(TIME LINE SKIPS TO WHEN JAY GETS TO HOME)
JayJay POV
We got home late.
Salt still in my hair.
Sand still in my shoes.
Secrets still in my hoodie.
I barely made it past the front door before Kuya Jare launched a pillow at my face.
"CONFESS," he yelled.
I blinked.
"What?"
Kuya Percy slid into the hallway like a telenovela villain mid-reveal.
"Don't play innocent," he said. "You've been suspiciously radiant since the island."
"Radiant?" I repeated.
"Radiant," he confirmed. "Like someone who's been emotionally compromised by a boy."
I tried to walk away.
They followed.
Jare grabbed my wrist.
Percy blocked the kitchen like it was a courtroom.
I was trapped.
Cornered.
Emotionally ambushed.
"Is it Keifer?" Jare asked, eyes sparkling.
"No way," Percy said. "She wouldn't—"
"She would," Jare countered. "She absolutely would. And I support it."
"You support emotional destruction?" Percy gasped.
"I support love," Jare said dramatically, hand over heart.
"Love is a scam," Percy muttered.
"Love is Jayfer," Jare whispered.
"Love is a disease," Percy snapped.
"Love is a hoodie," Luna screamed from the stairs.
Everyone froze.
I blinked.
She pointed at me like she was announcing a royal scandal.
"JayJay is dating Keifer!" she yelled.
Jare screamed.
Percy choked on air.
Luna threw glitter.
Actual glitter.
From her emergency chaos pouch.
"WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?" Jare demanded.
"HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?" Percy added.
"DOES HE KNOW YOU'RE A MENACE?" Jare asked.
"DOES HE KNOW YOU'RE A PIGEON?" Percy countered.
I tried to answer.
Failed.
Luna was now choreographing a "Jayfer Celebration Dance."
Jare was fist-pumping like he'd won a reality show.
Percy was googling "how to emotionally recover when your sister dates someone with cheekbones."
And me?
I just stood there.
In Keifer's hoodie.
In my truth.
In the middle of chaos.
"Yes," I said. "I'm dating Keifer."
Jare screamed again.
Percy collapsed dramatically onto the couch.
Luna started planning a parade.
Jare hugged me.
Percy threw a cushion at Jare.
Jare caught it and yelled, "Jayfer is canon!"
Percy yelled, "Jayfer is a mistake!"
Luna yelled, "Jayfer is eternal!"
And me?
I didn't flinch.
I didn't apologize.
I just smiled.
Because I chose Keifer.
Fully.
Loudly.
Messily.
And if Percy had a problem with that?
He could say it.
Or choke on it.
Either way, I wasn't backing down.
Not from this.
Not from him.
Not from us.