JAY'S POV — TRUTHS THAT BURN SLOW
The bottle kept spinning.
Firelight. Laughter. Smoke clinging to clothes and hair and memory.
Truth and Dare had officially gone off the rails.
"Truth," Rory groaned, already regretting it.
Cin didn't miss a beat. "Who was your worst crush."
Rory buried his face in his hands. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME."
By the time the bottle made its way around, everyone had bled a little.
Dares had Felix doing pushups while reciting poetry. Blaster tried—and failed—to wink at three people at once.
Eman admitted he cries at animated movies. Drew confessed he'd once practiced proposing… to nobody.
Josh's truth was so unhinged no one let him finish. Eren admitted he overthinks every text. Calix pretended not to care and absolutely did.
Kit dared Mayo to sing. Mayo sang.
Everyone suffered.
Yuri answered calmly, truthfully, devastatingly—as usual.
David's truth was short, sharp, and somehow reassuring.
Keifer mostly watched. Quiet. Protective. Always aware of where I was.
Then Cin leaned back, eyes lighting up.
"Oho. New blood."
He turned to Adam. "So. Tell us about you're version of Jay Jay."
I stiffened slightly.
Adam didn't even hesitate.
"She was a menace."
"What?" I protested.
He laughed. "Popular. Everyone knew her. Everyone tried."
"Define everyone," Felix asked.
Adam shrugged. "Almost daily proposals. Notes. Gifts. Public confessions. One guy tried singing."
The circle LOST IT.
"No way—" "DAILY??" "She was that girl??"
I groaned, covering my face.
"And," Adam continued calmly, "she was picky."
Laura nodded seriously. "Painfully."
"She turned people down like she was declining healthy food," Adam said. "Politely. Firmly. Zero guilt."
Cin whistled. "Cold."
Keifer's jaw tightened.
Not angry.
Interested.
Someone turned to Laura. "Okay then. How did you meet her?"
Laura smiled, softening. "She was mad at her kuya. Ran out of the house. Hair a mess. No shoes."
"That tracks," Felix muttered.
"We found her sitting on the curb pretending she wasn't crying," Laura said. "Made her eat. Walked her home. She never left after that."
The fire crackled.
Something settled.
The bottle spun again.
Slowed.
Stopped.
Pointed.
At me.
Felix leaned forward like he'd been waiting for this his entire life.
"Truth," he said sweetly. "If you hadn't been in Section E… describe your dream guy."
My mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Adam and Laura exchanged that look.
Keifer didn't blink.
Didn't look away.
Just waited.
"I—uh," I chuckled, scratching my neck. "I don't know."
Laura coughed.
Hard.
I shot her a look.
"Oh come on," she said. "That's a lie and you know it."
Adam added helpfully, "You had bullet points."
The boys leaned in.
Keifer's eyes stayed on me—dark, unreadable, steady.
I exhaled. "Okay. Fine."
I sat up straighter.
"My dream guy," I said slowly, "was tall. Muscular. Dark eyes. Screamed hotness.kind.Rude to the world."
Keifer's jaw flexed.
"But," I continued, softer now, "soft with me."
Silence.
No cheering.
No teasing.
Just the fire snapping between us.
I didn't hesitate.
I turned towards keifer,
he leaned in and kissed me.
Not rushed.
Not shy.
Real.
Gasps exploded.
Someone screamed. Someone actually fell over. Cin yelled, "HE DID NOT—" Felix looked like he'd witnessed a religious event.
When I pulled back, Keifer rested his forehead against mine briefly.
Grounded.
Certain.
I smiled.
I looked up "see my dream guy"
They all shrekieddd
Then it was Keifer's turn , edrix asked him
"When did he knew he fell for jay? "
He looked at me with that glitter in his eyes and then spoke...
KEIFER'S POV — THE MOMENT I STOPPED LYING TO MYSELF
Edrix leaned back, smirk easy.
"Alright, Keifer. Your turn."
The fire cracked.
Everyone leaned in.
"When did you know you fell for Jay?"
I didn't answer right away.
I looked at her.
She was sitting beside me, knees drawn up, firelight catching in her eyes. Calm. Unaware of how much space she occupied just by breathing.
The truth had never been loud.
It never is.
"It wasn't one moment," I said finally. "It was a series of small ones I ignored."
Cin groaned. "Oh no—he's going poetic."
I didn't look away from her.
"I knew," I continued, "the first time she was hurting and still made a joke so everyone else wouldn't worry."
Jay's fingers stilled.
"The first time she said she was fine—and I knew she wasn't—but she didn't ask for help because she didn't want to be a burden."
The fire popped.
No one laughed now.
"I knew when I started noticing where she was in a room before anything else," I said quietly. "When my body moved toward her without me deciding to."
I glanced down at our hands—already touching.
"And then," I added, voice lower, rougher, "the night I realized the thought of anyone else hurting her made something in me go dark."
Jay looked up at me then.
Eyes searching.
"That's when I knew," I finished. "Not because I wanted her."
My thumb brushed her knuckles.
"But because losing her scared me more than anything else."
Silence.
Heavy. Warm. Real.
Felix exhaled slowly. "Damn."
Cin blinked. "Bro fell hard."
Jay didn't say anything.
She just leaned into me, head resting against my shoulder like it had always been allowed.
And that—
That was my answer.
Jay's Pov:
I froze.
Not the dramatic kind.
The quiet one—where your body forgets how to breathe because something just hit too close to home.
Keifer's voice hadn't been loud.
Hadn't been careful either.
Just honest.
And it wrecked me.
The fire cracked. Someone shifted. The night kept going like nothing important had just been said.
But inside me—
Everything stalled.
I stared at the ground because if I looked at him, I would unravel. Because I could feel the truth in his words settling into places I kept guarded on instinct.
He noticed.
Not when I was loud.
Not when I was charming.
Not when I was pretending.
He noticed when I was tired. When I was scared. When I didn't say anything at all.
My fingers curled into the fabric of my hoodie.
I'd spent so long being the one who survived things quietly that I forgot what it felt like to be seen without asking.
My chest felt tight. Warm. Unsteady.
I didn't trust my voice.
So I didn't speak.
I just leaned into him.
Slow. Careful. Like if I moved too fast, the moment would shatter.
His arm came around me immediately—no hesitation, no question. Solid. Certain. Like it had always known where to go.
The circle was still.
No teasing. No jokes.
Even Section E knew better than to break this.
I rested my head against his shoulder, breathing him in, grounding myself in the reality of it.
This is real.
This wasn't adrenaline.
Wasn't chaos.
Wasn't fear tying us together.
This was him choosing me before I knew I needed choosing.
My throat burned.
I swallowed it down.
Because if I cried now, it wouldn't be from pain.
It would be from the terrifying realization that somewhere along the way—
I stopped being alone.
And he never let me see the moment it happened.
Later, one by one, the fire dimmed. Laughter faded. Tents zipped shut.
The night stretched quiet.
I slipped out of my tent barefoot.
Walked toward the old tree near the edge of camp.
Two silhouettes waited there.
Laura crossed her arms. "You took your time."
Adam smiled softly. "You okay?"
I nodded.
For once—
I really was...
Laura didn't smile when she asked next.
That's how I knew it mattered.
"So," she said quietly, arms crossed. "What are you going to do now?"
Adam leaned against the tree beside her. "Cyrus and Ray won't calm down. Not yet."
The name still carried weight. Not fear—just history.
"I know," I said. "But don't worry about it."
They waited.
"I've handled it," I continued. "Just… keep my name from resurfacing. No reactions. No responses. Let them burn themselves out."
Adam studied my face. "You're sure?"
I nodded. "I'm done running. And I'm done fighting ghosts."
Laura's gaze softened. Then sharpened—because she knew me too well.
"And Section E?" she asked.
"And Keifer?"
There it was.
I looked past them, toward the dim glow of the dying bonfire, toward the tents, toward where I knew exactly who was sleeping and how close he'd been all night without hovering.
"I stopped the plan," I said simply.
Both of them froze.
"What?" Adam said.
"I was supposed to leave," I admitted. "Keep distance. Control things. Not get attached."
Laura's eyes widened.
"But," I went on, voice quieter now, "he's not pretending. He's not trying to own me or fix me or cage me."
I swallowed.
"He loves me. Genuinely."
Adam's mouth twitched. Laura's hand flew to her lips.
"And the worst part?" I smiled faintly.
"I love him too. Hard. Somewhere between denial and no return."
Laura squealed softly and grabbed my shoulders. "Jay."
Adam laughed under his breath. "You're gone."
"I know," I said. "And I'm not scared."
They both pulled me into a hug—warm, grounding, familiar.
"That's good," Laura said. "We're happy for you."
Adam nodded. "You deserve safe love."
They left before dawn.
No drama. No promises. Just trust....