Let's continue. The aftermath of Heather's death. Thanks, Gucci Mane LaFlare and PrincessCrystalgem.

Gwen spent the whole of Saturday with Trent, so she didn't respond the first couple of times Emma messaged her. It was only in the evening when she responded to Emma's Call me immediately!

"I'm really sorry," Gwen said as soon as Emma picked up. "I know, I promised to explain what was-"

"No need to explain," Emma said. She sounded really angry, but Gwen could tell it wasn't directed at her. "Whatever that note was about, Chase insists he didn't write it. So now not only is he still not even worth my time, but someone is trying to make me get back together with him! Well, at least they've failed. I suppose they forgot to tell him."

Gwen felt guilty, but at least she didn't have to confess. So all she said was "I'm sorry, Ems. But I'm glad you're not getting back with him. He doesn't deserve to get away with what he did."

"I agree!" Emma said, suddenly sounding a lot brighter. "I'll have to think about payback. You'll help me, right? I promise I won't try to talk to you in school in front of your friends."

Emma had left by the time Heather had condemned Gwen to social suicide, so at least she didn't know yet. And Gwen was pretty sure Courtney and Lindsay wouldn't ditch her. If anything, they'd want her to take Heather's place, although she'd probably only be third-in-command since she was still the newest clique member.

"Of course I will," Gwen assured her. "Call me when you have an idea and we'll figure out a time I can get away from the lip gloss worshippers." As she spoke, she felt a stab of guilt, but that was nothing new. Ever since Heather had died, the guilt had been stabbing at her stomach, on and off. The brain freeze from her slushie had helped for a little while, and Trent had done his best to take her mind off it, but it kept creeping back.

Perhaps worse than the guilt was the feeling Gwen got that she didn't feel as guilty as she should. It wasn't that she didn't feel bad – she did. But there were moments where she almost forgot about it. She couldn't help wondering if life would be better without Heather. For her, it definitely would be, but it was almost like she'd done something good for the school. And the thought that bringing about someone's death was good, even if it was accidental, made her feel even worse.

Gwen called Courtney and Lindsay on Sunday to see if they were still going to ditch her. They'd heard about Heather's death, since her parents had called them to see if they knew anything about what had happened to their daughter. Lindsay was sobbing on the phone, but insisted that she wasn't going to lose another friend on top of Heather's death and she'd happily accept Gwen back. Courtney, who sounded more upbeat, said of course she wasn't going to ditch a friend and she'd look forward to sitting with her at lunch on Monday.

Not that lunchtime on Monday actually happened, of course.

School ended up being cancelled almost as soon as it started, once everyone heard about Heather's death. In fact, everyone was in homeroom when the announcement was made. Gwen saw Lindsay running to the bathroom in tears at one point. Courtney, though, held her head high and acted as if nothing had happened. She almost looked happy that Heather wasn't around any longer.

All the kids that had their own transportation headed off as soon as they could. Other kids had to wait for the buses to be refuelled, and Gwen had almost decided to stay when Ms O'Halloran started handing around copies of the suicide note she'd written, telling people she wanted them to read and feel Heather's inner pain. Like it was some kind of life lesson about suicide, almost glamourizing it. After hearing that, she bolted. She couldn't stand to hear people paraphrasing all the crap she'd made up. It made her feel worse, and she just couldn't face it.

After that, Gwen spent the rest of the day over at Trent's house, since it was a free day. They didn't do too much, just talked quietly, getting to know each other. Neither of them talked about Heather. They just exchanged favourites, songs, movies, and kept things light and easy. They even made out, acting like they were barely at first base when they both knew that wasn't true. Gwen was a bit shyer about it than she had that night because she was nervous. Trent noticed and readily took the lead, but went slowly, making sure Gwen had every chance to stop him if she wanted to. She felt totally safe with him.

Gwen admitted late into the afternoon that she had become interested when she saw Trent had a guitar. He grinned when she said that. "You know," he said, "I write my own songs. I was thinking of writing one about you."

Gwen chuckled anxiously. "Well, if you want to write about the freaky drunk chick who broke into your room in the middle of the night…"

Trent laughed. "More like that brave and beautiful girl who dared to stand up to the popular group. I'll play it to you when I've finished writing it, if you want."

Gwen was a little too emotional to reply vocally. She just nodded and leaned against him affectionately.

"So," Trent said, changing the subject, "Your so-called friends still keeping you?"

Gwen nodded. "I think Courtney's actually glad Heather's gone. She was acting a lot more confident, and she said she didn't want to drop me as a friend. Lindsay's heartbroken, but when I called her, she said the last thing she wanted was to lose someone else on top of losing Heather. It's funny, though. Courtney's not that different from Heather, just more academic and quieter, but I could tell she wanted to be more like Heather but couldn't do it. Maybe she will now. But Lindsay's different – she was closer to Heather, but she was never that much like her. She was only mean when the others prompted her. Get her away from her friends and she suddenly becomes a nicer person."

Trent's green eyes darkened a little. "Hopefully Courtney doesn't start acting too much like Heather. I wouldn't want another excuse to make you write a fake suicide note."

Gwen suddenly jerked up, staring at him in horror. "What are you talking about? You don't mean you'd actually kill Courtney, too? Heather was an accident. I'm going to be more careful in future."

Trent looked surprised. "Relax, Gwen," he soothed. "I didn't mean I was going to do anything to her. I might want to, but I wouldn't actually do it." Gwen accepted this, not realizing that Trent was leaving a lot unsaid.

"Although," he added, "If she was to cross you and you wanted revenge, I'd help you. Like pranking her, or something. You're creative enough to think of something that fits the crime best."

Gwen relaxed more. She wasn't opposed to revenge. Trent's words made her feel as if he was looking out for her and would be able to protect her if she couldn't protect herself. Mostly she could, but an extra safety net was nice. Even better if it took the form of a gorgeous, musically talented boyfriend who was as good a listener as he was a lover.

Gwen had never been the kind of girl who dated many people. Her dad leaving so early that she barely remembered him left her worried about her own relationships, when and if she started having them. But a few drugs at a party and a traumatic episode later, she trusted her new relationship completely. This was an experience she wouldn't have wanted to miss out on.

Just a breather chapter, before the crap hits the fan.