Chapter: "Say It Again If You Dare"
(Jay's POV)
If there's one thing I hate more than math tests, it's Keifer Delton acting like he owns oxygen.
And today? He was extra unbearable.
The classroom of Section E was unusually quiet. Too quiet. Which only meant one thing.
Test papers were being distributed.
Cin sat in the front row, already holding his pen like he was about to sign a million-dollar deal. Of course he was calm. He's always calm.
And beside him?
Keifer.
Also calm.
Also confident.
Also annoyingly perfect.
I rolled my eyes.
"Jay," Yuri whispered from behind me. "You look like you want to murder someone."
"I do," I muttered. "Specifically the tall, egoistic human calculator sitting in front."
David snorted.
Keifer heard that. Of course he did. His shoulders moved slightly like he was trying not to laugh.
I wanted to throw my eraser at his head.
The teacher began explaining something about rankings and performance. My brain automatically filtered everything except one sentence:
"Top two scorers in the previous assessment were Cin and Keifer."
The whole class groaned dramatically.
Emman clapped slowly. "Wow. Shocking. The world is ending."
Eren leaned back in his chair. "Can we ban them from existing?"
Keifer turned slightly, looking over his shoulder at me.
That smirk.
That stupid, confident smirk.
"What?" he mouthed.
I crossed my arms.
Nothing.
But inside?
Everything.
Because I hated how good he was at everything.
And I hated even more how proud I felt.
—
After class ended, chaos started as usual.
Rory jumped onto a desk. Blaster started arguing about something irrelevant. Calix and Felix were fighting over a pen. Drew and Denzel were rating the test difficulty like critics. Josh was half asleep.
And Keifer?
He stood near the window, sunlight hitting his face like he was in some dramatic movie scene.
I walked straight to him.
"You think you're so great?" I asked.
He didn't even look at me. "I don't think. I know."
I gasped.
Cin, who was packing his bag, paused.
"Oh no," Mayo whispered. "It's starting."
I stepped closer.
"Just because you're a topper doesn't mean you can act like you rule this class."
He finally looked at me.
Calm. Dangerously calm.
"And just because you talk a lot doesn't mean you're always right."
The class went silent.
David slowly stood up and backed away like he didn't want to be caught in crossfire.
I pointed a finger at Keifer's chest.
"You're so arrogant."
"You're so loud."
"You're so annoying."
"You're so dramatic."
"You're so—"
"You're so obsessed with me," he cut in smoothly.
The boys exploded.
"OOOOOOHHHHH!"
Erdix fell onto a chair laughing.
Josh finally woke up. "What happened?"
I felt my face heat up.
"Excuse me?" I snapped.
Keifer tilted his head. "You're always watching me. Always reacting to me. Always fighting with me. Sounds like obsession."
My mouth opened.
Closed.
Opened again.
"I fight with you because you belong to—"
I stopped.
The class froze.
My brain froze.
What was I about to say?
Keifer's eyes darkened slightly.
"Because I belong to…?" he repeated softly.
I panicked.
"You belong to… this class!" I blurted out.
Dead silence.
Cin looked up slowly.
Blaster covered his mouth.
Rory whispered, "No, no, no. She was going to say something else."
Keifer stepped closer.
"Finish your sentence, Jay."
My heart was beating too fast.
"I said what I said."
"No," he said quietly. "You didn't."
Denzel leaned toward Drew. "Bro this is better than Netflix."
I tried to walk away.
But Keifer grabbed my wrist lightly.
Not hurting.
Just stopping me.
"Say it," he murmured.
The entire Section E was now watching like it was a live show.
Yuri grinned. "Jayyyy~"
Cin adjusted his glasses. "Interesting."
I yanked my hand back.
"You belong to only—" I stopped again.
Oh my God.
Why was my mouth betraying me?!
Emman smacked the desk. "SHE SAID ONLY!"
Felix started clapping.
"ONLYYYY~" Rory sang dramatically.
My face was on fire.
Keifer's expression changed.
The teasing disappeared.
Now he looked serious.
Too serious.
"You think I belong to only who?" he asked quietly.
I crossed my arms to hide my shaking hands.
"You're overthinking. Don't flatter yourself."
He stepped closer.
One more step and I could feel his presence.
"You started this fight," he said. "Finish it."
"You wish," I shot back.
Blaster whispered loudly, "He wishes."
The whole class burst into laughter again.
I glared at everyone.
"Why are you all so jobless?!"
"Because this is entertaining," David replied calmly.
Keifer leaned slightly down so only I could hear.
"If I belonged to someone," he said lowly, "it would never be by mistake."
My breath hitched.
Why does he talk like that?
I pushed his shoulder lightly.
"You're so full of yourself."
"And you're jealous."
"Of what?!"
"Of anyone who stands near me."
The class went wild again.
"CONFIRMED!"
"JEALOUS!"
"Section E love story!"
Cin sighed but he was smiling slightly.
I wanted the floor to swallow me.
"I am not jealous!" I shouted.
"Then why did you glare at the girl who asked me for notes this morning?" he asked casually.
Silence.
Everyone turned to me.
Drew blinked. "You did that?"
I looked away.
"I didn't glare."
"You did," Keifer insisted.
"You're imagining things."
"You crossed your arms."
"That's normal!"
"You narrowed your eyes."
"That's my face!"
The boys laughed so hard that Rory almost fell off the desk again.
Keifer's voice softened just a little.
"So you don't care?"
I froze.
Why does he sound like that?
Why does he ask like that?
I swallowed.
"I don't care who talks to you."
"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow.
"I don't care who stands near you."
"Hmm."
"I don't care who you smile at."
"Really?"
"Yes!"
He leaned closer.
"Then why did you just say I belong to only—?"
"SHUT UP!"
The entire class exploded again.
Josh stood up dramatically. "Wedding when?"
I grabbed my bag angrily.
"You're all impossible!"
As I turned to leave, Keifer's voice followed me.
"Jay."
I paused.
"…If I belonged to someone," he said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "I wouldn't mind it being you."
Dead.
Silence.
Cin's pen dropped.
David choked.
Yuri screamed.
Blaster slapped the table.
"BROOOOO!"
I didn't turn around.
Because if I did…
They would see my face.
And my heart.
And everything.
I walked out of the classroom with whatever dignity I had left.
But behind me?
Section E was chanting.
"JAY! KEIF! JAY! KEIF!"
And inside me?
Something dangerous had started.
Something that wasn't silly.
And definitely wasn't a mistake.
—