Paisely Mont Vernon hadn't always been bubbly, a fact that had managed to slip through the cracks in her rise up social hierarchy. She had been far from it, actually. She had been someone else, a someone that hardly spoke unless she had to, a someone that traded pink cashmere for black Rag & Bone by the time she started eighth grade at Weston Day School. Pink had been a vibrant color, a color that drew attention and attention wasn't always good. Paisely knew that. Her far too old, Ivy League-bound boyfriend knew that and so did her parents.

Pink was for when the eight million dollar contemporary clock in the foyer struck twelve and her mother woke her up for surprise night trips to places like Los Angeles, New York, and Dubai.

Pink was to look pretty and to seem girly and to play dumb and bite her tongue, to talk as if she hadn't grown over a day.

When Paisely started eighth grade, she absolutely hated pink and gladly embraced her first boyfriend, Logan Knightley's, request to stop wearing it. Pink was like a magnet, attracting wandering eyes and touchy feely hands. Pink was like a sign that hung over her head and Paisely wasn't always sure what it said until whispers plagued her ears in the nights she'd lie wide awake counting the countless moments she couldn't stay awake even if she tried.

So, she hated pink.

She hated her body that was constantly swinging like a pendulum from sunken cheeks to full thighs, from runway to curvy vixen, from whatever was wanted yesterday to whatever was wanted the next.

She hated sex too but Logan had made her feel as if he was the only one she was actually sharing such an intimate part of herself with, the only one that actually cherished her rather than destroyed her.

Paisely liked to pretend in her head that it was true, that she had fallen madly in love with Chris Edwards because he reminded her of Logan and Logan was a good guy. That everyone was good, including the people she met on her trips.

Like every other rich kid, pretending was easy for Paisely. Pretending was like acting in a play, except the play never ended, the loss of time blending into Paisely's soul until she wasn't sure if she was acting or she was truly her role. Paisely had been acting, hating the audience but performing more for herself than anyone else.

Until Erika Felix came along, small posse in tow, with the slam of her manicured hands on a stone table of the Alabaster courtyard on the very first day of freshman year.

"Logan Knightley, is it? I don't care about who your parents are, what school you got accepted to, or whatever other little pathetic detail you have to your name. I'm a Felix, which makes me automatically more relevant than you'll ever be and right now, your Queen is kindly commanding you to fuck off - or I guarantee you won't even get to drive by Princeton next year." She had said so sweetly that Paisely had gotten that sick feeling in her chest she usually had after binging on ice cream.

Logan must have too because he had completely avoided her for the rest of the year until he shipped off to Princeton.

And just like that, Erika and Paisely were suddenly friends, the auburn-haired beauty practically pulling Paisely into her circle without even a question. She didn't ask about Paisely's showcase nor her trips to exotic cities every midnight. She didn't pick and prod at what happened behind the curtains despite the fact nearly all of Beverly Hills did. Instead she welcomed Paisely into her world, where beautiful people like Jac Lexington, Benny Costa, and Veronica Conrad had sleepovers every Saturday night at the Felix estate and stole sips of alcohol while the adults partied up at the Beverly Hills Country Club.

Slowly but surely, Paisely stopped hating pink because pink became associated with more things that made her heart soar rather than sink. Like shopping sprees at the mall with the Lexington butler, matching Burberry pajamas while binging Netflix with potato chips and margaritas, or dancing on gold-embellished coffee tables with cups of fizzy, pink drinks at the best ragers in the city.

Everything had magically changed when Paisely met Erika.

She was happy and in love. Even her nights to Los Angeles, New York, and Dubai dwindled until her nights were completely filled with parties, sleepovers, and late laughter-laced outings.

Suddenly, Paisely didn't feel like acting. Her bubbly nature wasn't feigned and neither was her love for pink. And although she constantly forgot the past, she forgot so that she could completely lose herself in the new friends she had.

It didn't matter how cruel Erika was, she had taken Paisely's script and ripped it to shreds all in one morning.

She had been there, even for just a moment, and Paisely refused to desert her when she needed her the most.

It was a truth Paisely pretended she didn't understand, because to understand was to remember and Paisely didn't want to remember the days where she wasn't bubbly and hated pink.

ⒾⓁⓁⓊⓈⒾⓄⓃ

Despite the Spring weather, dim sun peeking through the clouds hanging over the Hamptons, a light drizzle pestered Paisely as she finally made it to the front office of the East Hampton Military Institute. Amid the rain and gloomy skies, the school with Old England-styled buildings and an incredibly long walkway between the deserted manicured fields would have looked more like a haunted facility that had been abandoned a hundred years ago if it wasn't for the cars that speckled the curb of the country plains. The institute and everything around it looked abandoned, from the buildings with their darkly-tinted Victorian windows and the school's drab square that looked like a ghost town reminiscent of Alabaster Prep's courtyard.

According to her numerous Google searches, East Hampton was indeed a military school that was still as good as open but just looking at the facility, Paisely felt like the only person alive.

'What if the school is for dead kids and Erika is actually a ghost?' She suddenly thought as she stopped short at the broad, Walnut wooden doors that were as rectangular as boxy eyebrows. The emblem of the institute - a falcon with an arrow through its heart - glinted in what very little sunlight could be caught above the entrance.

If the school really was for dead kids, the arrow-pierced falcon was certainly appropriate.

And if Erika was actually dead, that was Paisely's fault for being a scandalous bitch. The fact that Erika was even in a military school for troubled youth was her fault and the worst part was, she had been having fun taking her place and her friends while she suffered. If it hadn't been for Jared Hayward escaping the institute himself and informing her of Erika's dreadful whereabouts, Paisely would probably still be clubbing it up in Las Vegas with her Milly dress pulled up and her Agent Provocateur thong out for everyone to see.

However, Paisely was over the guilty chip on her shoulder.

She was ready to make things right, by rescuing Erika as she had rescued her.

Blonde, messily cute bun now hanging like a mop around her face and shivering in a soft pink Leith floral duster that felt too light for the weather, Paisely rolled her lips and shoulders before sauntering into the office - a loud beep! causing her to yelp and nearly jump back out into the rain.

The school's office looked just as dead as the outside; grey reception desk, grey-haired clerk with chipped nails and clad in baggy camouflage, white-grey walls adorned with dreary achievements, a Coca Cola soda machine that contrasted with the lack of color, and lastly, a large camera overhead the entrance recording Paisely's every move and beeping profusely at her arrival.

The sound pierced her ears, making Paisely feel as if the camera were somehow detecting all the fake atrocities she'd committed within the past few days.

Backstabbing Erika hadn't been the only scandalous act she'd committed. She'd accidentally leaked her semi-friend-kind-of-an-enemy, Veronica Conrad's, sex tape to the entire Beverly Hills preparatory school district and now it was public knowledge that Paisely was no better than the queen she'd taken down.

Nearly every teen in Beverly Hills had turned against her, lunging for the free position as the next Queen of Alabaster, and the Rumor Mill had been up in arms in every social media inbox Paisely owned.

She had to turn off notifications for her Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Kik which she barely even remembered existed anymore, just to calm the vibrations of her iPhone.

Paisely figured she deserved the hate.

"Um, this-this thing is, uh, beeping?" She called out to the stony-faced clerk who seemed to be looking past her at nothing in particular. 'OMG, this is a school of ghosts!'

Gulping loudly, Paisely took hesitant steps towards the receptionist desk, the ear-plaguing beeping falling abruptly silent as she moved out of the view of the camera.

The clerk barely blinked.

"Uh, hi, my name is Paisely Mont Vernon. I'm looking to visit someone?"

Nothing but the sound of a faint air conditioner she couldn't pinpoint answered back.

Paisely gasped in a horror-filled realization. "Are you-are you dead? Like you can't see the living?" It would make sense why the school seemed so deserted. There were probably people running around the vividly green fields that she couldn't even see!

"Excuse me? I'm not dead. I'm just trying to figure out why you're here. The school is on lock down." The clerk suddenly explained, raspy voice surprisingly warm. Cutting her gaze sharply from Paisely, she turned back to the Apple desktop in front of her, typing furiously away as if there wasn't a bedraggled girl standing before her.

"Why-why are you on lock down?" Paisely asked.

The clerk didn't look up, brown eyes illuminated by the blue screen. "Because several students have been kidnapped, another student ran away, and their whereabouts are unknown. How can I help you?"

Paisely had to bite her tongue just as the name, 'Hayward,' started to slip. She was dumb but not dumb enough to be a snitch. "Oh, well, I'm really glad you're not dead," She giggled instead, letting the huge breath residing in her chest ease out.

"I am too." The clerk replied blandly, unbeknownst to the fact she was sucking out what little joy Paisely had left!

"Anyway, I'm here to see a Erika Felix. My name is Paisely Mont Vernon and I'm a friend of hers. I've been meaning to see her but-"

"I don't care about the backstory, wait one minute," was all the clerk said before reluctantly slipping out of her comfy, black spinning chair and ambling off to the back, Paisely pressing up on the toes of her Gucci ballet flats for a glimpse of her computer screen projecting a Youtube vlogger.

The clerk certainly wasn't dead.

Heart beating rapidly, Paisely wondered what she was going to say to Erika, if the girl even wanted to see her after what happened at the auction - and the yacht party which hadn't been very dandy either. First, she could get on her knees and apologize for how horrible of a friend she was. Then, she could tell Erika what had taken her a long time - and a lot of time lost with Chris Edwards - to understand. Lastly, they could come up with an escape plan to get Erika out of this weird place that, according to Jared, was full of brainwashed children of conservative thinking.

Paisely still wasn't sure what that meant but it sounded bad and Erika didn't deserve anything of the sort.

"Paisely Mont Vernon? Is that you? Oh, wow, what a coincidence!" At the sound of a jolly shout, Paisely turned around, blue eyes widening as she took in Teddy Anderson strolling into the morbid office, dressed in a tacky glitter-green Ted Baker sport suit. The heavyweight businessman had a pip in his step as he engulfed Paisely in a hug before she could even process why she was seeing him in such a place - and how ironic it was that he was hugging the girl that had partaken in Erika's reign over his daughter.

Mr. Anderson was none other than Addie Anderson's father, the equally unique-taste-having parent of the stuttering pink-haired wannabe cheerleader that had mysteriously disappeared over Spring Break after the Huffington Hacking. Everyone had theorized that the girl had been sent to Wyoming, which wasn't really a terrible city but had somehow become a code word for 'disposed,' as outright sending your children away without an alibi was total taboo in high society. Addie's brother had had an alibi despite the fact everyone knew he was in a rehab center so no one knew what to make of the Andersons' daughter suddenly up and leaving without even a story to dress up her absence.

"Hi Mr. Anderson," Paisely squeaked, wanting to giggle at their pot bellies bouncing off each other and forcing them out of their awkward hug. The observation was easier to focus on rather than her reunion with Erika. "What brings you here?"

Teddy smiled broadly, fat cheeks blushing red from the cold. "I could ask the same but I won't because if you don't spread my business around, I won't spread yours. Okay?"

Paisely felt a pit in her stomach tighten into a startled, "Okay."

The man's smile didn't look so friendly anymore.

"Addie!" He shouted then, nearly wobbling over the receptionist desk as he tried to peek into the back. "Where's my daughter? I want my baby now!"

At that moment, his 'baby' emerged from the glass doors off to the side of the desk that lead out to the school's gazebo center, hair stringy pink noodles and dressed in a denim strawberry-printed THE GREAT top, Rag & Bone jeans, and ratty Converse shoes that clearly weren't hers. She came sulking out to the office heaving a large moving box.

Teddy rushed over to take the box, cradling his somber daughter's head. "Oh, honey, are you okay? I told you we were coming to get you. Did you listen to me? Remember, I told you not to talk to the police until we get a lawyer!"

Addie's brown eyes dragged from her father's face to Paisely frozen in place with a gasp. "What-what-what-what-"

"Ignore her, baby, we've got to get you out of here." Teddy interjected, guiding a stuttering Addie who stared at Paisely with almost accusing eyes towards the entrance.

However, just as the two passed, Addie stopped in her tracks, grabbing Paisely's forearms. Paisely could see the tears rolling down her pale face. "If they survive, tell them I'm so sorry. I just-I just wanted her to feel how she made me feel. I didn't-I didn't want anyone to get hurt." On the word, 'hurt,' her voice cracked and she started to cry, body trembling almost violently as Teddy all but wrenched her away.

He hastily shhhed her loud sobs as he dragged her and her sturdy box towards the doors, disappearing into the gloomy day as the beeps of the surveillance cameras protested their escape.

'If they survive?' Paisely thought, trying to desperately to piece together what she meant. Did she mean the school lock down? Did she have something to do with the kidnappings? Had Erika been hurt?

Most of the time, Paisely had no idea what was going on and this time was showing to be no exception. Except this time frightened her more the most, almost even more than her late night visits to - 'no, no, no, happy Paisely.'

"Ms. Mont Vernon?"

Paisely spun around, realizing she had a slight tremble to herself from Addie's whisking.

The clerk had come back to her desk, a brooding expression on her aged face as she clicked off her Youtube vlog. "Erika isn't here," She said flatly as if she wasn't delivering the most earth-shattering news Paisely could hear.

What was she going to do now? If Erika wasn't here, then where was she? How was she going to make things right? How was she going to tell her she- "But, her mother is here and she would like to talk to you." The clerk finished fairly, thin lips in a tight line.

Paisely went slack-jawed. "Mother?"

"Yes, mother."

ⒾⓁⓁⓊⓈⒾⓄⓃ

Erika Felix's alleged mother was waiting in the Dean's Office, sitting in an elegant black, cushioned chair behind a smooth, maple wooden desk. The office wasn't nearly as dull, let alone as creepy, as the rest of the school. The walls were of a shade of light green decorated with glimmering award plaques, pictures of nature landscapes and an elaborate glass trophy cabinet boasting the name, 'Hello Caldwell.'

There were two egg green armchairs placed in front of the desk and while one was empty and ready for Paisely's bootylicious behind, the other chair was taken by a baby-faced, middle-aged police officer who regarded Paisely with a stare blanker than the clerk when she walked in.

"You're the girlfriend." Alleged mother said as soon as Paisely sat down, ocean blue eyes boring into Paisely's much softer ones. She sported a black bowl-cut and a glower that could make anyone feel as if they were being personally victimized. Oddly, she could be Erika's mother. She even looked liked her - although she largely favored Damon - with full, pink lips and sharp cheekbones.

But how could she be Erika's mother when Mrs. Felix was dead?

Alleged mother cleared her throat.

Paisely's face flushed beneath her Spring tan and she found herself glancing at the officer. "Oh, sorry, say that again."

"I said, you're the girlfriend." She repeated, not a hint of a question in her icy voice.

Paisely was dumbfounded, immediately trying to connect the dots as to how she would think they were dating. Sure, they had kissed but girls kissed all the time. And the only way she would know about their kiss was if she lived in Beverly Hills but Mrs. Felix was dead!

Inevitably, she had nothing.

"Uhhh....why do you think that?"

"Because that kiss you shared at the Spring Debutante Auction was published in the BH Courier and Erika's father informed me about you."

"Oh...well...uh...what do you want to talk about, Miss-"

The woman held up a hand, grimacing as 'miss' rolled off Paisely's tongue. "Ruth Lakemond. Call me Ruth," She clarified before sifting through the messy pile of paperwork on the ornate desk. "Now, I want to talk to you about Erika. A few days ago, Damon Felix allegedly took her off campus and they never returned."

Suddenly, Ruth froze, blue eyes drawing up from the manila folder in her hand to Paisely's wide ones. "Do you know where she is?" She asked, the question making the air in the room drop nearly fifty degrees it seemed.

Paisely nervously tugged at her pinkie finger that was adorned in a plain, Tiffanys band. "No. I just heard she was here and-"

"Who told you she was here? This deal between the institute and Mr. Felix was a private matter."

Paisely couldn't help but freeze herself, avoiding the urge to confront the officer's suspicious glare beaming into her side. Could they see her cheeks blushing? Or her hands playing with her Tiffanys ring? Or her Gucci flats slamming into each other? She hardly had anything to be nervous about besides knowing of Jared Hayward's escape but Ruth seemed to have a special effect; an effect that made you feel guilty no matter how innocent you were.

An effect very similar to Erika's.

"Do you have something to do with the kidnapping of Erika Felix and Cashmere Caldwell?" Ruth questioned again, a relentless edge threatening to kill.

"Kidnap?" Paisely gaped, hands flying up to her matte pink lips. "Erika was-was kidnapped?"

"Yes, she was kidnapped and so was the Dean's daughter. Several students have been found to be involved in this crime and if you're an accomplice, confess now to avoid-"

"I didn't do anything!" She exclaimed and before she could stop it, she was bursting into tears, burying her head in her hands. As if she had summoned them, all her bad deeds came back to haunt her; getting Erika caught for shoplifting, cheating with Chris Edwards, leaking Veronica's sex tape, her midnight trips, her dirty little secret. She couldn't keep pretending she was a ditsy, dumb, little angel to ward off who she really was. "I'm sorry about everything I did to her! I was such a horrible friend and lately I've been a horrible friend to everyone, which figures because I'm faker than you even know. Than I even know! I'm pretty much the reason why Erika's here! She wouldn't have sunk the yacht if it wasn't for me! I shouldn't have even kissed her and I shouldn't have lead her on! I'm a horrible, horrible person and I'll always be because I can't stop!"

Silence fell then, nothing but the sound of her entire facade she had conjured crashing down on her. Contrary to what everyone believed, Paisely Mont Vernon wasn't dumb. She was pretending. After all, dumb blondes were way hotter than scared little girls who questioned everything from the fruit punch in their hand to the dimmed lights blurring her vision.

The cliche of dumb blondes was an easy script; let everything go over your head so you won't feel the pain, make horrible choices with horrible people, and don't feel even an ounce of guilt or despair - because dumb blondes are too dumb to understand their decisions, nor the consequences.

Somewhere along the line, however, she'd forgotten she didn't have to pretend anymore.

And she didn't want Erika to know the dumb blonde, she wanted Erika - everyone - to know the real her. However, every time, she tried to take off her costume, she only slipped into another. Like the costume of Erika 2.0 she'd been dressing up in for the last week.

The officer disdainfully handed her a tissue and Paisely dabbed frantically at her snotty nose. Through her blurry vision, she saw Ruth's almost sorrowful gaze that contrasted with her authoritative features.

"Trust me, I know," was all she said but Paisely had a feeling she really knew. Not just the petty high school drama but everything.

With a sigh, Ruth shuffled papers on the desk again. "Clearly, you don't know anything. My apologies, so-"

The ringing of the old-fashioned, sleek, black telephone on the edge of the wooden desk interrupted her sheepishness, causing nearly everyone to have a sigh of their own. Paisely's breakdown had been far too uncomfortable, even for the officer who shifted in his seat with a grunt.

Ruth pressed the receiver to her ear with a scowl that almost looked like Erika's.

'Mrs. Felix's name was Glory, so who is this?'

"Dean's Office, how may I- excuse me, what?"

Both Paisely and the officer straightened up at the sudden change of tone, Paisely's heart starting to beat wildly in her ears.

Setting her jaw, Ruth hung up the phone as quickly as she'd answered it.

"New lead, I'm guessing?" The officer spoke up for the first time, seeming relieved at the possibility of having something else to do.

Ruth, however, only shook her head. "Actually, we found them - well, most of them. Cashmere Caldwell has been taken by the alleged kidnappers and Damon Felix has been shot. He's in critical condition," Sitting up, seemingly unfazed, Ruth clasped her hands together. "I have to go pick up Erika from the nearest hospital."

"Wait," Paisely managed, standing up despite the world suddenly tilting on its axis. "I-I need to go too."

"This probably isn't the best time. What you need to do-"

"It's more than the best time," Paisely practically growled back, not even stunned by the determination that dripped from her tongue. This was the real Paisely, resurfacing from the ocean of ditsy hair twirls and feigned puzzlement. From nights in Los Angeles and Dubai, and constant power wars that'd nearly torn her in two.

This was the Paisely Erika needed to know loved her - and maybe that's what she needed all along, something, or someone, to make her want to resurface, to be herself again.

"In fact, the best time was a long time ago. I'm late."

------------------

A/N: The next chapter is Erika's POV, guys, so get ready for Felix Sibling Angst™ :p

Thoughts are super, super welcome. What do you guys think of Paisely? Lakemond?

For everyone's first POV, I've decided to flesh them out so bear with the slowness. Thank you all for reading and being patient! <3

(this story is so sad to write so far like I can't but I can)