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Nina immediately grabbed a red solo cup from the kitchen and joined Jesper on the table. I tried not to stare at anyone and went to talk to Wylan.

"Jesper invited the whole school?"

"Yep." Wylan didn't sound mad though. He would do anything for Jesper. Plus, I don't think he minds having people around. His dad is out of town a lot as well and even when he is there, he doesn't spend a lot of time with Wylan. Wylan says he never wanted kids and since Wylan's mother died their relationship has only gotten worse.

Jesper is the only one Wylan really considers family.

"How long has everyone been here?"I asked.

Wylan shrugged, "The football guys showed up an hour ago and everyone else kind of trickled in later."

I helped myself to a plastic cup of Vodka with orange juice.

"Have you seen Kaz?", I asked Wylan.

"Not yet. I don't even know if he's coming."

"I mean he told me he'd come, but it's Kaz, so, you know…" I explained.

"Yeah… I really can't figure him out. I don't even know if he likes me or hates me." Wylan complained.

"I know how you feel. It took all of middle school for him to even talk to me. But I'm sure he likes you. He wouldn't let you date Jesper otherwise." I said.

"What do you mean he wouldn't let us date? That sounds kind of controlling…"

"That's not what I meant. Kaz isn't controlling, he's just… very protective. He looks out for the people he cares about. If he was scared you'd hurt Jesper he would have warned him, but he wouldn't try to control him." I explained.

"I still don't get him." Wylan said, shaking his head.

"He'll grow on you."

"Like a tumor." Wylan muttered.

I rolled my eyes.

"I'll go find Nina." I walked out of the kitchen. Nina had left Jesper alone on the table. He was still dancing wildly. When he saw me, he pointed at me and tried to motion for me to get up on the table. I shook my head and checked to see if Nina was in the garden. She was and she was sitting on someone's lap. At first I assumed it was Matthias, but then I saw that it was another guy. He was on the football team as well but I'd never seen him with Nina.

It's not your business. I told myself.

I looked around the garden and saw that Matthias was sitting on a lawn chair with some of his football friends. They were whispering with their heads close together. I saw Matthias glancing at Nina a couple of times, but he didn't do anything. I guessed they were going to figure it out on their own. I went back inside. "Wannabe" by the spice girls was playing and Jesper was pointing at Wylan. Wylan was leaning against the doorframe, but while rolling his eyes he went over to Jesper and took his hand, climbing onto the coffee table. His movement was a lot more awkward than Jesper's but he wasn't a bad dancer.

I smiled at them and moved into the entryway.

Sitting on the stairs was none other than Kaz Brekker. He was looking at his phone, scowling. He wore the same outfit he wore to school, a black shirt, black jeans and a well-tailored coat.

"Kaz." I said by way of greeting.

He looked up from his phone, his mouth hanging slightly open.

"Inej." His voice was smooth and steady, like always. He got up and started walking up the stairs. He didn't have to tell me to follow him. We walked up two flights of stairs until Kaz entered a room. I went in behind him. He didn't turn on any lights except for a desk lamp. I guessed this was Wylan's room. Kaz had told me he wanted me to climb down into Wylan's dad's office, just underneath this room. I still didn't know what he wanted from Wylan's dad, but I knew he would tell me what I needed to know. I sat down on Wylan's huge bed. A whole wall of his room was a bookshelf. Kaz was still standing by the desk, in front of the window. He turned to me.

"Okay, I need you to just drop down to the window. Get inside and find a phone. Probably just a black iPhone. It should be turned off, just pocket it and leave." I frowned. This wasn't like Kaz's usual plans. "You want me to just take it. Not leave anything in its place?"

Kaz shrugged.

"By the time he notices it'll be too late anyway." He looked out the window for a moment.

"I don't think any neighbours can see this window, so you should be good." He said.

"Alright. Black phone. I'll get it." I agreed.

I moved over to the window and stood next to Kaz. We were almost touching but not quite.

Neither of us were very touchy. The only interpersonal contact I allowed was during cheerleading.

No one touched Kaz. Jesper had once jokingly punched him and instantly landed on the floor.

While I was probably Kaz' closest friend, I didn't touch him either. It was a clear line I didn't need to cross.

I pushed the desk away from the window and climbed on the window ledge.

"Try not to die." Kaz advised. I nodded, smirking.

The first time Kaz had asked for my help was in 9th grade. I was relatively new to the school and the first thing people told me was that Kaz was a troubled kid who couldn't be trusted and shouldn't be talked to.

Of course, I talked to him anyway.

He sat alone at lunch with Nina and Jesper sitting at the next table over and occasionally glancing at him. Nina waved me over to them and I sat down with them. Nina had immediately declared that we would be friends when I started at the school.

I was glad to have people to sit with and Nina was fun to be around.

When I sat down, Nina introduced me to Jesper. Then she pointed behind her, "and that's Kaz Brekker. He likes to pretend that he's not friends with us except for when he needs a favour." Kaz didn't react even though he had clearly heard her. I turned to him and extended my hand, which he eyed suspiciously. "Inej Ghafa. I'm new here." I said. He took my hand and gave it a short shake, his mouth turning downward as he did. "Kaz Brekker. I'm the king of this school." I smiled. "Well then I'm glad to make your acquaintance, Kaz."

He gave me another glance and turned back to his food, though he hardly touched it. He was reading a book and writing in a notebook at the same time.

"He's super smart so he thinks he's better than everyone. He's actually not that great." Nina whispered in my ear. I smiled. "Well, I'm smart, too. And I won't be a dick about it." That made Nina laugh. Kaz had started sitting with us at lunch shortly after.

Back then I was still a gymnast. I quit when we went to high school because I didn't have the time for it anymore, but Nina had convinced me to start cheerleading instead.

Kaz had been surprised to learn that I was a gymnast and had asked me how I felt about climbing. I was sceptical. I hadn't really climbed a lot, but I wasn't afraid of heights and it sounded kind of fun. So Kaz and I went climbing. It turned out Kaz's leg had been broken several times. "Car accident." He had said, but I didn't quite believe it. Kaz never told me much about his past, but I was sure he hadn't had a very wholesome childhood. Climbing was difficult for him, but I really enjoyed it. When we left, Kaz told me it looked like I was a natural. The next week, he introduced me to a friend of his, a guy who climbed up buildings for fun. We went climbing together and the guy gave me some helpful pointers. Kaz had waited for me in his car. When I came back, I asked why he had introduced me to his friend. He told me he thought it would be fun for me. I suspected there was an ulterior motive, but even when pressed, Kaz said he just wanted me to have fun.

About two weeks later, Kaz asked me to climb up a building and get a briefcase from the roof. It was a very weird request, so I had forced him to give me at least some information. Ever since then, Kaz had told me what I wanted to know. I never pushed too far, and he never told me more than I needed to know. I had also never told anyone else anything about Kaz's private business. Nina and Jesper had both asked on multiple occasions, but my lips were sealed.

On the night of the party, Kaz hadn't really given me any information but I knew Wylan's dad was shady. He had a business but not even Wylan knew what he was doing exactly.

I climbed down the façade of the house, it was a brick building so I could easily find cracks to fit my hands and feet.

Soon I was perched on the windowsill of the office.

I slid open the window and climbed inside. I saw a security camera in one corner, but it was pointed toward the door, the angle allowing me to slip to the desk and pocket the black iPhone that was lying plain on the desk, like Kaz had said.

Just as I turned on my heels, I heard the lock click.