Jace Kane's POV

Jace rolled over on his side, rubbing his eyes. He glanced at the clock on the wall, seeing that it was 12: 30 PM. He had gotten no sleep after all those late night hours of studying in the Lifairy. On his nightstand, his phone had been blowing up with notifications all night, but he had put the MirrorPhone on Silent to avoid distractions. Finally, he got up and checked what all the messages were about.

Oh my Grimm.

Jace went pale as he saw the article that Adelaide had sent in the Topsy Turvy Group Chat. He had read the article written by Cressida Lockes, though she was better known as Honey on the MirrorNetwork, about Claudia. Claudia's dead? He was frozen in place, shocked.

So there he sat, hunched over his phone on his bed. A dozen thoughts ran through his head as the door to his dorm unlocked. AJ Ace, his roommate and friend, burst through the door, a horrified expression on his face. "Did you hear the news?" he asked.

Jace nodded miserably. "Just finished Honey's article."

"Good Godmothers." AJ dropped his bag on the floor and sat on Jace's bed with him. AJ's head was in his hands as he tried to collect himself. "I can't process this. We saw Claudia yesterday, didn't we?"

"And earlier this day," he added quietly. Suicide? That sounded so weird to Jace, he hadn't thought that Claudia would want to end her life, though he supposed he just hadn't seen the signs. Was Claudia struggling? He wished he wasn't such a worrywart about academics so he could have actually helped his dear friend. "I didn't even realize she'd want to..."

"Commit suicide?"

"Yeah," Jace admitted, "I can't even imagine how bad this is."

AJ exhaled a sigh. "I think it'll only get worse."

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Ruby Red's POV

CS: Surely, Honey's article isn't real, right?

RR (@redrubies): Idk, it looks legit. Where is Claudia's sister? Someone tag her.

BW: OMG, I JUST SAW @teacups&tilly TALKING WITH GRIMM OUTSIDE NEAR THE BRIDGE FROM MY WINDOW.

AL: So it's true? She's just... gone?

AHS: We'll have to wait for the news to be verified.

CC: Wdym by we "have to wait for someone to verify" when Honey's post is out there? And Matilda is talking with Grimm? It must be real.

TDL (@butterfly): Tf is going on? Why is Claudia's name on the MirrorBlog?

AJA: Hold on, I'm going to tell @downtherabbithole.

AJA: Jace isn't replying.

CC: Jace's phone is always on Silent, yk that.

AL: Beatrice is with me, we're going outside to see it for ourselves.

RR: Wait, I'll come too, BRB.

BL (@bea-bean): Be quick abt it.

Ruby sprinted down the halls, adrenaline pumping through her veins. Claudia isn't dead, Claudia isn't dead, Claudia isn't dead—

She nearly collided head-first into the Liddell cousins. Alex's face was numb with fear and terror. "C'mon, let's get going," he urged as he held out the door for them.

The cold wind whipped Ruby's hair around as they walked toward Forever Bridge, spotting Claudia's sister talking with Headmaster Grimm. "Matilda!" Ruby called out, running towards her. She tackled her into a hug as Matilda wrapped her arms around Ruby, sobbing.

"Is it true?" Bea asked Grimm immediately. "That she's...?"

"Deceased? Yes. She was dead on arrival." Grimm shook his head. "Tragic, truly."

Alex's face fell. "No."

"My deepest condolences for Miss Hatter's suicide."

Suicide? Ruby sucked in a sharp breath as Headmaster Grimm was called away by a police officer. She blinked blankly as the younger Hatter sister's cries filled the silent void. "She's dead," Ruby said bluntly.

"She's just gone!" Matilda cried, her tears wetting Ruby's clothes. "She just l-left us and—" She could only cry and cry as Ruby held onto her. "Adelaide was right," she sniffled. "God, she was actually right..."

Before Ruby could ask what Adelaide was right about, there was a group of policemen carrying something on a stretcher. Not something, but someone. It was a body covered in tarp, being escorted out.

"That's Claudia?" Alex asked, defeated. It was crazy to think Claudia Hatter was just reduced to a corpse now. The lively, bright girl was gone. Forever. Forever Bridge, Ruby thought grimly.

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Cressida Lockes' POV

The next day, Cressida brushed out the knots in her tangled hair, standing in front of her locker. She was ecstatic, she had gotten so many reads and views last night from her article. Finally, her rise to stardom in the journalism field was taking off! Suddenly, her locker was slammed shut.

"Take down the post," Alex demanded. Behind him were his Wonderlandian friends. Adelaide Hearts, Beatrice Liddell, Cadien Cheshire, AJ Ace, Jace Kane, and others that Cressida couldn't name. What is this, a riot? That'd make a good story.

"What?" she questioned. It was odd seeing Alex Liddell so upset, he was normally known to be laidback among students.

Bea scoffed, glaring down on Cressida. Holy hex, why the fuck is she so tall for? "You labelled Claudia's death as a suicide despite that were no factual answers whatsoever! Where did you get your source from, Cressida?"

Cressida blinked. "Uhm, Milton Grimm?"

"Headmaster Grimm?" AJ inquired with uncertainty. He was staring at her with disdain, like Cressida was some bug that needed to be squished. "And his authenticity is what exactly, Honey?"

"Excuse me? What the hex are you saying?" Cressida protested, eager to defend herself and her work. These Wonderlandians really did seem mad, though insane was a better word. What the hell do they think they know that I don't?

"Grimm isn't reliable, everyone knows that," AJ replied, that stupid know-it-all. Cressida wasn't fond of him either, they fought for academic validation. Since when did AJ start to fight for top scores in Literature? Ever sinceProfessor Jack B. Nimble said, 'Hey, Cressida, your work is really good, keep it up,' AJ fought for first place. Oh, she wouldn't let him that easily.

AJ said, "I'm just saying your work might be propaganda."

She lurched forward, grabbing him by the shirt. "Call any of my works propaganda again and I'll send the bears after you," Cressida threatened. They had no idea how much effort Cressida had put into her writing, being a journalist was her dream! And she wasn't going to let this Ajax Eliot Ace walk all over her hard work! "You're really shitty, AJ, you know that? Oh, and not to mention, you're a total dic—"

"Wait." Adelaide narrowed her eyes, locking her black eyes with Cressida's. The next Queen of Hearts scared Cressida a bit if she was honest. Finally, Cressida let go of AJ and scowled.

"Let's be somewhat civil about this." Adelaide stepped forward, crossing her arms. "We don't think you displayed information correctly about Claudia Hatter's death, we don't want 'suicide' being thrown around with no thought. We're mourning our best friend's passing, be respectful."

Cressida was mortified. "Take down my article? I can't do that, it's my best-seller! This could be my big break, I'm not taking down my only audience-wide post. Do you know how many people are starting to take my writing seriously?" Ever since Freedom Year, Cressida Lockes was struggling to get her writing out there. She needed a good reputation if she were to become a journalist when she was older.

"Honey, do you even have a heart?" Jace Kane asked genuinely.

"Of course I do!" Cressida cried out. Her heart contorted with every choice she made, but it was necessary. "But Claudia's death was a suicide and that's that!" That had come out louder than she intended for it to, on-goers staring at them in the hallway. All eyes were on her, the one thing she desperately needed. "You can't stop what's coming."