Jay-jay's POV
"AaaaaAaaaAaalllLllaaaAaaayyyyyyy!!!" I screamed as Kuya Angelo dragged me by the ear.
What made it worse was that he held onto my small ear all the way from the Fer Corp building to the parking lot. I felt like he was about to rip it off.
Let go, please!!
"You're so stubborn! Just when your final exams are near, that's when you decide to mess around!" he scolded.
"It hurts, Kuya!" I whined, almost in tears.
He only let go of me when we reached his car. I quickly grabbed my ear, which felt numb from the pain.
He opened the car door. "Get in!" he ordered.
"Wait a minute!" I complained.
My ear hurts so bad. I couldn't handle hearing his lecture on top of it. It might hurt even more if I had to listen to whatever he had to say.
It seemed like Kuya noticed that I was on the verge of bursting into tears. He took a deep breath, crossed his arms, and leaned against his car.
"Who told you..." he asked calmly, "...that Keifer was coming?"
I shook my head while wiping my eyes. "No one. I didn't even know he was coming."
"Then what were you doing here?"
"Honey brought me here. Then I just found out that he was the investor-whatever from the UK." I looked at him, feeling a little betrayed. "...And you? Why didn't you tell me that Keifer was the investor?"
"He's not the investor. He's just a representative. He's not even twenty-one yet, and he hasn't graduated, so he can't run a company."
"Even so! You still didn't tell me he was coming!"
Suddenly, he raised a hand as if to smack me on the head. I quickly raised my arms to block him and dodged his hand.
"It's a business matter! You don't even work for the company, so why would I tell you?!"
I pouted. Kuya is so hard to talk to. He had no idea what had happened in my life, so he didn't understand what I was trying to say.
"Get in the car." He pointed to the open door. "...I'll take you to your school."
I got in with a huff, my brows furrowed so tightly they could have fused together.
Kuya was unbelievable. I had no more classes today, yet he still wanted to drop me off at school. What am I supposed to do there? Walk in just to turn around and leave?
One step inside the gate, then right back out.
Neither of us spoke as the car started moving. Kuya kept his eyes on the road while my thoughts were fixated on that damn King.
Freaking Keifer! Next time, I swear I'll punch him. I couldn't believe that bastard. He really just ignored me. He was totally fine with us not seeing each other.
Screw that "space" thing. He might as well go live in outer space. He can flirt with the aliens there. So annoying! He and E.T. can be best friends.
His "one month" felt more like a decade. I was so pissed off I wanted to cry. Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT!
Damn you, Keifer! Damn you to hell!
He didn't even bother to check if I was okay. He didn't ask if I was eating properly. He didn't ask what was happening in our section. He didn't ask if I had gotten into another fight.
That bastard didn't ask anything—!
"He asked about you." Kuya suddenly said, making me look at him. "...Keifer asked how you were."
"Son of a—!" I blurted out instinctively.
Kuya shot me a glare. "Are you cursing at me?"
I quickly shook my head. "N-no! Not you. Keifer."
He returned his focus to the road and continued driving. I sat up straight and cleared my throat a little.
If I heard that right, that bastard actually asked about me.
"W-what did he say?"
"He just asked how you were. That's all."
I blinked. That's all? That's it?! THAT'S IT?!
I actually got excited for that?! Wow. Amazing. I had nothing to say about the supreme asshole of all assholes.
"W-what else?"
Kuya glanced at me briefly before looking back at the road.
"Nothing else. Why? Was there supposed to be more?"
I wanted to bang my head against the car window. That jerk was seriously testing my patience. Bastard! Bastard!
It wasn't long before we arrived at my school. The car came to a stop, but just as I was about to get out, Kuya spoke again—
"Do you really love Keifer?"
I bit my lower lip. I wanted to say yes, but I knew he'd be mad if he heard that answer.
It seemed like he noticed my hesitation.
"I'm not telling you not to love someone. But maybe... don't let it be Keifer."
I looked at him in confusion. I understood why he was against it before—back when I was still engaged to Yuri. But now? Why?
"Loving a Watson comes with a high price."
How much? I'll start saving up.
"Are you trying to scare me?"
"No, I'm telling you the truth."
I just nodded in acknowledgment of what he was saying. I opened the car door and stepped out. He waited until I was inside the gate before driving off.
And that was the signal for my eyes to finally let go of the tears that had been eager to fall.
It's so unfair! Why did it feel like I was the only one suffering from not seeing him? Why did it feel like I was the only one carrying all the pain? And why was I still clinging onto that bastard?
"Jay-jay?" someone called.
When I looked, I saw Yuri walking toward me. I quickly wiped my tears and smiled at him. But before I could even say a word, his arms were already wrapping around me.
His hug was tight. I couldn't help but hug him back, and with that, my tears started pouring again—like a waterfall, relentless and unstoppable.
"Keep crying. I'll be your handkerchief to wipe your tears," he said, making me cry even harder.
"I-I s-saw h-him," I stuttered, and I felt his embrace tighten. "...w-why does it feel l-like I'm the only one suffering b-between the two of us?"
"It's like you don't even know him," he said with a bitter chuckle. "...he may look tough, but deep inside, he's soft as a sponge cake."
I let out a small laugh, but it wasn't enough to stop my tears. I buried my face deeper into his chest.
"Jay..." he called softly. "...I'll only wipe your tears, okay? Not your snot."
Oh, crap!!
I immediately pulled away from him. And just as I expected, his white polo was already soaked because of me.
I took a deep breath and wiped my tears. "Sorry."
He smiled. "It's okay. It's just a shirt."
He stepped closer and held my hand. His eyes looked sad, even though he was smiling.
"Did you two talk?"
I shook my head. "I was too scared to face him."
Or else I would've cursed him out.
"Why?"
"Because I might not be able to hold myself back. I might punch him. And he looked really good, too."
I heard Yuri chuckle softly. He pulled me in and hugged me tightly again.
But there was something different about this hug. It felt full of fear and worry. And I knew I was the reason for that. I wasn't oblivious. I could feel it in the way he took care of me, in everything he did—he was giving me all he could.
I just chose not to say anything. I didn't want to lose what was left between Yuri and me. I was happy with what we had now. He never asked for anything in return, never demanded anything for all the effort he put in.
No more forcing, unlike before. No more "this is how it should be" or "this is what you should do." I was more comfortable with the way things were now.
Yuri was my comfort zone.
"You guys do know that PDA is not allowed here, right?" Aries' voice interrupted.
Yuri and I quickly pulled away and turned to look at him. His arms were crossed, and his brows were furrowed.
"Where did you come from?" he asked.
"F-from Fer Corp."
His expression quickly changed, but he masked it just as fast.
"Did you see him?" he asked calmly.
I immediately understood what he meant. So he knew that idiot was coming, too. And here it was again—that feeling that everyone was keeping things from me.
I only gave him a small nod.
"What did he say to you?"
I decided not to answer.
"Aries... Maybe we should talk later. We're going back to class."
I didn't wait for his reply. I turned and walked toward the auditorium. Before long, I felt Yuri following me.
We were almost near the Ulupong when he grabbed my arm and made me stop.
"Jay... what's wrong?"
I turned to face him and looked him straight in the eyes. "Did you know?"
He looked confused at first, but then he seemed to understand. He let go of my arm.
"Did you know?" I repeated. "...Did you know he was coming?"
He quickly looked away. And with that alone, I already knew the answer.
He knew. He knew all along!
I didn't want to be mad at him, but I couldn't stop myself from feeling hurt by what they did. I started walking toward the Ulupong again.
I couldn't see any teachers around. It looked like they didn't show up to teach again today.
Ci saw me and immediately approached. "Jay... What happened? Where did Honey take you?"
Instead of answering, I looked at him seriously in the eyes. "Did you know too?"
He looked at me in confusion. "Know what?"
"That he was coming?"
His brows furrowed in confusion. He couldn't grasp what I was trying to say. "Who's coming?"
It seemed like he really didn't know. I let out a deep sigh.
"Keifer came back," I murmured.
Shock was written all over his face. He hurriedly took out his phone from his pocket and checked his messages.
"Why? He didn't send me any messages since yesterday."
He showed me his inbox.
It seemed like Keifer intentionally didn't tell Ci-N.
"Forget it. We didn't get to talk anyway," I said lifelessly and walked towards Kit and the others.
They were still sitting separately, but Eren and Josh were with them now. I sat beside Kit, slumping my shoulders.
I let out a deep sigh, which caught the attention of the four.
"Hey. What happened? Where did Honey take you?" Eren asked.
I noticed the other Ulupong moving closer, wanting to hear my answer. Except for Drew and Yuri, who chose to watch from a distance.
"T-to Felix's place. We were looking for Percy."
Felix looked at us in confusion. "What about my brother? Why were you looking for him?"
I turned to him, full of curiosity. Did he really have no idea about what was going on between the two?
"You're asking the wrong question. You should be asking what's going on between you and Honey."
"Between us?" he asked, pointing to himself. "...N-nothing. I just used to annoy her by calling her 'Manang.' Then when she came back from the U.S., she started being cold to me. And she also changed her appearance."
I raised an eyebrow. "That's not what she told me."
The Ulupong all turned to Felix at the same time. Then, in unison, they all shouted, "Ayyiieeehhhh!!"
"Haha... There's something going on here!"
"What kind of sorcery happened between you two?"
"Well? Well? Spill it!"
Felix immediately became flustered and tried to back away from the ones teasing him. He seemed like he was close to losing his temper.
"There's nothing! What the hell!" he snapped.
The guys would've teased him more if he hadn't gotten up and walked away from us. He even turned his back so we wouldn't see his expression.
But it was obvious—his ears were red.
"Jay..." Ci-N called me with concern. "...Are you okay?"
I nodded at him. "I just feel bad because I didn't get to talk to him."
"Who?" Denzel asked. "...Who didn't you get to talk to?"
Ci looked at me as if asking for permission. I gave him a small nod. I wasn't sure if they were just pretending not to know or if they really had no idea.
"Keifer. He's back," Ci-N said.
Their reactions were mixed.
"Why isn't he showing himself to us?"
"Where is he now?"
"Does he know what's happening here?"
"That's it! Keifer just abandoned us!" Blaster said in frustration, making us all turn to him.
"What are you talking about?" Eman asked.
"Haven't you noticed? He deliberately left when everything was falling apart for us!" Blaster said, making the other Ulupong exchange glances. "...If you think about it, this is all his fault! He's the reason Jay-jay is mad at us, and what did he do? He left!"
"Blaster's right!" Drew added. "...We're the ones struggling to ask for Jay-jay's forgiveness! Meanwhile, he's the one who started all this!"
"Enough already!" Rory scolded.
"What they're saying is true!" Mayo butted in.
Kit immediately stopped him. "Don't get involved with them!"
Mayo just looked at him and continued speaking. "Most of us just followed what he told us to do! And now, we're the ones paying the price! But Keifer? Where is he?! He's off in another country, living his—"
"STOP!" Yuri's voice thundered, cutting him off. "...Don't you dare say a thing against him!"
His brows were furrowed in anger, looking furious at what Mayo, Drew, and Denzel had said.
"Let's not pretend here! You hate him, don't you? He's your rival!" Drew accused, making Yuri grab him by the collar.
We thought they were going to start throwing punches, so we all became alarmed. Yuri stared Drew straight in the eyes.
"Yes! We are rivals, but don't forget that he's also my friend! You have no idea what he's dealing with right now, so don't talk as if he's the villain here!" Yuri snapped before shoving Drew away.
He looked at me for a moment and tried to calm himself down. Then, without another word, he turned and walked away.
We were all left watching him go.
Out of all of us, only Yuri knew what Keifer was really going through. Despite their misunderstandings, he still saw him as a friend.
I wish I could do what you do.
I wanted to believe that despite everything that had happened, they were still my friends. But I was scared—what if they didn't see me the same way anymore?
I looked at all of them. We had been through so much together. I cried in front of them, and they cried in front of me. We shared problems and happiness.
It was only broken when they lied to me.
Blaster and Drew had a point. I didn't want to admit they were right, because we were all at fault.
I was wrong for holding out on them even when I didn't have to. Months had passed since the truth came out. They had suffered enough because of me.
Maybe... Maybe I can finally forgive them.