Jay pov The sound of Kuya Angelo's footsteps was something we all feared.
Not because he was scary.
Okay… maybe a little scary.
But mostly because he had the perfect timing to catch us in the most embarrassing situations.
We were still laughing from the teasing. I was sitting on Keifer's lap, my back against his chest, his arms loosely around my waist while I tried to breathe properly from laughing too much at Ci-n and Aries fighting over a pillow like five-year-olds.
Then—
Step.
Step.
Step.
Aries froze.
Ci-n froze.
Keifer stiffened behind me.
And my heart almost jumped out of my mouth.
"That's Kuya," Aries whispered dramatically.
Ci-n gasped like we had just committed a crime.
"OH MY GOD," I hissed, trying to stand up from Keifer's lap.
But in our panic, everything became chaos.
Keifer tried to push me off gently, but Aries accidentally tripped on the pillow. Ci-n tried to grab Aries, which made them both stumble forward.
And in two seconds—
We all collapsed onto the bed in a tangled mess.
Me at the edge.
Keifer behind me, still hugging me from reflex.
Aries hugging Keifer's back because he had fallen forward.
And Ci-n clinging to Aries like a koala.
It looked… wrong.
Very wrong.
The door burst open.
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE—"
Kuya Angelo stopped mid-sentence.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
We all froze in position like a badly choreographed human caterpillar.
I slowly turned my head toward the door.
Kuya Angelo stood there with his arms crossed.
His expression?
Blank.
Deadly blank.
"Oh," he said calmly. Too calmly. "Interesting."
"Kuya!" I squeaked.
"This is not what it looks like!" Aries shouted.
Ci-n panicked. "IT LOOKS WORSE THAN IT IS!"
Keifer tried to move but couldn't because Aries was still glued to his back. "Can someone get off me first?"
Before any of us could untangle ourselves—
Click.
A camera sound.
We all gasped.
Kuya Angelo lowered his phone slowly, staring at the picture he just took.
"You took a picture?!" I screamed.
"Yes," he said peacefully. "For memory."
"DELETE IT!" Aries yelled.
Kuya Angelo smirked.
"No."
Ci-n's eyes widened. "Kuya, please, I have a reputation!"
"You?" Aries turned. "You don't even have one."
"SHUT UP!"
Kuya Angelo stepped inside the room and leaned against the wall.
"You know," he said thoughtfully, looking at his phone, "I think Ella would be very interested to see this."
Aries went pale.
"And Rakki too," Kuya added casually.
Ci-n gasped louder than before. "NO!"
Kuya Angelo raised his brows innocently. "Imagine… I send this to Ella and say, 'Aries confessed his love to Keifer tonight.'"
"KUYA!" Aries shrieked, finally rolling off Keifer.
"And I send it to Rakki," Kuya continued mercilessly, "'Ci-n is secretly in love with Aries.'"
"THAT'S FALSE ACCUSATION!" Ci-n cried.
I was laughing so hard I almost fell off the bed.
Keifer buried his face in my shoulder, shaking silently because he was trying not to laugh too loudly.
"Kuyaaa," I whined. "Delete it. Please."
He looked at me.
Then at Keifer's arms still around my waist.
Then back at me.
His eyes narrowed.
"Jay."
Slowly… very slowly… Keifer removed his hands.
Too late.
Kuya saw everything.
"Get down from the bed," he ordered calmly.
We scrambled off like disciplined soldiers.
Aries stood straight.
Ci-n stood straight.
Keifer stood straight.
I stood in front of them, trying to look innocent.
Kuya Angelo looked at all four of us.
"You scream like monkeys," he said. "The whole house can hear you."
"Sorry," we all muttered together.
He sighed.
Then he looked at Keifer.
"You are staying tonight."
Keifer blinked. "Yes, Kuya."
"But," Kuya continued, "if I hear one more scream, laugh, jump, or suspicious sound from this room…"
He lifted his phone slightly.
Aries swallowed.
Ci-n covered his mouth dramatically.
Kuya's lips twitched like he was fighting a smile.
"Good night."
And he walked out.
The door closed.
Silence.
Three seconds later—
We all exploded.
"YOU ALMOST RUINED MY LOVE LIFE!" Aries shouted at Ci-n.
"ME? YOU FELL ON KUYA!" Ci-n shouted back.
"You grabbed me first!"
"Because you pushed me!"
I laughed so hard I had to sit back on the bed.
Keifer shook his head, smiling at me. "Your house is insane."
"My house?" I pointed at Aries and Ci-n. "These two are the problem."
"HEY!" they both yelled.
Aries suddenly smirked.
"You know what, Jay?" he said mischievously. "You were very comfortable on Keifer's lap."
My face turned red instantly.
Ci-n gasped dramatically. "Ohhhh yes! I saw that! You were cuddling like in drama serial!"
"I WAS NOT!"
Keifer looked at me with that teasing smile.
"Yes, you were," he said softly.
I glared at him. "Don't you start."
Aries crossed his arms. "So when is the wedding?"
"ARIES!"
Ci-n jumped on the bed again. "Wait, wait, I will practice being best man!"
"You are not even invited," Aries shot back.
"I live here now!"
"That doesn't mean you're important!"
They started arguing again.
Keifer leaned closer to me and whispered, "Do they always fight like this?"
"Every day."
He smiled softly. "I think I feel safer now."
I looked at him.
"Safer?"
He nodded slightly. "Seeing you laugh like this."
My heart melted a little.
Before I could reply—
A pillow flew and hit Keifer's face.
We both turned.
Aries stood there with an evil grin.
"Accident."
Ci-n immediately grabbed another pillow and threw it at Aries.
Within seconds—
It turned into full war.
Feathers were flying.
Aries screamed like a warrior.
Ci-n yelled nonsense battle cries.
Keifer grabbed a pillow and looked at me.
I narrowed my eyes.
"Don't."
He smirked.
And threw it at me.
"KEIFER!"
I jumped on him.
Aries screamed, "TEAM JAY!"
Ci-n shouted, "NO TEAM CHAOS!"
It was madness.
Laughter echoed everywhere.
Someone almost fell off the bed again.
At one point, Keifer lifted me slightly to protect me from the flying pillows, and Aries dramatically shouted, "SEE! ROMANTIC HERO!"
Ci-n gasped loudly. "Kuya will come again!"
We all froze instantly.
Silence.
Nothing.
Then we started laughing again—quieter this time.
Finally, exhausted, we collapsed on the bed.
Aries on one side.
Ci-n beside him.
Me leaning against Keifer.
Keifer sitting against the headboard.
We were breathing heavily from laughing too much.
"This," Ci-n said dramatically, "is family bonding."
Aries nodded. "Chaotic family bonding."
I smiled softly.
Keifer looked down at me.
"You okay?" he asked quietly.
I nodded.
For the first time in many days…
I wasn't thinking about contracts.
Or engagement.
Or pressure.
I was just laughing.
Just breathing.
Just being Jay.
Aries suddenly sat up.
"Wait."
We all looked at him.
"What if Kuya actually sends that photo?"
Ci-n gasped.
I burst out laughing again.
Keifer groaned. "We are finished."
Aries stood up dramatically. "Operation Delete The Evidence."
Ci-n saluted. "Yes, commander."
I shook my head, smiling.
This house was crazy.
But in this chaos…
I felt safe.
And as Keifer wrapped his arm around me again—careful this time—I leaned back slightly.
Maybe everything was complicated.
Maybe the world outside this room was messy.
But right now?
It was just us.
Laughing.
Fighting.
Teasing.
And somehow… loving each other in the loudest, most ridiculous way possible.