Mon,

Lola and Sophie would probably pass out in terror. You made them feel threatened before, and if you came back now I'm sure they'd be completely terrified.

Are you still drawing? Practicing your makeup in front of your mirror that was stamped with pictures of boy bands?

I sure hope you are.

Love, Chloe.

As promised, William arrived punctually besides the driveway of my house the following morning. When I clambered in, slightly unsteady on my favorite Jimmy Choos due to the intense workout I'd done the night before, I could clearly see the displeased look fixed on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked, shutting the door just in time before his car powered off of the curb.

"That obvious?" he asked sardonically, his gaze fixed out of the window in a grim line.

"Well, you sort of look like you could kill someone," I said carefully. "What's wrong?"

William sighed. "I got a call from the coach this morning saying I should avoid practice tonight. I asked him why, and he said it was because some strings were being pulled above him that he couldn't control."

"Oh god," I said. "Francis."

"Yep." William turned a corner, almost causing me to fly out of the half-opened window.

"I'm sorry," I said, feeling genuinely bad for him. He was the team captain, after all, and from what I'd seen last week a valuable member of the team. "I can't believe he's choosing all of this drama over what's best for the team."

"I can. Because he's a manipulative bastard," he said.

I frowned in thought. A large part of me was now searching for some way to right this. To dissipate William's anger. "I can try and fix it."

William snorted. "How? What are you going to do?"

"I could talk to him. After the party I think I could have means to persuade him," I said, only half believing my own words.

"Chloe," William said, "Do not go anywhere near him. Please."

"You can't tell me what to do," I mumbled.

"No, but I can tell you that it would only piss me off more if he managed to hurt you or manipulate you in some way too, okay? Just, let things cool off."

I sighed and nodded, still not convinced that letting things cool off was the best option. William's concern had created a flock of ugly butterflies jumping in my stomach, and I focused my energy on mentally killing them one by one instead.

At school, the student body was bubbling with speculation. It was as if everywhere I went, murmurs and curious looks followed. Apparently, word of my state on Friday night had spread fast.

"I heard she's addicted to crack, and Will's helping her through it because he's been there too," one girl whispered loudly to her friend behind me at my locker. I narrowed my eyes, wondering how they drew it all to that conclusion.

I was navigating my way through the classroom and towards my lone desk when someone fell into step with me. "Chloe, hi!"

"Hi, Claire," I said a little cautiously as she took the seat beside me with no comment.

"Did you have a good weekend?" she asked.

"It was okay," I said, trying to decipher any sort of emotion she could be feeling. Was she pissed with me? I couldn't tell. "How was yours?"

She shrugged. "Pretty good."

"Good?" I pressed.

Claire sighed. "Look, Chloe, it's totally fine, but you should have just said the party on Friday was private."

"I honestly didn't know," I told her, now wondering why I felt so guilty that she'd been kicked out. I should have felt bad for inviting her in the first place. It was better for everyone if they stayed away from level one.

"It's okay," she said, a smile lifting on her delicate features. "I forgive you. And I'm sure Jack does too."

I grimaced. "I should apologize to him."

"Um, maybe just avoid him for a little while," Claire said, scrunching up her freckled nose. "Sophie said some pretty mean stuff to him. He was a little upset afterwards."

My heart plummeted. Poor, innocent Jack. God, what had I done? I wanted to protect the general student body by bringing these people down, not to directly subject them to their pure evil. "God, I am so sorry."

"It's okay," Claire said again. "Anyway, it mustn't have been that private. There were so many people there from everywhere. It makes me wonder if it's something more personal that made her kick us out."

It's because you're friends with me, I wanted to say. But I didn't. Because I needed my relationship with William to remain rosy to our onlookers, and that meant that I was getting along with his friends. "I'm sorry, Claire."

She shrugged. "You could just give me the answers to the physics assignment due tomorrow to make it up to me?"

"Sure," I said with a small smile. But I hadn't even started that assignment myself.

At lunch time Maddy took the seat William usually did beside me just as I sat down, making him give her a suspicious look before retreating to the guy's end of the table instead. She looked as polished as always, and I wondered if she'd managed to scrub the wine out of the rug. It seemed like that was much more important than her guest's well-being on Friday night.

"So, Chloe," she said, her eyes focused on spreading ketchup evenly over her fries. "I was thinking instead of going to Jermaine's tonight we could hang out. Just the two of us?"

I hesitated for a moment, my gaze instantly falling on where the Ice Queen Sophie chatted with Lola and Li. How many times had they warned me about talking with Maddy? But, then again, I'd take hanging out with Maddy over having lunch with the other four any day. "Yeah, uh, maybe."

"Maybe?" She laughed, her hair falling out of the way in the most glamorous way possible. "It's no secret that Sophie's pissed off at you. You can either subject yourself to that and cause more trouble, or just hang out with me instead."

Maddy was treading very dangerous territory in defying Sophie. I stalled by stirring my coffee intently for a split second. It was risky, but if Maddy was keen to hang out with me, then maybe she'd be keen to share more secrets that could shorten my time with level one altogether. "Okay."

"Great," she said. "I'd love your help clearing out my closet – you have the best fashion sense."

I was confused at her comment, considering my fashion sense composed of everything Monica had taught me and a clinical approach of assessing magazines. That and the price-tag theory that the more expensive the better.

"I'd love to help," I said, figuring that going to her house was an even better opportunity to snoop.

I watched Francis besides Lola. Today, they seemed oddly closer, their hands sometimes connecting between them at the table and little glances were exchanged. It worried me, but it also had me curious. Was this Lola's way of trying to make Will jealous? Or was it her planning her next move?

Will was sitting beside Piers and Zach who were all engrossed in conversation, appearing to be about some sporting strategy considering the use of eating utensils spread out in front of them.

Surrounding us was level two, laughing and chattering and flicking us curious glances. Any changes in demeanor, snide looks, or obvious exclusions would not go unnoticed or unbroadcasted. To them I was still Chloe the newbie, who could so easily slip from good grace if Will moved on, or if Sophie found something awful enough to expose...

After school I gave Will a very public hug goodbye in the parking lot before joining Maddy in her Mercedes convertible. Despite what must have come across as a mopey exterior from myself, Maddy seemed extra chirpy, turning up the dial of the radio so the pop song blasted like a beacon of Beyoncé to the students surrounding us.

Returning to her house was not something I was particularly excited about, especially when I stepped into the foyer and felt my stomach churn at the sight of the makeup studio.

"Food? Drink?" Maddy asked, her hips slightly sauntering as she led me to the kitchen.

"No. Thanks though," I said as she opened up a cupboard.

"I'd kill for some brownies. Like, literally slaughter someone for them. Possibly even a child," she said, accompanying her words with a borderline manic laugh.

Wow, okay. Her craving was extreme, and the way she rambled was almost as if she was filling in time with talk, possible to defer from something. I frowned, but she was oblivious.

"How do you make them?" she went on. "Let's make some."

Maddy danced over towards a large book shelf and ran her hand along the titles before landing on a thick baking book and pulling it out. I hadn't made brownies since Monica and I used to have sleepovers. The whole idea of cooking them brought on nostalgia.

"I don't think anyone's used this kitchen in months," she mused. "My parents – if they're even home – always order catering."

"Mine too," I said, half exaggerating the truth. "They act like cleaning dishes is the end of the world."

"That's because it totally is," she said. Then she pursed her lips, looking from me to the cook book as if she wanted to say something. She was conflicted for a moment, before deciding against whatever it was and plonking the book on the table. "If we start baking now we can go through the clothes while the brownies are cooking."

"Sounds good," I said, my suspicions heightened. She was definitely keeping something from me.

Maddy's idea of baking consisted of her barking out instructions as I compiled the ingredients after one accidental incident involving her cracking an egg over the counter. I hadn't had much experience with cooking, and I certainly wasn't an expert, but compared to Maddy I looked like a top chef.

"You should come out with me on Friday," Maddy said over the sound of the electric beaters. "Just us. A girl's night."

I frowned. Why was she all of a sudden so keen on hanging out together? Ice shot through my veins when I considered the idea of Francis setting her up to this. But it just seemed so... non-threatening. We were baking brownies and going through clothes, for God's sake. And if we were going to a club we'd be in public, and one-on-one with Maddy gave me at least some control.

"Yeah," I said. I didn't even have a fake ID, though. I'd have to get one fast. "Why the sudden urge to hang out?"

"I like you, Chloe," Maddy said, looking offended. "You're good to talk to, and just... easy to read? I don't know."

I shuddered. Easy to read was not something I wanted to be.

As promised, when the brownies were finally baking away in the ginormous oven, we retreated to Maddy's clothing room. Literally, she had a whole room dedicated to her clothing. A plush sofa sat at one wall and a huge wall length mirror on another, the wall decorated with lanterns and photographs.

One stood out to me as I paced around the outline of the room. There were a lot of pictures from parties with large groups of people, but there were also a few close-up shots taken from the front camera of a phone.

"Is that Claire?" I asked, observing the picture of the slightly younger Claire and Maddy, who were arm in arm.

Maddy looked over her shoulder from where she was sifting through hangers. "Oh, yeah. We used to be friends."

Before she rose to power, of course. For some reason, I pictured what it would be like if Monica was still here. Would she have one lone picture of me left with her on her wall, cluttered among hundreds of others, while I watched from afar? Would she be Maddy, and I Claire?

As if my thoughts summoned her, my eyes caught sight of her blazing red hair in a picture with Maddy and Sophie. It was kind of disturbing how closely Sophie's arm was hugging Monica close, Mon's smile so wide it was infectious. There were a number of similar photos in the same area on the wall, all with Maddy in the same outfit of a tight maroon dress.

"When were these taken?" I asked, crouching so I could examine them better.

"Oh, I think that was at Piers' birthday last year. See the cake in the background? It had a stripper come out of it. Mike took all of those photos, I think we were telling you about him the other day."

"You were," I said. Just the topic I wanted to breach. "Is Mike, um, around again?"

"Yeah, he texted me saying he was sorry he couldn't make the party," she said, her expression looking as if she'd just taken a bite of sour candy. "He might be out on Friday though. He works at a lot of clubs."

"Oh, okay," I said in the most nonchalant way possible. That would be extremely valuable. Then, I tried to steady my voice to avert suspicion as I spoke my next words. "Is that Monica Pennington?"

Maddy looked to where I was pointing, her face harboring a raised eyebrow and a pout of indifference.

"Oh yeah, that's her." She shot me a half smile, barely enough to tell me she was interested. "Tragic, wasn't it?"

Dedicated to @ox_Priya_xo for your interesting and wonderful comments about your theories and the book 💕
Thanks everyone for answering my previous question, I'm a little hesitant to reply in case of revealing spoilers hehe. New question: If you were Chloe, who would the top five in your hit list list be?