Aries's POV
"Mykel, it's Section E's P.E. class today... Can we watch?" he asked me.
Why was he asking for my permission?
"Do whatever you want..."
"I'm sure Jay-jay will be there... I wonder what she looks like during P.E.," Kiko said.
Why do I get the feeling that he's imagining something inappropriate?
"Hey, Kiko! She's still my cousin!"
"So what? Is there something wro—"
"Babe!" Ella called out to me. She walked over and kissed me on the cheek.
"We're heading to the gym... We have practice. Want to come?" she asked.
Wait! The gym? That's where Section E's P.E. class is. Keifer.
"Yeah... Sure," I answered shortly.
Kiko and Mykel exchanged knowing looks. Of course, they understood why I agreed.
Ella started walking toward the gym, and we followed. When we got there, she almost stopped in her tracks at the sight of all of Section E inside.
I immediately put my arm around her. I didn't know why I did it, but I felt like I had to.
Keifer and Yuri's group were glaring at us.
"Look who's back..." Kiko muttered.
I glanced at him, then turned to see who he was talking about. David—he'd lost a lot of weight.
I looked back at Keifer's group, but my eyes landed on someone else.
Jay-jay.
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Jay-jay's POV
"Class, grab a partner!" our P.E. teacher instructed.
We were going to start with a simple throwing exercise. Everyone had to pair up. Of course, it was obvious no one was going to partner with me, so I just grabbed Ci-N.
"You're my partner!" I said, clinging to his arm.
He quickly nodded with a smile. We even walked in sync, swaying our heads like in those movies or TV commercials. I swear, we make the perfect partners—or best friends forever!
I found us a spot, and he followed. I picked up a ball—a red, slightly soft one, the kind often used for dodgeball.
Ci-N and I started the exercise. At first, we were just quietly tossing the ball back and forth until—
A ball suddenly flew right past me!
Woaaahhh... That was close!
I almost got hit, so I turned to see where it had come from. But those sneaky bastards were acting innocent.
"Did you see where that came from?" I asked Ci-N.
"See what?"
"The ball that flew past me!"
"H-Huh? N-No..."
I decided to ignore it—maybe it was an accident. We went back to our activity. Throw, catch, throw again, and then—woaaahhhh!!
Another ball flew toward my face!
Not just one this time—TWO.
I looked around again. That was no accident. Two in a row?
I saw our classmates glaring at—no, not us. Just me.
They were holding different kinds of balls—football, tennis, volleyball, even basketballs.
W-Why?
My heart started pounding. This felt different. This wasn't just nerves—I had a bad feeling about where this was going.
I turned to Ci-N for help, but that coward had disappeared.
Ci-N!
I swallowed hard and took a step back. Then, suddenly, they all positioned themselves and got ready.
Son of a... RUN, JAY!
But my legs wouldn't move. Damn it!
"Section E!" Keifer shouted. He was holding a baseball. He pulled back his arm, preparing to throw.
"CHARGE!" he yelled.
One word?! PAIN. How painful? P*tang'na! The worst kind of pain!
The moment Keifer gave the signal, they all started pelting me with balls.
I had no choice but to cover my head. Even if I tried to run, it wouldn't make a difference.
I could hear their laughter and shouting. Even the sound of the teacher's whistle echoed in my ears.
Other students who were just hanging around were cheering and yelling too.
I collapsed to the ground. I wasn't a freaking pole—I couldn't just stand there, taking hit after hit.
It hurt. Even my heart ached.
It makes you wonder—why you? Why me? Did I do something to deserve this?
The barrage finally stopped. I looked up at them. They were all laughing at me.
Ci-N was being held back by Felix and some others—I could see the worry on his face. Other students were watching too. That's when I realized—Aries and his classmates were there.
Aries.
If I weren't his cousin, would this still be happening to me? Is he the reason they're doing this? I didn't know why, but I suddenly felt like crying. Maybe it was because my whole body hurt from the balls hitting me. Or maybe because no matter how much I wanted to fight back, I couldn't.
After all, I was still a girl. Easier to hurt—not just physically but mentally and emotionally too.
I forced myself to stand up. I felt so pathetic, and I hated feeling this way.
I was just about to get to my feet when I saw Keifer pulling back his arm again. He was holding a baseball. Wait! Didn't he already throw that?
The way he threw it—it was just like a pitcher.
He threw the ball, and everything happened too fast for me to block or dodge it.
It hit me straight on the nose, making me collapse to the ground again.
"Uhg... Ouch..."
Enough! I'm exhausted! It hurts too much!
I lay there for a moment, feeling dizzy. A few seconds passed before I forced myself to stand again.
I shot a glare at Keifer, but he just smirked at me.
Just one punch! That's all I'm asking for! Then I'll be satisfied!
I felt something trickling from my nose. It must be mucus. Probably because I'm about to cry.
I wiped my nose with my hand. It would be embarrassing if anyone saw. But it wouldn't stop. I could still feel something dripping.
"Jay..." I heard Ci-N say.
I looked at him—he was visibly worried.
Suddenly, I felt nervous. I didn't want to, but I looked down at my hand—the one I used to wipe my nose. I really shouldn't have.
"D-D-Blood..."
Calm down, Jay! It's just a little blood!
My heart started pounding even faster. My entire body began to tremble.
This isn't good! It's happening again!
I couldn't breathe. It felt like something was choking me.
My vision blurred—was it because of the tears? Or because it was starting all over again?
This feeling...
This was exactly how I felt before everything went dark, before I forgot what happened.
Fight it, Jay! It's just blood! Calm down!
But no matter how much I told myself that, it felt useless.
"You're so stubborn! Do as you're told!"
"You're worthless!"
"Just die already! Another mouth to feed!"
"Your mother's gone, so I can do whatever I want!"
There it was again. Memories that weren't even mine. Voices of men shouting in my head over and over.
They scared me, but even so, deep down, I still felt like I had to fight. I just stared at my trembling hand. I could see it shaking.
And then, suddenly, I felt drawn to the blood. It was as if my hand had a mind of its own—it slowly moved toward my mouth.
No! Jay! Don't! Listen to me!
There was barely a gap between my hand and my lips when someone suddenly knocked it away. It was like I snapped out of a trance.
I turned to see who did it.
Aries.
"Get your things. We're going home," he ordered, his voice firm.
I was confused. I couldn't move. My feet wouldn't budge.
"JAY!" Aries shouted, anger in his voice.
I flinched a little but immediately obeyed, running back to the classroom.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Keifer's POV
Looks like someone got pissed.
I didn't even know her nose would start bleeding.
But why did she react like that to blood?
"Can you not involve Jay-jay in this?" Aries said.
"Are you affected?" I asked, smirking.
Nice! Another advantage against him.
"No... I'm just worried for you guys," he replied, smirking back.
"...If I were you, I wouldn't let her see blood."
"Since when did you start worrying about us?"
"Just now... And you should be careful. You might just find yourself face-to-face with disaster."
I crossed my arms. "I don't believe you. And besides, your cousin belongs to Section E, so you have no say in what we do to her."
He chuckled. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he said before walking away.
Kiko followed, shooting a sharp glare at David as he passed.
And following behind them... was Ella.
She looked really disappointed in me.
I couldn't blame her. I was still a failure. Maybe that's why she didn't choose me.
I'm sorry, Ella...
"Keifer! Why did you have to do that?!" Ci-N yelled at me, furious.
"It was an accident! I didn't know her nose would bleed!"
"Yeah, right... That's exactly what you said during your last baseball game," Ci-N said.
His words made my blood boil. Why did he have to bring that up? I immediately grabbed his shirt, glaring at him.
"Watch what you say to me... Don't forget who I am."
"I know, but Jay—"
"What? Are you getting soft?"
"Keifer... Let go of him," Yuri said, sounding bored.
I let go of Ci-N, but I kept my eyes on him.
"Don't test my patience. Just follow everything I say." I looked at everyone. "...Jay will stay in Section E!"
"What?!" Yuri asked, shocked.
"You heard me. She will stay. I have a plan."
Thanks to Aries, I now knew what to do with his cousin.
I never thought I could use her.
Like I said, she's another advantage against him.