After school, the group gathered at their favorite café, the tension of the day still lingering in the air. Layla slumped in her chair, her navy cardigan wrinkled from the day's stress.

"That may have been the most stressful day ever," she sighed.

"I'm sorry--" Hayley began, but Layla cut her off.

"Don't be. It wasn't a dig. It was more stressful for you than anyone, Hales."

Mason, who had stayed with the group, leaned forward. "So, what now?"

"Now, we get Hales some comfort food," Emma declared, standing up. "Chocolate brownies are on me today."

Hayley's eyes lit up behind her glasses. "Can I have hot chocolate as well?"

"With marshmallows, and whipped cream if you like. You can have whatever you want."

A genuine smile spread across Hayley's face. "I feel better already!"

"That's what I like to hear. I'll go and order."

"I'd like a drink too, Em," Layla called after her. "I know you're going to get a cup of coffee."

"Alright, Laylay. You caught me. Back soon."

As Emma walked away, Mason fell into deep thought, drawing Hayley's attention. "What's on your mind, Mason?"

"I'm just thinking...I wonder if it would be worth asking Madison to take the blog post down? She seemed really upset after finding out that she had hurt you, Hayley."

Hayley suddenly gasped. "Maddy! Totally forgot! Emma was gonna ask her about her missing memory stick!"

"What memory stick?" Mason asked, confused.

Layla explained, "We think someone stole Emma's memory stick out of her bag during the Fall Ball."

"It had all her college application work on it," Hayley added, just as Emma returned.

"Drinks are on the way, guys."

The conversation about Emma's missing memory stick was interrupted by the appearance of Madison, her steps less bouncy than usual, her usual confidence replaced by obvious remorse. Layla immediately moved to stand protectively in front of Hayley.

"You should leave, Madison," she said coldly.

"I just wanted to tell Hayley how sorry I was," Madison pleaded. "Could I speak to her?"

Layla turned to look at Hayley who gave her a small nod. She took a firm stance beside Hayley, a frown etched on her face.

Madison continued. "I took down the blog post, Hayley. I should never have written it. I didn't stop to think about how spilling your secret would make you feel. But I never meant to upset you, I really didn't! You're the only one in Daleside who's nice to me!"

Hayley adjusted her glasses, her voice quiet but firm. "I appreciate the apology, Maddy...but I'm not ready to forgive you yet."

Madison's face fell. "I understand. I'll leave."

"I'm not ready to forgive you either, Madison," Emma interjected. "But I do need to ask you something before you go. During the Fall Ball, someone went through my bag and stole my memory stick with a lot of my work on it. We think it was Liam– he was the only one who knew it was there. Did he say anything to you?"

Madison's eyes widened, her hair swaying as she leaned forward urgently. "Oh my God! It was! It was definitely Liam!!" Her voice trembled with nervous energy as she wrung her hands nervously. "Okay, don't be madder than you already are, but he asked me to distract you that night while he went and did something. I swear I didn't know what he was planning though! I can explain!"

Emma crossed her arms, her earlier warmth replaced with cautious skepticism. "Alright, go ahead. But be quick."

Madison fidgeted with the hem of her shirt as she spoke. "It happened about a week ago, after I kinda... overheard a conversation between Liam and Hayley...well more of an argument, really."

"I call bullshit," Layla interjected hotly, her protective instincts flaring. "Hales never argued with Liam."

Hayley reached for her glasses, adjusting them nervously. "No, Maddy is telling the truth. It was just before we went shopping last week."

"You did look very pale that day..." Layla's anger softened to concern as she studied her girlfriend's face.

"And I didn't wanna say anything in case I worried you guys!" Hayley explained, her voice small. "Plus, he...kinda blackmailed me, I guess?"

"HE WHAT??" Layla's outburst caused several café patrons to turn their heads.

Madison nodded vigorously, strands of her hair bouncing. "It's true! He was talking about telling everyone about her reputation in middle school, and when I heard that, I just got curious..."

The café seemed to fade away as Madison recounted the events from the previous week. The memory was still fresh in her mind: (check chapter 10 for recap on this)

She stood in the hallway, excitement written across her face. "Yes, yes, yes!"

Liam leaned against the lockers, a calculating smile on his face. "If you do something for me in return."

"Uh, sure, I guess. What do you need?"

"There's something I need to do at the Fall Ball next week, but it's important that Emma doesn't see me do it. I need you to keep her talking for 10 minutes. I'll let you know when."

Madison's enthusiasm dimmed slightly. "And that doesn't sound shady at all. Emma is my friend, Liam. I'm not gonna help you run around behind her back."

"It's nothing like that, I promise!" Liam's voice took on a persuasive tone. "It's...a surprise for her. I don't want her to find out about it before it's ready."

Madison's eyes lit up with misguided romance. "Ooh I get it? This is some big romantic gesture, right? What are you planning? Bouquet? Surprise barbershop quartet? Proposal??"

"Something like that." Liam's smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'll leave the details to your imagination. But don't say anything to Emma–not even a hint–or I won't tell you about Hayley."

Madison practically bounced with anticipation. "My lips are sealed! Now tell me the secret!"

Liam leaned closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "A little birdie told me that Hayley swings the other way."

"WHAT? Our Hayley Smith is into girls?"

"The very same."

"Are you sure about this, Liam?"

"She was put up to some sort of dare in middle school. And she apparently loved it. The whole school was a buzz with this news."

Madison's blogger instincts took over. "Thanks Liam. This is quite a scoop. I'm sure my blog will go viral with this post."

As Madison's story concluded, the café came back into focus. She looked down at her hands, genuine remorse in her voice. "I'm sorry, Hales. I was going to talk to you about it. I swear! But after you yelled at me in the corridor last week, I got so mad-- I know that's not an excuse."

Hayley's voice was tired but understanding. "It's not. But thank you for being honest about it, Maddy." She gave a weak laugh. "So, turns out all our bad luck is connected. What are the chances?"

Layla's voice dripped with sarcasm as she stared at Madison. "Well done, Mads. Two lives screwed up with one blog post. That must be a new record for you."

"Well, at least now we know for sure that Liam did it," Hayley said, trying to diffuse the tension as she fiddled with her glasses.

Layla's eyes darkened. "Yes, we do. The question is, what are we going to do about it?"

Madison began gathering her things, her shoulders hunched. "Look guys, I've said what I came here to say, so I'm gonna get out of your hair."

"No, Maddy, it's okay." Hayley's voice was soft but weary. "You don't need to go. I think I'm gonna head home now anyway– I'm really tired, and I need to think about what I'm gonna do at school tomorrow."

Layla immediately moved closer to Hayley, her protective instincts showing in every movement. "I'll go with you, Hales, if you want company?"

A small smile crossed Hayley's face. "Always."

She turned to Emma, apologetic. "Em, will you be okay if we figure out what to do about the memory stick tomorrow?"

"I'll be fine. You guys go."

"See you tomorrow then!" Hayley called as she and Layla left the café, their hands naturally finding each other's.

Once they'd gone, Mason turned to Emma, his expression serious. "Emma, I'm so sorry all this bad happened to you."

"Oh hey, don't be." Emma shrugged, trying to maintain her composure. "It's been much harder for Hales than it has for me."

"It's been hard for the both of you," Mason insisted, his voice gentle but firm. "When I think about the way Liam treated you...well, it must've been tough, is all I'm saying. It isn't right. He should pay for what he did. I'm going to get that memory stick back for you, Emma."

"I want to help!!" Madison burst out. Seeing their skeptical looks, she continued pleadingly, "C'mon don't look at me like that! I feel awful about what happened. Please, let me help. It's the least I can do."

Emma sighed, stirring her coffee absently. "Even if I agreed to let you help, Mads, what could we do? We know it was Liam, but we can't prove it–there's no evidence."

Madison's eyes lit up with excitement. "Well, you know where he lives, right? We could search his house! I bet the memory stick is in there somewhere."

"And if we found it then we'd be laughing all the way to jail," Emma retorted sarcastically. "You can't break into someone's house, Mads."

"But why not? He stole from you, so we'd just be evening things out, right?"

Mason grimaced. "Unfortunately, I don't think that's a defense any judge would accept."

"See what I mean? It's hopeless." Emma's voice trailed off as her phone chimed with a text. Her expression changed as she read the message from Liam: "Hey! Sorry I didn't see you today–been off school with a stinky cold :(  You manage to find your memory stick yet? I've got some exciting news. My parents are out of town this weekend, so I'm thinking HOUSE PARTY!! Saturday night, you in? ;)"

A calculating look crossed Emma's face. "Hmm. This may actually work to our advantage."

"Who was that?" Mason asked, leaning forward.

"Liam. He's throwing a house party this Saturday." Emma's voice took on a determined edge. "If we all go, it could be an opportunity to search for my missing memory stick. Mads, are you happy to run interference with Liam while we search? After all, we already know you're good at it."

Madison winced. "Ouch. I deserved that. And yes, I'll distract him." Her excitement began building again. "OMG, you guys, I can't believe we're planning a heist!"

"Not a heist..." Mason corrected. "Like you said, Madison; it hardly counts as stealing if we're taking back our own stuff."

"A secret mission then! It's still super exciting!"

"Yep. The operative word being 'secret', Maddy." Emma interjected.

Madison held up her hands defensively. "Duh... I've learned my lesson, Emma. I'm not gonna blog about this. Or about anything, at least for a while."

"Now you just need to text Liam and say that you'll be there," Mason prompted.

Emma grimaced. "Ugh do I have to? I'd happily never speak to him again."

"I know. Just grit your teeth and think of sweet, sweet vengeance."

With a resigned sigh, Emma typed out her response: "Sounds awesome!! I'm totally up for it. Can't wait ;) xxx."

Liam's reply came quickly: "Great :)"

Emma sent another message: "So who else is coming to the party? Xxx."

"I thought I'd just extend the invitation. The more the merrier!"

Emma locked her phone with a decisive click. "Okay, we're in. And you guys are invited too."

"Yess!" Madison practically bounced in her seat. "Phase one is complete, we go for phase two, people! Hey, can we have code names? I wanna be Dark Eagle!"

"Sounds good to me," Mason nodded. "I'll be Turing—seems fitting, since he was a secret codebreaker."

"And what about me?" Emma asked.

Mason's eyes twinkled with amusement. "I have the perfect code name for you, Emma. You can be... Coffee Bean."

The afternoon sun slanted through the café windows as the unlikely trio continued planning their mission, their voices low and determined. The sweet scent of coffee and pastries contrasted with the serious nature of their conversation as they finalized their plans.

The weight of the day's events seemed to lift slightly, replaced by a sense of purpose and the promise of justice. The memory stick recovery mission was set for Saturday night, and this time, they were determined not to let Liam get the upper hand.