4:06 AM – RIDGEWOOD BLEEDING
The cold bit harder than usual as Bee stood in the empty hallway outside Ridgewood's main office. The early dawn light sliced through the tinted windows, throwing pale blue shadows over the linoleum. Her boots echoed with every step—a queen marching through the ruins of her own coronation.
Kai stood behind her, slightly out of breath, hoodie damp from the rain they'd sprinted through to get here. He wiped his face with the sleeve, watching Bee with a mix of amusement and reverence.
"You sure about this?" he asked, voice low.
Bee didn't answer at first. She stared at the Principal's locked office door like it was a final boss she'd been waiting to face.
"I'm not sure about anything," she whispered. "Except that this kingdom needs to burn."
She picked the lock in under two minutes—Kai looked genuinely impressed. Inside, the office was pristine. Pristine, and fake. The kind of fake that polished over corruption with framed diplomas and motivational posters.
Bee went straight for the desk drawer. Inside: more files, keys, envelopes stamped CONFIDENTIAL.
"What are we looking for?" Kai asked, pulling out his phone and starting to record everything.
"Proof," Bee said. "That Ridgewood isn't just messed up socially—it's messed up systemically."
She scanned folders, eyes sharp. Her hands stopped on one marked Event Budget - Ridgewood Foundation.
The numbers didn't add up.
Thousands listed under "Student Outreach," but the receipts were for luxury dinners, campaign donations, even—what the hell—a private yacht rental?
Kai peeked over her shoulder. "And here I thought prom was pricey because of the fancy centerpieces."
Bee's lips twitched. "Turns out the only thing they've been decorating is their lies."
---
4:39 AM – BACK SEAT CONFESSIONS (PARKED, BUT NEVER STILL)
Rain pattered against Kai's car windows as they sat side-by-side, parked under the shadow of the Ridgewood bleachers.
Bee exhaled, the file folder clutched to her chest like a shield.
"What now?" Kai asked, his voice softer now, stripped of sarcasm.
She didn't reply. Her fingers were trembling.
Kai noticed.
"I've got you," he said quietly.
Bee's walls cracked just a little.
"It's not the secrets. It's that I believed them," she said. "I believed Ridgewood was just broken by teenagers. But it's been adults all along. The foundation, the staff, the money... Hailey was just their puppet queen."
"And you?" Kai asked.
"I was their entertainment," she said bitterly. "Until I stopped dancing."
A long silence.
Kai turned toward her. "You know… I don't think I ever told you this, but I used to think you were just another pretty face with a sharp tongue. A girl playing queen in a high school sandbox."
Bee raised an eyebrow. "Charming."
"I was wrong," he said. "You're not a queen in their game. You're the game changer."
She looked at him then, properly. And for the first time in forever, there was no performance in her eyes.
Just a girl.
Furious. Afraid. Determined.
"I don't want to feel anymore," she whispered.
Kai leaned in, close enough that his breath kissed her skin. "Then let's do something reckless."
Bee blinked.
And then he kissed her.
Not soft.
Not gentle.
It was a war of lips and breath and bruised hopes. His hand tangled in her damp hair, her fingers fisted in his hoodie. It wasn't about love. Not yet.
It was about needing something real.
And for a moment, the storm paused.
---
5:15 AM – THE BEEHIVE, AGAIN (COFFEE & CONSEQUENCES)
Bee stormed into Zuri's attic, flinging the file folder onto the table. Serena jumped.
"Did you get it?" Logan asked.
"We got everything." Bee's voice was sharp with adrenaline.
Kai entered behind her, looking notably more smug than usual. Zuri raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.
"Guys," Serena said nervously, holding up her phone. "We might have a problem."
She turned the screen toward them.
A new message from the Unknown Number.
> "Exposing the grownups won't stop the fire. Some secrets bleed deeper. Especially yours, Bee."
Another ping.
This time, a photo.
Bee. On the rooftop. With Kai. Mid-kiss.
Her blood ran cold.
"That's from less than an hour ago," Kai said, eyes narrowing. "Someone's watching us."
Zuri looked spooked. "Who even has access to the rooftop cameras?"
Logan glanced up, pale. "What if there are no cameras? What if… someone followed you?"
Bee didn't flinch.
She just smiled. And it was the kind of smile that should've terrified them all.
"Then let them watch."
---
6:00 AM – HALLS OF SECRETS (FLASHBACKS & FRACTURES)
Later, Bee walked Ridgewood's halls alone—ghostlike in the early morning haze. Her fingers trailed across the lockers. Each one a secret. A lie. A life.
She paused at Hailey's.
Still taped shut. Still plastered in warning signs from the fallout.
Bee's memories surged.
Hailey laughing at freshman orientation. Hailey pushing Brielle into the fountain during sophomore year. Hailey kissing Aiden in the photo booth junior prom. Hailey whispering "Checkmate, bitch" before everything burned.
Bee pressed her forehead against the metal.
"I don't miss you," she murmured.
But part of her did.
The part that still hoped people could change.
Her phone buzzed again.
> "You think you're the hero? You're just the prettiest liar in the room."
This time, she didn't reply.
She just deleted it.
---
6:33 AM – DAWN ON THE ROOFTOP (CROWN OF THORNS)
The sun rose slow and gold over Ridgewood as Bee climbed the rooftop alone. She held her old tiara in one hand—the one she'd worn sophomore year when they'd crowned her Homecoming Queen. Back when she thought being chosen meant being valued.
She set the tiara on the ledge.
And smashed it with her heel.
The sound was delicate. Almost musical.
Shards sparkled like diamonds in the morning light.
Kai appeared behind her, hood up, holding two coffees.
"Burial service?" he asked.
Bee took one coffee. "More like a coronation reset."
He clinked his cup against hers. "To the Queen of Ashes."
"No," she said.
Then turned.
"To the girl who built her crown from glass and dared them to break it."
They sipped in silence.
But the war drums in their hearts were just beginning to beat louder.