Theories!!!!!

[Xanxen]

Ethan came to town after the other three already had a history with each other and all three of them were extremely well connected in the community. There were all those hints that there was some weird history with the government and that the town wasn't very old and everyone got weird when Ethan asked about the code (and one person actually called it spy code). Amari, Yume, and Russell knew way too much for college students. Like how could Amari solve that sewer mystery so quickly when Ethan couldn't? They all knew people outside of the college (especially Amari and Yume) and if you listen to how they fought in the party scene they were all super choosy with their words in Truth or Dare. Russell was way too good at handling the embezzlement scandal for a jock and I honestly think that he was installed there to infiltrate the sports side of things, and then Amari was doing deep dives into the town and the community, and then Yume was getting to know all the students. When Ethan started stirring things up, Amari, Russell, and Yume all tried to befriend him but as an asset. Ethan is honestly annoying (don't come at me I still like him) and I fundamentally don't understand all three of them being friends with him when they're all so different. It makes sense if Ethan is an asset for his investigating skills and Yume, Russell, and Amari are using him to get close to the mystery in the town without blowing their covers. This also lines up with why Yume was taking all those phone calls at the end and why they all wanted Ethan not to go to the hideout. We never saw much of their actual families and the actors themselves were older than college students but then the actor for Ethan was the age he was supposed to be. Spies also makes sense as a Season 2 plot.