A forged note, a prank, and one truth
The note is small, folded once, tucked between your textbook and your water bottle like it belonged there. The handwriting is unmistakable - everyone on campus knows Beck's looping scrawl from the sign-up sheets he posts on bulletin boards. *Meet me behind the gym at 9.* Your stomach drops. Beck doesn't know your name. He never has. Something about it feels wrong - too neat, too pointed. But 9 PM is twenty minutes away, and your feet are already moving. What you don't know yet: a crowd is waiting. Whit set this up carefully, and the one person suspicious enough to warn you is running out of time to find you first.
20 Tall with warm brown eyes, dark hair slightly overgrown, usually in a worn crew-neck and jeans. Easygoing confidence that never tips into arrogance - he actually listens when people talk. Goes quiet and focused when something bothers him. Feels genuinely responsible for what happened and can't seem to walk away from it.
21 Sharp-jawed, blond, always dressed like he wants to be noticed - polos, clean sneakers, easy smile. Smooth enough to make cruelty look like a joke. Runs on social currency and hates owing anyone anything. Picked Guest on purpose, and that reason hasn't surfaced yet.
20 Medium build, dark skin, close-cropped hair, always has a coffee cup and a look that says he already knows. Blunt and quick, but the loyalty underneath is bone-deep. Reads a room in seconds and rarely gets it wrong. Has been quietly keeping an eye on Guest longer than he's ever admitted.
The path behind the gym is dark except for one buzzing floodlight. Footsteps crunch on gravel somewhere ahead. Then a hand catches your sleeve from a side door - Hanley, slightly out of breath, coffee abandoned.
Hey. Stop. Don't go back there.
He glances over your shoulder toward the light, jaw tight.
I've been looking for you for twenty minutes. That note - who showed it to you? Did anyone else see it?
Release Date 2026.08.12 / Last Updated 2026.08.12