The afternoon sun filtered weakly through the branches, casting long shadows over the picnic table where John, Moriah, April, Theo, and Marcus still sat frozen with Savannah's warning echoing between them.
A student informant.
Someone close.
Someone feeding information straight to Moriah's stepfather.
"No one says anything?" Marcus finally said, voice hard. "We're just gonna sit here and pretend we didn't hear that?"
April swallowed. "We don't even know if Savannah's telling the truth."
"She is," Theo said quietly.
All eyes snapped to him.
"I saw someone leaving the administration building yesterday," Theo continued. "Someone slipped out of his office. I didn't think anything of it then." He paused. "But now… it matches."
John leaned forward. "Who did you see?"
Theo hesitated.
A moment too long.
Moriah's breath hitched. "Theo… who was it?"
Theo exhaled. "It was Marcus."
The table erupted.
"Man, what?!" Marcus shouted, jumping to his feet. "You think I'd betray my friends?!"
"I didn't say you did," Theo replied calmly. "I said I saw you. Late. Coming out of the building."
Marcus threw his hands up. "I was dropping off paperwork for my work study job! I told y'all I worked under Student Affairs. That's literally my job!"
John rubbed his forehead. "We need more than accusations. This is exactly what he wants—us fighting each other."
Moriah nodded shakily. "We can't fall apart now."
But something had already cracked.
April folded her arms, tears forming. "I don't like this. We've known each other for months. There has to be another explanation."
Theo looked at her carefully. "Then why have only the things we talk about as a group made it back to him?"
Silence.
John stood. "Enough. We're not doing this like a witch hunt." He looked at each of them. "Until we know the truth, we stick together. No blaming. No pointing fingers."
Marcus lowered his head, breathing hard but slowly calming.
April wiped her eyes.
Theo simply nodded.
Moriah touched John's arm softly. "Thank you."
But she still glanced at her friends with something like fear.
Because now she knew:
Someone among them had broken trust.
And trust, once cracked, doesn't fully heal.
Later that night, John walked Moriah back to her dorm. The sky stretched dark and open above them, but he sensed the tension in the air—like something was lurking just out of sight.
Moriah stopped near the chapel steps. "John… what if this is all my fault?"
"It's not."
"I'm serious." Her voice trembled. "People are getting dragged into this. Being threatened. Losing things because of me."
John took her hands. "No one is losing anything because of you. They're choosing to stand with you. I'm choosing to stand with you."
She looked up at his eyes, glassy, hopeful, broken.
"Why?" she whispered.
John smiled softly. "Because you're worth fighting for."
Her breath caught.
And for a moment, the world went quiet around them.
Then she stepped closer.
Close enough for him to feel her heartbeat.
For a second; just a second, John thought she would kiss him.
But she pulled back suddenly.
"I can't," she whispered. "Not with everything happening."
John nodded slowly. "I understand."
But he didn't hide the disappointment.
Moriah brushed his cheek with her fingertips soft, gentle. "When this is over… maybe."
And she walked inside.
John stood alone on the chapel steps.
And behind him, hidden in the shadows of the courtyard…
Someone watched.
Someone is listening.
Someone who wasn't part of their group.
Someone who whispered into their phone:
"They're divided. Just like you wanted."
The next morning, campus woke to a storm—not of rain, but of gossip.
Photos.
Messages.
Screenshots.
Someone had posted a private picture of John and Moriah sitting close behind the chapel steps, Moriah's head resting on John's shoulder, taken from behind the bushes.
The caption?
"Distraction confirmed. Scholarship in danger." -Anonymous
John felt his stomach drop as he stared at the blownup image plastered across the student message boards.
Moriah stood beside him, trembling.
"That picture was from last night," she whispered. "Who took it?"
Marcus shoved his way through the crowd toward them. "Y'all seeing this? This is insane."
Theo showed up next, calm but alert. "The post was uploaded from inside the campus WiFi. No timestamp manipulation. No VPN. They were close."
April wrung her hands. "But who would do this?"
John looked at Theo. "Can you trace it?"
Theo sighed. "Only if I access the internal logs. Which means…"
He paused.
John finished the sentence for him. "Breaking into the network."
Theo nodded.
Moriah shook her head fast. "No. I don't want anyone risking their future for me."
John turned to her. "Someone already is. Whoever took this photo is risking ours."
Theo adjusted his glasses. "I won't get caught. This system isn't exactly impressive."
Marcus scoffed. "You have issues, man."
Theo ignored him. "But we should split up. If someone is watching us, which it seems they are, we don't want to make it obvious we're hunting them."
April nodded nervously. "I'll go talk to the choir director and see what people are saying."
Marcus cracked his knuckles. "I'll check around Student Affairs. I got coworkers who might spill something."
John said, "I'll stay with Moriah. I'm not leaving her alone."
By afternoon, each of them returned with pieces of a puzzle.
April reported, "People think you two are a couple now. And someone is pushing the rumor that your behavior has been 'inappropriate.'" She looked sick saying it.
Marcus leaned in. "I overheard two staff members talking. Your stepfather's already preparing the paperwork to suspend your scholarship."
Moriah's knees buckled. John caught her.
"He's trying to corner you," John said. "Make you crack so you can't defend yourself at the hearing."
Theo opened his laptop. "I got in. The original post came from a device registered to…"
Everyone leaned in.
Theo hesitated.
"…April's account."
The world stopped.
Moriah jerked back. "April?"
April staggered. "What? No! I didn't— I would never—!"
"Your login was used," Theo said. "At midnight."
April covered her mouth with shaking hands. "No. No. I was asleep. I swear. Why would I do that to my best friend?" Tears streamed down her face.
Marcus whispered, "Dang…"
John studied April carefully. "Is it possible someone else used your device?"
April sobbed. "My laptop was in the dorm common room. Anyone could've used it."
Moriah took a shaky step closer. "April… I believe you."
April cried harder. "Thank you."
But Theo wasn't done.
"The device used your login," he said, "but the physical location pinpoints the exact chair it was used from."
He pulled up a campus map.
Zoomed in.
And pointed.
"Second floor lobby. Right outside the RA's office."
April gasped. "No… no… that means…"
Footsteps approached.
Everyone turned.
A figure stood at the entrance of the student center.
Hands in pockets.
Expression emotionless.
The RA.
April whispered, "Trevon…"
Trevon walked toward them slowly, his face calm but his eyes cold.
"Looking for something?" he asked.
Theo closed his laptop.
John stepped forward. "Why'd you post that picture?"
Trevon smirked. "Because someone had to."
Moriah's voice cracked. "You… betrayed us?"
Trevon shrugged. "I prefer the word 'aligned.' Your stepfather gives good incentives."
John felt rage rise like fire.
"You had no right."
Trevon leaned in.
"Oh, John," he said quietly. "I haven't even started."
And he turned away.
Leaving the group shaken.
And their enemy is no longer a mystery.