YURI POV
It started with a hoodie.
JayJay walked into class wearing Keifer's hoodie like it had been spun from starlight and secrets. She looked luminous. Laughing, soft around the edges, glowing in a way that made the whole room tilt toward her like she was gravity.
And she wasn't mine.
I watched her take the seat beside him. Watched him lean in, say something ridiculous, and make her laugh like he'd handed her the universe. And something inside me fractured — sharp, silent, and irreversible.
Because I loved her first.
Not out loud. Not in public. But I was the one who stayed. The one who listened when she couldn't sleep. The one who held her together when everything else was falling apart. I was always there.
But she never looked at me like that.
She never reached for my hand under the desk. Never wore my hoodie. Never chose me.
Keifer got everything.
Her laughter. Her trust. Her heart.
And me?
I got silence. I got "you're such a good friend." I got "thank you for always being there."
Everyone said they cared. Ci-n cracked jokes to keep me laughing. Blaster wrote me into his lyrics. Felix defended me when I spiraled. Kit and Mayo always saved me a seat. But none of it stuck. None of it filled the space she left behind.
Because JayJay didn't choose me.
And Keifer? He didn't even try. He just existed. And she fell.
I saw them kiss in the music room. Saw her walk in the next day with bite marks and a blush. Watched Section E erupt with chaos and confetti. And I stood there. Smiling. Pretending. Dying.
Because I wasn't just jealous.
I was invisible.
I was the shadow in the corner while Keifer stood in the light.
And the worst part? He didn't even fight for her. He just stood there — smug, soft, like he deserved her. Like he hadn't broken her first.
I remembered the night he left. The night he told her about his plan to disappear. I was the one who stayed. I was the one who picked up the pieces. I was the one who promised I'd never hurt her.
But she didn't choose safety.
She chose danger.
She chose him.
So I made a list.
Santos. Jason. Ram. Keifer.
I circled his name. Twice. Drew a dagger beside it.
Because he wasn't just a rival.
He was a ghost.
The one who haunted every moment I wasn't enough.
And today?
Today I was done being quiet.
Done being good.
Done being the friend.
Because if taking Keifer out was the only way to make her see me — to make her choose me — then I'd do it.
If I had to kill Keifer to get Jay?
Then I will.