The morning after the close call is never good. It's no exception for Gwen. Thanks for reviewing, Drake. And you're right, but I could see Courtney escaping by shoving someone into her place.

When Gwen got to school the next day, she noticed people whispering, looking at her, but she didn't think much of it at first. She'd had a bad morning. She'd overslept, and then, when she didn't think things could get any worse, she could suddenly see Heather standing in front of her. She looked the same way she had the day she'd died – rabbit T-shirt, tiny pink shorts, no makeup, but hair perfect. Her lips were blue-stained with drain cleaner.

"That kind of shit never happened when I was in charge," she said smugly. "I could control Chase and Ripper. And all the other jocks. Not to mention, I wouldn't have done that – if I wanted you to have your first time, I'd set up a blind double date for us and then skip out on you. By the way, did you know I was the one who convinced Chase to ask out Chubster? I knew he'd torture her without even trying to, and that she'd help him with his homework. He was afraid of failing. It was unfortunate that he fell so hard for her, though."

"Then why was he hitting on me last night?" Gwen snapped back without thinking about it.

"Because he was drunk," Heather snapped back. "He was only with Lindsay last night because of her hair and eyes being similar, so he can pretend they're the same. He's almost given up on Chubster getting back with him. You were her friend, so he probably figured you'd do."
Gwen scowled. "Quit calling Emma that! Like you said, she's my friend! And why are you hanging around me, anyway? You're dead, so get lost!"

"Suit yourself, manslaughterer," Heather shrugged. "I may have been a tyrant at school, but at least everyone knew their place and stayed in it when I made sure they did. You see what happens this week. No one's in mourning for me anymore. Things are going to move on."

Heather had been right. As soon as Gwen arrived in the senior halls, she saw Courtney and Lindsay standing by Heather's old locker. Open. That was shocking enough, but even more shocking, Courtney was out of green. She was actually wearing red. Heather's old colour.

Heather didn't appear in front of Gwen at this point, but she heard Heather's voice in my head. "Who said they could clear out my locker? I didn't give them permission to do that! They can't just start going through all my things! Gwen, tell them to leave my stuff alone!"

Gwen had to fight not to speak out loud, telling the voice in her head to shut up. As she was thinking, Courtney pulled one thing in particular out of the locker – Heather's red scrunchie.

"But Heather was our friend!" Lindsay was protesting. "We can't just switch her out like a lightbulb! You're not her, you're you."

Courtney glared at her, pulling her shoulder-length hair back and threading it through the scrunchie. "We need someone to lead us. What, you think you're better than me, head cheerleader? I personally think I'm far more qualified to lead the school than you are, Lindsiot. Who gets straight As? Who decides which photos goes in the yearbook? Which CIT aced everything at summer camp two months ago? Heather's gone, and I don't see you taking over. No one's going to ever tell me to shut up again!"

Courtney didn't look quite as good as Heather with the scrunchie. The vivid colour had looked good against Heather's black ponytail, and her hair had been long and thick. Courtney only had a small ponytail because her hair was shorter, and the red looked odd against her brown hair. It had looked much better against green, toning with vibrant earthy tones.

Gwen began to walk towards them, and Courtney suddenly switched on her sweetest smile, the same way she had last night. Gwen knew not to trust it instantly, and stopped, feeling anxious.

"Gwen, you're here!" Courtney said in a bright tone. "I was wondering if you'd be back straight after that strenuous workout last night."

Gwen raised an eyebrow at her. "Your plan didn't work, okay? I was gone before they did anything."

Courtney frowned, but there was something false about her expression. "Oh, that's odd. That's not the story I heard. Their memory of the night was different to yours."

Gwen felt a burning feeling in the pit of her stomach. She guessed where this was going. Even now, kids in the halls were looking at her, whispering. She was sure she could hear the words "slut" and "oral" and "three-way".

"Did they tell you this, or did you make it up?" Gwen asked bluntly. "Because unless you want to tell me I pushed them into fresh cowpats and messed up their hair and clothes, it's a lie."

"Oh, I don't think that's true," Courtney said smoothly. "I heard they found a much better use for your mouth than denying things like that. And by the way, don't even think about sitting at our table at lunch again. We don't sit with sluts, do we, Lindsay?"

Lindsay had been staring at Courtney in horror as she'd been saying those things, but when she was addressed, she jumped, and nodded sadly as Courtney walked away, trailing after her friend, only turning back briefly to mouth "sorry" at Gwen.

It was one of the worst days of Gwen's life. She couldn't go anywhere without people looking at her, whispering, or if someone on the football team passed her, they made a point of loudly telling whoever they were with about how she would give anything to anyone. She had to sneak off campus to buy lunch and eat in her car, because she couldn't face eating in the cafeteria.

Luckily, a text came into her phone just before the end of the lunch break: Meet you at your house tonight? We'll plan revenge once you tell me what really happened.

It was from Trent. It was a comfort to know that at least one person had heard the rumours and didn't believe them. It proved that Trent really cared about her and knew she wouldn't cheat on him, especially not with those two jocks.

Gwen brightened a little, and just before she went back into the building, she texted back: Thanks. See you tonight.

The afternoon only got worse. At least no one spoke directly to Gwen in the morning. Country club chick Julia was in Gwen's Art class, the only class she liked, rather than tolerated. And Julia decided to ruin that. "Hey, Gwen, what did it taste like?" she said mockingly.

Gwen didn't look up from her painting. "I don't know, why don't you tell me?" she muttered. "Everyone knows you strip for them on livestreams every Friday night." That was a rumour that had been going around since junior year, but if anything, that had just gotten her more followers on social media. Julia was lithe and well-endowed. If she was an online stripper, she would have gotten a lot of attention.

And Julia knew it. "At least people would want to see that," she said smugly. "I get tons of revenue without having to. You're just so lonely you'll let two boys pin you out in the open. It's pathetic." She paused, and added "Or three. That weird new kid tried to fight both of them at lunchtime today when he heard the rumours. Or did you just pay him off to defend your honour?"

Gwen still felt upset, but hearing that Trent had defended her openly was at least something. At least one person believed her, even if no one else did. It didn't matter that most people's instincts told them there was no way Gwen would ever have willingly done a thing that wasn't in a (preferably locked) indoor space. They just listened to what they wanted to hear, and Gwen knew it. Once she'd denied it to Courtney, she knew denying it again would just make her appear more guilty.

Gwen was more relieved to get home than she ever had been in the last thirteen years of school. Even more than the time in ninth grade when she'd spilled battery acid on her clothes in metal art class and had to wear a boy's tracksuit from the Lost and Found for most of the day.

Trent didn't even bother getting the door when she got home. He showed up almost five minutes after she got home and climbed right up to her bedroom window.

Gwen didn't mind. After the day she'd just had, her boyfriend doing for her what she'd done for him seemed a lot more romantic. Even if they were just going to talk.

Well, I'll end the chapter there. We'll get into them planning next chapter. Hope you liked the Julia cameo – as for whether she does livestreams as a stripper…well, I'll let you decide if you believe it or not. And there Courtney goes again, talking about being an exemplary CIT. Oh, and the time Gwen spilled battery acid on her clothes comes from her TDWT bio.