Jayjay'sPOV
It is finally lunch time!!!!!!!
"Baby, I want that," I said to Keifer completely on instinct, pointing directly at one of the delicious items on the cafeteria menu.
Keifer froze instantly. He blinked, turning his head slowly to look at me. "What did you just call me?"
The exact moment the words left my lips, reality smacked me in the face. My eyes widened in pure horror as I realized what I had just said. Oh my god. I wanted to violently smash my head against the table all over again—except this time, it would be on a sticky, crowded cafeteria table.
"Nothing," I squeaked, looking away quickly.
"Say it one more time," he demanded, a massive, incredibly rare smile spreading across his handsome face.
"What?" I played dumb, my cheeks already warming up.
"Just one 'baby,' please," he pleaded softly, his dark eyes practically sparkling.
I looked at how eager he was and sighed, giving in. "Okay... baby."
Keifer nodded vigorously, looking entirely satisfied. He practically floated over to the cafeteria counter and returned a few moments later carrying a tray absolutely loaded with a mountain of food.
"Here you go," he said smoothly, carefully placing the heavy tray directly in front of me.
"Thanks, Keif," I said, immediately digging into the food. I looked up and noticed he wasn't even eating; he was just sitting there, staring at me with an adoring gaze. Realizing what he wanted, I swallowed and smiled through a full mouth. "Ohh... thanks, baby."
His smile widened to maximum capacity as he leaned back in his chair, looking like the absolute happiest guy in the entire universe. It was official—Mark Keifer Watson was entirely wrapped around my little finger, and all it took to completely break his cool exterior was a single, simple word.
"You're going to choke if you keep talking with your mouth full, babe," he teased softly. Leaning forward, he grabbed a clean napkin and gently wiped a bit of stray sauce from the corner of my lip.
My cheeks instantly flared up, turning a bright, blushing pink rose color. I quickly ducked my head down toward my plate, aggressively shoving another spoonful of food into my mouth to hide my massive, goofy smile.
Before I could escape, Keifer reached over. Gently, he pinched both of my chubby cheeks between his index fingers and thumbs.
"Look at this. This baby of mine is just so cute," he cooed, talking to me in a playful voice as if I were a literal child.
"I'm trying to eat! Stop it!" I laughed, trying to swat his hands away. He finally let go, his deep, rumbling laughter echoing beside me.
"Oh, look at that! Someone is openly feeding each other in broad daylight," Aries' loud, booming voice suddenly echoed through the crowded cafeteria.
I whipped my head around and saw the entire squad walking toward our table, lunch trays in hand. Aries had a massive, teasing smirk plastered across his face, while Ella walked right beside him, shaking her head at his ridiculous antics.
Denzel and Grace sat down directly across from us, followed closely by Yuri and Rakki, who were still quietly bickering under their breaths about their chaotic whiteboard disaster from earlier.
"Shut up, Aries, and just eat your lunch," Keifer said smoothly. His voice immediately dropped right back into his usual cool, calm, and intimidating tone. But he didn't move an inch away from me; instead, he casually rested his long arm along the back of my chair, completely marking his territory in front of everyone.
"Seriously, though, you two are getting way too sweet," David joked, sliding into the empty seat next to Calix. "My teeth are literally going to rot just from sitting here watching you guys."
"Oh, leave them alone," Ella chimed in with a happy giggle, casually stealing a stray fry straight off Aries' plate. "They're fiancés, remember? They are officially allowed to be all lovey-dovey."
At the mention of the word fiancé, Keifer's eyes softened instantly. He looked down at me, flashing that rare, breathtakingly sweet smile that always made my knees go weak. I could feel my heart doing frantic backflips against my ribs.
"Anyway, are we still on for the group study session later this afternoon?" Grace asked, looking up from her phone screen.
"Count me out," Yuri groaned immediately, rubbing the back of his neck where Rakki had probably violently smacked him earlier. "My brain is still heavily recovering from Professor Kim-Se-Young's accounting nightmare."
"You wouldn't have survived that nightmare at all if I hadn't practically written down the entire solution for you," Rakki huffed, crossing her arms tightly over her chest and turning her back to him.
"But love, I used your final answer anyway! Even though it was wrong, I still wrote it! That shows true dedication!" Yuri defended himself dramatically, leaning directly into her personal space.
"Yeah, dedication to failing the course together," David snickered from the end of the table.
THWACK.
"Ow!" David winced, earning himself a sharp, painful kick under the table from Freya.
As the large table completely erupted into its usual, comforting chaos of loud laughter, shouting, and stolen food, I felt a gentle, reassuring squeeze on my shoulder. I looked up, meeting Keifer's warm, dark eyes. He leaned down close to my ear, his warm breath softly ticking my skin.
"Do you want anything else to eat, Jay?" he whispered smoothly.
I bit my lower lip, my heart completely melting all over again. Yeah, this chaotic squad was a lot to handle sometimes, but sitting right here next to my handsome fiancé? There was absolutely nowhere else in the world I'd rather be.
"Yeah, yeah, I want ice cream," I said, looking up at him expectantly.
Keifer chuckled softly, shaking his head. "But they don't sell ice cream here in the cafeteria, Jay."
"I don't care, I want it," I insisted, crossing my arms over my chest tightly. For some reason, I couldn't stop myself from pouting a little bit, too. My mood was acting so weird today.
"Okay, okay, calm down. We'll go out of the university grounds to get you some after lunch," he promised gently, causing a wide smile to instantly break across my face.
"Wait, I need to use the washroom first," I said, suddenly feeling a sharp, uncomfortable cramp. I pushed back my chair and quickly hurried toward the restroom. The moment I walked inside, a sudden wave of realization hit me as my stomach cramped painfully again. Oh, shit...
Mica'sPOV
The rest of us were sitting around the cafeteria table, casually chatting while Jayjay was away in the washroom. Suddenly, Rakki's phone started ringing loudly. She pulled it out, looking completely confused by the caller ID, but answered it anyway.
"Hello, Jay?" Rakki said.
The exact second her name was uttered, Keifer's head whipped around, his intense gaze locking directly onto Rakki.
"What?" Rakki exclaimed, her eyes widening. She quickly lowered her voice, whispering a few hurried words back into the receiver before abruptly cutting the call.
Before she could even put her phone away, Keifer started bombarding her with questions. "What happened? Why did Jay call you? Is she okay?"
"It's nothing important, Keifer," Rakki said quickly, waving off his panic. She immediately turned her head toward the rest of us. "Girls, we need to go talk in private right now."
We all nodded, sensing the urgency in her tone. Standing up from the table, we left the boys behind and hurried down the corridor.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Ella asked anxiously the second we were out of earshot.
"Jayjay just got her period," Rakki whispered under her breath.
"Does she have any supplies with her?" Freya asked, immediately checking her own pockets.
"No, that's exactly why she called. I accidentally left mine at home because my maid washed my school bag yesterday," Rakki explained, looking stressed.
"I don't have anything on me either," Grace added with a frown.
I paused, thinking quickly for a moment. Wait, I think I might actually have something. "Hold on, let me check my pouch!" I told them, running back over to our cafeteria table. I quickly unzipped my bag, rummaged through it, and let out a sigh of relief when I found my emergency pouch.
Sprinting back to the girls, I held it up. "I have one! I'm going to go give it to her right now."
I hurried into the washroom, the pieces finally clicking in my head. So that's exactly why Jayjay was having such intense mood swings earlier. I walked past the sinks and checked the stalls, discovering Jayjay was hiding in the third cubicle.
"Jayjay? Is everything alright in there?" I called out softly.
"Nope," her muffled, miserable voice replied.
I carefully slid the pouch under the stall door to her. "Here you go."
I stood by the sinks, patiently waiting for her to finish. When she finally stepped out of the cubicle, her face was completely flushed, looking deeply panicked and embarrassed.
"Why is your face so red?" I asked, looking at her in concern.
Instead of answering, she slowly turned around. My heart sank a little when I saw a distinct stain on the back of her sleek brown skirt.
"Oh no... what do I do now?" she whined, looking like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole.
"Take off your button-up shirt and wrap it around your waist to cover it," I suggested quickly.
Jayjay desperately tugged at her clothes, looking even more stressed. "I can't! It's completely attached to my tank top as a single piece."
I tapped my chin, running through our options. "Alright, don't panic. I'll go tell Keifer, and he can give you his jacket to wear."
"No, don't! Please, it's so embarrassing!" she begged, burying her face in her hands.
"Jay, it's literally the only solution we have right now," I reasoned gently.
Leaving her in the safety of the restroom, I walked back out to the cafeteria. I caught Keifer's eye from across the room and signaled for him to come over. He stood up instantly, hurrying toward me with a worried expression.
"Umm... Keifer, can you give me your jacket real quick?" I asked.
He immediately started unzipping it, but stopped, his eyes narrowing. "Yeah, of course. But why? What's going on?"
"I can't really explain it out here. Just come with me," I said.
He nodded silently, following me down the hall. When we reached the restroom entrance, I called out, "Jayjay, come out for a second."
The door opened slowly, and Jayjay stepped into the quiet hallway. The moment her eyes met Keifer's, her entire face turned a bright shade of crimson. Seeing that they needed privacy, I immediately turned on my heel and walked away to give them some space.
Keifer'sPOV
The second Jayjay stepped out, I could tell how deeply uncomfortable she was. Her head was bowed, and she couldn't even bring herself to look me in the eye.
"What happened? Are you alright?" I asked, my voice softening completely as I stepped closer to her.
"Keif..." she whispered, her voice trembling slightly with embarrassment. "I... I really need your jacket. I got my... you know... and I accidentally got a mark on my skirt."
I didn't need her to say another word. Without a single second of hesitation, I pulled my arms out of my jacket, stepped behind her, and gently wrapped it around her waist, securely tying the long sleeves into a tight knot at the front to completely hide the stain.
"Do you want anything else, Jay?" I asked softly, keeping my voice steady and comforting.
She offered a small, hesitant nod. "What is it?" I prompted.
"Ice cream," she mumbled, her lower lip trembling slightly.
"Okay, come on. Let's go get some," I said, enveloping her smaller hand in mine. She gave a quick nod, stepping close to me. For the entire walk out of the building, she didn't let go; instead, she clung to my arm tightly like a helpless little koala.
Noticing her tense shoulders, I stopped walking for a moment. I bent down slightly, bringing myself directly to her eye level to hold her gaze. "You don't need to be embarrassed or uncomfortable about this," I assured her gently, my voice laced with absolute reassurance. "It's completely normal, Jay. It's just a regular thing that girls go through. Okay?"
She offered a silent, fragile nod.
"I need words, babe," I prompted softly, wanting to hear her voice.
"Okay," she whispered.
A small smile broken across my face to ease her tension, but she only managed to force a faint, tight smile in return. I guided her to the passenger side of the car, carefully helping her get in before sliding behind the steering wheel myself.
The entire drive to the ice cream parlor turned into an absolute rollercoaster of emotions. At first, she sat completely silent and sad, staring blankly ahead. But things took a sharp turn when we hit a red light. I was casually looking out the side window to check the traffic signal, but she happened to look over at the exact same time. Mistakenly assuming that my eyes were glued to a random girl standing near the crosswalk, her sadness instantly vanished, replaced by sudden fury.
And that was how I found myself desperately trying to convince my highly hormonal fiancée that I was entirely innocent.
"Jay, I swear to God, I was absolutely not looking at her," I defended myself, glancing over at her.
She crossed her arms tightly over her chest, letting out a sharp, dramatic huff. "Don't lie to me, Mark Keifer Watson!"
"I'm not lying, I promise," I said, putting as much sincerity into my voice as humanly possible.
She turned her head slowly, narrowing her eyes to inspect my face for any signs of guilt. "Really?"
I nodded firmly. In a split second, her angry pout dissolved into a brilliant, beaming smile.
"Really. I honestly didn't even notice that girl," I added, letting out a sigh of pure relief as I smiled back at her.
"I knew it! I was just testing you anyway," she giggled, her mood shifting into absolute playfulness.
The very next moment, she was laughing out loud and teasing me relentlessly. Before I could even predict her next move, her small fingers started digging into my waist, tickling my sides ruthlessly.
"Jay, stop it! We're actively driving, we might get into an accident!" I warned, squirming slightly against the driver's seat. She finally burst into fits of laughter and retracted her hands, letting me safely park the car.
Inside the ice cream parlor, the decision-making process took an eternity. She stared at the colorful tubs behind the glass for ages before finally ordering a waffle cone loaded with multiple, completely clashing scoops.
"One blueberry, one vanilla, one lemon, and the last one... dark chocolate," she instructed the vendor proudly.
I raised an eyebrow, staring at the colorful monstrosity. "Babe... isn't that a horribly weird combination?"
The second the critique left my mouth, her expression crumbled. She looked up at me, her big eyes instantly turning glossy as a thick wave of tears welled up. "But... but I am craving it," she sniffled, her voice breaking dramatically.
"Okay, okay, okay! Forget what I said, you can have whatever you want," I panicked, quickly holding up my hands in surrender.
She sniffled once, nodding in satisfaction before turning back to the vendor. The poor guy was staring at the two of us as if we were absolute creeps, but he quickly scooped the order and handed it over.
We paid and walked over to a quiet corner table. Jayjay took a seat, but before she could even taste her ice cream, her eyes darted out the window, locking onto a grocery store right across the street.
"I want Cheetos. Go, hurry up!" she commanded, pointing a finger toward the store.
Without a single word of protest, I immediately jogged across the street, purchased a large bag of Cheetos, and hurried right back to our table. She grabbed the bag, tore it open excitedly, and then did something that made my brain completely short-circuit.
She picked out a bright red, spicy Cheeto, dipped it deep into the melting scoop of vanilla and blueberry ice cream, and popped it right into her mouth with a blissful sigh.
I watched the display in absolute horror, a wave of genuine nausea hitting my stomach just from looking at the red spice mixing with the dairy. How on earth was she eating that with a straight face?
I shuddered lightly, rubbing the back of my neck as I watched her happily munch away. If she has this many intense mood swings and bizarre cravings during a regular cycle... what on earth is going to happen to my sanity when she eventually gets pregnant?
Glancing at her joyful face, I silently closed my eyes. God, please give me strength.
"Keifer, let's just go home," Jayjay said suddenly, setting her half-eaten ice cream down.
I looked at her, tracking the sudden shift in her energy, and nodded without a second thought. "Okay."
I stood up, reached across the table, and took her small hand in mine, guiding her out of the quiet ice cream parlor. The warmth of the afternoon sun hit us as we reached the edge of the curb. Holding her hand a little tighter, I stepped forward to lead her across the busy street toward where my car was parked.
We were right in the middle of crossing the road when Jayjay abruptly came to a full stop.
"Keif, look!" she exclaimed, raising her free hand and pointing excitedly toward something down the street.
I instinctively turned my head, squinting to see exactly what she was pointing at. But in that split second of distraction, the sharp, deafening screech of tires echoed through the air. My head snapped back around, and my heart instantly dropped into my stomach. A car was speeding right toward us, entirely out of control, and it was about to hit Jayjay.
Adrenaline surged through my veins. Without thinking, I violently yanked her arm, wrapping my hand around her waist and pulling her flush against my chest as I lunged backward, dragging us both safely onto the far corner of the sidewalk. The car zoomed past, missing us by inches.
My chest was heaving, a mixture of pure terror and blinding anger washing over me. I looked down at her, my voice trembling slightly from the near-miss. "What on earth were you doing, Jay? We were in the middle of the street!"
Jayjay shrunk back slightly, her eyes wide as she looked down at the pavement. She began nervously fidgeting with her fingers, her cheeks flushing a deep pink. "I... I just wanted that teddy bear," she muttered in a small, guilty voice, pointing her finger back toward a colorful display window across the street. She peeked up at me through her long eyelashes, adding in a soft whisper, "...baby."
The sheer audacity of her using that word right after nearly getting us run over should have made me mad. But hearing that sweet nickname slip from her lips completely melted away all my anger. I let out a long, heavy breath, letting it slide.
"Fine," I murmured, my grip on her hand softening. "Let's go get it."
Swallowing down the lingering adrenaline, I kept a firm hold on her hand and turned to walk toward the toy store. But we hadn't even taken three steps before Jayjay tugged back, stopping dead in her tracks once again.
I paused, looking back over my shoulder at her.
"Now I want to go home," she announced completely out of the blue, her lower lip puffing out into a slight pout.
I stared at her for a long moment, completely bewildered by the rapid-fire mood swings. I closed my eyes, took a deep, grounding breath to maintain my sanity, and reminded myself of what Mica had told me in the restroom.
"Okay," I said smoothly, turning back around. "Let's go home."
We walked back to the car, and the drive to her house was thankfully peaceful. When I finally pulled up into her driveway and shifted the car into park, Jayjay unbuckled her seatbelt and hopped out of the passenger side.
Instead of walking inside normally, she turned back around and began waving at me enthusiastically like a little toddler, a bright, innocent smile lighting up her face. "Bye-bye, Keif!"
A soft, genuine smile tugged at my lips as I looked at her through the open window. "Bye, Jay. Take care."
I waited in the driveway, keeping the engine idling until she safely unlocked the front door and stepped inside the house. Once the door clicked shut behind her, I finally shifted the car into drive, pressed down on the gas, and headed back toward my own house, completely exhausted but utterly hopelessly in love.
The End 🌸.
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