Jay's Pov
Keifer had been ignoring me for two days.
TWO. DAYS.
He came to school but sat on the other side of the classroom. Didn't look at me. Didn't text back. Nothing.
I was DONE.
"You need to calm down," Mia said as we walked toward the gym for another assembly.
"I AM calm."
"Your eye is twitching."
"Because I'm CALM."
"That's not how calm works."
I spotted him. Keifer. Walking with Yuri near the bleachers.
Something in me SNAPPED.
"KEIFER!"
The whole gym turned.
I didn't care.
I stormed toward him. Students scattered out of my way like I was on fire.
Keifer stopped. Turned.
His face was unreadable. As always.
But his ears? Pale. Not pink. Pale.
Good.
"Jay—" Yuri started.
"Not now, Yuri."
Yuri backed off. Smart man.
I got right in Keifer's face. Inches apart. Like that first argument. Like the garden. Like every time we'd been close enough to kiss.
But this time, there was no romance.
"What. Is. Your. Problem?" I jabbed his chest with my finger.
"Jay—"
"You've been ignoring me for TWO DAYS. Two days, Keifer. After everything. After the confession. After the hand-holding. After you gave me your JACKET. You just... disappear?!"
His jaw tightened. "It's complicated."
"COMPLICATED?! You think I don't know complicated?! My whole LIFE is complicated right now! I just found out I have a HALF BROTHER I never knew about! My parents LIED to me! And the one person I thought I could count on just WALKED AWAY!"
"I didn't walk away—"
"YOU LITERALLY DID! In front of the WHOLE SCHOOL! You left me standing there while my world exploded!"
"I needed time to think!"
"Think about WHAT?! Whether I'm worth it?! Whether being connected to Aries makes me too complicated to deal with?!"
"That's NOT—"
"Then WHAT, Keifer?! EXPLAIN IT TO ME!"
The gym was silent. Everyone watching. Section E. Section A. All of them.
Keifer's eyes were tortured. Like he wanted to say something but couldn't.
"Because of the accident," he finally said quietly.
"What accident?"
He didn't answer.
"The accident," Yuri said softly, stepping forward. "The one that broke us all."
I looked between them. "What are you talking about?"
And then—
"WELL, WELL, WELL. Look who finally decided to show up!"
That voice.
That DRAMATIC, narcissistic, painfully familiar voice.
I turned.
And there, standing in the gymnasium entrance like he owned the place, was—
"PERCY?!"
My brother. My older, vain, ridiculous brother. Percy.
In the Philippines.
At HVIS.
Looking like he'd just stepped out of a magazine photoshoot, complete with designer sunglasses and an outfit that screamed "look at me."
"Jay-Jay! My darling sister!" He strutted toward me, arms wide. "Miss me?"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"
"Your parents sent me. To check on you. Also, the lighting in London was doing terrible things to my complexion, so I needed a vacation."
"PERCY, THIS ISN'T A VACATION—"
But Percy wasn't listening.
Because he'd spotted someone.
Felix.
Felix, who had gone completely still. White as a sheet. Staring at Percy like he'd seen a ghost.
"Felix?" Percy's voice changed. Lost its usual dramatic flair.
Felix didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
Then, in a whisper: "Percy?"
"In the flesh." Percy tried to smile, but it wobbled. "Surprise?"
Felix's legs gave out.
He crumpled to the floor, tears streaming down his face.
"YOU'RE ALIVE," Felix sobbed. "YOU'RE ACTUALLY ALIVE."
"Of course I'm alive. I'm too beautiful to die."
But Percy's voice cracked. And when Felix scrambled up and threw himself at Percy, Percy caught him. Held him.
For once, not posing. Not performing.
Just... holding his brother.
"I thought you were dead," Felix wept. "Everyone said you died in the accident. They said—they said no one could have survived that fall—"
"Takes more than a car crash to kill this face."
"PERCY."
"Okay, okay. I'm here. I'm alive. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
I stared at them. Completely lost.
"Wait," I said. "Felix is your—"
"Half-brother," Percy said. "Different dads, same mom. We grew up together in the Philippines before I moved to London."
"You never TOLD me that!"
"You never ASKED."
"I didn't know I was SUPPOSED to ask!"
But Percy wasn't looking at me anymore.
He was looking past me.
At Keifer.
At Yuri.
And at Aries, who had just walked in with Section A.
The gym went silent again.
Four boys. Staring at each other.
Keifer's face was pale. Yuri's jaw was tight. Aries looked like he'd been punched.
And Percy? Percy looked... sad.
"Hey, guys," Percy said softly. "Long time no see."
Keifer's voice was barely a whisper. "You're alive."
"Last time I checked."
"How—" Yuri started. "We thought—the accident—they said no one survived—"
"I survived." Percy shrugged. "Barely. But I survived."
Aries took a step forward. His face was wrecked. Torn between relief and fear.
"Percy, I—"
"Don't." Percy held up a hand. "Just... don't yet."
"But I need to explain—"
"You don't owe me an explanation."
"I DO. I owe you everything."
Keifer's head snapped toward Aries. "What are you talking about?"
Aries looked at Keifer. Then at Yuri. Then back at Percy.
"You don't know," he said slowly. "You never knew what really happened."
"Knew what?" Keifer demanded.
Aries took a deep breath.
"The night of the accident. When the car went off the road. When we were all trapped." His voice shook. "Percy wasn't the only one who could have survived. I could have saved him. I TRIED to save him."
Keifer's eyes narrowed. "You LEFT him."
"I DIDN'T leave him. He MADE me go."
Silence.
Percy nodded. "It's true."
"No," Yuri whispered. "That's not—that's not what happened."
"That's exactly what happened." Percy's voice was calm. "The car was hanging off the cliff. It could have gone at any moment. Aries was trying to pull me out, but I was stuck. My leg was pinned. I told him to go. He didn't want to. I had to yell at him. Scream at him. Finally, I told him that if he stayed, we'd BOTH die. And that if he really wanted to help me, he'd survive and make sure someone came back."
Keifer was shaking his head. "No. No, that's not—everyone said he ran. That he was a coward. That he left you to die."
"Everyone was wrong."
"But we SAW—"
"You saw him jump. You didn't see the minute before that. You didn't see him fighting to get me out. You didn't see the blood on his hands from trying to free my leg." Percy's voice cracked. "You didn't see him cry when I told him to leave."
Yuri sat down heavily on the bleachers. "All these years. We hated him. We blamed him."
"And I let you," Aries said quietly. "Because hating me was easier than grieving Percy. I know. I understood."
Keifer stared at Aries. Really stared.
Like he was seeing him for the first time.
"Why didn't you ever tell us?" he asked.
"Would you have believed me?"
Silence.
"No," Keifer admitted. "Probably not."
"Exactly." Aries looked at Percy. "I'm sorry. For everything. For not being able to save you. For letting everyone believe I was a coward. For—"
"Stop." Percy walked over and pulled Aries into a hug. "You saved yourself. That's what I wanted. That's what I ASKED for. You don't get to apologize for following orders."
Aries broke.
He cried. Right there in front of everyone. The tough, cold Section A president, sobbing into Percy's shoulder.
And Keifer?
Keifer looked at me.
Really looked.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "For ignoring you. For being an idiot. For—"
"Shut up." I walked over and grabbed his shirt. "Just... shut up."
And I kissed him.
Right there. In front of everyone.
Again.
Because apparently that was our thing now.
When I pulled back, his ears were BRIGHT red.
"What was that for?" he asked.
"For being an idiot who finally figured things out."
"I'm still an idiot."
"Yes. But you're MY idiot."
He smiled. That real smile.
"I can live with that."
Chaos Ensues
Ci-n was SCREAMING. "THEY KISSED AGAIN! IN FRONT OF EVERYONE! THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!"
Felix was crying. Again. "My husband-wife radar is at CRITICAL MASS!"
Yuri was laughing. Actual laughing. "We wasted years hating each other for nothing."
"Years of drama," Rory said from somewhere. "I could have hacked so many things in that time."
Edrix nodded. "Total waste of hacking potential."
Freya was standing in the corner, looking like she'd swallowed a lemon. Ella, Aries's girlfriend, was just staring at everything with wide eyes.
Mia grabbed Jare's arm. "Did that just happen?"
"Apparently."
"Percy is alive AND Jay kissed Keifer AGAIN?!"
"Also apparently."
"THIS IS SO MUCH."
"Yep."
Sarah appeared beside me. "Okay. I need explanations. ALL of them."
"Same," Dave agreed, mouth full of chips. "I'm so confused."
Ben was filming. Obviously. "This documentary is going to be INCREDIBLE."
Bella just smiled. "Finally. Peace."
"Peace?" I laughed. "With this group? Never."
Percy, meanwhile, was holding court.
"Yes, yes, I'm alive. Yes, I'm still gorgeous. No, you can't take pictures without my permission. Yes, I will sign autographs later."
"You're so dramatic," I said.
"I'm not dramatic. I'm APPRECIATED."
Keifer was standing beside me, arm around my waist. Like he was afraid I'd disappear.
"You okay?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah. You?"
"Getting there."
"We have a lot to talk about."
"I know."
"The Aries thing—"
"We'll figure it out. Together."
I looked up at him. "Promise?"
"Promise."
He kissed my forehead. Soft. Gentle.
Ci-n screamed again. "FOREHEAD KISS! THAT'S EVEN MORE ROMANTIC!"
"CI-N, GO AWAY."
"NEVER!"
Later
We all ended up outside the gym. Section E. Section A. Percy. Everyone.
Aries was talking to Keifer and Yuri. Quietly. Seriously.
I watched them from a distance.
"Hey."
Mia appeared beside me.
"Hey."
"You okay?"
"I don't know. Maybe? Everything's different now."
"Different good or different bad?"
I thought about it.
"Different. Just... different."
She nodded. "I'm sorry again. For not telling you."
"I know. I forgive you."
"Really?"
"Really. You're my best friend. I can't stay mad forever."
She hugged me. "I love you, you know that?"
"Love you too, weirdo."
Percy appeared. "Group hug! Everyone!"
"PERCY, NO."
"PERCY, YES!"
He grabbed us both. Pulled us in.
Felix joined. Then Ci-n. Then somehow the whole section.
We were a pile of chaos. Laughing. Crying. Hugging.
And for the first time in days, I felt like everything might actually be okay.
Keifer found me later. Pulled me aside.
"Jay."
"Yeah?"
"I'm really sorry. For how I handled things."
"You already said that."
"I know. But I need you to know—it wasn't about you. It was about me. And my issues. And I was stupid."
"You WERE stupid."
"I know."
"But you're my stupid."
He smiled. "Always."
We stood there. Looking at each other.
"So," I said. "What now?"
"Now? We figure it out. Together."
"Together?"
"Together." He took my hand. "If you'll have me."
"Keifer, I've literally kissed you in front of the whole school three times now. I think it's obvious I'll have you."
"Just checking."
"Idiot."
"Your idiot."
I laughed. "Yeah. My idiot."
That Night
My phone buzzed.
GAGONG BALIW: So we're official now?
ME: Define official.
GAGONG BALIW: You're my girlfriend. I'm your boyfriend. We do couple things.
ME: Like what?
GAGONG BALIW: Argue. Fight. Make up. Kiss in public. Confuse everyone.
ME: So basically what we already do.
GAGONG BALIW: Exactly.
ME: Then yes. We're official.
GAGONG BALIW: ❤️
ME: Gagong Baliw.
GAGONG BALIW: Your Gagong Baliw.
ME: Don't get cheesy.
GAGONG BALIW: Too late. Already cheesy.
ME: Idiot.
GAGONG BALIW: Your idiot.
I smiled at my phone.
Stupid Keifer and his stupid hearts.