JAY JAY POV
IN SCHOOL
Keifer and I walked toward the Section E building, his arm draped possessively around my waist.
We finally entered the Section E building. I took a deep breath, looking at the familiar walls. Thank god it was still standing.
Ci-N had called me just in time to tell me the building was on the chopping block for demolition. The school administration clearly thought they could finally scrub Section E off the map while we were distracted. I told Keifer, and he took care of it immediately—which is a polite way of saying he probably gave the principal a heart attack and threatened to bury the construction crew in their own cement.
The second we crossed the threshold, the volume in the room jumped from a dull roar to a full-blown concert.
"Wow, Jay-jay. You got engaged and didn't even want to tell us?" Ci-N said, leaning against a desk and making a dramatic pout that looked like something out of a soap opera. "I thought we were closer than that. My heart is practically shattered."
I blinked, my face heating up. "How did you even know about that?"
"One, your post is everywhere—people are practically betting on the wedding date already," David pointed out from his corner, his voice as calm and steady as ever. "And two... his hands are still on your waist, Jay. He hasn't let go since you parked the car."
I looked up at David, my jaw dropping in mock shock. "OMG, you're actually awake and talking! Please, someone pinch me!"
The whole room erupted into chuckles. David just offered one of those mysterious, quiet smiles that made him the anchor of this chaotic group.
But then the mood shifted slightly. The laughter died down a bit as the guys looked at each other nervously. Drew stepped forward, scratching the back of his neck, looking more awkward than usual.
"So... did she forgive us?" Drew asked, his voice low.
Right. That. The silence that followed was heavy. They all knew they had messed up with secrets that nearly tore us apart. They were looking at me like I was a judge about to hand down a sentence.
"Okay, everyone, let's get this cleared out," I said, crossing my arms and trying to look as stern as possible. "I will forgive all of you on a few conditions."
I paused for effect. You could hear a pin drop. Even Felix stopped bouncing on his desk.
"One: no more hiding secrets from me. If something is going down, I want to know about it. No more 'protecting' me by keeping me in the dark."
A chorus of "Yes, Ma'am" and "Got it" echoed through the room.
"Two: you definitely don't track me," I said, turning my head to glare pointedly at Keifer, then shifting my gaze to Rory and Edrix.
Rory looked up at the ceiling like he was suddenly interested in the light fixtures, and Edrix's fingers froze on his keyboard. Keifer just cleared his throat and looked away
"And three," I said, my voice dropping to a deadly serious whisper. "The most important one... DON'T. TOUCH. MY. FOOD."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Felix yelled, holding his hands up. "That's a human rights violation, Jay-jay! Those fries you bring are communal property!"
"Touch a single fry, Felix, and you'll see how fast I can forget my first two conditions," I threatened, though I couldn't help the smile tugging at my lips.
"She's serious, guys," Eman said, leaning back with a chuckle. "The girl will fight a lion for a sandwich. Best to just agree."
Keifer let out a low, rumbling laugh against my ear. "You heard her. Follow the rules, or you'll have to deal with me and her. And trust me, she's the scarier one when she's hungry."
"Fine, fine," Rory sighed, waving a hand. "No tracking, no secrets, no stealing the Mutya's snacks. We promise."
I let out a breath, the last bit of tension leaving my body. Looking around at all their familiar, mischievous, and loyal faces, I knew I was right where I belonged. Section E was a mess, but they were my mess.
The atmosphere in the room turned from lighthearted to lethal in less than a second.
The door creaked open, and Yuri stepped in. The air immediately soured. He was glaring at Keifer, his usual witty mask replaced by something cold and defensive. But Keifer—Keifer didn't even give him a chance to speak.
In a blur of motion, Keifer lunged. The sound of Yuri's back hitting the concrete wall echoed like a gunshot through the silent classroom.
"KEIFER!" I yelled, my heart leaping into my throat. I reached for his arm, but he didn't even acknowledge me. His entire body was a cord of solid tension, his fist bunched in the collar of Yuri's shirt.
"SON OF A BASTARD! DID ARIES REALLY PUSH PERCY OFF THE CLIFF THAT NIGHT?" Keifer roared. The sheer volume of his voice made some of the guys in the back flinch.
Yuri's eyes widened, a flicker of genuine shock crossing his face before he masked it. "W-what a-re you talking about, Keifer?" he stammered, his breath hitched.
Keifer leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a terrifying, deadly calm that was somehow worse than the shouting. "Tell me. Did Aries really push Percy off the cliff?"
"Keif, what is happening here?" Felix asked, stepping forward cautiously. The rest of Section E had stood up, moving in a semi-circle around them. They looked confused, glancing between the two former friends.
"This son of a bitch lied to us for years!" Keifer spat, not taking his eyes off Yuri. He blamed Aries. He let me hate my own brother-in-law. He told me Aries was a murderer when, in reality, he was the one who stood there and did nothing! He couldn't—or wouldn't—save Percy that night, and he used Aries as a scapegoat!"
Asshole brother-in-law this is important
The room went deathly silent. Every pair of eyes in Section E shifted to Yuri.
"Is that true, Yuri?" David asked, his mature voice cutting through the tension like a knife.
Yuri looked around the room, seeing the faces of the people who had trusted him. He looked back at Keifer, his lip trembling slightly. "You don't understand, Keifer... it was dark... the car was sliding..."
"I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU LIED!" Keifer shoved him harder against the wall. "You watched them fall and then you came back and poisoned my mind! You made me a weapon against Jay's family!"
I stood there, frozen. I looked at Yuri—the friend who had been my shadow, the one I thought was my ultimate protector. Seeing him now, pinned against the wall with the truth finally bared, he looked so small.
"Yuri..." I whispered, my voice trembling. "Why? Why would you do that to Aries?"
Yuri snapped. With a surge of desperate strength, he shoved Keifer back. Keifer, not expecting the retaliation, stumbled and hit the floor.
"Keifer!" I rushed to his side, helping him steady himself, but Keifer was already pushing back up, his eyes bloodshot with rage.
"What else do you want me to do?!" Yuri yelled, his face contorted and tears finally springing to his eyes. "I was also scared! I was fucking fourteen, Keifer! It was the edge of a cliff! If I had gone to help him, I would have been dead too! I would have gone over with them!"
The room felt like it was losing oxygen. The raw cowardice in his voice was sickening.
"It's not like Percy is dead anyway!" Yuri added, his voice cracking into a defensive shriek.
That was the breaking point for someone else.
"You bastard!" Felix yelled, stepping forward with a look of pure hatred I'd never seen on his usually playful face. "Because of you, my brother was separated from us for four years! Our family broke apart because of your lie!"
Yuri let out a harsh, hysterical laugh, pointing a finger at Felix. "STEP-BROTHER! He's not your blood brother, Felix! Stop acting like it matters!"
The words hadn't even fully left his mouth before I moved.
THWACK.
My fist connected with Yuri's jaw so hard my knuckles throbbed. He stumbled back, clutching his face, looking at me in absolute shock. I had never laid a hand on him in all the years we'd known each other.
"Watch how you speak," I warned him, my voice low and trembling with a fury I didn't know I possessed. "Blood or not, they are my family. And you? You traded their lives to save your own reputation."
The rest of Section E closed in
"You let us believe the worst of Aries," Rory said, his usual teasing tone replaced by a cold, investigative edge. "You played all of us."
"I did it to stay with you guys!" Yuri pleaded, looking around at the circle of stony faces. "If you knew I was a coward, you would have kicked me out! I just wanted to belong!"
"You never belonged," Keifer said, standing tall now, wiping a stray bit of dust from his jacket. He didn't even look angry anymore; he looked disgusted. "Because in Section E, we might be screw-ups, we might be delinquents, but we never leave someone behind. And we definitely don't lie about it for four years."
Keifer looked at me, then back at Yuri. "Get out. Before I forget that Jay-jay just punched you and I decide to finish the job."
The silence that followed Yuri's departure was thick, like woodsmoke. We all stood there, watching the door swing shut, the echo of his footsteps fading down the hallway.
"Don't ever come back," Keifer had growled, his voice vibrating with a finality that left no room for argument.
Yuri had looked at each and every one of us—searching for a spark of the old loyalty, a hint of forgiveness—but he found nothing but a wall of cold, hard stares. "You guys will regret this," he had hissed, his last attempt at holding onto some semblance of power.
"Fuck off, asshole," Edrix snapped,
Once the door clicked shut, the tension in the room snapped. Blaster let out a long, low whistle. "Man... and I thought we were the ones with the issues."
Keifer turned to me immediately. The rage that had been radiating off him just seconds ago vanished, replaced by that intense, protective focus he only had for me. He grabbed my hand—the one I had used to punch Yuri—and inspected my knuckles.
"You okay?" he asked, his voice low. "You hit him pretty hard."
"I'm fine," I said, though my hand was starting to throb. I looked around at the rest of Section E. Felix looked like he was still vibrating with anger, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. David was watching the door, his expression unreadable but his shoulders tense.
"He's been in our circle this whole time," Rory muttered, shaking his head. "Tracking us, 'protecting' us... and he was the one who caused the whole rift."
"He's gone now," Eman said, stepping forward and placing a grounding hand on Felix's shoulder. "He's not one of us anymore. He never was."
I looked at Keifer. The weight of the last four years—the hatred he'd carried for Aries, the guilt he'd felt for Percy, the lies he'd been fed—seemed to be settling on him. He looked exhausted.
"Keifer?" I whispered.
He pulled me into a sudden, tight hug, burying his face in the crook of my neck. I could feel him take a deep, shaky breath. "I'm sorry, Jay," he caught himself. "For everything. For believing him over your family."
"You didn't know," I murmured, rubbing his back. "He manipulated everyone. But it's over now. No more secrets."
"Hey," Ci-N said, trying to break the heavy mood with a lopsided grin. "On the bright side, Section E just got 100% less snake-y. And Jay-jay? That was a solid hook. Remind me never to steal your snacks."
A small ripple of forced laughter went through the room
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🌸 Heyy everyone 🌸
So some of you have been asking for Yuri and Ella as an endgame 😭💗 So now I wanna know…
Do you guys want me to make Section E and Aries forgive Ella and Yuri? 🌸🤍 OR Should I go with the different idea I already have in mind 👀✨
I can also mix both together if you want 🌙💗 YES… there are more endgames in this book 😭🔥
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