Jay's POV
I was in my room, sitting against the headboard, trying to rest like Keifer told me to.
Trying.
My mind wouldn't cooperate.
Knock.
"It's open," I said absentmindedly.
The door opened.
Luke.
He stepped inside casually. "How are we feeling today? Alive? Dramatic? Both?"
"I'm fine," I said.
He glanced at the door.
Didn't close it.
Strange.
He walked toward me slowly.
Then stopped very close.
"Please don't push me," he said quietly.
"Why?" I frowned.
And then he moved closer.
One hand pressed against the wall behind me.
So close I could feel his breath near my cheek.
My heart skipped.
"Luke—"
He slightly tilted his head.
From outside?
It would absolutely look like we were kissing.
My eyes widened.
He took my hand gently and placed it on his shoulders.
My brain froze.
He leaned closer and whispered so quietly I barely heard it.
"Don't move. Don't look after."
What?
Before I could react—
I was suddenly free.
Luke was dragged back violently and hit the floor.
It was Keifer.
Furious.
"How dare you kiss my girlfriend?!"
His voice shook the room.
Footsteps rushed in.
Yuri. Adrian. Ciel. Ci-N.
Everyone.
Luke was still on the floor.
I stood up quickly. "Keifer, what are you talking about?!"
"And you!" Keifer turned to me. "You were enjoying it, weren't you?!"
"What? We were not kissing!"
"You think I'm blind?!"
Luke, still on the floor, lifted his head slightly and looked at me.
"Jay," he said casually, "you smell really nice."
The room went dead silent.
"Huh?" I blinked.
Keifer looked like he was about to explode.
"You still have the guts to say that?!"
Luke coughed lightly. "What? Compliments are illegal now? Should I file paperwork?"
Keifer grabbed him by the collar and punched him.
Luke hit the wall.
Slid down.
A little blood appeared at the corner of his lips.
"Keifer!" I shouted. "What are you doing?!"
"I see you've found a new lover!" he snapped.
"What are you talking about?!"
Luke, sitting on the floor, wiped his lip slowly.
Then he said calmly—
"Three…"
"Two…"
"One."
The curtains shut.
Ciel.
Again.
Keifer looked even more confused now.
"I saw how you placed your hand on his shoulders!" he shouted at me. "During your kiss! Was his kiss sweet?!"
Something inside me snapped.
I raised my hand to slap him.
But someone caught my wrist mid-air.
Luke.
He was standing now.
Blood still on his lip.
"Why are you coming to hit?" he said lightly. "Violence is my department today."
"Let go," I said.
He looked at Keifer. "She hits hard, by the way. You should be proud."
Keifer's fists tightened again.
"Say one more word—"
"Oh I have many," Luke replied calmly. "I can start alphabetically if you want."
"Luke!" Yuri snapped.
Luke turned to me. "Jay. Bed."
"But—"
"Jay. Bed."
Something about his tone changed.
I hesitated.
Then slowly sat back down.
Luke walked toward Keifer.
Very close.
Close enough that only we could hear him.
Then he said:
"Fiat justitia ruat caelum."
The room went silent.
No one reacted.
No one understood.
Keifer's eyes narrowed. "What?"
Luke smiled faintly.
"Justice must be served… though the heavens fall."
His voice dropped lower.
"You're looking at the wrong battlefield."
Keifer stared at him.
Breathing hard.
Then suddenly he stepped back.
Without another word—
He left the room.
The door slammed.
Luke exhaled slowly.
Ciel and Ci-N quickly came to support him.
"Easy, hero," Ci-N muttered.
"Hero?" Luke smirked. "I got punched."
"Deserved," Adrian muttered.
"Rude," Luke replied.
Little by little, everyone left.
The room became quiet again.
I sat there.
Thinking.
Why does Luke do things that create fights between Keifer and me?
Why push him like that?
Why the countdown again?
Three seconds.
Curtains closing.
Every time.
Twenty minutes passed.
I stared at the curtains.
Then—
I stood up.
Walked slowly to my window.
Carefully pulled the curtain just a little.
And there it was.
A black car.
Parked across the street.
I froze.
I knew that car.
I had seen it before.
"That's one of Sienna's cars…" I whispered.
I slowly let the curtain fall back into place.
My mind raced.
The hugs.
The fake kiss.
The countdown.
The curtains.
The window.
The distraction.
The performance.
And then the thought that made my stomach twist—
Is Luke… with Sienna?
Or…
Is he protecting us from her?
I didn't know.
But one thing was certain.
This wasn't random.
And Luke…
Was playing a very dangerous game.
End of Chapter.