Julie scratched her head as she woke up, only to realize her cousin was already sitting there.
"When did you get here?" she asked while happily eating breakfast with her family.
"Last night," Gabriel replied with a grin. "While you were fast asleep—in your boyfriend's arms."
Julie nearly choked on her food. "You know Kenneth?" she asked, leaning on her elbow as she eyed him.
"Yeah. I met him back when I was in third grade in Australia. I never expected the Villanueva you mentioned before to be his cousin."
Julie frowned. "Did you know he kept bugging me about Pop Princess back then? Why didn't you tell me?"
Gabriel shrugged. "Did you even ask? Besides, you were always sulking."
"That was your fault!" Julie rolled her eyes. "And why did you even transfer schools?"
"Why not? Mom decided, Dad agreed. I just went along with it."
Julie sighed. "Next time, I'm complaining to Uncle." She returned to her food.
Gabriel clearly had no idea about her near-kidnapping the other day.
"Julie, do you still have a fever?" her mother asked worriedly.
"I'm fine now, Mommy," Julie answered with a smile.
"Of course she is," Gabriel said teasingly. "She fell asleep in her boyfriend's arms—that's the best medicine." Then his tone softened. "I'm glad you're comfortable with him."
I need to warn him, Julie thought.
"Gab," she said seriously, "don't mention anything about me and Cielo at school. Not everyone knows about us."
"Eh? Why not?"
"It's… complicated. Just—please don't get mad at him."
Gabriel's teasing expression faded. "Can you explain it to me?"
Chris stepped in. "Gabriel, just listen to Julie for now. And don't act like you know Cielo yet. I'll explain everything later."
Gabriel paused, then nodded. "So something happened again, huh? Fine. I'll listen. Especially if you're in trouble."
Julie exhaled quietly. He really only listens to my brother.
"Thank you," she said. "Cielo's a good guy. Please don't judge him."
Gabriel scratched his head. "So… what section are you in again?"
"We're classmates," Julie answered flatly.
She groaned inwardly. Oh no. He's going to figure everything out. She shot Chris an annoyed look.
"By the way," Gabriel continued casually, "do your boyfriend and Kenneth already know you're Pop Princess?"
"Yes," Julie replied. "But not everyone knows. I'm careful about who I tell."
Gabriel nodded thoughtfully.
When they arrived at school, Julie was surprised to see Gabriel already in uniform.
"Whoa," he said, looking around. "This place is huge. So this is where Chris studies."
Julie remembered having the same reaction on her first day.
"Chris, should he go to the faculty first?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'll take him," Chris replied.
"See you later, Julie," Gabriel said.
Julie sighed as she walked ahead. My cousin's here now… and he's hot-tempered.Brother, please keep him under control, she thought.
"Why are you sighing so much?" Dennis asked. "Are you sure you're okay? You didn't have to come today."
"I'm fine," Julie replied, gazing out the window. "Did Ciel already go to the office? Are they on duty?"
"Yeah. Joel and Cielo are both on duty today."
Julie nodded.
"Julie! I thought you'd be absent," Nicole said as she approached.
"Nicky." Julie smiled. "Are you okay?"
Nicole laughed. "I knew you'd come, so I came too. Just a slight fever. Besides, the guys are here—why should I miss class?"
"When's your counseling?" Julie asked softly.
"It's scheduled for Saturday. Kelly's mom insisted," Nicole replied, rolling her eyes playfully.
Julie chuckled just as Melissa entered with Raymond. They waved, smiling.
Julie sighed again.
*******
That afternoon, at Kevin's house, Nicole and Melissa exchanged looks.
Kelly nudged Nicole. "Who's that with Chris and Julie?"
"Oh, that's Julie's cousin," Nicole explained.
Kelly blinked. "Julie has a cousin?"
Nicole smirked. "What—did you think you were the only one with cousins?"
Melissa chuckled.
"He seems nice," Nicole added.
Melissa nodded.
"But… why is he here?" Kelly asked quietly, glancing at Gabriel.
"He arrived last night and got curious about what happened yesterday," Nicole said. "He's really protective of Julie. He even questioned Cielo earlier—if Julie hadn't stopped him…"
Kelly watched Gabriel sit near Chris and sighed softly.
"Ciel, I'm sorry about earlier," Gabriel said sincerely. "I didn't understand the situation—that's why I reacted that way."
"It's fine," Cielo replied calmly. "We should've explained it properly."
"Julie says he's hot-tempered," Nicole say to Kelly.
No wonder she worries. Though Kelly.
Melissa chuckled when Nicole whispered that to Kelly.
"Anyway," Chris said, clearing his throat, "this is our cousin from my father's side—the only cousin Julie and I have. Gabriel Alexander Santos-Navares."
Gabriel smiled warmly. "Nice to meet you all."
Kelly, Angie, Melody, and the others greeted him back.
"I didn't realize my cousin had so many friends," Gabriel said. "She never told me she already had a boyfriend—but now I understand why you're all close to her." He turned to Cielo. "I'm really sorry if I got violent earlier. Julie's like a little sister to me."
"It's okay," Cielo replied gently. "It just shows how much you care about her."
Gabriel nodded, patting Cielo's shoulder before joining Joel and the others.
Kelly thought, He's actually really friendly.
Nicole whispered, "See? I told you—he's nice."
Kevin leaned forward. "Alright. Let's review what happened yesterday. Gabriel already knows part of it, and since he's involved now, let's include him."
Gabriel nodded. "Honestly, I want to know who did this. No wonder Julie got a fever." Then he glanced at Nicole. "Trauma doesn't disappear easily. Yesterday probably triggered it. I hope we find the truth."
Kevin nodded. "Gab, did you study at another exclusive school before transferring here?"
"Yeah. Grades seven and eight," Gabriel replied.
Dave's expression sharpened. "Which school?"
"Schola Academy."
"Schola Academy?" Nicole asked. "Isn't that in another district?"
"Yeah," Gabriel replied. "You usually see them during competitions."
Julie suddenly perked up. "That's close to where I went to public school."
"And right beside it," Gabriel added with a grin, "is International Beda Academy—where your ex studied."
Julie shot him a sharp look as he laughed.
Kevin leaned forward again. "What do their uniforms look like?"
Gabriel turned to Julie. "You remember Beda's uniform, right?"
"I don't care about that anymore," Julie said—then froze. "Wait… I still have a photo."
"What, a picture of your ex?" Gabriel teased.
"Idiot!" Julie snapped, thrusting her phone forward. "Here."
She showed them the photos. "This is the girls' uniform. This one's the boys'."
Kelly stared at the screen, her face going pale.
"Does it look familiar?" Julie asked.
Kelly swallowed. "When they tried to abduct me… I saw two different uniforms. One like this—holding me down. Another was pulling me into the van."
Gabriel quickly pulled out his phone. "This is Schola Academy's uniform."
Kelly gasped. "Kevin… these are the two uniforms I saw."
Kevin's eyes darkened. "So two schools might be involved."
Cielo folded his arms, deep in thought."The question is… why?"