JAY'S POV — WHEN EVERYTHING BREAKS AT ONCE
It exploded.
Keifer moved first.
He didn't hesitate. Didn't speak. His fist connected with Cyrus' jaw so hard the sound cracked through the courtyard. Cyrus staggered back, shock written across his face for exactly half a second before Keifer hit him again.
And again.
Yuri was already on Ray.
No warning. No buildup. Just fury—controlled, precise, devastating. Ray went down under the first punch and stayed there long enough for Yuri to make sure he understood what it felt like to be powerless.
The rest of Section E followed like instinct given bodies.
They didn't fight wild.
They fought like this wasn't their first time choosing violence to protect something that mattered.
No teachers stepped in.
No whistles.
No authority.
Fear froze everyone else in place.
Cyrus managed to wrench himself free, blood on his mouth, eyes wild as he looked at Keifer like he couldn't compute what was happening.
"Who the hell are you?" he shouted. "And why do you care about her?"
Cin answered first, voice shaking with rage.
"She's my family."
Mayo didn't even look up from where he'd shoved someone back.
"She's our classmate."
Yuri landed another punch and spat,
"She's a part of Section E."
Keifer didn't stop hitting.
Didn't slow.
Didn't look back.
"She's mine."
Aww my boyfriend...
That finally made them laugh.
Ray coughed, wiping blood from his lip, eyes gleaming with something ugly. "Don't tell me you idiots fell for her pathetic little act. "
he sneered. "She's a demon. She'll devour you. That's what she does. She's a fucking slut ,she'll use you and then dispose.."
Something snapped.
Keifer lost restraint.
Every punch after that wasn't just anger—it was warning. It was promise. It was don't ever speak her name again written in bone and blood.
I forced air back into my lungs.
Forced my body to respond.
"Keifer."
My voice came out rough.
He didn't hear me.
"Keifer."
Louder.
The world seemed to pause when I said his name the third time.
"Keifer. Stop."
Everything froze.
Fists stilled. Breathing thundered. Even the crowd went silent.
Keifer turned to me slowly.
His hands were shaking.
Not from fear.
From barely contained violence.
I pushed myself upright despite the pain screaming through my body. He was there instantly, arms around me, grounding me like he always did.
"This isn't what I want," I said quietly, leaning my forehead against his chest. "Please. Let's leave."
For a moment, I thought he wouldn't listen.
Then his arms tightened.
Careful.
Protective.
Final.
He bent down and scooped me up before I could protest—bridal style, solid and sure, like there was no universe where I was walking out of that place alone.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Someone shrieked.
Phones dropped.
I opened my mouth to argue—
And Keifer kissed me.
Not soft.
Not hesitant.
Certain.
The kind of kiss that said this is real and this is chosen and you don't get to touch her ever again all at once.
When he pulled back, his forehead rested against mine.
"We're done here," he said.
Section E closed ranks immediately.
Cin at my side. Yuri wiping blood from his knuckles. Rest of them finishing up....
We walked out together.
No one stopped us.
Holy Saints High School faded behind us—still white, still clean, still pretending it hadn't just shown its rot.
I didn't look back.
Some places remember you.
Some try to break you again.
But this time—
I didn't leave alone.
And they learned exactly what that meant...
They tried to take me to the hospital.
Cin first. Then Felix. Then David—quiet but firm, already calculating injuries with his eyes.
"I'm fine," I said, too quickly. "I don't want the camp committee involved."
"That's not how this works," Felix snapped. "You were—"
"I know," I cut in. "And I'm choosing this."
They didn't like it.
But they knew me.
So instead of sirens and forms and questions that would spiral, they brought me back to the tents.
The campsite felt wrong now.
Too bright. Too normal. Like nothing had happened a kilometer away.
Keifer didn't say a word.
Not on the walk back.
Not when he guided me down onto the mat inside our tent.
He grabbed the first-aid kit with hands that were steady only because he was forcing them to be.
When he knelt in front of me, the anger was still there—coiled, dangerous—but buried under something sharper.
Fear.
He cleaned my cuts without asking where they hurt.
Like he already knew.
Like he was memorizing every mark.
The antiseptic burned. I didn't flinch.
Everyone else hovered just outside the tent, pretending not to watch while absolutely watching.
Keifer wrapped the bandage around my ribs carefully.
Too carefully.
Like I might shatter if he pulled too tight.
"Keifer," I said softly.
Nothing.
He taped the bandage down.
Moved to my knuckles.
Wrapped them.
Pressed his thumb there for half a second longer than necessary.
"Keifer," I tried again.
Still nothing.
His jaw was locked. Eyes dark. Focused on anything but my face.
When he finished, he stood up abruptly.
Too fast.
Too controlled.
Then he walked out of the tent.
Yuri followed immediately.
Then Edrix. Rory. Eman. Blaster. Mayo. Eren. Drew. Kit. Calix. Denzel.
A quiet, dangerous procession.
No one stopped them.
No one needed to.
The tent flap fell closed behind them.
Silence rushed in.
Cin knelt in front of me, hands hovering the same way they had earlier. "Hey," he said gently. "You okay?"
"I will be," I replied.
David crouched beside him, eyes scanning me one last time. "He's not."
Felix leaned against a pole, arms crossed, jaw tight. "They're not going to do anything stupid," he said, like he was trying to convince himself.
Cin looked toward the direction Keifer had gone. "He's trying not to."
I exhaled slowly.
Keifer didn't ignore me because he didn't care.
He ignored me because if he stayed—
He might not stop next time.
I lay back against the mat, staring up at the tent ceiling as the sounds of the campsite drifted back in—laughter from other sections, music playing too loud, life continuing like violence hadn't just brushed past us.
My phone buzzed once.
A message.
Unknown contact.
> You should've stayed gone.
I didn't reply.
Instead, I closed my eyes.
And waited.
Because storms don't end when the thunder stops.
Sometimes—
They walk away quietly, fists clenched, deciding what comes next.