By the evening the girls had finished an adorable set of 500 cupcakes, all in various designs. They had opted for pastel pink and orange, some for Halloween with spider and pumpkin designs drawn on the top in black icing but most of them had “Vote Liz” and “Vote Holly” written on the top with little heart details.

Edward was in New York on business. That is, if sleeping with 25 year old secretaries counted as business. So Alice had once again checked herself into her favourite spa in Monte Carlo. When they were baking, the housekeepers gave Liz and Jeff Alice’s memo that they’d have the place to themselves for the weekend. So, ripe with ideas on how to spend the weekend, everyone slept over.  Holly, Lynn and Lisa sprawled across the living room in piles upon piles of blankets with Parker and Jefferey, watching a movie. Elizabeth lingered in the bar lounge, sat in her stool while VJ sipped on a ginger ale, glancing at the arches to the kitchen as the housekeepers cleaned up next door. 

“You’re a shoo-in for homecoming queen, you know.” He leaned in, his voice only just above a whisper. Like he was telling her a secret,

She forced a smile, shaking her head, “Don’t say that.”

He reached for her hand, “But you are. Bebe and Holly are beautiful, sure, but you have that je ne sais quoi.” His fingers wove through hers, “And we already know you’ll represent our school well. I can't imagine anyone else with the crown on their head,”

She tried to keep her expression bright, “You’re sweet.”

He lifted her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles. Maybe just a bit too chivalrous, even for him. Then his gaze drifted over her shoulder,

She caught it, “Everything okay?”

He tilted his head swallowing hard as he searched her face,“What’s with Parker lately?” 

Elizabeth paused, taking her hand back. Did he see them in the pergola? She braced herself for him to continue, tucking her hands under her knees,

“You saw the way he attacked me–when we played football?, I never even had the ball. And at practice he’s always on my ass. I know he’s got… not a lot going on upstairs…but...Maybe it’s because coach has been hard on him lately. He’s mentioned colleges potentially scouting me instead of him.”

“Oh.” She let go of the breath she was holding in, “I had no idea.” 

“I’m not interested in going to school for sports. But if Parker wants to impress colleges, he should start taking his grades more seriously. Advanced Calculus? For him?”

Liz let herself laugh, taking VJ’s hand again, “He’s always had… anger issues, you know…So yeah… He's probably just jealous." She stood up, looping her arms around his neck and kissing him–softly but almost desperately, "Wanna sleep in my room?”

VJ blinked, That was sudden. After that night on the boat he figured that wasn’t going to happen for a while. 

“Uh, yeah. Please.” He tried to play it cool as she took his hand, leading him upstairs.

VJ kissed Elizabeth on the forehead. She shifted in her sleep. She looked peaceful. It was 2 am and he hadn’t planned to stay the whole night so he hadn’t signed out of the dorm. Curfew was at midnight, which meant his school account would be fined by the hour. But… This was Elizabeth’s first time. …Or so he thought…He felt terrible just leaving her.

“Liz,” He brushed her hair behind her ear, “Princess?”

“Mhmm?” She didn’t open her eyes,

He smiled, “I’m sorry, I have to go back to the dorm. I didn’t sign out for the night,”

“Why?” She murmured, still half asleep, “Just pay the fine. Stay with me.” Her hand found his,

He hesitated, genuinely thinking about it. “No…I have to go. But I’ll see you at the school tonight.”

After giving her another kiss, he left her room quietly. He let the door just click behind him, tiptoeing down the staircase. Once he got outside, he closed the door behind him, taking out his phone and organizing himself a ride back to the dorm. 

“Sup.” He heard,

VJ looked up from his phone, Parker was seated at the bottom of the stairs. He was high, as usual, smoking and staring up at him.

VJ walked down the steps, as Parker stood up. At the bottom they met face to face,

“Have a good night?” Parker’s eyes were narrowed.

VJ half laughed, steadying his feet, “Sure.”

“Guess you do have to move fast to keep Liz interested, huh?” Parker crossed his arms,

VJ studied his face, This wasn’t regular guys being guys talk. He was angry,

“Is there a problem?” 

Parker shrugged, “No problems here–just saying–Liz gets bored easy. You sure you can keep a girl like that entertained?”

VJ’s jaw tightened, “Well, who's sitting on the steps tonight and who's leaving the girl’s room?”

Parker chuckled, looking down, kicking the ground slightly,

“If there’s something you want to say Parker, just say it.”

Parker met his gaze again, his eyes hardened, “You’ve got nothing to worry about.” His grin felt uneasy,

VJ spotted the lights of his ride appearing down the hill. “Have a good night, then.” He bumped Parker’s shoulder with his as he pushed past him and through the gates.

VJ scanned his student card at the entrance of the dorm. By the time he reached his room, the adrenaline from earlier all faded, completely replaced by exhaustion. He collapsed onto his bed, not even bothering to change. It felt like he’d only just drifted off when his phone jolted him awake. The sound of his dad’s ring tone was shrill. 

“Where have you been all night?” His father’s voice snapped immediately as VJ picked up. No ‘hello.’ straight to the point,

 VJ rubbed his eyes, the bright sun felt like way too much, “At Elizabeth’s.” He mumbled,

There was a pause,

“Did you take an Uber home again? How much money did you spend?” His father’s voice was tight, “We can't afford you running around, 'faking rich boy' to fit in with your friends. If you didn’t have that merit scholarship you’d be running us into the ground.”

VJ sat up, his heart thudding as he stared at the ceiling fan,“I know dad. I'm sorry. I took an Uber but I didn't spend anything else.”

“But you did get fined. How hard is it to sign out if you're staying out?”

VJ groaned, lying back in bed, “I lost track of time. Won't happen again.”

There was a long exhale on the other end. His dad’s voice became softer,“I know what it’s like to be young and have those big feelings, VJ. But don’t lose sight of why you’re there. A lot of kids your age could only dream of that type of opportunity.” 

VJ nodded, glancing at the framed photo of his family on his desk. His dad was right. “Yes. I know.”

The girls all gathered in Liz’ kitchen, each draped in ruffled baby doll night gowns borrowed from Liz’ closet. She had gathered all the bottles of essential oils she could find in Alice’s bathroom and placed them on the marble counter top.

Lisa tapped the tiny glass vial with her finger nail tips, “So what are we doing with all these?” 

Liz grinned, lifting a pink tote bag on the counter, “Patience doll,”

She opened the bag, pulling out a few empty bottles of perfume, “DIY signature scents. I was gonna do it alone, but it’s more fun as a group.”

“Shut up. That’s adorable” Lisa flipping her hair over her shoulder, “I’m obsessed.”

The girls rummaged through the tote, each pulling whatever they thought was the cutest bottle. 

From down the hall Jeff and Parker laughing drifted in. They walked straight into the bar lounge and disappeared into Edward’s alcohol cabinet. Lisa rolled her eyes, resting her head in her palm and spinning the spray nozzle of her choice bottle, “You’d think they could wait at least until the afternoon.”

“It’s too bad VJ had to go.” Lynn said as she picked a few different flavour notes, “He’d have kept them in line.”

Liz nodded, “I know. The dorm can choke” 

Lisa snorted, “You wouldn't mind choking on him either.”

Holly laughed, barely looking up as she read through the bottles, trying to choose which scents seemed the most compatible, “ So is VJ your first boyfriend?” She glanced up, “If it's okay that I ask.”

Liz played with her curls, “The first guy I’ve dated seriously. Most guys are interchangeable. If I’m going to date someone exclusively, he has to be special.”

Lisa crossed her legs, flipping her hair over her shoulder, “Yeah, that Lawrence was a real catch.”

Liz scoffed, “Okay, so, he peaked in freshman year.”

Lynn continued mixing her scents, “He was about as engaging as talking to a brick wall.” 

Holly tilted her head, “What about you Lynn? I know you dated…Ethan was it? Anyone else?”

She nodded, shrugging, “A few others.”

Liz grinned, “Translation: Lynn gets around the most.”

Lynn rolled her eyes, but she smiled, “Okay. Three. Literally ‘a few’…But I've only been with one, intimately. And Liz is right, though I don’t know if I’d use the word ‘interchangeable.’ If I were interested in dating right now, they’d have to be special.” 

Liz nodded, swirling her scents together, “When they all approach you with that ‘hey baby what’s up?’ it gets old fast.”

“Speak for yourself,” Lisa butted in, “No one ever hits on me.”

“Yeah, because everyone within a 10 mile radius knows you’ve been taken forever.” Lynn teased, tucking her hair behind her ears, “You of all people should be considering dating a bit more.”

Lisa shook her head, “No, never. Jeff and I are perfect together.” 

Holly smiled quietly, though Lisa’s loyalty stung a bit. Jeff didn’t deserve someone as great as her. Not when he was trying to get with other girls behind her back.

Meanwhile Jefferey and Parker were in Edward’s alcohol cabinet in the bar lounge. They planned to get into some trouble tonight with the girls and VJ and it certainly wouldn’t be worth it without anything to drink. 

Jefferey’s thumbs moved rapidly over his phone, eyes fixed on the screen. Parker nudged his bag with his foot, “You gonna help, or just stand there texting?”

Jeff didn’t even look up, “Relax. Dad’s gone for the whole weekend. We’ve got time,” 

Parker dropped the backpack and sat on an unopened box of wine, elbows rested on his knees. He watched Jeff type,

“Who’s got your attention tonight? Your girlfriend or someone more exciting?”

Jefferey just smirked, not bothering to answer,

“You got names for them in your phone yet or is it just ‘piece of ass,’ ‘nice boobs’ and ‘Lisa: Do Not Delete’?” 

Jefferey laughed, finally putting his phone down, “You’re one to talk. Didn’t you run through the entire cheerleading team last year?.”

Parker shrugged, stretching his legs out so his shoes almost touched Jeff’s, “I didn’t have a girlfriend last year.”

Jefferey’s eyes narrowed, watching Parker a second too long, “You do now.”

“And I’m not hooking up with anyone.”

Jefferey let out a sharp laugh, “Exactly.”

Parker flashed a toothy grin, “Touché.” He looked at the ground, tracing a circle with his heel as Jeff continued to text, “I just wouldn’t want to see Lisa hurt, you know.”

“Right, because you’re a model boyfriend, now?” He picked up his phone again, “You’d be surprised what people notice, P.”

Parker rolled his eyes slightly, “Hey, I never claimed to be a saint,” He admitted, “But at least I don’t string my girlfriend along while I fuck two other girls on the side.”

Jefferey’s gaze flickered up and Parker, then back down again, “Yeah, Yeah. Talk to me about it when you’ve been with the same girl all your life and she wants you to wait till college.” 

“Well–”

“Oh wait–you can’t do that. This is your first girlfriend.”

Parker lifted his hands in surrender, “Okay, okay. Backing off now.”

Two cars rolled up to the school gates. Their headlights blinked out as their engines died. The girls spilled out of Liz’ pink wrapped mini cooper and the boys from Parker’s BMW. They swung their backpacks over their shoulders, stuffed with snacks, games and bottles that clinked together.

They clustered together by the front gate as Liz fished her president’s keys from her tote bag. The ring was almost cartoonishly vintage, jangling with every step. She slid the–honestly–comically large key into the gate lock and the metal gave a dramatic groan as the boys shoved it open. Everyone darted through the gate in a flurry of nervous laughter.

“Okay, J on look out?” Liz tossed a look over her shoulder,

Jeff folded his arms, unimpressed, “Why me?”

Liz shrugged, “I dunno? You’re a good look out? It’s like, one minute, relax.” 

Jefferey rolled his eyes but nodded reluctantly, planting himself just inside the gate and scanning the street.

Liz unlocked the front doors, pulling the others in with her and quickly and punching through the security code. As soon as the alarm shut off, she turned on her flash light, knocking on the door to signal Jeff,

“After hours the cameras are only tripped by the alarm. She pointed at one positioned near the front corner of the corridor, “No red light, not recording,”

Lisa hugged herself, glancing down the shadowy hallways, “Are you absolutely sure?”

Liz nodded, grinning, “Didn’t you hear Mr. Koffi talking about the new system earlier?”

The group moved down the empty hall. Every sound was magnified in the emptiness.

“I cannot believe we’re doing this.” Holly’s eyes darted around the hall as they walked to the library, “The school is so dark and creepy at night,”

“Perfect for us to have fun in.”  Parker stooped to Holly’s height, giving her a grin that made her blush and cover her face,

Lynn rolled her eyes, “What are we gonna do first?”

“Nothing better than getting drunk and playing some games,” Jefferey took off his backpack, setting it on the ground and opening it to reveal all the alcohol they snuck from Edward’s cabinet. 

“What’d you two do?” VJ laughed, “Rob a liquor store?”

Lisa peered into the bad as well, “This is way too much.” 

“Maybe for you.” Jeff shrugged, passing a bottle to Parker.

They had settled in the library, pushing the armchairs into a circle to make cozy sleeping space. Inside they played an intensely competitive game of monopoly, which Lisa won of course–through the same careful planning she approached everything with. As the night deepened, boredom and alcohol did their thing.

Lisa leaned back on her palms, eyes bright, “Alright, new game. Two truths and a lie?” 

VJ watched the group with a half smile, “But instead of just guessing the lie, we get one question each. If you’re caught in the lie, you have to do a dare.”

Parker raised a brow, “So he does know how to have fun.”

Liz perked up off her pile of blankets, “I’ll go first.” Her eyes quickly flickered to Parker, then back down. She tucked her curls behind her ear, the picture of innocence, “I snuck into the pool at De Gaulle’s this summer, I’ve failed a test and…I once kissed someone I definitely shouldn’t have.”

The room went still. 

Lynn sighed, breaking the silence, “You mean spin the bottle with Parker? Freshman year Sekemento party?”

Holly watched between the two girls, nervousness piled in her throat, remembering the way Parker looked at Liz in class on the first day.

Liz slightly turned her head, her cheek’s red tone betrayed her as she tried to play cool, “Maybe.”

“If you ever failed a test, you wouldn’t be alive right now.” Lisa giggled, taking a sip

“Got me.” Liz pressed her hands into her ankles, “What’s my dare?”

“So, the pool–you were by yourself?” VJ asked, “Or was that with Parker too?”

Liz watched him. His jaw was tight and he didn’t flinch away from her gaze, “Does it matter?”

Parker didn’t miss a beat, wrapping his arm around Holly’s shoulder, “I dare you to drink half the bottle, no pauses.” 

She grinned, thankful for the save as she lifted the bottle. Luckily, drowning herself in alcohol wasn’t a real challenge for her.

When it got to VJ, he smiled, but there was a sharpness behind it, “Alright. I’ve never cheated on a test, I’ve never been in love, and I’ve never lied to someone in this room.”

Another pause. This was heavy.

“Bro, that’s a lot of nevers.” Jeff blurted, already half drunk,

VJ shrugged, taking a sip, letting the silence stretch.

“Perhaps this is a bit too heavy of a game...” Holly said quietly. Her small voice was almost lost in the silence,

Lisa nodded, “Agreed. Let’s play manhunt instead.” She stood up, “Parker you be ‘it.’”

He laughed, standing up and offering Holly his hand, helping her up, “You got it.”

Holly and Kaylynn ducked into an empty classroom in the art wing, pressing themselves behind a tall bookshelf. The room smelled like old books and dust. Like no one had been in there for years.

“Remind me why we thought this was a good idea,” Holly said, feeling her nerves in her finger tips as she fiddled with her sleeves. She’d never done something so rebellious in her life,

Lynn laughed, “Ever since we started at St. Vincent, we’ve always wanted to do this–just cuz. Now that Liz is president, she’s got keys and we can finally do it before we graduate.”

Holly looked at her. Her back slid against the bookshelf as she sat down, “But we could get in so much trouble…”

Lynn sat beside her, shrugging on her way down, “We’ve got a plausible alibi, with Alice and Edward out of town. VJ is signed out of the dorm… I mean maybe we could get caught by a teacher or something but some things are worth the risk. Don’t you want to make memories before you leave highschool?”

Holly slowly nodded, She was right. Up until recently she hadn’t really done anything worth writing home about. She turned back to Lynn, grinning, “Well I’m glad you’re here with me.”

Meanwhile, Lisa and Jefferey slipped down a side corridor. Their fingers intertwined as they walked, swinging their hands beside each other,

“Hmm…Where should we go? Lisa asked playfully,

Jeff glanced around the dimly lit hall before steadying his gaze on a supply closet. With a smirk, he tugged her toward it and they slipped inside together. He closed the door behind him and quickled leaned down, kissing her on the tip of her nose,

She giggled, kissing him back,

His smile grew wider as he pulled off his sweater, “Wanna mess around tonight?”

As much as she liked seeing Jeff without a shirt, she felt this sense of dread fall over her. 

Her voice hesitated, “J…” She looked up at him, then looked down again, shifting her feet,

He brushed a stray lock of hair from her face, “I thought we talked about having some more fun together,” He tilted her chin up to his face, giving her another kiss, “You’re perfect, Lisa.”

She smiled softly, 

He returned the smile, more gentle than usual,

Well… In the low evening light, his hazel eyes did shine a little. And She was so happy with how much warmer he was lately…

“Come on…” His fingers moved to unbutton the pink lacy cardigan she wore,

“Just what we were doing before though, right?” She whispered,

“Just that.” He said, “Promise.”

Liz decided on hiding in the student leadership room. The student council met there once a week to discuss all things student related. As she waited to be found, she studied the weekly schedule on the small white board. 

She sighed, tracing her finder along the edge of the board. She wished she’d never ran last year… Actually, she wished she’d pushed Lisa to run instead. And maybe she could have just been vice president. Or better yet, not involved at all, honestly. The weight of all those expectations was just too much. She actually envied how easily Lisa approached everything.

A small creak from the door pulled her out of her thoughts, “Anyone here?” Parker whispered,

Liz turned to the door, “Found me.” She sighed, crossing her arms,

Parker slowly walked up to her, meeting her closely and staring down at her with nothing more than an inch of space between them. The moon shone through the window and down on the two of them as they stared at each other in silence.

“You’re it.” He said quietly,

“You’re supposed to touch me first.”

Parker rolled his eyes, “Well, I wasn’t sure if VJ branded you or something last night. I didn't know I was allowed to.”

Liz laughed softly, sitting on the desk behind her, “Are you stalking me, Langerak?”

“You didn’t exactly hide it. Pretty easy to tell when everyone’s in the living room except you two.” His eyes a bit narrowed,

“We said no promises.”

Parker stayed silent, stepping closer. He just looked her over and stopped at her eyes. Liz bit her cheek and looked away. Then she stood up, about to leave, but he grabbed her hand,

“You’re it.” He whispered, pulling her into a hug,

Her cheeks flushed. She wrapped her arms around him softly, feeling her heart beat against his stomach. The feelings from the night before all flooded back, unmistakably vulnerable, just like the summer.

Outside the room, they could hear faint footsteps approaching down the hall. Their eyes darted to the door, as they released each other, 

“I guess we should get back to the game.” She crossed her arms again,

He nodded. “We’ll continue our game another time.”

They quietly walked out into the hall, spotting VJ ahead. Liz flashed a smile at Parker. He smiled back. Without a word, they ran, closing in on VJ from behind. 

His head snapped around just in time to see them barreling toward him. He jumped, startled, but it was too late to escape.

“You’re it!”Liz and Parker shouted in unison as they tagged him,

VJ laughed, “Damn it.” He shook his head, 

“Ha ha.” Liz teased, reaching for his hand, “Only four more to go.”

They separated, exploring different wings of the school and searching each hallway. Liz headed toward the cafeteria, sneaking into the kitchen areas and behind the food displays, but there was no sign of anyone hiding.

Meanwhile VJ made his way to the art wing. He spotted the quick glow of a flashlight flickering through the window of one of the classroom doors.

“Shit.” He heard a panicked voice from inside.

He pushed the door open and burst inside, catching Holly and Kaylynn mid-whisper, sitting by a bookshelf. Both girls jumped to their feet startled. He tagged Holly before she could run. Lynn ran to the opposite side of the room, cornered in by both of them,

“Got you.” Holly poked her nose.

Lynn giggled as Holly pulled her finger away.

Parker searched down the corridor. His Timberlands were almost silent as he tried to sneak around. He paused at a narrow side door he’d been down a million times. Usually, no one even noticed it. The supply closet was barely big enough for two people, but it was the perfect place to go whenever a girl wanted to…disappear…with him. He laughed quietly to himself as he pushed the door open. He looked inside. Then instantly pulled it shut again, back pressed hard against it.

“Oh. Wow.” He breathed out, trying to process what he’d just seen.

From the other side, he could hear muffled swearing and Jefferey and Lisa frantically getting dressed.

After a pause, Parker glanced over his shoulder down the empty corridor. There was silence in the closet. He knocked softly on the door, “Y’all decent?”

“Just…give us a second.” Jefferey said through frustrated groans. He could hear him whispering something to Lisa briefly.

The door creaked open. Lisa stepped out first, fixing the hem of her cardigan and completely avoiding eye contact with Parker. Her shoulders were hunched and she looked small and vulnerable, like she was trying to shrink herself away.

Jefferey followed behind. His eyes darted to Parker who only shook his head. Jeff shrugged,

“Lisa.” Parker said gently,

She didn’t respond. She just pulled on her sleeves and stared at the ground.

“Don’t worry, I won't tell anyone…Actually–I didn’t see anything.” Parker laughed, “What are we even talking about?”

Lisa hesitated, then gave the smallest smile. Her eyes only met with his for a second. “Thank you, Parker.”

After the game, they all returned to the library, pulling out their sleeping bags, drinking only just a little bit more and watching some Marvel movie on a tablet brought from home.

Parker watched as Jeff and Lisa whispered between each other. Probably about him walking in on them earlier…He knew already knew about Jefferey’s other girls thing. He also knew that Lisa wasn’t interested in sex, in any capacity, at least until college. That’s why he did the other girls thing… He watched her face. Furrowed brows, flushed cheeks, a solid frown; She looked so stressed. His heart sank a bit thinking Jeff may have pressured her into doing that.

He glanced over to VJ and Liz. The two of them were cuddled together as they watched the movie. She giggled, leaning into his chest, his hand on her thigh and their fingers entwined. Parker’s eyes narrowed as they leaned into a soft kiss. It was a bit much for a group setting.

He sighed, laying down next to Holly and wrapping his arms around her waist. She felt her heart start beating a mile a minute before slightly shifting away. He glanced at her and she nervously smiled back before turning to Kaylynn, 

"You were right." She said to her before turning back to Parker, "I'm glad we did this.”

He grinned before settling down on his pillows,

"But I am a little worried about getting caught." She continued, laying between them, cuddling with her teddy bear,

VJ pulled away from Liz, “Security’s stuck babysitting the dorms at night time. Just don’t flash your phone at the windows and we’ should be fine,” His voice was muffled by Liz’ hair as she buried her face in his shoulder.

Parker rolled his eyes. She sure was good at distracting a guy. He seemed so pissed earlier during two truths and a lie. Now it was like everything was golden.

“We should do this again at least once before we graduate.” Lynn tapped Holly’s shoulder with her own, “You down?”

She grinned, nodding as they all continued to watch the movie, huddled closely together for the rest of the night.