"Love's strange."

-Don't You (Forget About Me), Simple Minds

________________________________

"If you do this-"

I spin around and glare. "You'll do what, Alec? Try to stop me? Try to protect me? We've already gathered that neither you nor Jasper can do that."

The crowd of Fighters are heading out of the library, muttering and laughing and pointing at me. Bailey passes us and salutes with two fingers, before chuckling and disappearing into the crowd.

I scowl at her fading figure while Alec pulls me to the side of the corridor so we don't get trampled on. When I finally have enough courage to draw level with him, he frowns and hisses, "It's not your place to do this!"

"Yes it is! You're having your leader position stripped from you because of me! The least I can do is help you get it back."

"By getting yourself beaten up and putting yourself at risk of expulsion."

I shrug. I've been through worse.

Just as he's about to say something else- which is pointless since I'm not wavering from my decision- Seth approaches us.

He pats me on the shoulder and says with a lopsided smile. "You've got guts, I'll give you that."

I shoot Alec a pointed look and thank Seth quickly, before excusing myself and heading to my room to contemplate what the hell just happened.

***

I sit with Sky and her friends at lunch. They know about what's going to happen; it seems like the entire school does. Which means Jasper must know, and it's only a matter of time before he'll confront me.

One thing I'm sure: he's going to be pissed off.

Everyone stares at me while I try to focus on my lunch. I know that Bailey is going to find me when the time is right. But if she doesn't come soon, I fear my nerves might eat me alive.

"I just don't understand why you'd do that, Olivia," Thomas says, frowning at his lunch.

I shrug and take a swig of my soda. Maybe if I try to act relaxed, I might actually feel relaxed.

"You're crazy, that's for sure," Louise says with a humourless chuckle.

"Tell me something I don't know."

Sky remains silent, staring at her food. Her bottom lip quivers and her eyes look like they're watering.

I sigh and put my soda down, turning to face her. "Sky. What's wrong?"

She hesitates before murmuring, "You're brave. You're so brave. And I'm upset because I would never be able to do what you're going to do."

Daniel is looking at her sadly. She's wrong. I'm not brave. I'm just as terrified as everyone else.

"Olivia. What. The. Hell."

I frown and spin around to the voice, and immediately regret turning around at all. Jasper is charging straight at me, blue eyes practically burning through my body.

I stand as the others all share concerned looks. The cafeteria is quietening down.

"Jasper, I knew you'd be pissed so I didn't want to tell you-"

He stops abruptly in front of me, eyes ablaze. "I'm not just pissed, Olivia. I'm more than that. I'm furious!"

I scowl, trying to deflect the guilt from entering my body from the pain in his expression. "It's not your decision, Jasper!" I yell back. "I'm helping someone who means a lot to me! You'd understand that so don't you dare stop me from doing the same."

Now the entire dining hall is silent. Watching. Waiting.

He's about to snap something back when Bailey approaches, smiling that evil smirk. "Trouble in paradise?"

"Fuck off, Bailey," I snap, glaring at her.

"No can do," she says sweetly. She lowers her voice so only the three of us can hear. "Naomi is awake. You can ask your stupid questions now, then you'll get what we want from Rosa's office. The final part of the agreement happens tonight. At the fire pit in the woods."

I nod without saying a word before she spins and struts away.

I turn my attention back to Jasper once more, and say quietly, "I've got to go. I'm sorry."

I rotate but he takes hold of my hand.

"I'm coming with you."

I don't protest, and instead nod silently, towing him out the dining room and towards the infirmary.

***

Naomi is sitting up in her bed, staring at nothing in particular. She doesn't look too injured, apart from a few bruises on her face, which is a relief.

When she sees me, her expression is unreadable. Blank, almost. I cautiously sit in the seat beside her, and Jasper stands behind me, obviously tensed.

"Ah, Olivia," she says, "what do I owe this pleasure?" Naomi's eyes fall on Jasper stood behind me stiffly. "And the leader of the Socios came to visit me? Aren't I a lucky girl?"

"Naomi, I just want to apologise for what I did to you," I say hurriedly.

She doesn't say anything for a long time. And then she mutters, "Apologies. Such a strange thing. You hurt someone and expect one simple word to fix it. How bizarre."

"I don't expect it to fix anything, I just needed you to hear it," I reply calmly.

She releases a short, humourless laugh. "You, Olivia, are a psychopath if I've ever seen one."

I ignore the comment, because the amount of times I've heard that is too high for me to care. "We had an agreement. You need to tell me what you know about Jacob."

She releases a long, heavy sigh, like she hadn't breathed out at all today and felt the need to do it then. "I'm aware. Bailey ran me through the new agreement, which I'm truly excited for, by the way."

Jasper makes a low growling sound behind me, glaring at her.

It just makes Naomi laugh. She turns back to me with a playful smile on her lips. "What do you want to know?"

I sit forward in my seat. "Do you have any idea who killed Jacob?"

"Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue," she says.

"Then why the hell am I here?" I snap, beginning to stand.

"Hold your horses, flower." I stop and sit back down, glaring at her. This girl is a little more than difficult.

"Tell me what you know."

"The night it happened, I heard Jacob and his friends talking about how he wanted to get rid of the new girl."

Jasper tenses, and an odd chill fills the air.

She laughs again. "I'm guessing that new girl is you."

I nod uneasily.

"Anyhow, they were saying how they wanted to get you expelled, something about you being too dangerous- which I'm not disagreeing with- but Rosa wouldn't hear of it. Jacob was angry. That boy did not like you, flower."

"I know."

She continues like I hadn't spoken, "A friend of mine said she heard shouts on the roof the night it happened. Outside the girl's wing. Meaning the likelihood of it being a girl who pushed him is increased."

That isn't exactly true because I know for a fact Alec has climbed along that part of the roof before. It's how we first met. But the chances of it being a boy are slim to none, though.

"Is that it? You're telling me it's a girl?"

"Hey, watch your mouth, I just narrowed down your suspects by ruling out half of the student population."

She's right. It has helped. But not enough.

"Anything else?"

"One more thing."

I lean forward.

"Jacob wasn't on the roof to see his girlfriend that night. He was there to find you."

I freeze.

"He was coming after Olivia?" Jasper asks, frowning.

She nods with her lips pressed together, any traces of humour from earlier completely gone. "Whoever killed Jacob was trying to stop him coming for you. But they must've known he was planning it. So..."

"They were his friend," I release, the words almost getting caught in my throat.

She nods, eyes briefly flashing across Jasper. "A Socio."