Jayjay'sPOV
Keifer and I just stared at the glowing phone screen, then back at each other in stunned silence. Finally, Keifer broke the tension by leaning back against the sofa cushions, letting out a heavy sigh.
"Let's just ignore her," he said coldly.
I nodded in agreement. "Want me to block her number?"
He shook his head. "No, just ignore it. If we block her, she'll only find a way to contact you, me, or someone else through a different number. It's better to just leave it."
He was completely right, so I nodded and let the matter drop. Just then, the loud beep of the kitchen oven timer went off. Saved by the bell! I quickly ran into the kitchen and carefully pulled the hot cake and cookies out of the oven. After placing them onto separate serving plates, I immediately got to work spreading a thick layer of whipping cream all over the cake. To finish it off, I decorated the top with fresh strawberries, colorful sprinkles, milk chocolate chunks, and white chocolate cookies. Okay, I know it sounds like way too much sugar, but I absolutely love it.
I proudly carried the cake and cookies out to the dining room table, only to find the three Watson brothers already sitting there, practically waiting for the food like hungry birds. I set the treats down in the middle of the table, and we all eagerly dug in.
"Ate, this cake is so good!" Keiran said, a bright smile on his face as he took a bite.
I smiled back warmly. "Thank you!"
"He's right. The cookies are really good too," Keigan chimed in.
"Yeah, you're actually a pretty good baker," Keifer added, looking impressed.
"Well, that's because Keigan helped me out so much," I said, making sure credit was given where it was due. "If he hadn't helped me prep, neither the cake nor the cookies would have turned out this good." I smiled genuinely at Keigan, and he smiled right back.
After that, the dining room fell into a comfortable silence as we finished eating. Since Keifer and I had napped until around 7:00 PM, it was already pitch black outside. Keigan and Keiran decided to head straight to bed early because they were exhausted from school. Seriously, their school is so cruel for making students take extra classes on a Saturday!
With the younger brothers asleep, Keifer and I headed over to the home cinema room. I decided to put on a movie called A Werewolf Boy—it is an absolutely awesome movie.
"Do you really want to watch this?" Keifer asked, raising an eyebrow as if he was judging my choice.
"Shut up, don't disturb me, and just let me watch," I snapped playfully.
He instantly stopped talking. He sat right beside me on the theater seat, crossing his arms tightly over his chest and letting his legs hang down. But after a few minutes, I noticed he hadn't moved an inch or said a single word. I glanced over at him and realized he was completely sulking. Oh my god. Mark Keifer Watson, the literal CEO of the Watson Company, was actually throwing a silent tantrum just because I told him to shut up!
I burst out laughing at his ridiculous expression, but he didn't give me any reaction at all. He just kept staring straight ahead. Trying to cheer him up, I moved closer and locked my arm through his, but he still acted like a statue. I pulled away, reached up, and cupped his face with both hands, forcing him to look at me. Except, he didn't. He gently but firmly brushed my hands away from his cheeks and turned his eyes right back to the screen.
Wait, is he actually ignoring me right now? Refusing to back down, I reached out and cupped his face a second time. This time, I didn't let go until he looked straight into my eyes.
"Oh, my sulking baby, I'm sorry for being rude," I apologized, softening my voice.
He just gave me a stiff, silent nod. No smile. No words. Nothing.
"Are you seriously mad at me?" I asked, pushing his shoulder.
He just shook his head slightly and went right back to watching the movie. Okay, it was completely obvious now—he wasn't just sulking, he was genuinely mad at me. Fine! If that's how he wanted to play, I was going to handle this my way: by completely ignoring him right back. I turned my attention back to the screen and focused entirely on the movie.
The moment the credits started rolling, I stood up immediately and marched out of the cinema room, heading straight to our bedroom before he could even stand up. He looked a bit stunned by my sudden exit, but I didn't care. I slammed the bedroom door shut behind me and flopped heavily onto the bed.
A moment later, Keifer entered. Unlike me, he closed the door quietly and carefully. He walked over and lay down on the mattress beside me, leaving us face-to-face. Still annoyed, I instantly flipped over, turning my back completely toward him.
He reached out and tried to wrap his arm around my waist, but I immediately yanked his hand off. But Keifer wasn't backing away. Every single time I removed his arm, he would wait a second and then wrap it right back around me, over and over again. Losing my patience, I jumped out of the bed entirely, grabbed a pillow, and walked over to the couch in the corner of the room.
I lay down on the narrow couch, covering my eyes with my arm to block him out. From the corner of my eye, I could see him sitting up in bed, staring across the room at me with a worried expression. But I just stubbornly turned my back toward him again, refusing to give in first.
"Jay," he called out, his voice low, but I didn't answer. I heard him get out of bed, and I could feel him standing right over me. "Jayjay," he called out again. I still didn't say a word. Instead, I just wiggled further toward the headrest of the couch.
Suddenly, the cushions shifted. He lay down right beside me. Since his couch was oversized, the two of us actually fit perfectly. I scooted over even more to create space, but he just slid closer, wrapping his arm around my waist again. Losing it, I forcefully yanked his arm off and gave him a hard push. The momentum sent him flying straight off the couch, and he landed flat on the floor.
"What is your problem?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.
"My problem is that you are ignoring me," he grumbled, rubbing his lower back as he stood up.
A sudden wave of guilt washed over me for pushing him that hard, but I mentally shook it off. No, I need to stay mad and ignore him, not feel sorry for him. I snatched my pillow from the couch, stormed out of the bedroom, and marched into the guest room right next door. Thanks to a massive window, the room wasn't entirely dark. This time, I closed the door quietly, climbed onto the bed, and lay down. I didn't feel sleepy at all, but I forced my eyes shut anyway.
After a little while, the door clicked open. I didn't even need to look to know who it was. Deciding to pretend I was fast asleep, I peeked through my eyelashes just a tiny bit so he wouldn't notice. Keifer walked over, holding a thick blanket. He gently spread the blanket over me, climbed onto the mattress, and—of course—wrapped his arm right around my waist again.
Argh! Why on earth won't he just give up?! Then it hit me. This was Keifer. Mark Keifer Watson. The man who literally never gives up on anything. Well, guess what? I am Jayjay, and I don't give up either. I snapped my eyes wide open. He already had his eyes closed, looking completely peaceful. Wow. The nerve of this guy! Snatching my sleep away and then having the audacity to sleep peacefully right next to me? Not going to happen. I aggressively yanked his arm off me.
Keifer opened his eyes, looking genuinely annoyed now. But I didn't care. I grabbed my pillow for the second time and marched right back into his master bedroom, flopping back onto the couch.
A moment later, he followed me in. He was just about to lie down on the couch beside me again when I held up a hand to stop him.
"Stay right there," I warned. "If you come anywhere near me, I am going home. Right now."
He froze in his tracks.
"Go to the bed," I ordered. He didn't budge. "Go!" I repeated, but he still stood there like a statue. "Are you going to go or not?!" I snapped, his stubbornness seriously annoying me. I stood up from the couch, pointing a finger at the bed.
He let out a defeated sigh. "I can't let you sleep on the couch. If you don't want to sleep with me, fine. You sleep on the bed, and I'll sleep here."
Without waiting for my reply, he lay down on the narrow couch. Realizing I had no other choice and had technically won the bed, I walked over to the mattress and lay down. I turned my back toward him, pulled the sheets up, and tried my best to finally fall asleep.
I tossed and turned, but I just couldn't fall asleep. The nagging thought kept crossing my mind that his back was going to be completely sore from sleeping on that couch.
"Keifer," I called out softly into the quiet room.
"Hmm?" he replied, his voice muffled, still not looking in my direction.
"Come to the bed," I said gently.
This time, he actually turned his head to look at me. "Why? I thought you didn't want me sleeping anywhere next to you?" he asked sarcastically, before turning his back on me again.
THE AUDACITY!!!! I wanted to scream, but I forced myself to stay soft for now. Throwing off the covers, I got out of bed and walked over to the couch. Without saying a single word, I lay down right beside him on the narrow cushions, wrapping my arm tightly around his waist and burying my face into his broad back.
"Come to the bed," I whispered softly against his shirt. "Please, Keifer..." I whispered again.
He sat straight up, finally giving in. "Okay," he muttered.
I stood up from the couch, and we both walked back over to the bed. He lay down on his side of the mattress, and I lay down on mine. He was lying completely straight—like, literally stiff as a board—and then he intentionally turned his back on me.
Rolling my eyes, I scooted closer and closer to his side until the distance disappeared. I wrapped my arm around him again, burying my face into his back just like I had on the couch. He didn't turn around or move an inch. But as I held him close, a sharp, bitter scent hit my nose. I took a sniff. It was the distinct, unmistakable smell of cigarette smoke.
Did he... he definitely did.
"You started smoking again, didn't you?!" I snapped. I brought my hand up and hit him hard on the back.
Furious that he had broken his promise, I instantly yanked my arm away from his waist, flipped over to the far edge of the mattress, and slammed my back toward him.
"AHHHH!" he cried out, sitting up quickly while trying to reach around and look at his back. "Jay, are you seriously forgetting that I got shot there?!"
I snapped into a sitting position, my eyes widening as the memory of the kidnapping with Sato and everything else came rushing back. Dang it, I completely forgot that he actually got shot that day! "Sorry! Does it hurt a lot?" I asked, looking at him with instant regret.
"No, it doesn't hurt that much," he muttered, calming down. "But I seriously did not smoke, Jay."
"Then why the hell do you smell exactly like cigarettes?!" I demanded, crossing my arms.
"It was Angelo! He was the one smoking during our talk," he explained, lifting his shirt to sniff himself. "I don't even smell like cigarettes."
"Your nose is completely blocked, because you definitely do smell like cigarettes" I countered.
Still a little annoyed, I lay back down on the mattress and turned my back on him once again. Keifer let out a sigh, lay down as well, and turned his back toward me too.
I stared into the dark room, feeling completely restless. I didn't even have my giant Snorlax plushie here with me, which meant Keifer was the only option left to be my substitute Snorlax. Giving up on the silent war, I scooted across the bed, closed the distance between us, and wrapped my arm around him again.
I hugged him tightly from behind. I swear, if my real Snorlax was here right now, I would have gladly ignored this idiot for the rest of the night! Hugging him tightly while deeply regretting my life choice of leaving my plushie at home, I finally drifted off to sleep.
I woke up in the absolute middle of the night, and my eyes snapped open as I suddenly remembered the secret recording. I needed to listen to what Keifer and my brothers had talked about. I noticed that Keifer's arms were now wrapped tightly around me, holding me close. Quietly, I wriggled out of his grip, grabbed my phone, and snuck downstairs into the dim kitchen.
I unlocked my phone, plugged in my earphones, and pressed play on the audio recording.
"So, what about the hit list?" Aries' voice echoed through the speaker.
"Yuri said that he wouldn't even think of doing something like that," Kuya Angelo replied.
"Wait, did Yuri avoid eye contact while saying that, or did he look overconfident?" Percy asked, his tone surprisingly serious.
"He didn't avoid eye contact, and he didn't look overconfident either. Why?" Kuya asked, sounding confused.
"Because whenever he does either of those things, it means he's lying," Keifer's voice cut in calmly. "His parents actually got divorced recently." "What?!" the other three exclaimed in unison.
"They don't have his mother around anymore, but Yuri still thinks they do," Keifer explained.
"Then let's just tell him the truth," Percy suggested.
"No, I have another plan," Kuya Angelo countered.
"We should leave now before Jayjay suspects anything," Aries said.
After that, everything on the audio file went completely quiet. They had obviously left the house.
I turned off the recording and just stood there, staring blankly at the kitchen wall. What plan? What is Kuya Angelo planning to do? My mind was racing, so I grabbed a glass from the cupboard to get a drink of water. I placed the glass under the water dispenser, but my brain was so deeply trapped in thoughts about Yuri, his mother, and my brothers' secret plan that I completely zoned out.
Suddenly, a firm hand gripped my wrist, breaking my trance. I blinked, looking down in confusion. It was Keifer.
Then I looked at my other hand. I was literally holding the glass completely upside down, and the water was pouring straight onto the kitchen floor instead of into the glass. Keifer let go of my wrist the moment he saw I finally realized what a mess I was making. I grabbed some tissues and started cleaning up the mess I made while the king did the same. He finished and went upstairs while I quickly properly filled my glass to drink some water, and headed back upstairs.
When I walked back into the bedroom, I saw Keifer already lying down on the mattress. He had his back turned completely toward my side of the bed again. Argh, this guy is unbelievable! I marched over to my side, climbed into bed, and lay down beside him, making sure not to touch him at all this time. Staring into the darkness, it didn't take long before I drifted back into a light sleep.
Keifer'sPOV
This time, she didn't move from her side of the mattress at all. Instead, she had tightly hugged her own pillow. Seeing her like that made a wave of regret hit me. Did I go a little too far with the silent treatment? I absolutely did. Sighing softly, I closed the distance between us, slid closer to Jay, and wrapped my arms around her from behind.
"Fries... my first love..." she muttered sleepily.
I froze. What did she just say? Fries? First love? LOVE?! I knew I was probably overreacting to a literal dream, but still! The King of Ulupongs does not like being secondary to a potato. But how would I fight fries? By eating them? Or dipping them in the hot sauce?
Before I could process my sudden jealousy, she suddenly shifted her position, rolling over so quickly that her forehead bumped right into mine with a soft thud.
"Ouch," she mumbled, slowly opening her eyes. She rubbed her forehead sleepily, blinking a few times until her vision cleared. Then, her gaze dropped down to my arms, which were still securely wrapped around her waist. Without a single word, she aggressively yanked my hands off her, flipped right back around, and slammed her back toward me again.
Seriously? Is this silent war going to start all over again? I didn't push it. I waited patiently in the dark for a while, counting the minutes until the tension in her shoulders faded. The moment I heard her soft, rhythmic snoring, I smiled to myself, slid close again, and wrapped my arms tightly around her. Before I knew it, I fell asleep too. I guess I had officially gotten addicted to holding her like this.
The End 🌸.