud.

I sighed, turning back to the computer screen and scrolling. I had to meet Mike and get a better idea of my options to find the probability of it actually working. My eyes were almost melting from reading the text when the door to William's bedroom opened.

"William," a man's voice called. "You should come down here and listen in on this meeting, it's important and—"

Bishop Senior fell silent when he saw that Will was not alone. I was frozen, like a deer in headlights. He was like a taller, more wrinkled version of Will himself, his green eyes perfectly matching his son's.

"Sorry, Dad, this is Chloe, I'm helping her with an assignment."

Just as I opened my mouth to say something so I didn't look so socially inept, a warm hand folded over my own, where it lay on the computer mouse, shocking me into silence.

William guided the cursor, my hand beneath his, and shut down the tab with the files, bringing up a random document instead. When his hand returned to its place, I felt my heart accelerate.

"Chloe," Bishop Senior said, "I don't think I've heard of you before. Chloe who?"

"Chloe Whittaker, sir," I said, my voice feeble.

"Whittaker," he said slowly. "Interesting, I'm not familiar with your family."

Bishop Senior didn't look like a dodgy businessman. No, he looked prestigious and intimidating with carefully styled hair and a crisp suit. I was sure that if I thought about the things that I'd dug up on him for too long then I'd collapse in guilt and admit everything. He just had that knowing stare that made people crack.

"Not everything's about someone's last name, Dad," William said.

Will's Dad snapped out of his train of thought and shot his son a dazzling smile. "Of course not. Anyway, just thought I'd suggest you sit in on the seminar. But, you're clearly preoccupied, so maybe next time."

William gave his dad a tight smile as he left the room. I relaxed the muscles which I hadn't realized had tensed over my shoulders.

"Sorry about that," Will said.

"No, it's okay," I said. "Hey, who said I'd ever need your help for an assignment?"

Will chuckled. "If I said you were helping me my Dad would have thought I was growing stupid and thrown money at as many tutors as he could."

"I think you just did it to fuel your ego," I said.

"What, are you saying you're smarter than me?"

I rolled my eyes, not wanting to fall prey to his teasing. Instead, I looked to the corner of the screen to see the time. It was getting late. "I should probably get going."

William rose from his sitting position. "Yeah, that's okay. You can look at it again some other time."

"Sorry I couldn't be much more help," I said honestly.

"No, it's okay." William's eyes fixed on mine for a moment, and for a second it was as if he was debating whether to say something or not. I found myself admiring the way his eyes glinted in the faint lighting as they warred with whatever he was deliberating. The light creeping in through the curtains had long disappeared. "I'll see you tomorrow at school."

"Aren't you picking me up?" I asked, a smile creeping onto the corners of my mouth. "I was under the impression that we had to keep our image up."

"Fine," he said, an amused smile playing at his lips. "See you at your house then. Eight o'clock."

AN:
Dedicated to @beauxreves for your absolutely lovely comment 💕

Question: what are your theories for what happened to Monica?