Knew You Before You Knew Me
The hospital discharged her two days later.
Jay sat in her room, a blanket over her lap, while Keifer placed a cup of warm tea on her bedside table like he'd done it a hundred times before.
"You're hovering," she mumbled, cheeks pink.
"I'm protecting."
"You're pacing like my overprotective lola."
Keifer grinned. "Your lola didn't beat up gang members for you."
Jay looked at him, bruises and all. "She would if she had to."
He laughed, then grew serious. "You okay?"
She nodded. "Getting there."
"Want me to stay?"
"Only if you'll stop fluffing my pillows every two seconds."
Keifer climbed into the chair beside her bed, kicked his shoes off, and gently rested her foot on his lap.
No pretending. No walls.
Just warmth.
By Monday, Jay returned to school.
The second she stepped into the hallway, all conversations stopped.
People stared. Whispered. Pointed.
Jay walked with her head high until someone near the lockers said, just loud enough:
"Guess it's true then. Keifer got her dragged into his mess. Wonder what she sees in him."
Jay turned on her heel.
The hallway silenced again.
She walked up to the girl, who immediately stiffened.
Jay tilted her head. "You know what I see in him?"
Everyone leaned in.
"I see someone who nearly got himself killed saving me. Someone who's never lied to protect himself, only to protect me. Someone who loved me even when I didn't know he existed."
The girl blinked.
Jay stepped closer, smiling sweetly. "And what I see when I look at you… is someone who's so used to boring boys that she wouldn't recognize loyalty if it kissed her on the mouth."
Mic. Drop.
She walked away, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder like the queen she was.
Later that night, she asked Keifer, quietly:
"When did you fall for me?"
He looked at her for a long time.
And then—finally—he told her the truth.
FLASHBACK – KEIFER'S POV
It was the first week of junior year.
He was late. Hungover on sleep, annoyed at the sun, walking through the hallway with headphones in and his hoodie up.
And then he saw her.
Sitting on the floor by the lockers, legs crossed, headphones in too. Writing something feverishly in a pink notebook covered in tiny scribbles and doodles.
She looked up briefly.
And smiled to herself — like the world in her head was better than the one around her.
That was it.
That was all it took.
Keifer paused mid-step. Watched her tuck her hair behind her ear and bite her pen. Like she had no idea he existed.
And in that moment, he knew she would ruin him.
BACK TO PRESENT
"I didn't even know your name yet," Keifer whispered. "But I knew. You were it."
Jay blinked slowly. "You're insane."
"I know."
"And in love."
"I know."
She kissed him.
Long, soft, slow — like her heart finally caught up to his.
And somewhere in the quiet, with his hoodie wrapped around her and his arms wrapped around her heart, Jay whispered:
"I'm so glad you weren't brave enough to tell me back then."
He raised a brow. "Why?"
"Because I would've fallen too fast."
He grinned. "I would've caught you anyway."
End of Chapter