Two weeks of the Christmas break had passed and I hadn't heard from John. I'd checked on him a week after Christmas and was told he'd been discharged.

I felt a little hurt but mostly worried. What if the guys from the gang he was involved in came to finish the job? What if his mum sent him off somewhere as punishment?

A nudge on my shoulder brought me out of my thoughts. I turned to Alyssa who was looking down the hallway at something. After following her gaze I spotted Melissa walking beside the lockers with her head down. Everyone around us was whispering nasty things about her.

I turned to Alyssa, surprised. "Taylor ended up releasing the video?"

"I didn't need to." The woman herself said, appearing at my left and looking flawless as usual. Her hazel eyes watched her cousin with pity. "Brenda Mills overheard the Headmaster telling Mel off and couldn't keep her mouth shut."

"So she's getting suspended?" I asked. In the meeting the Headmaster hadn't decided decided her punishment as he had to discuss it with the school board.

Taylor shook her head. "Expelled."

The original plan was to send the video evidence of Melissa admitting to her

crimes to the headmaster and our whole grade. But last minute I decided that was too far.

As much as Melissa deserved it, and as cliche as it sounds, I didn't want to stoop down to her level. I decided i'd let karma take control of what happened to her social life.

And it turns out we didn't need to wait long. It was the first day back from Christmas break, and the Headmaster had already taken action as he'd promised. And Brenda Mills the Gossip Mill also fulfilled her role as the school's accurate rumour source.

We watched as Melissa emptied her locker, her face hiding behind her wavy black hair. Two girls I recognised from Art class approached her.

"What you did to Chloe was totally messed up." The brunette told her.

"And framing your cousin? That's low." Her friend said. "Get some help."

They waited a moment but Melissa said nothing, continuing to pack her things. The brunette scoffed and they shoved past her.

Alyssa snorted and Taylor let out a small chuckle. As if triggered by the sound Melissa's gaze snapped to us, her eyes dark and angry.

Taylor took a step forward, a smirk resting on her face. She didn't need to say anything, it was all in her expression. Melissa sent her one more withering glance before turning back to her locker.

"Chloe!" I turned to my left to see Cory, Elijah and the rest of my friends speed walking down the hallway.

"Is it true?" Maya asked breathlessly once they reached me. "About Melissa?"

"Ask her yourself." I answered, jabbing my thumb behind me. They looked over my shoulder to see their former friend.

Teresa and Maya stormed off in that direction with the guys hot on their trail. Benji stayed behind and approached me with a smile. I left Alyssa and Taylor to meet him.

"Hey." I greeted, pressing a kiss to his cheek. He hugged me and kept his arm

loosely around my waist. Apart from my family, the only other person I hung out with was Benji during the holidays. After saying the big three words we couldn't get enough of each other.

"You okay?" He asked, glancing at Melissa and our friends then back at me. I nodded, looking at them also.

"Yeah. Let's go listen to what they're saying." I suggested and we moved towards the group.

"Were you ever genuine? All the times us four girls hung out? Or was it all an act?" Maya asked with anger lacing her tone. Melissa didn't take her eyes off her beaten up shoes.

"What, nothing to say?" Teresa taunted. "You sure had a lot to say about Chloe. Or rather, type."

"That's seriously messed up, chica." Elijah added on.

"We only started hanging out with you cos Chloe seemed to like you in the first place." Cory said and I turned to him surprised.

"Wait, what?"

"We were cool with Melissa but she wasn't really part of our group." Cory explained, running a hand through his dark curls. "She had this whole loner thing going on before you came. Now I see why."

"You know what!" Melissa suddenly shouted, startling us and other students in the hallway. "You guys can stand here and say how bad I am, or how fake I am and it may be true. But at the end of the day, I'm a product of my environment."

She glared at Taylor who was causally watching the scene unfold. "One can only take so much before they snap. But Taylor," Melissa pointed at her. "It's in her nature to be an shitty person. It runs through her blood. So tell me, who's worse?"

Everyone was silent and I looked at Taylor, trying to gauge her response. She gave nothing away, only pursing her glossed lips.

"Pretty speech, but you forget we share the same blood, prima." Taylor said

with a wry smile. "So if being a bad person is in my blood it's in yours also. Get out of here before you embarrass yourself further."

Alyssa, always the supportive best friend, starting clapping and everyone followed suit. Melissa stormed towards the exit, humiliation radiating off her like a bad stench.

"Always the drama queen." Taylor sighed as she watched Melissa leave.

My friends crowded around me. "I can't believe she did that to you, Chloe." Maya said, shaking her head. "But I don't get why?"

"And how did you find out she was behind the post?" Teresa asked. I exchanged a look with Taylor and Alyssa.

"I'll tell you later. It's a long story."

"And a really cool one too." Alyssa added with a proud grin.

The bell rang and students started making their way to class. Benji grabbed my hand and dragged me away which caused me to laugh when my friends protested.

"What was that for? Don't tell me you've started to care about your punctuality." I teased him and he rolled his eyes but smiled, his dimple popping out.

"I want to leave them in suspense. Plus, Maya and Teresa will beat me up if they find out I knew about everything and didn't 'spill the tea'." He explained and I cracked up.

"I'd love to see that."

"I'm sure you would." Another eye roll. "Hold out until pigs fly, yeah?"

My eyes narrowed. "Always the comedian, huh?" I poked his rib and he shied away before attempting to poke me back.

I jumped out of the way, almost stumbling into a girl and ran off with Benji chasing me. Our laughter echoed in the hallway after us.

After school I was in the parking lot, waiting for Benji so he could drive me home. One minute I was staring aimlessly at the cars, the next a familiar person appeared in my line of vision.

"Hi?" I greeted Maisie hesitantly after she stared at me for a full minute.

"Hi."

The staring match resumed. I got sick of the silence and frankly creeped out.

"What do you want?" We weren't friends so I didn't feel like being friendly.

She crossed her arms and shuffled on her feet, clear signs of nervousness. I watched as she glanced behind her for a split second before turning back to me.

"Have you heard from John?"

I was surprised then realised I shouldn't have been. With her dating Cyrus, John was the only thing connecting us.

"Not sure your boyfriend would be too happy with you asking about your ex." I commented and she made a face.

"I'm not with Cyrus anymore." Maisie corrected and as if he somehow heard her, her phone started ringing and his name flashed across the screen. "I just wish he realised that."

"So you're asking out of the kindness of your heart?" I asked sarcastically.

Maisie's dark eyes narrowed and she sighed in a frustrated manner. "Yes, Chloe. Believe or not but I actually care about John."

I scoffed. "Yeah, okay. If you cared about him so much you could have helped him out when your crazy boyfriend made him go on that ambush."

"He's not my boyfriend." Maisie snapped. "And stop acting like you know all the facts. It's not as easy as you make it seem."

"Bite me." I sneered, spotting two figures in the distance. Wonder who they were?

"And your bodyguards are waiting for you." I added, realisation dawning upon me. "I'll connect the dots and say they sent you to ask me about John because I wouldn't say a word to them."

Maisie avoided my eyes and I had my answer. Without another word I turned and headed back to the school, tired of waiting for Benji.

As I was walking through the empty corridor I felt my phone vibrate and read a text message from an unknown number.

Blackjack Avenue. 7:00PM tonight. Come alone.

I stopped and re-read the message, not sure if I was seeing correctly.

What the heck?

******