"Hey, what's up I got your-" I squeal as Merina janks me by the arm and starts speed-walking through the busy hallway. As soon as the bell rang to signal our recess time, I went to find Meri in the restrooms as she texted me this morning. I begged her yesterday to tell me what all this fuss was about over the phone but she refused.

"Merina, what is going on?" I ask her but she continues down the hall and I start to get impatient with all the mystery.

When we reach the double doors to the gym, she pushes them open hastily and directs us towards the girls' locker rooms. When we're finally inside, she turns to me and that is when I take in her desperate features.

Bags adorn her under eyes, she's pale and she clearly didn't have the head for passing a comb through her hair in the morning or to choose her clothes as she normally does. She looks as if she spent the night out running with her sweats and the baggy t-shirt she was wearing now.

I was about to open my mouth to ask her what's going on but she beat me to it. "I'm being blackmailed,"

"Blackmailed?" I taste the strange word in my mouth as I say it.

"Yes. Blackmailed. Yesterday I received a message from a private number, it was a picture of me peeing outside in the woods at the party," Merina almost sobs and my mouth is hanging open as I process what she just told me. "and then the sender told me to meet them at Gina's Dinner after school,"

Finally, the connection between my brain and my mouth is restored and I say "Is it a girl?"

"I don't know if it's a girl or a boy but my bet's that is a girl. Shay maybe? I would like to get back at me for what we did,"

"I don't think so, she didn't know us from anywhere, how would she have your number?"

"Fuck, I don't know, Blair, I'm scared. What if these pics reach my parents? What if they're posted on Facebook or Instagram?"

My stomach churns and I'm so mad at whoever did this and I'm even angrier that I can't direct those feelings towards anybody because we don't know who this is. What the hell is wrong with people?

"They won't, don't worry. Obviously, they want something, you need to go to Gina's and find out who it is and what they want. Calling the police will make this even a bigger problem,"

"Okay... Can you come with me? To Gina's?" Merina puts her hands on my shoulders and begs me with her gaze. "I have a cap you can put on, a blond wig and a sweatshirt,"

There's a long, stunned pause from my part and I almost laugh when I ask "Why would I need that?"

"Because we can't risk this person recognizing you, B. Maybe they want me to go alone and seeing you will only make it worse,"

"Okay, I get it," I nod.

"So you'll come?" she clasps both hands in a begging gesture.

"Of course, babe. No need to ask," I hug her and I feel her relax a little. It must've been killing her keeping this all inside. I would have exploded, maybe even talked to the principal to search the content in everyone's phone.

Out of nowhere, she stiffens "Oh God,"

"What?" I retreat to my spot and Merina has realization written all over her face.

"I think I have a suspect," She whispers in amazement, and has a face that clearly says 'why didn't I think of this before'.

"Who?"

"Reid!" She exclaims and looks me in the eye.

"Reid? Like, Mason Reid?" I don't know why I'm so incredulous but I just couldn't see him blackmailing anyone. He seemed like the type of guy who got what he wanted when he wanted without much effort.

"Yes! He was outside when I found you! He could've been out before you came and saw me doing my business,"

"But what would be the purpose?" I say.

"Beats me. Why did Hitler kill all those jews?" Merina rises her eyebrows and I'm rendered speechless. Did she just use a historical reference?

Anyhow, she had a point but I couldn't shake off my skepticism.

"Please try to find out. He's in math with you, right?"

"Yeah, and Lit.... But- Wait! what am I going to say to him?!" I shout after her when I see her back up towards the door.

"B, just distract him enough to peer around his backpack, get his phone and check it,"

"Oh, just that?" I made sure that my tone dripped with sarcasm for her to pick up on it. My stomach was already tightening at the thought of having to steal someone's phone.

"Please, this is really important. You're the only one who has actually had some kind of contact with him and I don't want to involve the rest of the girls in this... yet,"

I look sideways breaking eye contact with her and she continues. "And you know I would do this for you,"

I sigh and look at her again, she's pouting and her eyes pleading. I know for a fact that she would do this for me without a doubt and more, but the difference is that she's got more courage in her arm that I have in my entire body.

I thought for a moment to tell Danielle to help me get the phone during Lit; she was braver than I was, surely we could get it together. Though Merina cut my wings by saying she didn't want them involved.

I can do this, I'll do this for my best friend. Surely I could improvise, maybe with luck, I won't have to make him leave the desk. He'll go to the restroom, leave it on the desk and bingo.

Shaking any doubt that still lingered in my head, I sigh again and shiver as I say "I'll see what I can do, I promise," Merina thanks me and after a quick hug and some encouraging words that seem to have escaped through my other ear, she leaves me alone in the locker rooms to get to her next class.

I don't know how the hell I'm going to get the least close to Reid's Phone to prove Mer's theory but I had to try and find out if it was him.

Or if he wasn't.

*****

The bell rings and my hands start to get sweaty with nerves. Back in math before lunch, I chickened out from stealing Reid's phone.

I can't do this, I texted Merina earlier during Mrs. Greene's explanation.

Srsly? B, dont b like that.

Lol, B dont be

I rolled my eyes, Im serious, what if he catches me and starts questioning?

I M P R O V I S E

gotta go, I have a quiz.

Don't back down, pls!! I need you!!

Reid stood up to clear a doubt with Mrs. Greene and the opportunity presented itself in a silver platter. I turned around cautiously, I didn't want to draw attention to myself but unfortunately, Liam turned around when I was not that discreetly checking out Reid's desk and looking at his backpack suspiciously.

"Do you need any help?"

I almost jump with surprise.

Liam looked at me with a gentle smile. "Would you like me to explain this to you? I'm almost done with it,"

I laugh nervously and wave a hand dismissing his offer. The pitch of my voice got higher. "Oh no, pshhh... don't worry. It's just that- um, I was- I was wondering where he got his backpack. My little brothers' birthday it's just two weeks away and they wanted a backpack like that,"

The backpack had no zippers, a hole in the right frontal corner where Reid's notebooks poked out, the color might've been black, maybe even navy, once, but it looked a shade of dark gray now. The backpack clearly hasn't met with a washing machine in a while.

Needless to say, it had gone wrong. Liam changed the topic and asked me about my brothers, and not long after, Reid returned to his seat.

Now I was entering the Literature's classroom with Danielle trailing behind me talking nonstop, but I couldn't hear anything she said. Her voice sounded as though she was at the other side of a long, long tunnel.

I scanned the classroom and spotted Reid's frame sitting on top of one of the desks in the midsection of the classroom.

"Come on, let's sit there," I gesture Danielle before she puts her backpack beside our usual desks.

She looks confused and grabs her bag again. "Why there? Dude, we won't see anything from there- Ohh... now I know why," She looked at me with a cheeky expression and I turned red in the face.

"It is not because of him, you idiot," I hissed and looked around us before saying "I just wanted to try a different seat, that's all," I was so nervous and flustered that the conviction I tried so hard to muster up never appeared.

"Yeah, sure, B. Keep telling yourself that, you might believe it someday," I simply roll my eyes at her comment and finally settle my backpack behind Reid's desk.

I feel uncomfortable in an instant. Besides Danielle, we're the only mortals in that part of the classroom. Jen sits beside Reid to the right, to his left there's Kyle and Brandon's beside me.

Merina you so owe me for this.

Mrs. Zimmerman rushes into the classroom with papers clutched in her arms. "Sorry guys, I'm a little late, sit down please,"

As everyone takes their seats, Reid gets down from the table on his desk, stretches his arms over his head and my eyes dart to his broad shoulders. He moves side to side making the muscles in his back flex deliciously... Oh God, look away, look away! I was about to... But then, his shirt hiked up a little revealing a tanned section of smooth skin in his lower back and the waistband of a pair of Ralph Lauren boxers. I gulped and felt myself get red as I struggled to remove my gaze.

I knew he was handsome, that much was obvious from plain sight but I never realized until this very moment just how handsome he was. He is lean but he is also covered in defined strong muscle. He is a good head taller than me, maybe even more, and has a beautiful smile.

Though he was all that, without a doubt, his eyes were his best trait despite his height and muscles. They were so bright and expressive and I could swear on my life their brown shade was one that no other human being had.

With a final roll of his shoulders he sat down and the class began. Mrs. Zimmerman adjusted her glasses. She was young, probably not more than five years older than us.

"So guys, for this period I want to cancel the exam-"

Then entire classroom started hooting and screaming. "Hey relax! Guys! Could you just-!"

Everyone kept screaming until "EVERYBODY SHUT THE HELL UP!" A thundering voice from beside me cut the noise in the classroom and I turned to Danielle to find her smiling to Mrs. Zimmerman, encouraging her to continue as if nothing had happened.

"Thanks, Danielle... Anyway, I am going to substitute the exam for a project, and I'm telling you this with a lot of time ahead because the project is analyzing literary pieces, classics that I am going to assign to each pair. Oh yeah, the project's in pairs, but-"

This time, everyone started to scan the room like meerkats in order to find their friends, causing noise to erupt again as everyone hollered each other's names to get a partner.

"Guys! Hey! Listen up! I'm assigning your partners!" Mrs. Zimmerman turns red in the face as she screams the last part with all her strength. Everyone grunts and she says, "Yeah, that's what you get when you don't shut up,"

She goes to her desk and retrieves a list. "I'm going to name your partners right now, so listen. There are no changes, no exceptions,"

She starts naming everyone and I squeal as I'm paired up with Danielle.

"Yes, baby! Dream Team!" Danielle high fives me and as our excitement dies down, someone raises their hand.

"Yes, Brandon?"

"Why do they get to be paired up? They're friends!"

"Mind your own business, asshat," Danielle squints her eyes murderously at him but he continues.

"It's not fair, the point of being paired up is to work with other people,"

As Mrs. Zimmerman ponders over that I hold my breath. "Okay, fair enough. He has a point girls, I'm sorry,"

Brandon smirks and we both send him a death glare hoping it buries him six feet under.

"Okay so Danielle you go with Jen, and Blair you go with Mason,"

Danielle laughs but coughs covering it up though her smirk is on full display.

"Mason?" I ask shakily, but I know which Mason she's referring to.

Mason turns around to face me and has a smirk dancing in his lips. "Me, of course, Saunders. Who else would you want?"

"I think there are too many answers to that question," I grumbled.

"Oh come on, it will be fun," He smiles and the corners of my mouth threaten to mimic his. He can't be that bad once you get used to him, right?

But then I remember the mission I have regarding him; I remember that he could be the one blackmailing my best friend and my smile dies before it even shows. I turn to pay attention to Mrs. Zimmerman hoping my face gives nothing away.

I have to make him leave his desk for at least a minute, just while I take his phone and check his photos. What if he has a password?

"Please join your desks, one of each pair come here and I'll give you the books you'll analyze,"

Mason gets up and turns his desk facing me, and I rub my sweaty hands nervously. "Could you go and ask her about the books?"

"Sure," He starts getting up.

"Wait, um isn't that your phone ringing?" I ask, hoping to see him taking it out of wherever the goddamned thing is to take it when he leaves. He frowns and gets his phone out of his backpack.

"Nope," He puts it in his backpack again, it is on the third zipper. "let me go ask Mrs. Zimmerman,"

I smile at him and as soon as he turns around I grab his backpack cautiously. I grab the I Phone and press my finger on the button. No password. Aren't I the lucky one?

A sudden thought crosses my mind... Why would someone that has such delicate evidence not put a password on their phone?

I press my finger on the multi-colored flower icon and scroll through his pictures from last Friday, nothing. I go to his messages but there is none directed to Meri's phone and I'm relieved. He isn't blackmailing Mer.

I look up and Mason is taking a paper sheet from Mrs. Zimmerman's hand. I open the zipper of his backpack and drop the phone back before swinging the grey bag away from me, to its place.

I look up and I pale and feel my stomach drop. Reid has his eyes fixated on me, his hands are pressed to the back of the chair and an almost-smile tilts up the corner of his mouth.

"Found what you were looking for?" Reid raises an eyebrow maybe intending to look more intimidating. And it is definitely working.

I open my mouth hoping a lie falls off immediately, something believable but I just close it again. I look around, stupidly hoping anyone will jump in and help me.

"I j-just needed a pen. Your bag is full of crap, by the way, you should- Hey!"

Reid snatches my phone from the desk and I stand to take it from him. "Give it back!" He rises to his full height and holds my phone higher in his hand.

"Hm... what's your password?"

"Reid!"

"Let's see," He presses on the numbers on the screen and then hollers in laughter. "Really, Saunders? one, two, three, four?"

"Reid and Blair, are you done with your research?" Mrs. Zimmerman looks at us expectantly and every head turns in our direction. Out the corner of my eye, I catch Danielle's shit-eating grin.

"No," I answer truthfully.

"Then sit back down and start working,"

We both sit back down and I pick up where we left off, feeling the need to justify myself. "I have too many passwords for everything, I forget them... could you please give that back?"

He pads his fingers on the screen once more and chuckles until he's laughing again.

I roll my eyes at him, irritation growing inside of me. "Now what?"

"Remember I have an appointment with the doctor today, baby bear, I'll pick you up later at Gina's, xoxo mommy" He reads my mom's text out loud and physically cringe at the sound of my mother's nickname coming out of his mouth as he laughs.

"You know what? You're an ass," I snatch my phone from his hands.

"Hey, an eye for an eye, baby bear," He taunts, looking more amused than ever.

"Don't call me that, ever in your life or I swear to God I'll do something that will make you regret ever doing it," I seethe as if I didn't look as red as a tomato.

"Woah, easy there tiger, I don't know if I could bear it,"

What I said about him not being that bad... Well, I take that back. I roll my eyes and look down at the list of books listed for us to research and analyze for the project, trying to block out my inner turmoil. We got Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby, Sense and Sensibility, and some poems that I have never read.

This project is going to take us the whole month, maybe even more, there are at least ten poems on the list and I don't count on Reid having already read the books.

That's when it dawns on me that we're in this together; that there's a good possibility that I will have to spend more time than physically possible with this jerk.

When the bell rings signaling the last class is over I look at the door and find Merina pointing at a military green bag and beckoning me to follow her. I scramble out of my seat and follow her out and to the bathroom. She takes out the blond wig and I look at her in disbelief.

"Are you serious about this?"

"More than ever before, gal. Put this on," She shoves the bag in my arms and I lock myself inside the stall. The things I do for this girl.

*****

Oh my! It's been ages since I updated but bear with me guys (lol, see what I did there?) I promise it will be worth it.

And hey I posted a picture of who I picture as Camille!

Please share. vote and comment! Don't be a ghost reader.

Love you guys! Thank you for everything!

-P.S.