JAY JAY POV
I blinked my eyes open and realized the room was shrouded in shadows. I checked the digital clock on the nightstand—what the hell! It was already evening! I fell asleep for that long?!
I looked down and my heart did a little jolt. I was still practically a human sticker attached to Keifer. I carefully reached up, hovering my palm over his forehead
Hala. It's gone. The volcanic eruption has been downgraded to a normal, human temperature.
I stayed like that for a few more minutes, staring at his sleeping face. In the dim light, he didn't look like a billionaire shark or a cold-hearted businessman. He looked… peaceful. And it was my fault my heart was now doing a rhythmic tap-dance against my ribs.
How am I supposed to look at him now? We just spent hours as human huddle-buddies! He's going to tease me until my grandchildren are born!
I moved with the stealth of a ninja trying to escape a laser-security room. I slowly pried his fingers from my waist, slid out of the sheets, and practically dove for my discarded pajama top. I buttoned it up so fast I almost put the buttons in the wrong holes, then scurried toward the door.
I made my way downstairs, my legs feeling a bit like jelly. I found the brothers in the lounge area.
"Did you guys eat?" I asked, my voice sounding a bit scratchy.
Keiran looked up from his phone, a smirk already creeping onto his face—the brat. "I ate. Kuya Keigan didn't. He's been acting like a gargoyle waiting for news."
I turned my gaze to Keigan. He looked exhausted, the worry etched into the lines around his eyes.
"I will eat soon. How is he?" Keigan asked, his voice stiff with concern.
"Better now," I said, giving him a small, reassuring smile. "His fever finally broke. He's just sleeping it off. Now go eat, Keigan. You're no use to your Kuya if you pass out from hunger."
Keigan let out a long breath, the tension visibly leaving his shoulders. He gave me a grateful nod—a real, Brother-to-Ate kind of nod.
"Thank you, Jay," he said simply.
I watched him head toward the kitchen, then let out a heavy sigh of my own
I need food. No—I need a spiritual intervention involving a giant bowl of ramen and maybe a three-tier chocolate cake.
"Ate!" Keiran called out.
"What?!" I barked, still high on embarrassment.
"I need help on math," he said, gesturing to a massive pile of papers on the coffee table.
I let out a long, weary sign. I'm a science teacher, not a calculator! But seeing his frustrated face, I eventually dragged my heavy legs over and sat next to him. I looked at the symbols on the page and felt my soul slowly leaving my body.
"You're what—sixteen? And you're doing Calculus?" I asked, squinting at an equation that looked more like a cry for help than a math problem. "When I was sixteen, my biggest problem was figuring out how to sneak a snack into the library!"
Keiran nodded, looking exhausted. "Watson brain, Ate. It's a blessing and a curse. Mostly a curse when it's 8:00 PM and I haven't had dinner."
"Okay, okay. Let's get this over with. Bring out the brain cells, Keiran! We're going to war!" I said, and we dove in.
For the next hour, it was just the sound of pencils scratching and my voice explaining derivatives like they were different types of cake. We were finally making progress when suddenly, Keigan, who was walking toward the kitchen, froze.
"Jay. Don't. Move."
I stopped mid-sentence. My heart did a sudden, violent somersault. "What? Did I get a math problem wrong? Is the answer not 42?!"
"No," Keigan whispered, his face turning a shade of pale that I only see in horror movies. He pointed toward the corner of the sofa. "Look."
I slowly turned my head. My eyes went wide. My jaw hit the floor. There, sitting on the armrest like it owned the mansion, was a spider. But not just a spider. This thing was the size of a dinner plate! It had legs that looked like they belonged on a crab, and I swear I saw it blink at me with eight malicious eyes.
"HELL!" I shrieked, but I didn't dare move.
Keiran immediately lunged forward and hugged my waist, hiding his face in my side.
"There, there… don't move, nobody breathe!" I whispered, my voice trembling like a leaf in an aircon vent.
We were all huddled together in a clump of pure, unadulterated terror.
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KEIFER POV
I woke up, and the first thing I noticed was the coldness in the bed. No warmth. No Jay-jay. No human-heating pad.
"Jay?" I called out. My voice was still a bit raspy, but the fog in my brain had cleared.
Nothing.
Where is this girl? Did she finally get fed up with my fever and decide to move back to her apartment? Or is she just in the kitchen looking for more bacon?
I got up, pullled on a shirt, and made my way downstairs. My head gave a small throb, but I ignored it. I followed the sound of frantic whispering toward the lounge.
I stopped at the entrance, and the scene before me was… well, it was a Watson family portrait of pure horror.
There was Jay-jay, Keiran, and Keigan—all huddled together on the middle of the sofa like they were trapped on a sinking ship. They looked absolutely horrified, staring at something in the corner.
"There, there… don't move… if you don't see it, it can't see us…" Jay-jay was whispering, her eyes wide as saucers.
"What the hell is happening?" I asked, stepping into the room.
All three of them jumped about a foot into the air.
"SHHHH! KUYA! QUIET!" Keiran hissed, clutching Jay-jay even tighter.
"Call animal control!" Keigan said, pointing a trembling finger at the sofa armrest.
"Don't!" Keiran added, looking at me with a terrified expression. "If they come, they might take Ate too! She's the one who brought the noise!"
Jay-jay glared at him despite her terror. "Hoy! I am a victim here, Keiran Watson! Not an accomplice!"
I followed their gaze and saw it. A spider. A big one, admittedly, but definitely not a call-the-authorities situation.
I looked back at my wife, who was currently acting as a human shield for my two younger brothers. Her hair was a mess, her pajama top was still slightly crooked, and she looked like she was about to cry over a bug.
A genuine, soft smirk touched my lips.
"You're all afraid of that?" I asked, stepping closer.
"KEIFER, NO! DON'T BE A HERO! IT HAS A FAMILY! IT HAS AGGRESSION!" Jay-jay shrieked, her voice hitting a pitch that probably shattered glass in the kitchen.
I ignored her, reached out, and simply flicked the spider off the armrest and toward the window.
Silence.
Keigan let out a long, shaky breath. Keiran finally let go of Jay-jay's waist. And Jay-jay? She just sat there, staring at me like I had just performed a miracle at the altar.
"You… you just did that," she whispered.
"I did," I said, leaning against the wall and crossing my arms. I looked at her, my gaze dropping to how she was still subconsciously leaning toward my brothers. "Are you three quite finished, or do I need to check for monsters under the rug next?"
Jay-jay's face immediately turned a beautiful, sun-dried tomato red.
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JAY-JAY POV
I was currently looking for a hole to crawl into, but unfortunately, the Watson mansion has very solid flooring.
"Thank God, Ate, you're staying with us! At least we don't have to call animal control now, and they won't have to take you away!" Keiran said, letting out a long, dramatic sigh of relief as he finally let go of my waist.
I snapped my head toward him, my eyes narrowing. Jusko.
"You little brat!" I hissed, reaching out to lighty smack his arm. "I am your teacher! I am your Ate! I am a human being with rights and dignity! I am NOT a wild animal that needs to be hauled away in a cage!"
"But you screamed like a mountain lion, Ate," Keiran teased, ducking behind the sofa to avoid my reach. "And your hair? Total forest-vibe."
"Gago! Truly!" I huffed, smoothing down my messy hair and trying to look professional in my silk pajamas. It wasn't working. I looked like a panda that had just survived a landslide.
I turned to look at Keifer, expecting him to join in on the teasing. But he wasn't laughing. He was just standing there, leaning against the doorway, watching the three of us with a look I hadn't seen on him before.
It wasn't that 'billionaire-shark' look. It wasn't even the 'arrogant-smirk' look. He was just... smiling.
I stood there with my hands on my hips, trying to channel my inner "Terror Teacher" mode even though I was wearing pajamas and probably had a piece of fluff in my hair. Jusko. He's standing there looking like a Greek god who just happened to catch a sniffle, and I'm supposed to keep him in line?
"What are you doing there?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow. I tried to make my voice sound stern—like I was about to give a failing grade—but it came out a little bit squeaky. "Did I tell you you could come out of your room?"
Keifer just looked at me, a slow, lazy shake of his head following. He didn't even look guilty! That the thing about Watsons—they have this aura that says, I own the air you're currently breathing, why are you questioning me?
"Then why are you out of your bed, Keifer?!" I pressed, taking a step toward him. "The doctor said you need rest!"
Keifer didn't answer immediately. He pushed off the doorframe and took a slow, deliberate step toward me. My heart did a sudden, violent cha-cha. No, Jay-jay! Static posture! Do not retreat!
"I woke up," he rasped, his voice still a little deep and scratchy from the fever. He stopped just inches away, his shadow completely swallowing me. "And you weren't there."
My breath hitched. Hala. Why does he have to say it like that? Like I'm his oxygen or something? My face started heating up again. At this rate, I'm going to have a permanent blush tattooed on my cheeks.
"I—I was helping Keiran with Calculus! And then there was a spider! A very aggressive, very organized spider!" I stammered, gesturing wildly toward the lounge.
Keifer's gaze softened. He reached out and tucked a messy strand of my hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering just long enough to make my brain short-circuit.
"The bed felt too big," he murmured, his eyes locking onto mine. "And the room felt too quiet. I didn't get up to work, Jay. I got up to find my doctor."
I swear, my face didn't just turn red; it turned into a full-blown infrared signal. I could feel the heat radiating off my cheeks like I was a human toaster.
"Ewww! Hello? Kids are still here! Some of us are trying to maintain our innocence!" Keiran yelled, dramatically covering his eyes with one hand while peeking through his fingers. "Can you guys save the romantic K-drama scenes for when we're actually asleep? My eyes are burning!"
Keifer's expression shifted instantly. He didn't move away from me, but he turned his head and shot a glare at Keiran that was so sharp it could have sliced through a titanium vault. It was the look of a man who had just been interrupted while winning a multi-billion-peso auction.
His gaze basically said: "I am the head of this house and if you don't shut up, your Calculus homework is going to be the least of your problems."
"Go find a snack, Keiran," Keifer barked, his voice dropping back into that dangerous Kuya-tone. "And take Keigan with you."
"Fine, fine! We're leaving! Come on, Keigan, let's go before they start singing theme songs at each other," Keiran grumbled, dragging a silent, smirking Keigan toward the kitchen.
I stood there, blinking, feeling like a deer that had just survived a very confusing encounter with a hunter.
"You shouldn't be so mean to him," I whispered, even though I was secretly relieved the peanut gallery had moved on. "He's just... being Keiran."
Keifer turned back to me, the glare disappearing instantly, replaced by that soft, intense look that made my knees feel like overcooked noodles. He didn't say anything; he just reached out and took my hand again, pulling me gently toward the stairs.
"He's ruinous," Keifer murmured, his thumb grazing my knuckles. "I was having a moment, Jay."
"You're sick, Watson! You shouldn't be having moments, you should be having medicine!" I huffed, trying to sound authoritative while my heart was basically screaming and throwing confetti in my chest.
"I already told you," he whispered, leaning in as we reached the first step so that his peppermint breath tickled my ear. "You're the only medicine I'm interested in right now."
Gago. Truly! I'm going to need a whole bucket of spicy wings just to recover from this. If he keeps this up, I'm the one who's going to end up needing a doctor for a heart that refuses to stay in its proper place!
"Upstairs! Now!" I squeaked, practically dragging him up the steps before he could say anything else that would make me spontaneously combust.
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