Jayjay's Pov:
I didn't sleep well at all. Every time I closed my eyes, I kept seeing Keifer's face. He looked so hurt and upset, and the image just wouldn't leave my mind. I need to do something. He treated me so well at the restaurant, and I treated him so badly. It wasn't even his fault!
Oh god!
I hate how I treated him.
I hate that I hurt him.
I hate myself.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!" I screamed into my pillow. Why does my life have to be so complicated? I need to apologize to him immediately.
Suddenly, my phone rang, snapping me out of my thoughts. I checked the screen, but it was an unknown number. I picked it up anyway.
"Hello?" I said.
"Hello... is this Ate Jay?" a boy's voice came from the other end. He sounded like a kid.
"Yes. Who are you?" I asked, sitting up.
"I'm Keiran. I just wanted to say that last night when Kuya came home, he looked so upset. I don't know why, but he hasn't eaten breakfast. He just said he has no appetite. But he drank three bottles of alcohol last night and one more just now. I called you because I know only you can make him eat," he said.
I froze. He didn't eat well last night, and now he's skipping breakfast too?
"Okay... are you guys at home right now?" I asked, my heart sinking.
"No, we're just leaving for school. Can you please talk to him at school?"
"Yeah, of course. Why not?" I said quickly.
"Okay, then. Bye!"
"Okay, bye," I said, and he hung up.
Omg, Keifer. What does he think he is—Superman? Well, that's Eman's thing. But what is he thinking? His health is going to suffer if he keeps drinking on an empty stomach.
I immediately got ready and forced myself to eat breakfast. I was sitting on the couch waiting when I saw Aries coming down. He looked at me, completely stunned that I was already dressed.
"What's with you? Since when do you get ready this early?" he asked, full of confusion.
"I just woke up early today. Is there a problem?" I snapped.
He went to eat his breakfast, but he was taking forever. He went back to his room afterward, so I followed him upstairs and hammered on his door.
"Aries, hurry up! I want to go early today!" I yelled over the sound of his shower.
Finally, he came out fully dressed. "Finally," I sighed. I followed him to the car. Since I assumed we were picking up Ella, I went to the back seat.
"Am I your driver?" he asked, looking at me through the rearview mirror.
"Don't you need to pick up Ella?"
"She isn't going with me today, so come sit up here," he said. I moved to the passenger seat.
The whole ride was silent until we pulled into the school parking lot. As soon as the car stopped, I got out immediately. I had to catch up with Keifer.
He was walking down the corridor wearing his red leather jacket with his hair all messy. He looked so handsome—ugh, I mean, he looked normal. But why were all these girls looking at him like they wanted his number? I swear I will poke their eyes out! Calm down, Jayjay, I told myself. First, you need to make Keifer happy, then you can deal with these bitches.
He started heading up the stairs, and I realized I was too far behind. I ran as fast as I could, skipping stairs because I couldn't let him get to class yet.
"Keiferrrrrr!" I called out.
He stopped in his tracks and looked back at me. A small smile finally broke across his face. I reached him, grabbed his hand, and immediately dragged him toward the empty storeroom.
"Jay, why are we here?" he asked. I could still see the lingering hurt in his eyes.
"Because you didn't eat anything! You've just been drinking since last night—I know everything, Keifer. I wasn't actually mad at you in the car; I was just mad at that bitch. I wanted to stay quiet for a bit, but then I kept overthinking... I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry," I said, holding my ears and pouting as hard as I could.
"Oh Jay, it's fine. You don't need to explain anything," he said softly, gently removing my hands from my ears. I kept pouting anyway. He raised an eyebrow.
"And how exactly do you know that I haven't eaten and have only been drinking?"
"Umm... Keiran called me and told me everything," I admitted with a small smile.
"Ohh, so my own blood related brother betrayed me?" he joked. I immediately smacked the back of his head.
"What was that for?" he asked, rubbing his head.
"What do you think you are, huh? You think you can just skip meals and drink and stay healthy? Do you even care about yourself?" I asked, full of anger. But he was just standing there, smiling at me.
"Why are you smiling?" I knitted my brows.
"I was just looking at how much my wife cares for me," he teased.
"I'm not your wife!" I snapped, crossing my arms.
"Oh? Then why did you tell that girl, 'Don't you ever dare to come near my husband'?"
My face went red. "Ahhh—let's just go to the cafeteria! You must be hungry!" I tried to walk away, but he caught my wrist.
"Jay, please... never ignore me again," he whispered. Then, he leaned in and gave me a soft, sweet peck on the cheek.
"Okie," I said, finally smiling. I held onto his arm, and we both started walking toward the cafeteria together.
"Have you eaten your breakfast?" Keifer asked me as we walked.
"Yeah, but only a little because I wasn't in the mood," I said.
"And why weren't you in the mood?" "I was thinking about how to say all those things to you... and Keiran's words kept coming to my mind," I admitted.
"I'm not leaving that brat alone now. He made you worry," Keifer muttered.
"If you say anything to that child, I won't talk to you! He didn't make me worry—YOU made me worry," I countered.
"Okay, my queen. Now tell me what you want to eat and then go sit there," he said, pointing to a table.
"Umm... just a sandwich," I said, and I headed to the table.
After a while, he came back with a tray and started setting the food down. There were four sandwiches.
"Hey, why are there four sandwiches?" I asked, shocked.
"Three for you, and one for me," he said casually.
"I told you, just one!" I said, pouting again.
"I know what you said, but I know you'll be hungry, so I bought three," he said. He leaned down and kissed my pout. Thank God the cafeteria was empty!
"Okay, but I'll only eat two, and you will eat two," I negotiated.
"No, just put the third one in your bag and eat it later," he insisted.
"No! You haven't eaten breakfast, so I'll eat two and you'll eat two. If you don't, then don't talk to me!" I threatened.
He sighed, giving in. "Okay, fine."
I smiled at him, and we both ate peacefully. Afterward, he cleared the table, and we headed to class together.
As we stepped out of the cafeteria, I made sure to link my arm firmly with Keifer's. I didn't just walk; I marched. I could feel the eyes of every girl in the hallway burning into the back of my head. The same group from earlier—the ones who were practically drooling over his red leather jacket—were still standing by the lockers, like they were waiting for a second look.
I felt Keifer stiffen for a second, probably surprised by how tightly I was holding on, but then he just relaxed and leaned into me, a smug little smirk playing on his lips. He knew exactly what I was doing, and honestly, he seemed to be enjoying it.
One girl, a tall sophomore with way too much eyeliner, actually had the nerve to whisper to her friend right as we passed.
"Omg, he is so handsome. I don't know why he ended up in Section E," she whispered, loud enough for me to hear.
"Hey, he is their leader," her friend whispered back, looking terrified that I might turn around.
I felt a surge of possessiveness, but I chose to ignore them. Why should I give them the satisfaction of a reaction? As long as Keifer wasn't looking at them—and he wasn't, he was looking straight ahead—then that was enough for me. Let them look. Looking is free, but touching is a death sentence.