I mentally cursed Daniel in my head as I tried to steady my breath. Why did he have to say he wouldn't be the peeping tom? Why did I say that I would? The incident at the basketball court should've been enough evidence that I was terrible under pressure.

My phone vibrated in my hand and I nearly dropped it before reading the notification, relief flooding through me as soon as I read that I could come out.

"Thank God," I mumbled, opening the door to the bathroom I was hiding in. I stood for a moment in the drab bedroom-- my heart was still racing, and the sound of it hammering was impossible to ignore, even as it merged with the thump of the bass from the music below. I knew I should probably regroup with Roy and Daniel, but I let myself pace for half a minute, wanting to calm down a bit first.

"Jade?" I heard Roy's voice before I saw him nudge the door open, poking his head in and meeting my surprised eyes before flicking on the lights.

"Is it done?" I asked as he stepped inside.

"I don't know," he answered. "I just came up because of Ian's message, I wanted to make sure everything was going okay."

"I think it's okay-- Ian and Maddie both went in the other room. I'm guessing the couple did too, and that's why Ian told me I could stop hiding. I wonder what's happening in there-- are we supposed to cause a diversion now?" I realized I was babbling, but couldn't help it. "God, those were the most stressful two minutes of my life and all I was doing was standing in a bathroom. I can't even imagine what they're feeling."

He laughed. "You chose the right room. I'm guessing they'll message us when we're supposed to-"

"Roy?"

He turned around at the voice, which belonged to a lanky, mousy haired boy standing in the doorway. I saw the short, platinum blonde standing behind him scurry out of eyesight and realized exactly who they were.

"Shit man, sorry," the guy spoke again. "I didn't know you were in here. It's about time I see you on one of these rooms, though."

"Hi, Randall." Roy's reply didn't sound enthusiastic, especially compared to the other boy's obviously drunken exuberance. "It's not like that, we were just talking in here. We were also just leaving," he explained.

"Aw, c'mon man," Randall replied, words slurring just slightly. "What we're not friends anymore? You still mad about that whole group thing?" The pieces clicked in my head as I recalled what Roy told me about his friends ditching him.

"Uh, let me think," he paused for a second, deadpanning, "yeah, yeah I am, to be honest."

"Look, I said I was sorry! Besides, s'not like you missed anything, we already got kicked out."

"That sucks," Roy said, voice lacking any notes of sympathy. "Best wishes, or whatever." He turned to me, grabbing my hand. "Let's go."

"Fine," Randall called after us as Roy guided me out of the room. The blonde girl hurried inside, beginning to shut the door as he continued, "Stay mad, then. Fine."

The door clicked shut and Roy let go of my hand, running his through his hair. "Sorry about him. He's... kind of a prick. Anyway, we should tell them it's safe to come out," he said, nodding at the ajar door in front of us.

"Right," I agreed, stepping forward and nudging it open before glancing around. "Maddie? Ian?"

"We're here," Madeline spoke. There were a few shuffling noises, the sound of falling boxes, and then some expletives from the two of them before they emerged from a closet next to the door. Madeline moved her tangled hair out of her face, laughing slightly as Ian tripped over a shoebox, steadying himself with the wall. "We good to go?"

I couldn't help but smile as they straightened themselves out, adjusting wrinkled clothing and messy hair. If I didn't know what had happened in there, this definitely would've looked like something else. I had to wonder how Daniel would feel about them being trapped in a closet together. "You tell us."

"We got it," she replied, smirking as she tucked her phone into her pocket.

We all agreed it would be best to leave before sending the video, in case anyone did see us sneaking around and put two and two together. I climbed into Roy's car after saying goodbye to the group, but I couldn't shake the feeling that his mood had changed since the confrontation with Randall.

I guess it wasn't too hard to tell when something was off with Roy-- he usually had such a goofy and carefree attitude, so anything else was a dead give away. As he drove, the slightly disgruntled, contemplative face he was pulling was way more serious than any expression I'd seen him wear before.

"So which one of them was it, anyway?" I asked after a few minutes of silent driving. Roy seemed to flinch out of his thoughts when I broke the silence. I wasn't used to seeing him so lost in thought. "Was it Randall who was cheating, or the girl he was with?"

"Oh, uh, the girl, Grace," he answered. "But it may as well be Randall, too-- Grace has been dating one of his friends, Archer, for a few months now. I can't imagine they'll be friends anymore once this gets out."

I nodded, thinking he was probably right. I couldn't help but feel sorry for Archer-- as soon as the video was posted, his life would be knocked off it's axis.

"Do you think-- I mean-- is it wrong for me to do this?" he asked.

"What, revealing what they're doing?"

"Yeah. I mean, we've been friends since we were freshmen. But... we weren't that close, really. It was a dumb kind of friendship. And I know what he's doing is terrible, but still, is it wrong of me to expose him like this?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't he one of your friends who left you out of the group they made?"

"Yeah. I was running late for school that day, and he convinced everyone it'd be better if the group was as large as possible-- since I wasn't there yet, I was the extra guy. They would've had to split up if they'd included me," he explained.

I spent a few seconds thinking it over. "Well if you ask me, he's the whole reason why any of this even happened tonight. Otherwise you would've formed a group with your friends, Four of Clubs wouldn't exist-- at least not the way it does now-- and this catching a cheater assignment would've gone to someone else."

Roy pursed his lips as we came to a stoplight. He was still silent once the light turned green, so I continued, wanting to convince him that he was in the right.

"Either way, he did a shitty thing to you, and I'm the kind of person who believes in revenge. I get what you mean, about being friends and all, and I think it's healthy to feel a little bad about what we're doing. But..." I paused, trying to summarize my thoughts. "Between what he did to you, and what he's doing to Archer... you're a much better person than me if you don't think he set himself up for it."

Roy was silent for another moment before speaking. "He set himself up for it," he said, seemingly testing the words for himself. "Damn. You are so right."

He pulled up to the same curb he picked me up at, stopping the car. I smiled, glad to hear the usual ease return to his voice.

"I try," I replied, unbuckling my seat belt. "Thanks for the ride- both times."

"No problem. You gonna be okay sneaking back in?"

All the lights were still off in my house, and the neighborhood was quiet-- from the looks of it, no one knew that I left.

"I think so. I brought my key just in case, though," I admitted, opening the car door and stepping out, turning around and leaning my head back in to say goodbye.

"I'll talk to you later, when Maddie sends the video," he said, giving a small wave.

Between my worries about getting back inside and the usual nerves that accompanied me whenever I was alone with Roy, I'd almost forgotten we still needed to get our points. "Right-- okay, I'll talk to you then." I waved back and closed the door, heading across the road to my fence.

I felt exhausted, but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep until The Seven acknowledged that we'd completed the challenge. Somehow, even though I technically didn't do anything, this assignment had managed to drain me. If I wasn't still so hopped up on adrenaline, I would've been a lot more worried about my ability to sneak back in.

As I climbed over the fence, I was just happy it was done. My feet found the slat of wood at the bottom of the fence, but before I stepped off onto the ground, I heard a car door close. I looked up to see Roy jogging over from across the street.

He stepped up to my level, coming face to face with me, the fence separating our bodies. Before I could even formulate a question, he leaned forward, warm lips meeting my cheek for just a second. Heat spread through my body, my stomach flipping as he pulled away, looking at me with vulnerable brown eyes and a softness I hadn't seen on his face before.

"Is that okay?" he asked quietly. I could barely recognize it under the dim light of a nearby street lamp, but his cheeks were flushed, tinged with red.

I nodded slowly, his lips growing into a smile at the motion. "I- That's- yes. Definitely," I fumbled over the words, head and heart racing, my cheek still holding on to the feeling of his lips pressed against it.

"I'll have to keep that in mind," he said, voice just barely hoarse. He scratched the back of his neck, a sheepish grin making it's way across his face. "Goodnight, Jade."

"Night," I uttered, biting my bottom lip to suppress my smile. Something told me that despite my exhaustion, I wouldn't be getting any sleep that night.