The next day, Jay made up her mind: she wasn't going to talk to Keifer.
Not after everything that had happened. Not after waking up confused and embarrassed.
She left early for class, took a different hallway, even changed lunch spots. Each time she felt his eyes on her from across the campus, she just looked away.
Keifer tried — a quiet "Jay, can we talk?" in the corridor, a note slipped under her desk — but she ignored them all.
By the afternoon she convinced herself she didn't care.
That is, until she saw him.
Down by the lockers, Keifer stood with a girl from another section — tall, pretty, smiling up at him. They were laughing, standing too close, and before Jay could even blink, the girl leaned up and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
Something in her chest twisted.
Hard.
She turned away immediately, pretending not to care, but her hands clenched around her books. The image burned behind her eyes all through class.
⸻
That night, Keifer walked into their dorm, tossing his jacket on the couch, only to find Jay standing there waiting — arms crossed, expression sharp.
He froze. "Hey—"
"Don't," she cut him off, voice trembling with anger. "Don't act like nothing happened."
Keifer frowned, confused. "What are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," she snapped. "That girl. The one who kissed you."
His brows drew together. "She's just a friend, Jay. She came to thank me for helping with her project."
Jay laughed bitterly. "Oh, right. You must really help your friends out, huh?"
He blinked, realizing. "Wait—are you… jealous?"
She glared at him, cheeks burning. "No! I just—" She broke off, frustrated. "You make everything complicated, Keifer! You confuse me, and then I try to stay away, and then you go off flirting with someone else—"
"Because you've been ignoring me!" he shot back, stepping closer. "I didn't know what else to do. You wouldn't even look at me!"
Her voice cracked, soft and furious. "Because I like you, idiot!"
The room went still.
Keifer stared at her, stunned. Jay's eyes glistened, her breathing uneven. "There. Happy now? That's what you wanted to hear, right?"
For a second, he said nothing — then crossed the space between them in two strides and pulled her into his arms.
Jay stiffened, then slowly relaxed against him, her heartbeat racing against his chest.
Keifer whispered against her hair, "You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear that."
Jay buried her face in his shoulder, voice small but honest. "You make me crazy, Keifer Watson."
He smiled faintly, holding her tighter. "Good. Because you've been driving me insane since the day we met."