Page 2 of The Reunion

“Oh, haven’t we all!” Jade says, pivoting with me without missing a beat. “I admire how he uses his platform to put good out into the world. Is he really that good of a guy behind the scenes?”

That good and more, I think. So good it hurts.

“He once took in a stray kitten and kept it in his dressing room—it was an entire week before the studio found out and made him take it home!” The memory of him smuggling a bag of kitten food under his hoodie in the middle of a heat wave makes me smile for real, no acting required.

Jade’s eyes light up. “I can only imagine how many pets have been adopted thanks to his activism—did you know he even did a calendar to raise funds for the ASPCA one time? My niece gave me one for my birthday a few years ago!”

Ransom, when the clips from this interview inevitably go viral, will not love this turn of conversation. His photos have taken on a markedly dark filter as of late, veering decidedly away from teen heartthrob intoGQcover–worthy territory.

Not that I’ve been keeping up with his daily posts.

Or the six to ten stories he posts on the regular throughout each day.

Or his Snapaday Lives, which my personal-assistant-slash-best-friend Bre peeks at for me on her account every so often, just so he won’t know exactly how often I tune in to see what he’s up to.

Jade leans in, as if she’s about to tell me something extremely confidential.

“Let’s circle back to the reunion special. For those who haven’t heard, it’s an all-new hour-long episode that’s rumored to pick up where the series finale left off. Fans everywhere are dying to know—without giving away any spoilers here—will we finally get closure on that one big thing the show left hanging in the balance?”

I let out a long exhale, relieved to be back in preapproved-question territory. “I’ve read the script, Jade, and I think it’s safe to say it will have been worth the wait.”

“Were you surprised by anything in the script?” she asks. “Or have you always known what would’ve happened next? I’ve got to admit, I screamed when the series finale cut to black in the middle of your last line!”

“Honestly, I didn’t know for sure.”

People have never believed my answer to this question, but it’s the truth. If I had known how many times people would ask—Did Honor stay with Duke in California or take her dream job in New York?—I would have begged the writers to give a more conclusive ending.

“I obviously had my own theories after playing Honor for so many years,” I go on. “I felt such a strong connection with her and had this gut feeling about the choice she would’ve made. I’m happy to report that my gut feeling was spot-on.”

“I love that,” Jade says, looking absolutely sincere. “Is what I’m hearing true—that we might get even more than just one new episode? IsGirlgetting a reboot?”

Calm, Liv, calm, I coach myself. This is extremely confidential news, and it’s not a sure thing yet. If the numbers from streaming and the reunion special are high enough, we’ll almost certainly get the green light, but it would be completely irresponsible—not to mention a breach of my contract—to tell her so.

I’m also still not entirely sure Iwantto go back to such a sprawling set full-time; it’s not a coincidence I’ve taken only a handful of roles since we wrapped fourteen years ago, all of them on small, intimate indie films. It’s definitely not for lack of opportunities.

“As of this morning, all six seasons are streaming on Fanline for everyone to enjoy,” I say, turning my charm factor up to distract from my nonanswer. “If you love them, let the producers know you want more by spreading the word on social media!”

Jade runs with my lead and closes out the interview by telling them where to find me in various corners of the internet—because a few million followers are only a fraction of what Icouldhave, according to mypublicist. I should share more of myself, be more relatable instead of abeautiful, mysterious recluse, as she once referred to me.

To some extent, she’s right. That’s why I hired Attica in the first place, to help me find balance—left to myself, I’d be off the grid entirely (maybe not the electric one, but most certainly the Snapaday one).

“Well, get ready, Liv!” Jade says, eyes bright. “I think it’s safe to say you’re going to have an entirely new generation of fans.”

The very thought of being in the spotlight again fills me with butterflies… and also a few reluctant moths that aren’t sure they’re ready to fly out of the shadows. I want it, and I don’t. I want it more than I don’t, though, so I’m doing the brave thing: putting myself back out there a little at a time—but only what I want to give.

Back in my dressing room, I take a moment just for me—it might be the last of its kind, at least for the next few weeks.

Girl on the Vergewas the most-watched teen series for six years straight, beloved by critics and fans and even a few university professors who’ve devoted entire courses to dissecting the things our writers did right. Even though we’ve been off the air for a while, the general consensus is thatGirl on the Vergeremains a timeless hit and will hold up—which means I should probably prepare myself for a decent amount of attention in the days to come. Months or years if the reboot happens.

I slip my phone out of my handbag. Missed messages fill the screen: there are nearly half a dozen short texts from my mother (who’s still fiercely supportive of me even though she’s traded Hollywood for the Outer Banks of North Carolina), three notifications from Bre, at least ten one-off texts from various people from the fringes of my life, and one from… Ransom? His name on my screen is such a surprise I nearly choke on my coffee.

It’s been a while.

I swipe it open on instinct.

do you have any idea how many kittens are in my mentions this morning? i’m drowning over here!

According to the time stamps on our text history, it’s been over a year since I last heard from him—a brief congrats for the award nominations, then dead silence after I sent an ecstatic GIF back in reply. Before that, we texted sporadically here and there, mostly on birthdays and whenever one of us had a premiere making waves.

---