Everyone’s listening now, and people are starting to whisper. Surely they’re not actually believing her? Chase would never do something like this.

‘Do your worst,’ he finally says. ‘You can’t prove anything.’

‘We’ll see,’ she says. ‘Oh and Chase?’ She looks him up and down. ‘Just love the outfit. I hope nothing tonight ruins it.’

‘The prom prank,’ Bec says. ‘You wouldn’t …’

‘What prank?’ Tiffany smiles innocently.

‘You know exactly what prank …’

‘I heard a rumour they’re going to toss someone in the lake …’ She shrugs. ‘But that’s nothing to do with me. It’s not like I could lift Chase anyway – he’s a big strong man now, remember?’

‘Watch it,’ I say.

She smirks at that. ‘Have fun tonight, won’t you?’

‘I’m going to murder her,’ Bec says as Tiffany turns on her heel and walks away. She’s so angry she’s shaking. I look down at my hands and realize I’m shaking a little too.

‘It’s fine,’ Chase says. ‘Tiffany is full of shit. They said they’ll expel any students that try to pull off a prank this year. Zero tolerance, remember?’

‘They say that every year. Expulsion on the last day of school is hardly a threat. Besides, do you really think they’re going to try to expel Tiffany? She could push Harrington in the lake and still leave with a glowing letter of recommendation.’

‘Just don’t worry about it,’ Chase says. ‘If they throw me in the lake, they throw me in the lake. It’s not a big deal.’

‘But your outfit …’

‘Will dry …’ he says with finality. Then frowns. ‘She doesn’t really think I leaked those photos, though, right? Like, this is just an act? To get back at me?’

‘I don’t know,’ I say. ‘But we know it wasn’t you. That’s all that matters.’

‘But she just seems so convinced. Even she’s not that good an actress.’

‘Let her believe what she wants,’ Bec says. ‘Nobody’s gonna listen to Tiffany. I know this might surprise you, but people actually like you, Chase. They love you, in fact. Nobody says a bad word about you. Doing something like this? They know it’s not in your nature.’

‘I don’t know,’ he says, looking around with trepidation. You can hear the sound of gossip obscured behind masks. ‘It feels like people might actually believe her.’

‘She’s just trying to get in your head,’ I say. ‘Don’t let her. She can’t prove it was you because it wasn’t you. You’ve absolutely nothing to worry about.’

‘I guess,’ he says. ‘I just have a bad feeling, that’s all …’

I don’t say it, but I have a bad feeling about this too.

‘It’ll be fine,’ Bec says, wrapping her arm round him. ‘And, for what it’s worth, at least Ethan seems to be taking it pretty well.’

I look across and see him laughing with his friends. They’re pointing at the screen as if revelling in the attention. I don’t know how he’s so unbothered by it. I’m not sure I would cope if the whole world was looking at pictures of me like that.