Jay's POV
The air in the Watsons' lounge was thick with the scent of expensive popcorn and the lingering, frantic energy of the morning's surprise. I sat on the edge of the plush rug, my fingers buried deep into the soft fur of the giant Snorlax Keifer had given me. It felt like a shield.
"Horror it is," Cin declared, his thumb hovering over the play button.
My heart did a slow, heavy thud against my ribs. Horror. To them, it was just jump-scares and fake blood. To me, it was a sensory trigger to a room I never wanted to visit again. I felt the phantom cold of the cellar floor creeping up my spine.
"No. Absolutely not. Anything but that," I said, crossing my arms over my Snorlax.
"Are you scared?" Keifer's voice was a low drawl. He was sitting right next to me, his shoulder almost brushing mine. I could see the challenge in his eyes—he was testing the "warrior" he'd seen the night before.
"Nope," I lied, the word popping like a bubble of false bravado. I wasn't going to let them see me flinch. Not after yesterday.
"Right. Prove it then," Cin chimed in, hitting 'Play' on a movie that looked like it involved far too many dark hallways and jump scares.
I settled between Keifer and Keiren. To my left, Keifer was a pillar of arrogant heat; to my right, Keiren was a small, vibrating ball of excitement. Behind us, Jane sat on the mattress, her posture regal but her eyes wary.
The lights died. The massive screen flickered to life, casting jagged, ghostly shadows across the room.
Ten minutes in, the "clinical silence" I'd felt earlier returned. The movie was quiet—too quiet. Then, a mangled figure shrieked across the screen. My nervous system, already frayed to a single thread, simply snapped.
Before I could think, I lunged toward the nearest source of safety. I didn't just move; I collided with Keifer, my face burying itself in the crook of his neck, my hands fist-hooked into his hoodie. I was shaking, the smell of his sandalwood cologne the only thing keeping the "red mist" at bay.
On my other side, Keiren let out a whimper and dived into my lap, his small arms wrapping around my waist. We were a tangled mess of fear.
"Look at that," Eren teased, his voice sounding far away through the roaring in my ears. "The lioness has a hiding spot."
"Protection services are in high demand tonight!" Felix teased.
I didn't care.I just held on tighter, the smell of Keifer's expensive cologne grounding me against the phantom screams on the screen. I just needed the world to be solid.
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Yuri's POV
I usually preferred the shadows, the role of the observer. But when the girl on the screen screamed, the reality in the room shifted.
I watched the screen, but my focus was on the girl behind the boys. Jane. She always carried herself like a queen on a chessboard—precise, cold, and untouchable.
But as the movie's tension coiled tighter, I saw the mask slip. Her breathing became shallow. When the jump-scare hit, she didn't scream. She made a soft, broken sound and lunged forward.I felt two slender arms wrap around my shoulders, and the sudden, frantic heat of Jane's breath against my neck.
Suddenly, my world was full of her. Jane's arms locked around my neck, her forehead pressing into the back of my shoulder. She was shivering—not just a little, but a deep, bone-deep tremor.
My first instinct was to pull away; I didn't do "physical contact." But then I felt her heart racing against my back like a trapped bird.
I didn't move. I didn't tease her like the others. I simply stayed still, letting her realize she was safe. Gradually, the movie's noise became a background hum. Jane's grip loosened, but she didn't pull away.
I just leaned back slightly, offering my strength as an anchor.
Slowly, the tension left her limbs. The frantic pounding of her heart slowed to a steady rhythm. Her head became heavy on my shoulder, her hair smelling like vanilla and rain. She had fallen asleep. The "Ice Queen" had melted in the dark, and for reasons I couldn't explain, I felt a fierce need to make sure the room stayed quiet.
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Keifer's POV
My heart was doing something weird. It wasn't the movie—I'd seen worse. It was the fact that Jay was currently using my ribcage as a pillow.
I had expected Jay to be the one laughing at the screen. Instead, I found myself holding a girl who felt like she was trying to disappear into my chest.
She looked... different. In the dim light, the sharp edges of her personality had melted away. Her eyelashes cast long shadows on her cheeks, and her mouth was slightly parted. She looked peaceful. It was a jarring contrast to the girl who had tried to take my head off in the hallway.
Her grip on my hoodie was white-knuckled. I could feel her breath, hot and jagged, against my collarbone. It wasn't the "fan-girl" touch I was used to; it was the desperate grasp of someone drowning.
Keiren was fast asleep on her other side, his head in her lap. I looked around the room. The teasing had stopped because everyone else was crashing. Cin was snoring into a cushion; Edrix was sprawled out like a starfish.
I tried to shift my arm, which was falling asleep, but Jay made a tiny, soft sound in her sleep and huddled closer. I froze.
"Jay?" I whispered, my voice lost in the movie's soundtrack.
She didn't answer. She just held on. Eventually, the adrenaline that had kept her upright for two days finally ran dry. Her grip loosened. Her head tilted, resting fully against my shoulder.
I looked down at her. In the flickering blue light, the "menace" I'd fought with was gone.
The weight of them—the trust of it—hit me harder than Aries' punch ever could. My jaw, which had been tight with pride all day, finally relaxed.
I leaned my head back against the sofa, my arm instinctively curling around her to keep her warm. One by one, the others drifted off, but as I closed my eyes, all I could feel was the soft, steady rise and fall of her chest against mine.
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Serina's POV
I walked into the lounge at 2:00 AM to check on them, expecting to find a mess of spilled soda and loud video games. Instead, I found a sight that made my breath catch.
They were all piled together. My sons, Keifer and Keiren, were curled around Jay. Even Keigan had joined the pile at the foot of the mattress. It was a tangle of limbs and blankets.
I looked at Jay's sleeping face. There was a nagging familiarity in the curve of her brow, the stubborn set of her jaw even in sleep.
Seeing her there—tucked between my sons, protected and protecting—felt right. It felt like a piece of the Watson family that had been missing for years had finally walked through the front door.
She belongs with us, I didn't just want her as a guest; I wanted her as a permanent fixture. I wanted her to be part of this family, to help balance the chaos of my boys with her fire.I thought, a quiet resolve settling in my chest. I won't let her be a ghost anymore.
I quietly draped a blanket over them, lingering for a moment to brush a stray hair from her forehead. She stirred slightly, murmuring something incoherent, and Keifer, even in his sleep, pulled her closer. I smiled and slipped away.
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Jane's POV
Light. Too much light.
I woke up to the smell of coffee and the sound of birds chirping outside the heavy curtains. My neck felt stiff, and I realized I wasn't on my mattress. I was leaning against something warm and solid.
I opened my eyes, my mind foggy. I felt a strange warmth against my cheek. I realized I wasn't on my mattress. I was... leaning on a person.
I looked up. Yuri's face was inches from mine, his eyes closed, his expression unusually serene. I was draped across him like a blanket.
"Oh my god," I breathed, my face erupting in a heat so intense it felt like a fever.
I scrambled back, my face heating up instantly. I had spent the night draped over the guys I can't stay with for a second.
Most of the room was still dead to the world, but Keigan was sitting up.
One by one, the others started to stir. The "kings" of Section E looked considerably less regal with bedhead and drool on their shirts.
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Keifer's POV
I woke up slow. My shoulder was numb, but I didn't care. Jay was still there, her head now resting on Keiren's small shoulder as they both slept in a heap.
I tried to shift, to get some feeling back in my arm, but the movement was enough.
Jay's eyes didn't just open; they ignited.
In a split second, she wasn't the peaceful girl from the night before. She was a weapon.
I stopped, hovering an inch from the floor. I didn't want to break the peace.
Mom walked in. "Blaster, dear, help me move Keiren so Jay can stand up."
Blaster nodded and walked over. He reached out to lift Keiren from Jay's lap.
In a heartbeat, the peace vanished.
Jay's reaction was visceral.Before Blaster's hand could even touch Keiren, Jay had bolted upright.
Her hand shot out like a viper, catching Blaster's wrist in a grip that made his bones creak. Her other hand was already a fist, pulled back, aimed with lethal precision at his throat.
"Don't touch him," she hissed, her voice a rasping growl.
"Jay! It's okay! It's just Blaster!" I yelled, reaching out to grab her shoulder.
She froze. She looked at Blaster's pained face, then at my mother, then at her own trembling hands. The "soldier" faded, replaced by a girl who looked utterly horrified.
"Sorry," she whispered, her voice cracking. "I... I didn't... I'm sorry."
"Remind me never to wake you up without a 10-foot pole," Blaster joked, trying to hide how much his wrist probably hurt.
She didn't laugh. She stood up and bolted for the stairs. I watched her go, a cold realization sinking in. That wasn't a nightmare. That wasn't just a "bad sleeper" reaction. That was a reflex born from something much darker. My gut twisted. Whatever she had been through, it was worse than I imagined.
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Jay's POV
By lunch, the house was buzzing again. Aries and his crew were still here—apparently, a teacher's meeting had gifted us a free day. We sat around the massive outdoor table, the sun trying to pretend that the shadows of the night before didn't exist.
"I'm bored," Rakki said, spinning a spoon. "Let's play. Truth or Dare. No holds barred."
The atmosphere shifted. The Section E boys leaned in, their eyes glinting with the chance to finally pry into the mystery of "Jay."
I looked at Jane, who gave me a cautious nod. I looked at Keifer, who was watching me with a new, somber intensity.
"Fine," I said, my voice steadying. "Spin it." "But if anyone asks about my bra size or who I like, I'm throwing them in the pool."
"Deal," Cin grinned, spinning an empty soda bottle in the center of the table. "Let the chaos begin."
The bottle whirled on the glass table, slowing down ....
A/n
Thanking you so much guys for completing the target sooner that I thought. It means a lot to me.
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