Lisa's heart hammers against her ribs, the pulse in her ears drowning out the ambient coffee shop chatter. Her fingers hover over her phone screen, crafting a message to Susan that could change everything:

Hannah is telling Alex about Hampton Beach. About Jake. She knows about Megan in Brookswood, about what happened to Victoria and Emily. They're connecting the dots. Alex seems ready to help her investigate.

Her thumb trembles over the send button as two futures crystallize in her mind. In one, she's back in that carefully curated inner circle - Yale early decision letters, study sessions, a world where doors open with practiced ease. In the other, she sees Hannah's face that day in Brookswood, watches Megan Carter flee across that parking lot, remembers what it felt like to finally stand up against something wrong.

The cursor blinks patiently, waiting for her choice.

With a sharp exhale, she presses send.

Susan's response is immediate: You're a gem 💎 This is exactly what we needed to know. See? Isn't it better on the winning team? 😘

Lisa's fingers shake slightly as she types back: Just don't want anyone getting hurt.

The bell above the door chimes, and her heart performs a completely different kind of acrobatics as Matthias walks in. His blonde waves are windswept, cheeks flushed from the cold, and his smile still makes her chest ache with its genuine warmth.

"Hey beautiful," he says, bending to kiss her. His lips are cold but impossibly soft against hers. "Sorry I'm late - render times were absolutely brutal."

"Another video guide?" she teases, letting her fingers tangle in the front of his sweater. "What was it this time - Dark Souls speedrun strats?"

"Worse - Elden Ring boss guide. That Malenia fight is destroying my upload schedule." He grins, pressing another quick kiss to her forehead. "Let me make it up to you? Your usual?"

"You remember my complicated order?"

"Vanilla chai latte, extra hot, double shot of espresso?" He arches an eyebrow. "Like I could forget the drink that took you twenty minutes to perfect that first date."

Her phone buzzes again as Matthias joins the coffee queue. Amber this time: When we get back from Aspen, you're coming over. Girls' night like old times - face masks, terrible rom-coms, expensive wine. Susan says you've earned your place back. We miss you, bitch 💕

Something warm blooms in Lisa's chest even as guilt churns in her stomach. She types back: Can't wait ❤️

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She watches Matthias at the counter, the way he laughs with the barista, how his hands move animatedly as he probably explains something about frame rates and boss patterns. His honesty feels like a lifeline in her world of careful calculations and strategic allegiances.

Matthias returns with their drinks, settling beside her with that easy grace that makes everything feel simpler. "One ridiculously complicated chai latte for the prettiest girl in Riverside," he announces with exaggerated ceremony. "Though I still maintain that adding espresso to chai is basically beverage sacrilege."

"Says the guy who puts Sriracha in his hot chocolate," she counters, but she's smiling as she accepts the cup.

His laugh carries no trace of calculation as he pulls her closer, and for a moment, Lisa lets herself believe that maybe she can have both - Matthias's honest love and the future she dreams of, truth and ambition, real connections and strategic alliances.

Matthias takes a long sip of his overly sweetened coffee, his eyes lighting up with that particular enthusiasm he reserves for his latest gaming projects. "So I've been analyzing the frame data for this new speedrun strat," he begins, his hands already moving to illustrate his point. "It's insane - shaves like forty seconds off the Malenia fight if you time it perfectly."

Lisa's phone vibrates - the old group chat they'd named "Princess Treatment 💅" lighting up with Susan's message: *Anything else happening over there? They still talking?*

Her eyes drift carefully to where Hannah and Alex huddle together, their heads bent close in intense discussion. Even from here, she can see the fierce determination in Hannah's posture, the way Alex's dark lips move in what looks like careful strategy.

They're definitely plotting something, Lisa types back. But I can't hear from here.

Amber's reply is instant: Can you move closer? Maybe grab a napkin or something?

Too obvious, Lisa responds. They'd spot me in a second.

"Hello? Earth to Lisa?" Matthias waves his hand in front of her face, bringing her back to their conversation. "Did you actually fall asleep during my frame rate analysis? I know it's nerdy but wow, that's a new record."

"Sorry!" Lisa forces a laugh, scrambling for an excuse. "Just... thinking about that Calc test next week. You know how Mr. Morrison gets about derivatives."

"You okay?" His voice softens with genuine concern as he studies her face. "You seem kind of distracted today."

"I'm fine," she says, hating how the lie tastes on her tongue. "Just stress about college apps and everything. You know how it is."

"Well, lucky for you," he grins, launching back into his previous enthusiasm, "I've got the perfect distraction. You won't believe what my subscribers found in the game files. There's this whole hidden questline that nobody's discovered yet..."

Lisa feels her phone buzzing insistently against her leg - probably Amber and Susan demanding updates, strategizing their next moves. But watching Matthias's face light up as he describes digital mysteries and hidden paths, she can't bring herself to look. Instead, she lets herself be carried away by his excitement, by the way his hands paint pictures in the air, by how his glasses slip slightly down his nose when he gets particularly animated.

Because here, in this moment with him, she doesn't have to be Lisa Chen: informant, traitor, carefully placed spy. She can just be Lisa: girlfriend, audience, someone worthy of genuine enthusiasm rather than strategic value.

"And then," Matthias continues, completely oblivious to her internal struggle, "this one viewer actually found a way to clip through the wall using this crazy jump technique. Want to see the video? It's absolutely mind-blowing."

Lisa leans closer, letting his warmth chase away thoughts of carefully maintained lies and strategic betrayals. "Show me," she says, meaning it despite everything else weighing on her conscience.