Chapter 62: secrets? what secrets?
Jay-Jay POV
There are moments in life where you realize the universe has chosen violence.
This was one of them.
The room was already tense from Mayo's confession.
Everyone was quiet, processing, trying to not look like idiots.
Then—
Angelo: "Says the person I caught making out with his girlfriend on the couch last week."
And I—
Jay: "WAIT WHAT? ARIES HAS A GIRLFRIEND?!"
The room didn't explode.
It detonated.
Felix choked on air.
Josh yelled, "PLOT TWIST."
Ci-n stood up like someone had announced war.
Aries rubbed the back of his neck like he hadn't just dropped the biggest bomb of the evening.
Aries: "It's not a big deal."
Jay: "NOT A BIG DEAL? YOU CHECKED ME FOR KIDNAPPING AND YOU HAVE A WHOLE WOMAN?"
Keifer was beside me, very much enjoying this.
Keifer (murmuring): "Your family is insane."
Jay: "You're dating into it."
Angelo, calm as ever, crossed his arms.
Angelo: "Aries. Tell them."
Aries sighed dramatically like he was the victim here.
Aries: "Fine. She's outside."
Jay: "OUTSIDE? WHY IS SHE OUTSIDE? BRING HER IN."
Marcus whispered,
Marcus: "This feels like a reality show."
The front door opened again.
And in walked—
Ella.
Not just an Ella.
Ella.
Maya stood up so fast her knee hit the table.
Maya: "ELLA?!"
Yuri: "You're kidding."
Ella froze mid-step.
Ella: "…Surprise?"
Aries looked proud. Which was suspicious.
Jay: "Hold on. Hold on. You mean to tell me—"
I pointed between them.
"—THIS is the girlfriend?"
Aries: "Yes."
Ella waved awkwardly.
Ella: "Hi?"
The room erupted.
Grace: "Since WHEN?!"
Felix: "HOW DID YOU PULL THAT?!"
Josh: "This is illegal."
Aries looked offended.
Aries: "Why is everyone acting like I committed a crime?"
Jay: "Because you hid it."
Ella walked over and hugged me.
Ella: "He wanted to tell you. He just… didn't know how."
Aries: "You're terrifying."
Jay: "As I should be."
Meanwhile—
Ion and Angelo were standing suspiciously close.
And I caught that.
Jay: "WAIT. Why are we ignoring the fact that Kuya Angelo has a girlfriend too?"
The room went silent again.
Ion smiled sweetly.
Ion: "We were keeping it private."
Aries: "Private? You two go to business galas together."
Ion: "That doesn't mean anything."
Felix: "It means EVERYTHING."
Keifer leaned back, clearly entertained.
Keifer: "So both older brothers are taken."
Rory: "Statistically unexpected."
Edrix: "This is better than Netflix."
I thought we had reached maximum chaos.
I was wrong.
Because Maya suddenly looked… nervous.
Which is rare.
Yuri noticed.
Yuri: "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Maya: "Because if we're exposing people…"
The room slowly turned toward them.
My eyes narrowed.
Jay: "Maya."
Maya: "Jay."
Jay: "Don't."
Yuri inhaled sharply.
Yuri: "We were going to tell you."
Jay: "Tell me WHAT."
Maya grabbed Yuri's hand.
Not subtle. Not accidental.
Grabbed.
The room stopped breathing.
Maya: "We're dating."
Silence.
Utter.
Silence.
Then—
Felix fell off the couch.
Grace screamed.
Josh shouted, "I KNEW IT."
Blaster started clapping like he was at a theatre show.
I stared at them.
Jay: "You're WHAT."
Yuri tried to look composed.
Yuri: "We didn't want to make it a big deal."
Jay: "YOU WERE SITTING 'SUSPICIOUSLY CLOSE' ALL DAY."
Maya: "That was subtle!"
Ci-n: "THAT WAS NOT SUBTLE."
Keifer leaned into my ear.
Keifer: "Your friends are terrible at hiding things."
Jay: "Clearly."
Aries pointed at Yuri.
Aries: "You. Come here."
Yuri froze.
Yuri: "Why?"
Aries: "Interview."
Maya: "INTERVIEW?!"
Angelo stepped forward calmly.
Angelo: "Standard procedure."
Yuri looked at me.
Yuri: "Help?"
Jay: "Nope. You're on your own."
The boys dragged Yuri two steps away like they were about to conduct a corporate merger meeting.
Aries: "Intentions?"
Angelo: "Timeline?"
Keifer: "Do you make her cry?"
Yuri: "What is this, a board interrogation?"
Maya: "YURI ANSWER THEM."
Meanwhile, Ella was laughing so hard she had to sit down.
Ella: "This family is insane."
Ion nodded.
Ion: "You get used to it."
Across the room, Mayo—who had literally come out thirty minutes ago—looked around.
Mayo: "…So my confession just got overshadowed."
David patted his shoulder.
David: "Yeah."
Mayo: "That's fair."
I walked over to Maya, who looked both proud and mildly terrified.
Jay: "You hid this from me."
Maya: "I wanted to be sure."
Jay: "Are you sure?"
Maya: "…Yes."
I looked at Yuri, who was currently defending himself like he was on trial.
Jay: "If you hurt her—"
Yuri: "I won't."
Keifer raised an eyebrow.
Keifer: "Bold to interrupt a threat."
Yuri: "I'm confident."
I studied him for a second.
Then sighed.
Jay: "Fine."
Maya gasped.
Maya: "That's it?!"
Jay: "What? You expected a dramatic speech?"
Maya: "A little."
I smirked.
Jay: "I'll save that for later."
The room slowly settled into laughter again. Aries and Ella sat together. Angelo and Ion looked oddly domestic. Maya was glowing. Yuri was sweating.
And somehow—
Somehow—
Truth or dare had turned into:
• One gay confession
• Two secret girlfriends
• One hidden relationship
• One family interrogation
• And zero peace
I leaned back beside Keifer.
Jay: "We should've just played Uno."
Keifer: "This was better."
He squeezed my hand.
Across the room, Felix yelled:
Felix: "ROUND TWO. NO MORE SECRETS."
Everyone shouted in protest.
I groaned.
Jay: "I'm locking the doors."
And honestly?
With this group?
That wouldn't even help.