Night wrapped around the hotel like a quiet blanket. The city lights outside had dimmed, and only the occasional car passing far below disturbed the silence.
Jay and Keifer had eventually fallen asleep on the bed, both too tired from the long day of teasing, arguing, and tension.
Jay lay curled slightly toward him, one arm resting loosely over his chest while Keifer's arm rested protectively around her waist.
For a few hours, everything was calm.
Until thunder cracked across the sky.
Jay's eyes snapped open.
Another rumble followed, shaking the quiet stillness of the night.
She rubbed her eyes sleepily and instinctively reached beside her.
The bed was empty.
Jay frowned.
"Keifer?" she mumbled softly.
No answer.
She sat up, looking around the dim room. The bathroom light was off. The couch was empty.
Her stomach tightened slightly.
"Keifer?" she called again, louder this time.
Still nothing.
Jay slid off the bed, walking around the room and checking everywhere.
Nothing.
Her chest started to beat a little faster now.
"Seriously? Where did he go…" she muttered under her breath.
Finally, she opened the hotel door and stepped into the quiet hallway.
The corridor lights were dim, casting long shadows along the carpet.
Jay walked a few steps down the hall, looking around.
"Keifer?"
Suddenly—
A hand grabbed her wrist.
Before she could react, someone pulled her sharply into a tiny narrow service space between the wall and a storage cart.
Jay gasped, instinctively about to scream—
"Shhh!"
It was Keifer.
Jay's eyes widened in shock.
Then instantly narrowed.
"What the hell, Keifer?!" she hissed quietly, hitting his arm. "Are you insane?!"
He kept one hand gently over her mouth, his expression serious.
"Quiet," he whispered.
Jay shoved his hand away. "You dragged me into a closet in the middle of the night! Of course I'm going to curse you!"
Keifer didn't smile this time.
Instead, he slowly tilted his head toward the hallway.
Jay followed his gaze.
Down the corridor, a tall man stood near the elevators, looking around slowly… almost like he was searching for someone.
Jay's stomach dropped.
"…Who is that?" she whispered.
Keifer's jaw tightened.
"The guy Percy warned me about."
Jay's heart skipped.
The man walked slowly past their room door, glancing at the number.
Keifer instinctively pulled Jay closer into the tiny space, shielding her completely behind him.
His body pressed protectively in front of hers, blocking her from view.
Jay could feel how tense he was.
The stranger lingered for a moment…
Then slowly walked toward the stairs.
Silence returned to the hallway.
Jay exhaled quietly.
"Okay," she whispered, her voice shaky now. "That was terrifying."
Keifer looked down at her.
"You see why I didn't want you leaving the room?" he said quietly.
Jay swallowed.
"…Yeah."
For a moment neither of them moved.
They were still pressed close together in the tiny space, barely inches apart.
Jay finally looked up at him.
"You could have warned me instead of kidnapping me into a wall," she muttered.
Keifer smirked faintly. "You would have screamed."
"True."
She sighed, then lightly punched his chest.
"But you still deserve to be cursed for that."
Keifer chuckled quietly.
Then his arm instinctively moved around her shoulders again as he carefully peeked back into the hallway.
"Come on," he said softly. "Let's get back inside."
Jay nodded.
But as they walked back toward the room, she stayed very close to him.
Much closer than before.
And this time…
She didn't complain when his hand stayed firmly around her waist.