Jessica couldn't sleep.
She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, Ava's confession still replaying in her head.
An affair. With a teacher.
Holy. Shit.
She hadn't expected that. At all.
No wonder she was acting strange the other day Taylor and Chloe were talking about Mr Calloway giving Jessica weird stares. 'He wasn't looking at me. He was looking at Ava," she said to herself.
But now, there was something even worse gnawing at her. Zach. Whatever game he was playing, he was willing to blackmail Ava to win. And that meant it wasn't just some stupid prank.
Jessica turned onto her side, grabbing her phone off the nightstand. She texted Steven.
Jessica: Are you awake?
A few seconds passed. Then…
Steven: Barely. Why?
Jessica: I need to see you. Can you meet me?
A longer pause this time.
Steven: Now?? It's midnight.
Jessica: I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important.
Steven: …Give me 10 minutes.
She let out a breath and sat up.
If Zach was coming for them, they had to be ready.
Fifteen minutes later, Jessica spotted Steven waiting for her in the park near her house. He was wearing sweatpants and an old hoodie, his hair a mess like he had just rolled out of bed, which, knowing Steven, he probably had.
"You better have a good reason for this," he muttered, rubbing his eyes. "I was finally having a sound sleep; one I haven't had in weeks."
Jessica smirked but quickly sobered. "It's Zach."
That got Steven's attention. "What about him?"
Jessica hesitated, then sighed. "He's blackmailing Ava. He wants her to steal something from us."
Steven blinked. "Wait. What?"
Jessica quickly ran through everything Ava had told her.
By the time she finished, Steven looked fully awake. "So… let me get this straight. Zach is blackmailing Ava, because she's sleeping with a teacher, which, holy hell, that's a whole other problem, but for some reason, instead of using that against her, he's making her steal from us?"
"Yeah," Jessica said. "And she has no idea what he's after."
Steven frowned. "That doesn't make sense. If he just wanted to mess with you, he wouldn't need me."
Jessica nodded. "Right? That's what I thought."
They sat in silence for a moment. Then Steven sighed. "Oh, I see. I'm involved 'cause I talked back. Okay, let's think this through. The only thing we have in common is the project."
Jessica gave him a look. "Well, what does he care about our computer project?"
"Okay, but what if it's not actually about the project?" Steven leaned forward. "What if it's about us working together?"
Jessica frowned. "What do you mean?"
Steven chewed his lip. "Look, Zach doesn't like me. That's obvious. And he definitely doesn't like that we've been spending time together."
Jessica rolled her eyes. "God, if this is just about his fragile ego…"
"I don't think it is." Steven shook his head. "If Zach wanted to screw with me, he'd just do it himself. He wouldn't need Ava."
Jessica paused. "So… you think this is about me?"
Steven hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. And I think it's about keeping us apart."
Jessica exhaled, rubbing her temples. "So what do we do?"
Steven tilted his head. "You trust Ava?"
Jessica thought about it. Finally, she nodded. "Yeah. I do."
"Then we use that." Steven's voice was steady now, his brain shifting into problem-solving mode. "If Zach wants to play games, let's make sure we're the ones holding the cards."
Jessica arched an eyebrow. "You're suggesting we set him up?"
Steven smirked. "Why not? He thinks he's the only one who can play dirty."
Jessica couldn't help but grin. "I like the way you think."
Steven chuckled. "Let's just hope we don't regret it."
Jessica exhaled. "No promises."
The game had changed.