Epilogue
THE DEATH OF THE TOP TIER
You heard it here first, Bobcats — the reign of Top Tier royalty is officially OVER.
Turns out, when you build your throne on lies, manipulation, and a whole lotta backstabbing, it’s only a matter of time before it all comes crashing down.
I’ve been suuuuper quiet since Homecoming because I’ve been doing some digging, and I’ve finally got my facts straight. Turns out, there’s a good side to the Top Tier… and a very, very bad one.
The good side? Connor Bray, Landon Settler, Reed Manning, and Madison Oliphant.
The bad side? Ashton Shaw, Kyle Filmore, Riley Miller, and Jade Dyer.
Rumor has it our so-called “leaders” have been running more schemes than a reality TV villain. Bribes, betrayals, secret deals? Check, check, and check. And now? The truth’s out — and no one’s looking quite so picture-perfect anymore.
Before we get into the TRUE tell-all, let me just say:
RIP to the Top Tier.
Some were heroes. Some were villains.
But none of them will ever be forgotten.
Stay tuned, Bobcats. If this is the end of an era, something new is bound to rise from the ashes, don’t you think?
“Ava has a flare for the dramatics,” I murmured with a small smile on my face, scanning over the article again. “‘Some were heroes’? Who exactly among us was a hero?”
“She’ll probably say Connor,” Maisie muttered at my side, and gripped my arm to steer me straight. We were walking down the sidewalk when Maisie showed me the article, and apparently, I couldn’t do both. “Girl, you’re going to walk into traffic at this rate.”
“That’s why I have you here.” I offered her phone back to her, stuffing my hands back into the pocket of my dark gray coat.
October had chilled off almost drastically halfway through the month, and now that Halloween was in three days, it was super chilly.
“I know people are going to wonder why it took her so long to post it, but I appreciate her running it by all of us first.”
And, admittedly, there were a few things I’d asked her to keep in—like how I had sabotaged Maisie freshman year.
Connor asked Ava to include that Jannor was mostly a lie, but also to affirm that Jade and he had been an actual couple at one point.
Landon and Reed had looked it over, too, and we all wanted to make sure of one thing: that everyone in the Top Tier had their secrets laid out. Even ours.
“Please.” Maisie snorted. “She was fangirling over the fact that Connor Bray and Madison Oliphant were helping her with her article. I scolded her for it, don’t worry, but some habits are hard to break.”
That had me smiling a little. Rachel and Ava had been hardcore Top Tier fans leading up to its downfall, which made the integration into Maisie’s friend group funny at times.
In the beginning, I caught Rachel gaping at Connor open-mouthed sometimes, and then caught Ava sneaking peaks at me at other times.
Somewhere through the month, though, after eating lunch together every day and hanging out after school here and there, the sparkle of Connor and I had dulled.
A bit. “Your friends are really sweet,” I told Maisie now.
She nudged me in the side. “Your friends, too.”
Right. My friends, too. It made me smile.
We stopped at the crosswalk across from Expresso’s, and from here, I could see that some of the lights were off. Not all of them, though, and I could see a silhouette move through the space like a shadow.
I bounced a little on my toes, waiting for the crosswalk signal to change.
“How do you think everyone else will take it?” Maisie asked, and I could feel her looking at me. “Like, Ashton and Kyle and Riley.”
I let out a slow breath, and it puffed in the air in front of me.
It wasn’t like their worst deeds were coming out.
Hudson still didn’t want to bring up what happened freshman year again, so Ava didn’t include that.
There wasn’t proof that Ashton and Kyle broke Noah’s leg on purpose, so that wasn’t mentioned.
But all of their bullying—like targeting Lacey, threatening Maisie and Connor, and everything that happened to me at Homecoming—was going to come out.
“Not sure,” I answered honestly. “Without Jade, they’ve been… lost.”
It was a good word for it. Riley, especially.
Jade had been the ringleader of our pack, and without her, it was clear that without her guidance, they quickly fell apart.
Ashton was already suspended for punching someone in the hallways—thank you, Brentwood’s zero-bullying policy—and Kyle had been keeping his head down.
Riley quit the squad after the final football game of the season last week, and I hadn’t run into her in the hallways since.
“It’s weird,” I went on, and the crosswalk signal changed. Maisie and I crossed the street toward Expresso’s. “Jade being gone. I still feel like I look for her in the hallways sometimes. Which is dumb.”
“She was your best friend for nearly a decade,” Maisie said to my defense. “She absolutely sucked, but it’s not dumb that you think about her sometimes.”
It’d only been a few weeks since her and her parents had moved to New York, leaving Brentwood and everything Jade had ever known behind.
Even after everything, I still found myself wondering how she was adjusting, going from Queen Bee to nobody.
I checked her social medias once, only to find myself blocked.
It still hurt to think about her, like pushing on a bruise that was slow to fade. Eventually, the fact that my childhood best friend had been my secret hater all along wouldn’t hurt so much, but for now, it still ached.
But having a new best friend—and a new friend group—was definitely helping.
Just before we got to Expresso’s door, Maisie’s phone began ringing in her pocket, and she quickly pulled it out. “It’s Connor,” she said, hitting the answer button, but not lifting it to her ear. “He’s probably wondering where we are.”
I glanced at the watch on my wrist. “I’ll run in and grab Logan, and we’ll head over.”
“Did you hear that?” Maisie asked into her phone, giving me a thumbs up. “No, we just got to Expresso’s. Oh, where? I didn’t see you—”
The door to the café dinged when I pushed it inward, glancing around the dark space. The only light on was the one above the barista counter, and its golden glow stretched through the industrial space feebly. It almost looked a little creepy.
“Sorry, we’re—” Logan’s head poked up from underneath the counter, and he cut himself off when he saw me. His wide-eyed expression melted instantly, lips spreading into a puppy-like smile. “There she is.”
My lips pulled up just as quickly. “Here I am,” I replied, giving my arms a little flap. “A little Madison Oliphant popsicle.”
“It’s not even that cold out,” he said in a scolding tone, once more ducking beneath the counter. “It’s fall. It feels good.”
“I’m more of a summer girl.” I came closer, peering over the counter to see his crouching figure. “What are you doing?”
“Finishing restocks.” Logan turned to peer up at me then, his blue eyes catching in the golden light. It made his face look so warm. “Hi.”
When he looked at me like that—all smiley and soft and adorable—it melted something inside me. “Hi.”
He pushed to his feet then, leaning his forearms onto the counter. He wore his signature Expresso’s uniform, his red polo and black apron, but even that looked good on him. So good that I found myself stretching across the counter, pressing a quick kiss to his lips.
Logan’s smile stretched wider, and he started to come around the counter.
“Movie starts in twenty minutes,” I told him, heart jumping at how quickly he crossed the distance. “I know the theater is just down the street, but I’m the type who needs snacks to watch a movie.”
He hummed softly underneath his breath before he grabbed me, wrapping his arms around my waist and tugging me into his chest. He held his head back, though, peering down at me. “You need snacks?” he murmured, voice a deliciously low sound.
I forced myself to frown to keep my wits about me. “Yep.”
“Like what?” Logan tipped his head to the side. “Popcorn?”
“And pretzel bites.”
“Pretzel bites,” he echoed, and just as quickly as I had, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my cold temple. “Oh, you are cold.”
“Told ya.”
Logan kissed my other temple. “Any other movie snacks?” His lips trailed down from my temple to my cheekbone.
He was being sneaky. Hypnotizing. I knew it, and knew I totally should’ve stopped him from kissing me in the middle of his workplace, but I still couldn’t pull away.
I mean, Expresso’s was closed. No one was around.
And his warm lips felt too good against my cold skin.
“M&M’s,” I whispered, suddenly feeling much warmer.
I could’ve unzipped my coat. “Or… something else for dessert.”
Logan made another humming sound as he kissed my other cheek. “Always need dessert,” he agreed, pressing a kiss to the side of my nose.
My eyes slipped shut, waiting for him to move to my lips. He didn’t, though. He was waiting for me to speak again. “And I’ll need a drink,” I whispered, and I could feel how close his mouth was to mine. Even with my eyes shut, I knew he was close.
But the kiss didn’t come. Logan’s mischievous murmur did. “Are you warm enough yet?”
I blinked my eyes open to find Logan with that boyish smile on his face, one that was full of glee over teasing me. I pushed at his chest while scoffing, but his arms didn’t fall from around me. In fact, they only tightened as he laughed. “Dweeb,” I muttered as if it was a curse word.
“You have to admit, I’m getting much better at flirting.” His voice sounded so happy, punctuated by his laughter.