Alicia,

I pushed my tortoise shell Chanel sunglasses into my purse and looked around the mall.

It was a busy day, as it always was when the stores got their shipment around here. But I noticed that none of the weak minded LBRs who always followed trends weren't wearing what they used to.

They weren't carrying heavy Prada bags and wearing tortoise shell sunglasses, which was the CeCe look. They were not sporting a new blonde dye job and red lipstick, which was known as the Olivia look. They weren't wearing Spanish style dresses and adorable sandals.

They were wearing straight hair and hot business suits, which was Massie.

They were sporting a new perm and lose tops with skinny jeans, which was Dylan.

They wore bomber jackets and black shorts with weird colored knee-socks, which was so Layne.

They had the black blazer, which Bay was known for, with graphic v-neck tees underneath, which was Kristen.

They were all munching on Luna bars to be as petite as Claire, and they were dumping their boyfriends because he was nothing compared to the British Hawtie Massie brought with her.

I raised my head up higher and went right down the middle, acting like my outfit of an orange sundress and platform sandals was completely above theirs.

But I had to admit that the Beta inside of me was wanting to run into one of the nearby stores and buy those Opal earrings that Massie made huge, or to get that light blue loose top that Dylan was making popular, or even to get one of those feather extensions like what Layne had made everyone want to buy.

I even had to admit that the Alpha inside me wished I could have thought to buy some of the things I had seen in pictures of the "Click".

Like Kristen's dress. And don't even get me started on how Massie had brought purple back.

As I made my way through the mall, I suddenly noticed that no one was watching me.

I still had those loyal LBRs who had spent years never abandoning me, but they didn't count. I really only liked it when I had those swing voters on my side, and either they were on middle ground or on the side of the enemy. This stung like a band geek declining if I asked him to a dance, it was unacceptable, and I needed it changed.

Without meaning to, I thought back to the party pictures that were all over the internet.

Now, I knew that my old friends were beautiful and could easily transform into perfect if needed, and Layne had that badass feel to her that was like LBR Crack. But had Bay always been so pretty?

And she was still wearing that retro style that I had begged her to stop with. But she made it look good instead of vile. And had her green eyes always been so electric? Had her black hair always been so shiny? Had she always walked with such confidence?

I shook off the thoughts and sped up my walk to DeAndre's where my friends awaited the return from their alpha, but they didn't know how much hell I was about to give them. If they had known, they wouldn't have come.

With only one step into the restaurant, my nerves calmed. There was that feel of being restricted, and there was that bartender who had a crush on me and let me have all the alcohol I wanted. There were those small portion sizes as if to tell people that they did actually need to keep not-eating, no matter what nice relatives say. There was the familiar sound of clanking wine glasses for toasts, and I saw women of about thirty keeping up with their cliques.

I liked it here, especially at our middle table where everyone could see us.

But…they weren't there.

The table in the middle was taken by a business man and his family of a second wife and two teenage daughters who weren't far in age from their step-mother.

I blinked, hoping I was imagining it, but it didn't turn into Olivia and CeCe sitting there.

I turned to the hostess table and quickly scurried over there.

"My shift ends in about ten minutes. Let's meet at TJMaxx. They just got a new shipment, and Allie said that they have that pinstripe mini skirt that Dylan wore!"

I glared at the teenage blonde.

"Excuse me," I said it loudly and as bitchy as I could.

The blonde shut her flip phone and stuffed it into a pocket. She quickly turns around and smiled that "Hostess" smile that I usually liked, but today I wanted to slap that smile off her plain face.

"May I help you?" she tried to hide her annoyance, but I still heard it.

"I especially reserved that table yesterday for this time," I pointed towards the middle table, "So, why is someone else sitting there?"

The girl just shrugged, "It was a mix-up. But you're friends are at another table."

"Mix-up?" I demanded.

"Follow me," the girl avoided that, and I glanced at her name tag so that I could complain about her. I reluctantly followed after her, knowing I had to.

At first, I hoped we'd get somewhere up front. But she kept walking. Then I expected we'd get an acceptable. But she kept walking.

And there my two blonde friends sat, at the worst table in the place.

CeCe's blonde hair was held up in a bun, and she looked ashamed to be sitting there. Her lips were a fading burgundy, and she had maybe a drop of Champaign left in her glass. She wore an expensive floral wrap dress to match her lip stick, and she looked happier after she had "hung out" with a guy last night after the party because she was still fighting with Cam. But she wasn't happy necessarily because Cam was staying friends with Layne, no matter how much CeCe whined.

I'm not even sure that Olivia noticed that she was in the absolute worst seat at the restaurant. She held her spine right up, and she had barely gotten into her Appletini, as she knew I wished they would wait to drink with me. Her high waisted pink leopard print skirt went to about her mid-thigh, and her spaghetti-strap tank silk shirt was tucked in. And I felt like I had a sprained ankle just looking at how high her heels were.

The faux-blonde waitress left without another word, and I began mentally drafting my complaint about her.

I took the nearest seat and looked across at the two girls

"What the hell, you guys?"

"Those assholes got here first," CeCe pointed to our table.

"No, last night!" I hissed.

"We didn't stand a chance! You weren't there! And, with Bay on their side knowing all of our tricks to winning Rebecca's Spa Card, it was almost impossible to win."

"I warned you, you should have been prepared!" I whisper-hissed.

"Well, if you hadn't been with Derrick instead of us, this might not have happened!" CeCe quickly countered, not willing to take the blame just yet.

"It's not my fault that my mom is determined to ruin my Social Life."

Neither of them countered, which meant something really bad had happened that they weren't quite ready to tell me yet.

"What else happened?" I groaned and set my head in my hands.

"Rebecca gave Massie a spa card and made a big deal about it," Olivia answered like a child scared of how much her mother would punish her, and she didn't even sip at her Appletini, which meant even her small brain knew that this was bad.

"You're kidding!" I hissed again, hoping I was right. Hoping this was all some dream and that I'd wake up in my room and it would be the begging of the summer again without Massie back. Hoping that Massie would never come back to New York and that she would stay abroad.

"They didn't take ours though. It's just cut in half," CeCe was quick to reassure me, but it didn't make a difference.

I waited for a minute, trying to find a bright side in this mess. But I couldn't really find one for a long time. I mean, yes, the "Click" didn't have the huge amount to spend, but we didn't either. And it only took one night for the Click to take control while it had taken me three long months to train these LBRs to listen to me. Finally, I found something, and I focused on it.

"That means that Rebecca still has some sort of trust in us. It might not be as great as it used to be, but it's still there. We can still grind those Click girls into the dirt," I smiled to myself, imagining how good it would feel to watch their tears as they realize that not even the legendary Massie Block could defeat me.

"You're right!" Olivia clapped happily and started to bounce, and I realized that her IQ had probably gone down at least one point from when I saw her last.

Note to self, get that geek to tutor Olivia again.

"We need a new plan of action though. Something big," I told them, and they immediately started spouting out ideas.

When Olivia was mid-sentence, my iphone chirped in my purse, and I reached down to get it.

One New Email!

I pressed the open button and cringed when I saw the email, TheVoiceOfWestchester, which was really Gossip Girl. It was through this email account that I first found out about Gossip Girl, and I had hired dozens of people to track down who was behind it, but it never worked. I just ended up wasting my credit card limit.

I've got a proposition for you and the Click. If you want to know more, go to James Park at four today. If you don't come, the Click girls will hear about this deal without you. And you don't want to be left behind, now do you?

-GG

"I think I just got our new plan," I smiled deviously.

Kristen,

I watched the stores and other such things pass by as Layne's hybrid passed by them. It was a beautiful sunny day with people all on this road driving over to the Hamptons, ready for summer in the sun and expensive shopping after a day of tanning. I almost wished that I could be one of them, the beach seemed so tempting today.

While I was thinking about my ex-boyfriend, who I broke up with because I fell for Dempsey, my cell phone buzzed in my pocket.

Finally got a day without babysitting my brothers. Want hang out? In desperate need of a soccer game? :D

I rolled my eyes and held a grudge as I replied.

Can't.

I slid my phone back into my pocket and turned off the vibrating so I wouldn't know if he ever did respond, which I prayed he wouldn't. How did he not understand why I hated him? Why did he keep texting me?

It makes me want to reply "Ask Daphne"

"He likes you, you know."

I looked over at Layne, who had been listening to some Punk Rock band during the drive and hadn't said worked one before now.

"Tell that to Daphne."

What did Daphne have that made Dempsey like her? She seemed nothing like the kind of girls he seems to like. She was short and extremely skinny, without any muscle. And her bob was just so…. so… girly. He hates girly girls, which is why he didn't like Massie afterall. But he liked Daphne?

He needs some sporty girl, who probably plays soccer too. And who loves those little brothers of his at least half as much as he does.

Like… like me, I guess…..

"No one is stupid enough to think that Dempsey doesn't like you."

"What about Dempsey?"

Layne paused, not sure how to respond to that one.

"Dempsey may be dumb enough not to accept it, but he's smart enough to like you," Layne smiled, and I decided to ignore how that sounded like a line out of Lifetime Movie.

"Thanks."

"He just wasn't smart enough to like me."

I smiled to myself and deiced against saying anything since we had made it to Bay's house already, where three cars were already waiting for us. As always, Layne's hybrid seemed like a midget surrounded by professional basketball players compared to the SUVs.

I quickly got out of the car and followed after Layne to the grand front door.

"You're cousin still's not here," Bay complained as soon as we got through the door.

"Ugh!" Layne yelled as she brought out her cell phone and pressed the contact for her cousin Alyssa.

"Everyone's in the study," Bay nodded towards the study, and I smiled thankfully, knowing I didn't want to hear the many choice words Layne would be telling her cousin.

I hurried towards the Study, which wasn't hard because I had worn my favorite pair of Nikes to spy in the woods to make sure Alicia's betas didn't pull anything. Luckily, since I had left my key at home, I didn't have to use a key to the study, which was almost always locked incase CeCe snuck in and found out all of our secrets.

I came in and smiled at the constant sent of vanilla. The study easily calmed my nerves, even when Layne had loud rock blasting through the built-in wall speakers. I didn't know what it was, maybe it was just how it felt like home. My aunt's house was great and everything, but my cousin made it tense there. It was only tense here when we were debating if we should order Chinese or pizza.

"Hey, Kris."

I looked over at all three girls.

Massie was spreading around enough make-up to fill up Sephora on the new vanity that Dylan had bought for when we slept over here or needed to get ready for a party here, but she looked like she had used none of it herself. As always, other than some lipstick, her make-up always made Massie look like she just had perfection, which wouldn't surprise me if it was true.

Massie was really the only one who looked spectacular today, other than of course Layne who never could settle for not looking insanely hot. In fact, it had been the orders of our Alpha that, if we were supposed to spy, we were to were normal clothes, which was something different from what we had been told since the "Click" started.

And, as I stood there, I realized the three of us were wearing just about the same thing.

For Dylan: Jeans (True Religion dark wash), a tee shirt (Briarwood Soccer Team from Josh), a jacket (Red Juicy hoodie), and sneakers (Red Converse)

For Claire: Jeans shorts (Abercrombie distressed), a tee shirt (Old Navy), a jacket (A light blue plaid shirt without the buttons done), and sneakers (a pair of Keds)

For me: Jeans (Light wash Bermuda shorts), a graphic tee, a jacket (Grey hoodie with headphones built in), and sneakers (My lucky Nikes)

"Hey," I came to stand beside the girls.

Before anyone could say anything, Massie's cell phone beeped with a new text message, and she quickly reached over to get it, leaving the assorted eyeliners in the pile of eyeshadow.

While she was reading the text message, I noticed the contact picture in the far left corner.

"Wow, James's is cuter than you said," I smiled as I leaned over to get a better look.

"I can't wait for you guys to meet him," Massie smiled, blushing, and the two other girls quickly rallied around our alpha to see the infamous James we had been hearing about.

I don't think I had ever seen someone like James. He even rivaled Derrington, who I swear was given special attention when God decided how his face would look, but it was in a different way.

James was the kind of guy you fall in love with and marry one day and bare his genetic-lotto-win children. I wasn't sure what Derrington was, but he wasn't that. It was obvious at that moment that those stories Massie told about girls always trying to steal him weren't just over exaggerated. They were the absolute truth, and there were probably more of those tales than Massie cared to tell.

I felt kind of envious at this moment for my Alpha's life. Sure, I wouldn't want to have to go to war with my ex-best friend or have to cross an ocean all the time to see her assorted family, but I did want a guy who loved me like James loved Massie, and who preferably was as hot as James was.

For you see, my alpha had found the real trophy, the thing that showed that you really had won. She had love. Massie loved James, and James loved Massie. She had everything that every girl wanted.

The cell phone in my pocket, where Dempsey had probably sent another sent to, became heavier, and I again tried to think of why Dempsey had chosen Daphne over me.

"Alyssa's here!"

Dylan,

I put down the comb and reached for the straightening iron, tuning in and out of what Bay instructed Alyssa, or Allie as I was to call her from that moment on.

I had never met Alyssa Candon before, but I knew of her. I knew Layne's brother used to talk about his annoying older cousin, Lyssa, but I only remembered it because I had compared Lyssa's "Older Than You Means Better Than You" attitude to that my sister's, Drew. Just in case someone remembered, like me, a cousin Layne's brother used to talk about, we were supposed to call her Allie instead of how she always called Lyssa by her friends and family.

It was lucky that Alyssa didn't look like Layne at all. Her eyes were a normal brown, and her hair was a dull blonde. Her face was completely beautiful except for a pugish nose. Allie needed glasses unless she planned on walking into traffic, but she could handle contacts. Allie was one of those girls who looked simply to die for if she applied make-up correctly, but she didn't know how.

When the twenty-year old first got here a while back, she had almost made her cousin want to cry because of how dull she looked. Her blonde hair was in a messy ponytail, and she wore clothes that shocked me considering she was related to Layne. She wore light wash jeans that didn't seem to fit her well, and her tee shirt was from some college she attended. She had come in with a little bit of concealer to cover up a zit on her forehead, but she was without make-up other than that.

Alyssa was a student in some Southern College, and she had once lived in New Jersey. This summer, she was staying with another one of her aunts in New York City, who owned some acting company or something. Alyssa was a journalism major, who was learning the art of dialogue from her Aunt, and she had jumped at the offer Layne made to become the new face of "Gossip Girl" for working experience.

Alyssa going to be the person you thought of when you thought of Gossip Girl. She was going to be the person who holds parties, who does interviews, and stuff like that though it'll still be under wraps who she reports to.

Tomorrow, Bay was going to announce on the site that Allie Candon was the new face of Gossip Girl. She would be the one who did interviews, and she would hold luncheons and such. Bay would also explain in some funny way that the people of Westchester shouldn't get too cocky because Allie is as silent as the grave when it came to saying who was Gossip Girl.

"Remember, only go by Allie, never Lyssa," Layne told Alyssa for the millionth time while I went through her hair one more time. Layne continued while I reached for the bobby pin package. I used all of the tricks I had been taught by the hair and make-up crew who worked for my mom's reality TV show to quickly pull Allie's hair out of her eyes and make a bun in the back, leaving the bottom half of the hair down.

I sprayed the hairspray, making Claire cough, and I pressed off on the straightening iron before heading back to the rack of clothes that we all had pulled together after learning Alyssa's size. Unluckily, Allie hadn't had time to go to the personal shopper Massie set up for her to pick out some clothes. So, we had to search around to find things that would look good on her.

"And remember, if anything happens, I'll be will you via Bluetooth. And after the meeting, we'll be waiting for you in the back, ready to drive you away."

I looked through the dresses and brought out a dress that Massie had brought, I think she said it was from her friend Wyatt and didn't fit her well. Since she was a little less curvy and endowed as Massie, I knew it would do well with Alyssa, and I gave it the once over to decide which pair of shoes would go with it.

The dress was a navy blue with spaghetti straps, which meant I should pick up the blue blazer with white trim that Claire brought, and it had ruffles at the bottom that got thicker and thicker as you went down. The only thing that could be the issue would be the corset built into the dress. On Massie, the dress ended a little high up, but I knew it would go just above Alyssa's knees, where it was supposed to be. I quickly picked up the leather ankle boots Layne brought, and I carried all three things back.

"I'm done!" Massie smiled proudly as she put away a mascara wand, and I had to admit that she did well. It was clear that Allie would rival the two Alphas she was meeting in the woods today.

I handed Allie the dress and silently prayed that she could handle the pure evil that Alicia had gained in the last few years.

Claire,

I looked through the brush, waiting for the sight of Alicia's BMW.

"Where the hell is she?" Kristen complained as she sat down on the hood of my Camri, and Massie continued to use the side view mirror to reapply her lip gloss. Everyone else, except for Dylan who was forced to drive home for the final shots of her sister's big revealing of being pregnant episode, was waiting in Bay's Range Rover towards the back. But, somehow, Kristen and I had gotten stuck watching the two Betas, CeCe and Olivia, in case they did something.

Well that and Bay wants some gossip for GG.

"Wait, I think I see it."

Everyone huddled around where I was, and it was clear that I was right when the black BMW came down the crossroad to this park, which no one ever did. James Park was good for really only one thing, weddings. Other than that, no one ever came here. It was just another park and it was too far away from the stores or the houses. There had never been a reason to come unless you were meeting your blackmailer or drug dealer.

The black BMW X5 pulled into the parking lot, and the slight hum of "Hold It Against Me" disappeared once the engine halted. It took a few moments, but three girls finally got out of the car. That was when we noticed something, and we all knew what Alicia was doing.

CeCe was dressed in jeans and a ponytail, which showed that she actually wasn't all that hot without the couture, but Olivia was dressed as she always was. I knew immediately that the studded leather jacket that hung over her black mini dress was something that Layne had newly made popular, but I had no clue how Olivia could walk in such high heels.

Olivia was coming with Alicia.

CeCe went off towards the Garden Shed, probably to spy too, but Alicia and Olivia made their slow walk to where the meeting place was inside the park.

Massie mumbled a few choice words that went from PG-13 to R.

"Okay, Kristen," Massie, finally done cursing Alicia in every word possible, began, "You're with me. Allie will make you leave, but you can keep an eye on Olivia after that."

"Got it," Kristen nodded.

"Good luck with Alicia," I told them as they left the huddle and quickly looked at themselves in the mirror.

"Good luck with CeCe," Massie smirked, and I smiled at my Alpha and watched her as she left me to go finish this deal.

I stared ahead, trying to find CeCe again, but I couldn't seem to find the blonde.

And then she came out.

For a moment, I thought it wasn't her. She had her hair down, and she had changed into a mini skirt. Along with that, she had slipped out of her black hoodie and showed off a tank top underneath.

"What the hell?" I muttered.

CeCe hurried over to stand infront of the Garden Shed, trying to look hot, and I immediately worried that she was meeting Cam here when I heard another car pull into the rocky parking lot.

But the car that sat beside Alicia's wasn't Cams. His was an electric blue Pruis that Layne had talked him into, and this car was an all-black Camaro with tinted windows. And, when the guy got out, I noticed it definitely wasn't Cam.

Oh my God!

It was Cam's old friend who was like another brother to him. Cam's mom was best friends with Blake's mom, and they had both gotten pregnant at the same time. They had hoped that one would have a little girl so that they could marry each other and make the two women family, but they both had boys. So they settled for them to be friends.

I quickly moved from the brush to a closer cluster of trees so that I could hear what was going on.

"Hey there," CeCe smiled seductively, and Blake smiled the same way.

"What are you doing here? Isn't this place supposed to be abandoned."

"It's only abandoned in the daylight, then the horny kids show up," CeCe played along.

"Really?"

"I should know. I've had a lot of fun around here."

"What about with that guy you're with? Cam, right?"

"Nah," CeCe shook his head, "Too mild mannered."

"Well, I'm not like that," Blake leaned in to kiss CeCe, and I couldn't help but gasp.

They didn't hear me though, and CeCe led Blake into the garden shed.

"Holy. Crap!"

Massie,

Even though Alicia had started to walk way earlier than we had, Kristen and I made it to the table in the middle of the park at about the time Alicia got there.

I had to admit that Dylan and I did a good job with the make-over for Lyssa…er, Allie.

Allie had never been ugly, but she had never tried to be pretty. That was actually the big reason we decided she should be the face of Gossip Girl. Allie had visited town every year or so, but she hadn't been memorable. And this girl needed a new identity, sort of as the Alpha while "Project Alpha" was going on.

I had to admit, that even from a far, Allie played the part well. She dressed preppy, and the ruffles engulfed the petite little girl. As I got closer and closer, I saw how pretty she was. Allie was exactly the kind of girl I wanted to leave this town to when I left this summer. But she'd be leaving with me, off to some far off college. I didn't know who was taking over this town after I was gone again, and it worried me.

When I got to the small table, made for chess or something, I took the seat to the right of Allie since Alicia had taken the left. Olivia stood behind Alicia, with her arms crossed and her eyes cruel. Olivia's eyes then washed over Kristen, smiling evilly when she noticed how much better Olivia looked better than Kristen.

"Betas leave."

Allie looked around to the two blondes.

"I don't have a problem with them here," Alicia crossed her arms.

"I do. I said Alicia, not Olivia," Allie was sure to put emphasizes when she pronounced the two names, "You, too, Kristen."

I nodded to Kristen, telling her to leave, and Olivia huffed, begging her alpha to let her stay. I knew Kristen would probably be like that if she didn't know what was going on, but I had to admit that it looked look that I was in this seat of power, even though I hoped James would never have to see this side of me.

"Where am I supposed to go?" Olivia whined loudly.

"I don't care."

I stared at Allie, trying to figure out if she said that or Bay. Had I chosen the wrong girl?

Had I just brought in another enemy?

"Fine," Olivia huffed, and she tried to speedwalk. But it was a pathetic attempt in those heels. Kristen hurried after her.

Alicia and I both looked at Allie.

"So, who are you?" Alicia finally asked.

"Allie. Allie Candon."

"Allie Candon? I don't think I've ever met you before…. or heard of you for that matter," Alicia looked away and narrowed her eyes, knowing not to be rude to Allie, whoever the hell she was.

"I'm the face of Gossip Girl as of," Allie looked at the chunky blue watch Layne picked out, "two hours ago."

Alicia, nodded trying to see hip enough already of known.

"The Gossip Girl can't show up herself?" Alicia smirked.

"It wouldn't matter if she did. You'd still get the same information."

Considering she's telling her what to say…

"What information?" Alicia leaned in, reminding me of how she used to do when it was gossip time. It was hard to think that she was the same girl.

Was she?

Had Nina gone off the deep end and killed Alicia, sending a doppelganger in her place?

Allie smiled to herself and reached inside the black tote she had come with, and she brought out two blue folders with "Gossip Girl" in perfect blue cursive. She pushed one to me and the other to Alicia. I had to admit that I was in suspense, wondering what was inside.

I knew the plan, sort of, but I hadn't seen the folders. I had only seen Layne bring them in a Staples Box, and curiosity had burned at me as I thought of what would be inside. Sure, I had helped come up with this idea from my seat of power at the Board Table, but it had taken form without me.

Alicia and I waited what was probably seconds but felt like years to open the folders so we didn't seem to desperate, and I couldn't say the contents quite made sense to me yet.

I spread around the photos to get a better look.

"What is this?" I finally asked Allie, and she smiled, probably hoping for that question from how long Layne and Bay had mentored her.

"It's a new feature on Gossip Girl," Allie brought her own folder and went to the front page.

She spread them around.

"This a poll on the posts. People judge, who they would choose as their Alpha today and all."

She moved to the next one.

"This is the front advertisement," she pointed to a headliner.

Alicia VS. Massie

Bay had taken a photo of Alicia, which was taken at the first day we met at the pizza shop. Griffon (Go, Bay!) had probably taken the picture because it showed the table, looking perfectly clean, with Alicia on one end and me on the other.

"And this is where it directs to," Allie pointed to the last one.

There were two columns. The first had Alicia's name with "Score" written in bold type. Below, there was a random number. My column was the same, except my name was in Purple while Alicia's was in Orange.

Underneath each, there was a "Learn About the Cliques" link. At the very bottom, there was a new catchphrase. Instead of her usual thing about the people of Westchester and a viewer count, there was a "May the Best Alpha Win…." in a black cursive.

Allie went onto explain the point system to me, but I'd be lying if I said I was really paying attention. It was at this moment that it all set it. I really realized that I was waging a war on a girl who used to be my best friend. This wasn't some story I would tell my UKF (UK Friends) of what I'd be doing if I was back in Westchester. This was happening, and I was risking my friend's future social life in the process.

"…And you get to endorse a new Clique for the next generation at the end of the summer," Allie ended, and I forced my eyes away from the pictures and back to them.

"Looks like, when Alicia says 'Point', it's literal."

I realized after I said it that Alicia probably didn't say that anymore. It was kind of a Betas thing to say, not an Alpha. But it got Alicia to almost laugh, until she remembered that it was me, her arch enemy. Her dark eyes met mine, and they were almost nice for a minute before they hardened.

"What happens to the loser?" Alicia looked away to Allie.

"Exile. For a year, they cannot start another uprising."

I looked at Allie with surprise.

Sure, she was allowed to make her own rules, but that was a bit extreme. Sure, we wouldn't be here for a year, but another uprising for us would be fatal. No one would trust us again.

My friends would be losers, with no life here. They could never move back, unless they wanted to be a social outcast. This was it, I risking their future for this. For the first time, I hesitated, and I thought back to my friends.

"I'm in," Alicia nodded, and I waited before I finally caved.

"Me, too."

"Good," Allie smiled as she scooped up the contents of her folder and slid it back into her purse. She quickly stood to leave, "Nice doing business with you."

Without another word, she walked away, and we just watched her. When she finally was out of sight, Alicia and I looked back at each other.

"So you're not trying to gain back your old status, huh?" Alicia's eyes filled with betrayal, and she stood up without another word. And for the first time, she speedily marched away.

So, after this, there will be more fluff and less serious. But it'll slowly get more serious until the final chapter which you will love.