Jayjay's POV
Closing time always made the hallways feel different.
Lockers slammed slower. Voices dropped lower. Sunlight stretched thin through the tall windows, turning the floors amber and tired. Teachers were already retreating to offices. Students lingered in clusters, half-ready to leave, half-not wanting the day to end.
I was standing near the lockers with Chantelle, my back resting against the cool metal. My injured hand was tucked carefully against my side. Ciel leaned beside us, scrolling through her phone. Yuri stood a few steps away, arms crossed, eyes sharp like he was waiting for something to go wrong.
I didn't know yet that it already had.
Footsteps echoed down the hallway.
I looked up.
Keifer.
My heart reacted before I could stop it.
And of course, Sienna was right beside him.
They slowed when they noticed us. Not stopping immediately. Just… hovering. Sienna's voice reached him first, soft but urgent, like she was finishing a sentence meant only for him.
I couldn't hear what she said.
But I saw her expression shift the moment she noticed me.
Her shoulders lowered. Her eyes softened. Her mouth curved into something almost sad.
Chantelle leaned toward me. "She's switching modes."
I swallowed.
Yuri stepped forward. "Keifer," he said, calm but firm. "We need to clear something up. Right now."
Keifer stopped walking. He looked at Yuri, then briefly at me.
That pause made my chest tighten.
"What is it?" Keifer asked.
Before Yuri could answer, Sienna spoke. "Do we really have to do this here?"
Yuri ignored her. "You told a lecturer Jay skipped a group task yesterday."
I stiffened. "What?"
Sienna's head snapped toward him. "I never said that."
"You did," Yuri replied evenly. "I heard it. You said she uses her injury as an excuse."
The hallway seemed to quiet around us.
Keifer's brows furrowed. "Sienna?"
She turned to him immediately, eyes shining. "I was worried about the project. That's all. I didn't accuse anyone."
"That's not what you said," Yuri pressed.
Keifer exhaled sharply. "Yuri, enough."
Sienna took a small step closer to Keifer. "I don't know why he keeps twisting things," she said softly. "I've been trying to keep peace, but somehow I'm always the villain."
Something about the way she said it made my stomach sink.
Yuri's jaw tightened. "Peace doesn't involve lying."
"Enough," Keifer said again, louder this time.
Silence fell hard.
He stepped slightly in front of Sienna. Not dramatic. Just enough.
"I believe her," he said.
The words hit before I could brace for them.
Yuri stared at him. "You know Jay wouldn't lie."
Keifer glanced at me. Just once.
"I'm not saying she would," he said. "But I'm choosing to trust Sienna on this."
Ciel straightened immediately. "Then we're choosing Jay."
Chantelle didn't hesitate. She moved closer to me, protective, solid. "Always."
The hallway felt divided down the middle.
Keifer looked at me again, like he wanted me to argue. To fight for it. To say something that would pull him back.
But my throat was tight.
Sienna let out a slow breath, almost relieved.
Then the final bell rang.
Sharp. Cold. Ending everything.
Students began to move again, footsteps filling the space.
Keifer turned away.
He walked down the hallway with Sienna beside him.
He didn't look back.
Something had cracked.
I just didn't know yet how badly.
Chapter 26 — When Words Almost Became Fists
Jayjay's POV
The argument didn't end with the bell.
It followed us.
Near the exit corridor, where the lockers were fewer and the walls echoed more, voices rose again.
Sienna stopped suddenly and turned back.
"You don't get to accuse me like that," she said sharply to Yuri. "Not in public."
Yuri laughed, but there was no humor in it. "You shouldn't lie in public then."
Keifer stepped forward instantly. "Watch how you talk to her."
Yuri didn't back down. "Watch who you defend."
My heart started racing. "Keifer—"
He didn't hear me.
"You act like she's fragile," Yuri continued, "but you don't see what she's doing."
Keifer's eyes flashed. "And you act like Jay can't handle herself."
"That's not what this is about," Yuri snapped. "This is about you refusing to listen."
Keifer shoved Yuri's shoulder.
Not hard.
But intentional.
Lockers rattled.
Yuri reacted immediately, pushing back. "Don't touch me."
"Stop!" I shouted.
Too late.
Keifer stepped forward again, fists clenched. Yuri mirrored him, anger sharp and burning.
For a second, I was sure it would turn ugly.
Then voices broke through.
"HEY!"
Hands grabbed arms.
David and Adrian rushed in, pulling Yuri back.
Ci-N and Calix blocked Keifer.
Felix, Edrix, and Drew stepped between them, firm and unmovable.
"You've lost your mind," David snapped. "You want this on your record?"
Keifer was breathing hard. Yuri too. Neither looked away.
Then Keifer's gaze lifted.
To me.
Our eyes met.
Something flickered there. Doubt. Conflict. Regret.
But Sienna's hand wrapped around his arm.
"Let's go," she whispered.
And he did.
They walked away together, footsteps fading into the empty corridor.
The rest of us stood there, silence settling heavy.
"I'm sorry," Yuri muttered, more to me than anyone.
Ciel stepped closer. "You okay?"
I nodded, even though my chest felt hollow.
Chantelle squeezed my hand gently. "We're here."
I believed her.
Still, as I stared down the hallway Keifer had disappeared into, one thought echoed in my head:
Sometimes, choosing the wrong side hurts more than the fight itself.
-------Yuri's POV------
I didn't plan to speak.
I really didn't.
But the moment I heard Sienna say Jay skipped a task, something in me snapped into focus. Not anger first. Clarity. The kind that comes when a lie wears someone else's face.
I've watched Jay push through pain without complaining. I carried her up the stairs myself. I saw the way she hides her injury like it's something to be ashamed of. So hearing her name twisted into something lazy or dishonest?
No. That wasn't happening.
When I called Keifer's name, I wasn't trying to start a fight. I was trying to stop one before it grew fangs.
But Sienna spoke before I could finish.
That was the first red flag.
People who are innocent don't rush to defend themselves. They wait. They ask what's wrong. She didn't. She played fragile instead. Soft voice. Lowered eyes. Perfect timing.
I called it out because someone had to.
And when Keifer told me "enough," I realized this wasn't about facts anymore. It was about comfort. About who made things easier for him.
When he said he believed her, it felt like watching someone close their eyes on purpose.
I wasn't angry at first. I was disappointed.
Disappointed that he didn't ask Jay a single question.
Disappointed that he didn't pause long enough to notice who stood their ground and who hid behind tears.
When I stepped closer, it wasn't to threaten him. It was to make him listen.
But then he pushed me.
That was the moment anger finally arrived.
Not because it hurt.
Because it meant he'd chosen force over truth.
I pushed back because I refuse to be quiet when someone I care about is being turned into a villain for someone else's convenience.
If the others hadn't stepped in, it would've turned ugly. Not because I wanted to fight, but because sometimes people only hear you when your fists are clenched.
When Keifer looked at Jay before leaving, I saw it. The doubt. The hesitation.
That's what hurts him later.
Not me.
Not today.
The doubt he ignored.