Jay's POV
I woke up to a sensation that made my entire lower abdomen feel like it was being wrung out like a wet towel. I lay frozen under the sheets, waiting for the wave of heat to pass, but instead, a familiar, deep, and hollow ache began to radiate through my lower back. My stomach crumbled with a sudden, violent twist.
"Oops... it's my date, maybe," I muttered under my breath, my voice thick with sleep and immediate dread..
The realization hit me faster than the pain. Throwing the blanket aside, I scrambled out of bed, holding my stomach as a sharp cramp made me stumble.
I practically ran to the washroom, my breath coming in short, ragged gasps. I checked, and sure enough, my prediction was right. It was a period. And judging by the instant, blinding flash of pain shooting down my thighs, it was going to be one of the worst ones.
I leaned against the sink, my forehead pressing against the cold mirror. The pain hit me so hard my vision blurred for a second. Every muscle in my torso felt tightly coiled, ready to snap. I didn't want to go to school.
Everything in me screamed to crawl back into bed, curl into a tight ball, and sleep for the next twenty-four hours.
But I couldn't. Not today.
Yesterday we had finally broken Emelda's resistance in that abandoned storage shed. We had the recording. We had the concrete proof that Mykle and Ella were the puppet masters behind the entire setup to frame Cin. We had to reveal them today. I couldn't let my own body hold Section E back from clearing Cin's name completely.
I decided right then and there not to tell Jane about it today. If Jane found out I was experiencing this level of agonizing dysmenorrhea, she wouldn't allow me to step a single foot outside the house.
She would lock the door, force me into bed, and call a complete strike on the operation.
Somehow, through sheer willpower and a lot of agonizing groans, I managed to get dressed.
Every movement felt like dragging heavy chains. My clothes felt restrictive, and even the simple act of buttoning my uniform felt like a monumental task.
Worse, as I pulled my bag over my shoulder, the straps dug into my collarbones, and my friends—my own joints and muscles—were hurting me so hard. It felt like a deep, arthritic ache had settled into my bones overnight.
I practically dragged my feet down the stairs, one agonizing step at a time, keeping my teeth clenched so I wouldn't make a sound. I walked into the dining area and sat down at the breakfast table.
The smell of hot food hit my nose, and my stomach immediately recoiled. A wave of intense nausea washed over me. Looking at the plate, I realized I didn't want to eat a single bite. The thought of chewing made me feel sicker.
I pushed the chair back and turned around to leave the table, intending to just wait by the door.
Before I could take two steps, Jane appeared right in front of me, her arms crossed and an all-knowing look on her face.
"I know it's your period," Jane said smoothly, her eyes scanning my pale face and the way my hand was subtly resting over my abdomen. "And I also know it is important for you to go to school today, so I won't say anything to stop you. Just take care of yourself."
I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding, giving her a weak, grateful nod. But knowing I could go didn't solve the immediate logistical nightmare.
My limbs felt like lead; I had absolutely no energy to drive my car. To make matters worse, Jane didn't have her driving license yet. And God knows I absolutely did not want to share a car or a ride with Ella after what we discovered.
Jane immediately pulled out her phone. "I'll call Yuri."
She dialed Yuri's number, but after a few long seconds, she sighed in frustration. "His phone is not reaching out. It's totally unavailable."
"What do we do?" I wheezed, another cramp ripping through my midsection.
"I'm calling Tita Serina," Jane decided, typing rapidly on her screen. Within two rings, the call connected. Jane put it on speaker so I could hear.
"Hello, good morning, Tita," Jane started, trying to keep her voice steady.
"Good morning, sweetheart!" Tita Serina's warm, cheerful voice echoed through the line. "What happened? Why did you call me at this time?"
"Tita, actually, I need help," Jane replied, looking at me with deep concern. "Jay is on her periods and in a lot of pain. Angelo is out of station, Aries has already went to school, and I don't have the driving license yet. So... if Keifer hadn't left for the school yet, could you ask him to drop us?"
"Sure, baby!" Tita Serina answered without a single second of hesitation. "He hasn't left yet. I will talk to him right away and send him over."
"Thank you so much, Tita," Jane said, her shoulders dropping in relief.
"Take good care of Jay, okay? And call me if you need any more help," Serina reminded her gently.
I leaned in closer to the phone, forcing some energy into my vocal cords. "So sweet of you, Tita..." I murmured into the microphone.
"Oh, Jay-Jay! Hang in there, okay? Keifer will be there soon," she replied before hanging up.
Jane and I moved to the porch, waiting anxiously. Within ten minutes, the familiar roar of an engine signaled his arrival. Keifer arrived with his car, pulling up sharply into the driveway.
He killed the engine, stepped out quickly, and his eyes immediately locked onto me. Seeing my pale face, cold sweat, and hunched posture, his brow furrowed instantly.
"What happened?" Keifer asked, his voice sharp with immediate concern as he walked up to us.
"Nothing... just a little fever," I lied, looking down because I couldn't bear to look into his piercing eyes while feeling this vulnerable.
Keifer stared at me for a long beat.
He clearly knew I was lying, but seeing how exhausted and fragile I looked, he did not push forward or demand the truth. He just opened the passenger door for me. "Sit inside. Let's go."
I shuffled forward and sat in the front seat, leaning my head completely back against the headrest, while Jane sat at behind in the passenger side. The car ride was a blur of throbbing back pain and localized stabs in my gut. Soon, they both reached the school, and the sight of the campus buildings reminded me of the mission ahead.
Fast forward to lunch break. The plan was set in motion. Keifer, Yuri, and the rest of the Section E boys went straight to the principal's office to finally show the recorded video confession of Emelda and blow the roof off Mykle and Ella's conspiracy.
I was supposed to rest. Jane looked at me before she left, noticing how I was shivering slightly despite the heat.
"I'm going to the cafeteria to bring some sugar water for you, Jay. Stay right here," Jane instructed gently before slipping out the door.
I was left completely alone in the classroom. The silence of the empty room was heavy. I sat with my head down on the wooden desk, burying my face in my arms, trying to breathe through a massive wave of cramps that felt like a hot iron pressing into my lower stomach.
Clack. Clack. Thud.
I heard some noise at the classroom doorway. Heavy footsteps. Footsteps that definitely didn't belong to Jane or the Section E boys.
I forced myself to sit up, my vision swimming for a second before adjusting. Standing right inside our classroom door were six boys from Section D. They were standing there, smirking arrogantly, looking around the room like they owned the place.
"What do you want?" I asked, my voice coming out lazily, completely devoid of energy but still retaining my natural edge.
The boy in the front sneered. "Call your dear president and ask him to come back. Tell Keifer he needs to drop whatever he's doing in the administration building and get his ass back here."
I leaned back against my chair, a cold, mocking smile playing on my lips despite the agony in my gut. "And what if I don't?"
One of them smiled, a malicious, ugly expression. "We will also see that."
Before the sentence even fully registered in my brain, they all six suddenly attacked me together, rushing forward and flipping the desks out of the way.
I tried to dodge, but my delayed reflexes caught up to me. I got hit hard across the shoulder and fell flat on the floor. The impact rattled my spine, and my menstrual cramps instantly flared up, causing me much more intense, blinding pain than before.
The physical pain ignited something hot and furious inside my chest. I forced my trembling legs to stand up, wiping a stray strand of hair from my face. I looked at the six of them circling me.
"Six versus one," I whispered, a dark, dangerous smirk forming on my lips. "Interesting."
Even with my body failing me, the muscle memory of a fighter took over. I started fighting back.
One boy tried to grab and punch me squarely in the face, but I intercepted his movement. I stopped his fist mid-air, twisted his hand around until his bones popped, and delivered a swift, brutal kick to his ribs that sent him crashing into the chalkboard.
Another boy tried to tackle me from the side. I shifted my weight, braced myself, and pushed him hard against the heavy teacher's desk, knocking the wind completely out of him.
Suddenly, a hand reached from behind and grabbed my hair violently, yanking my head back. A sharp pain shot through my scalp, but I didn't panic.
I threw my head back, slamming the back of my skull directly into his nose. I heard a satisfying crack, followed by his scream. Spinning around, I hit him badly with a devastating elbow to the jaw, knocking him out cold onto the floor.
I managed to knock out two more in the frantic blur of flying fists and shattering chairs, leaving only two standing. My breathing was ragged, my vision tunneling.
Big mistake.
Taking advantage of my exhaustion, one of the remaining boys stepped in and kicked my stomach hard—right where the cramps were already tearing me apart.
A choked groan of pure agony escaped my lips. I bent over, clutching my abdomen as the world spun violently. The other boy didn't waste a single second; he punched me hard across the jaw, the force of the blow pushing me backward until I fell heavily to the ground.
I tried to push myself up. I planted my palms against the floor, but my body completely refused to cooperate. My cramps were making it worse, sending waves of paralyzing spasms through my core, making it impossible to stand up. I couldn't move.
Seeing me down and hearing the distant sounds of students returning from lunch, the remaining boys ran out of the classroom, taking advantage of the empty hallway to escape.
The ceiling of the classroom began to rotate. The pain in my stomach and my face merged into a dark, heavy weight. My eyelids felt like boulders. The last thing I felt was the cold floor against my cheek before everything went completely black, and I fainted into the darkness.
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Jane's POV
I had noticed Jay's face the moment she walked into the dining area at the breakfast table this morning. Her skin was unusually pale, her lips were dry, and she was moving with a rigid, guarded posture that she only used when she was trying to hide severe physical distress.
When she looked at the breakfast plate with absolute revulsion and turned around to leave, the pieces immediately clicked in my mind.
I remembered her calendar. It's her date.
I knew exactly what she was going through. Jay's menstrual cramps were never normal; they were violent, debilitating episodes that usually left her bedridden
But I also knew her stubbornness. With the recording of Emelda's confession burning a hole in our pockets, there was no way she would stay home. I went up to her, comforted her as best as I could, and let her know I wouldn't fight her on going to school, as long as she promised to take care.
The logistics of getting to school, however, quickly became a stressful mess. Jay couldn't drive, I didn't have my license yet, and traveling with Ella was completely out of the question.
My frustration only mounted when I tried calling Yuri, only for his phone to continuously show a dead line. Where the hell is he when we actually need him? I thought, deeply disappointed that Yuri didn't pick up the call.
Thankfully, Tita Serina came through, promising to send Keifer. When Keifer's car pulled up, I watched his expression closely from the porch.
The moment his eyes fell on Jay, I saw real, unadulterated worry flash in his eyes. He tried to mask it with his usual stern demeanor, but the quickness of his movements and the way he carefully watched her step into the car spoke volumes. Seeing how much he genuinely cared for her made me feel an immense wave of happiness for Jay.She deserved someone who noticed the small details.
Fast forward to lunchtime. The boys had marched off to the principal's office like a small army, determined to put an end to Mykle and Ella's games once and for all.
Jay looked entirely drained, sitting at her desk with her head buried in her arms. I knew her blood sugar was dropping rapidly alongside the pain.
"I'll be right back, Jay. I'm getting you some sugar water," I told her, rushing down to the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was crowded, and it took me longer than expected to get a cup of warm water mixed with sugar. Clutching the plastic cup carefully so it wouldn't spill, I hurried back up the stairs toward the Section E wing.
As I turned the corner into our hallway, I saw three boys from Section D running out of our classroom door, looking panicked and glancing over their shoulders before sprinting down the opposite stairwell. Panic immediately spiked in my chest.
I dropped all pretense of walking and ran to the door. When I entered the classroom, the sight before me made my heart drop straight into my stomach.
The room was in complete disarray. Desks were overturned, chairs were smashed, and there, in the middle of the wreckage, was Jay. She was on her knees, her body trembling violently, trying to hold herself up with one weak hand while the other clutched her stomach. Her face was devoid of color, and her eyes were fluttering shut. She was about to faint.
"JAY!" I shouted, the cup slipping from my hands, shattering on the floor as the sugar water splashed everywhere.
I threw myself across the room, catching her right as her arms gave out, pulling her limp body against my lap.
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Keifer's POV
My morning had started with a direct order from my mom. She had knocked on my door, telling me that Jane had called and that Jay was in severe pain and needed a ride to school. I didn't care about the details; I just grabbed my keys and left.
When I arrived at their house and saw Jay standing on the porch, my chest tightened. She looked fragile—a word I never thought I would use to describe the fiercest girl I knew.
There was a visible tremor in her hands, and she looked like she was carrying the weight of the world. I asked her what was wrong, but she looked away and mumbled something about a "little fever."
She refused to answer me honestly. I didn't push it because I knew her pride, but I knew something was wrong. Something serious. The entire drive to school, I kept checking her through the rearview mirror, watching her lean her head back with her eyes closed, her jaw clenched in silent endurance.
During lunch, the mission took priority. Yuri, David, Cin, and the rest of the Section E boys accompanied me straight to the principal's office. We slammed the recording of Emelda's confession onto the desk, forcing the administration to face the undeniable proof of Mykle and Ella's malicious framing of Cin. The principal was cornered, stuttering out promises of immediate suspensions and an official investigation.
With the victory finally secured, we walked out of the administration building, heading back toward the Section E classroom to tell Jay the good news.
We were just crossing the threshold of the building corridor when a piercing, terrified scream echoed from the upper floor.
It was Jane.
My heart completely stopped for a fraction of a second before racing into overdrive. Yuri and I didn't even exchange words; we just broke into a full sprint, tearing up the stairs three steps at a time, the rest of the Section E boys hot on our heels.
We slammed into the Section E classroom, and the scene inside turned my blood to absolute ice.
The classroom looked like a war zone. Overturned furniture was scattered everywhere, and Jane was sitting on the floor, frantically holding an unconscious, limp Jay in her arms, trying desperately to wake her up.
Cin and David ran straight to their sides, dropping to their knees.
"What happened?! Jane, what the hell happened?!" Cin cried out, his voice shaking with terror as he looked at Jay's pale face.
"I don't know!" Jane yelled back, tears streaming down her face as she rubbed Jay's cold hands. "When I came back from the cafeteria, some boys from Section D were running out, and Jay was already about to faint! She's completely unresponsive!"
My jaw clenched so hard I felt a muscle snap in my face. A wave of raw, murderous anger washed over me, hotter than anything I had ever felt in my life. Section D. They had waited until she was completely alone.
They had targeted her when she was already sick. I wanted to find those motherfuckers right now and beat them until they couldn't stand.
But looking at Jay's unmoving form, I knew my priority.
I pushed past the boys, knelt down, and carefully but swiftly slid my arms under her back and knees. I carried Jay in my arms, lifting her effortlessly against my chest. Her head rolled limply against my shoulder, her breathing dangerously shallow.
"Get out of the way!" I roared at the crowd gathering in the hallway.
I ran down the corridor, carrying her straight to the school clinic, with Jane, Yuri, and the rest of the boys sprinting right behind me. I burst through the clinic doors, yelling for the school doctor.
The doctor immediately directed me to place her on the emergency cot, rushing over with a stethoscope while the nurse began checking her vitals.
After a tense, harrowing examination where the doctor checked her pulse and looked over her symptoms, the nurse turned around and looked directly at Jane.
"Is she on her periods right now?" the nurse asked quietly.
Jane nodded quickly, wiping her tears. "Yes. She's been in severe pain since this morning."
The nurse closed the privacy curtain slightly and looked at the crowd of frantic boys packing the small clinic room. "All of you need to go out right now. Give her some space to breathe."
We were shoved out into the narrow clinic hallway, the door closing firmly in our faces. The tension in the hallway was thick enough to cut with a knife.
Felix turned to Jane, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Was it because of her periods? Can someone actually faint just from that?"
Josh shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck absentmindedly. "I mean, it's normal for girls, right? Why would she faint just from a regular cycle?"
Jane snapped. She turned on Josh like a lioness protecting her cub, her eyes flashing with pure rage. "Some things are not the same for everyone, Josh! You don't know a damn thing about the amount of pain she carries!"
Josh flinched, his hands flying up defensively. "Hey, I didn't mean it like that, I just thought—"
He tried to say anything more, but Yuri and I turned our heads simultaneously, directing an absolute, deathly glare straight at him. The sheer malice in our eyes cut Josh off mid-sentence, causing him to take a step back and shut his mouth completely.
The clinic door clicked open, and the nurse stepped out, holding a medical chart. We all surrounded her instantly.
"How is she?" I demanded, my voice dangerously low.
The nurse sighed, her expression turning incredibly grave. "Someone hit her on the stomach hard. We found a severe bruise forming right over her abdomen. Due to the trauma of that blow combined with her extreme period cramps, severe stress, and immense physical pain, her body couldn't handle it, and she fainted. Let her rest here for half an hour until the painkillers kick in."
Jane nodded weakly, her hands trembling.
I walked over to the clinic window, looking inside through the small glass pane at Jay's pale, sleeping face. My fists clenched until my knuckles turned white and my nails cut into my palms.
They kicked her in the stomach. They knew she was a girl, they knew she was vulnerable, and they targeted the one place that would break her.
"I swear to God," I whispered, the words vibrating with absolute malice against the glass. "I will find every single one of them. I will punish those boys until they beg for mercy. They will regret ever stepping foot into Section E."
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Yuri's POV
The victory in the principal's office had felt sweet, but it evaporated into thin air the exact moment Jane's scream ripped through the building.We ran like madmen.
When we slammed into that room, seeing Jay unconscious on the floor sent a surge of pure panic straight to my brain. My mind scrambled, trying to process the overturned desks and the shattered cup on the floor.
I watched Keifer lift her up and run, my legs moving on pure instinct as we followed him to the clinic.The entire time we stood outside the clinic doors, my heart was hammering against my ribs.
Hearing Felix and Josh dismiss her condition as a "normal girl thing" made a sickening anger bubble up in my throat. I glared Josh down into absolute silence, wanting nothing more than to throw a punch just to vent the terrifying anxiety gripping my chest.
Then the nurse came out. Her words made my blood run completely cold. Someone hit her on the stomach hard.They hadn't just fought her. They had targeted her abdomen while she was already dealing with debilitating cramps. They had deliberately used her anatomy against her to break her down.
Jane let out a long, shaky exhale, her shoulders trembling as she absorbed the nurse's words. Slowly, she raised her head.
The crying, frantic girl from a few minutes ago was gone. In her place was a cold, calculating fury that matched the darkness in my own chest.Jane looked directly at Keifer and then shifted her gaze straight to me.
"I want those bastards," Jane said, her voice dropping to a deadly, quiet whisper that sent a chill down the hallway. "Find them, please."
She stepped closer to us, her eyes narrowing into slits of pure, unadulterated hatred.
"I don't care what it takes, Yuri. I don't care who they are or who is protecting them in Section D. Anyone who dares to lay a single finger on Jay... anyone who thinks they can hurt her and walk away clean... I will personally make sure they suffer tenfold. Break their hands. Break their legs. Bring them to me, or deal with them yourself, but I want them broken."
I looked at Jane, seeing the raw, blinding anger burning in her eyes, reflecting the exact same murderous intent that was currently clawing at my insides.A dark, dangerous smile slowly crept onto my face, and I cracked my knuckles one by one.
"Don't worry, Jane," I replied, my voice echoing with a promise of pure violence. "They won't even make it to the school gates. Section D is going to learn exactly what happens when you touch the Mutya of Section E."