JAY-JAY POV
I'm sitting at the table, poking at the edge of my plate like it personally offended me. Everyone else is talking, laughing, arguing—basically being themselves—but all I can think about is one thing.
Where the hell is Keifer?
I keep glancing at the hallway like he's going to magically appear if I stare hard enough.
He doesn't.
My stomach twists a little.
What did Grandpa tell him?
Did he scold him? Threaten him? Lecture him?
Knowing Grandpa, he probably did all three.
I tap my fingers on the table, restless.
"I hope Grandpa didn't scare him," I mutter under my breath.
Percy, of course, hears me.
Because Percy hears everything he shouldn't.
He leans over with a smirk. "Jay‑Jay, your boyfriend is probably crying in a corner right now."
I turn my head slowly, glaring at Percy like he just insulted my entire bloodline.
"Why would he?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.
Before Percy can answer, Jare jumps in, shrugging like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
"Probably because Grandpa scared him."
I blink.
Then I blink again.
"Why would Grandpa scare him?" I ask, even though deep down I already know the answer.
Jare gives me that are you serious right now look.
"Jay," Percy says, leaning back in his chair like he owns the place, "Keifer is dating his princess, of course."
I roll my eyes so hard I almost see my brain.
"Percy, shut up."
He grins wider, because of course he does.
Then Ci‑n, who has been quietly observing like some tech‑savvy fortune teller, suddenly speaks up.
"Jay, your grandpa is rich."
I blink at him. "And?"
Ci‑n shrugs. "And Keifer is dating the heiress. The princess. The future CEO. The girl with generational wealth."
Percy gasps dramatically. "Oh my god, Keifer is a gold digger."
Jare chokes on his water.
Aries snorts. "Percy, Keifer is richer than all of us combined."
Percy pauses. "Oh. Right. Then Jay is the gold digger."
I throw a spoon at Percy.
It hits him right in the shoulder.
Good.
Before he can even complain, the room shifts — everyone straightens, shuts up, or pretends to behave.
Because Keifer and Grandpa walk in.
Grandpa heads to his seat like a king returning to his throne.
Keifer…
Keifer walks straight to the empty chair beside me and sits down like he belongs there.
My heart does a stupid little jump.
I lean toward him immediately, whispering, "What happened?"
He glances at me, trying to look casual, but I can see the softness in his eyes — the kind that wasn't there before.
"Nothing big," he whispers back. "Your grandpa just showed me pictures of you and we talked a bit."
I stare at him.
"That's it?" I ask, narrowing my eyes because I know he's hiding something.
Keifer just nods and starts eating like nothing happened.
I start eating too
Before I can interrogate him again, Grandpa clears his throat.
"Jay, when does your school end again?"
I look up. "It ends in two months, Pa."
Grandpa nods like he's calculating something in his head.
Then Grandma smiles at me, warm and soft.
"Your birthday is coming up," Grandma reminds me. "You'll be eighteen in one week."
I nod, trying not to think too hard about it.
"What are your plans?" Grandpa asks, voice calm but curious.
Before I can even open my mouth, Jare snorts.
"I will tell."
I whip my head toward him. "No."
He leans back in his chair like he's about to deliver a TED Talk.
"Wake up," he says dramatically.
"Jare," I warn, narrowing my eyes.
He ignores me completely.
"Eat and sleep," Jare announces proudly. "It is as easy as it gets."
The whole table explodes into laughter.
"Idiot!" I yell at Jare.
"Monkey," he fires back instantly.
"You donkey!" I snap, already pushing my chair back and standing up.
Jare stands too, matching my energy like the dramatic idiot he is.
Across the table, Jace throws his hands up.
"Grandma, they're doing it again!"
Grandma sighs like she's been dealing with this for decades.
Which… she has.
"Ki—" Grandpa starts, probably about to say kids or keep it down or kill each other after dinner—
But Jare has other plans.
"You little pig," he says.
The entire table GASPS like we're in some dramatic telenovela.
"What did you just call me?" I ask, voice calm in the way that means run.
Jare doesn't run.
Because he's an idiot.
"P. I. G," he says, spelling it out like I'm hard of hearing.
Another collective gasp.
Jace covers his mouth. "Grandma, Ate's gonna kill him."
Grandma sighs. "Not at the table, dear."
Grandpa opens his mouth—probably to stop us, or pray for us, or both—
But I beat him to it.
"YOU LITTLE ASSHOLE!" I yell at Jare.
The entire table gasps like I just cursed in church.
"Pa! She just called me an asshole!" Jare complains, pointing at me like a five‑year‑old tattling.
Grandpa inhales sharply, ready to unleash a lecture—
But Jare, being the absolute idiot he is
And he throws the bread roll.
At me.
The bread roll hits my forehead, bounces off, and lands on my plate like it's mocking me.
Then Jare realizes what he's done.
Too late.
I grab the nearest weapon.
Mashed potatoes.
A full scoop.
"Jay…" Jare whispers, backing up like I'm a wild animal.
"Jare…" I say sweetly, which is how you know I'm about to commit a crime.
Percy whispers, "Oh my god, she's going for the nuclear option."
I don't wait.
I launch the mashed potatoes at him.
It flies through the air in slow motion, like a dramatic movie scene.
Everyone watches.
Everyone holds their breath.
And then—
SPLAT.
Right on his cheek.
Perfect aim.
Perfect chaos.
Jare stands there, frozen, mashed potatoes sliding down his face like a tragic waterfall.
The table ERUPTS.
Everyone is laughing, screaming, choking, dying—
and then Jare wipes mashed potatoes off his face and looks at me like I just committed a federal crime.
"JAY‑JAY!" he yells, voice cracking like a teenage boy in puberty.
Jare takes one step toward me.
I take one step back.
He opens his mouth—
probably to yell, or complain, or throw something else—
But before he can even do anything…
I run.
"GET BACK HERE!" Jare shouts, slipping on mashed potatoes as he tries to chase me.
"NO!" I yelled back, sprinting down the hallway like my life depended on it.
Behind me, I heard chairs scraping, Percy screaming, and Jare's footsteps pounding after me.
"JAY‑JAY, COME BACK HERE!" Jare shouted, slipping on the floor as he tried to chase me.
"NO!" I yelled again, louder this time, because if I was going to run for my life, I might as well commit.
Percy's voice echoed from the dining room.
"GO JAY GO! RUN LIKE THE WIND!" Percy screamed like he was narrating a sports event.
I sprinted down the hallway—
until a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around my waist.
Jare.
He finally caught me.
"Jare, let me go!" I yelled, kicking my legs like a feral cat.
"No," he grunted, dragging me back like I weighed nothing. "You little menace."
And then—
He pulled my ears.
"OW! JARE!" I screamed, slapping at his hands. "LET GO!"
Keifer was walking toward us, hand on his forehead like he was questioning every life choice that led him here.
"Jare," he said, voice low, "let her go."
Jare didn't.
So I did the only logical thing.
I stomped on his foot.
Hard.
"OW—JAY!" he yelled, letting go instantly.
I spun around, hair messy, ears red, eyes blazing.
"You started it!" I yelled.
"You threw mashed potatoes at me!" he yelled back.
"You called me a pig!"
"You ARE a pig!"
I gasped like he slapped me.
Before I could—
I don't know—
punch him, tackle him, or launch myself at his face like a flying squirrel—
Keifer's arms wrapped around my waist.
He lifted me clean off the floor.
"Keifer! Let go of me!" I yelled, kicking my legs in the air like a furious toddler. "I want to punch him!"
Jare backed up instantly, hands raised like I was holding a weapon.
"You see?!" he yelled. "She's violent! She's a menace! She needs therapy!"
"YOU NEED THERAPY!" I screamed back, still dangling in the air.
Keifer tightened his grip, pulling me closer to his chest so I couldn't escape.
"Jay," he said, voice low and annoyingly calm, "stop kicking."
"No!"
"Jay."
"NO!"
"Jay, you're going to hit me."
"GOOD!"
He sighed like he was dealing with a wild animal.
Jare pointed at me dramatically. "See?! She admitted it! She wants to hit people!"
"I WANT TO HIT YOU!" I yelled, still flailing like a wild animal in Keifer's arms.
And then—
Keifer leaned down, his breath brushing my ear, voice low enough that only I could hear it.
"If you don't stop," he whispered, "I will kiss you."
I froze.
Keifer smirked — that slow, dangerous, I‑know‑exactly‑what‑I‑did‑to‑you smirk.
And of course, because the universe hates me,
Jare looked right at me.
"What did he say?" he asked, eyes narrowing like he was about to solve a murder case.
I snapped my head toward him so fast my neck almost cracked.
"NOTHING!" I yelled, way too quickly, way too loudly.
"Kids, come down!" Grandma yelled from downstairs.
All of us dragged ourselves back to the dining room and somehow—miraculously—ate dinner like normal human beings. No mashed‑potato warfare. No bread‑roll missiles. No screaming. Just… peace.
At the end of the meal, Grandpa wiped his mouth and looked at me.
"Jay, you and your friends can go to school tomorrow," he said. "But be careful."
We all nodded like obedient angels.
Then we headed upstairs to our rooms.
Except—
Keifer followed me.
I stopped at my door and turned around. "What are you doing?"
He didn't answer.
He just walked past me, straight into my room, and flopped onto my bed like he owned it.
"I want to sleep with you," he said, staring at the ceiling.
"Keifer…" I started, already preparing to argue.
He turned his head toward me, eyes soft. "Please."
One word.
One stupid word.
And I melted.
"Fine," I muttered, climbing onto the bed.
The moment I lay down, he moved closer—slow, gentle, like he'd been waiting all day.
His arms slid around my waist, pulling me against him.
I didn't even fight it.
I just wrapped my legs over his, tucked my head under his chin, and hugged him back.
His breath warmed the top of my head.
His hand rested on my hip.
His heartbeat was steady against my chest.
For the first time all day, everything felt quiet.
He whispered, barely audible, "Goodnight, Jay."
I closed my eyes, smiling into his shirt.
"Goodnight, Keifer."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
💙🔥 AUTHOR'S NOTE — SEND HELP 🔥💙
HELLO EVERYONE 😭🔥
As you can CLEARLY tell from how questionable today's chapter was…
Yeah. I'm officially running out of ideas 😭💀✨
SO PLEASE
I am BEGGING
COMMENT what you want to see next 😭🔥