Chapter 56: controlled chaos (absolutely not controlled)
Jay's POV
If anyone ever tells you that putting two chaotic friend groups in one café is a bad idea, they are lying.
It's a spectator sport.
After the girls' gossip circle dissolved into laughter and unsolicited advice (Maya tried to plan my wedding again, Freya argued with Mica about who would survive longer in a zombie apocalypse), someone — I'm ninety percent sure it was Felix — loudly suggested we all "talk like normal humans."
That was mistake number one.
We rearranged chairs. Somehow. I don't remember how. One second I was sitting next to Maya, the next I was between Keifer and Freya, with Alex across from me and Rory already typing something suspiciously fast on his phone.
Keifer leaned in.
Keifer: "Are we about to witness chaos?"
Jay: "Keif, we are chaos."
On cue—
Felix: "Okay but I need to ask this before I forget."
Everyone turned to him.
Felix: "Jay. Is it true that you once scared an entire boardroom into silence by just… staring?"
I blinked.
Jay: "Which time?"
The table erupted.
Calix actually laughed. Like, full-on CEO-loses-composure laughed.
Calix: "She did that to us too."
Mica: "I warned you she's terrifying."
Freya: "She's not terrifying, she's efficient."
Keifer smirked like this was his favorite conversation topic.
Keifer: "She scared me once."
Jay: "Once?" I ask squinting my eyes.
Keifer: "Okay. Frequently."
Alex raised his hand like he was in school.
Alex: "As her assistant, I'd like to confirm she once said 'I'm disappointed' and I almost resigned on the spot."
Honey nodded solemnly.
Honey: "Same energy as Keifer saying 'we need to talk.'"
Keifer gasped dramatically.
Keifer: "Hey!"
Rory finally looked up from his phone.
Rory: "Statistically speaking, Jay has a seventy-eight percent intimidation success rate."
Jay: "Why do you know that?"
Rory: "I track things."
Edrix adjusted his orange-lensed glasses.
Edrix: "I hacked the café WiFi."
Jay: "WHY?"
Edrix: "Because I was bored."
Keifer leaned closer to me, whispering,
Keifer: "Your friends scare me."
Jay: "Good. Yours too."
Across the table, Freya tilted her head, eyes sharp but amused.
Freya: "So you two."
Jay: "Here we go."
Freya: "You're… good now?"
Keifer answered before I could.
Keifer: "We're excellent."
Jay: "We're annoying, actually."
Keifer: "Very."
Maya grinned.
Maya: "Confirmed. They were like this in high school too."
Felix: "WAIT. You two dated in HIGH SCHOOL?"
Jay: "Yes."
Felix: "AND YOU DIDN'T TELL US?"
Keifer: "I assumed it was obvious."
Felix: "HOW."
I shrugged.
Jay: "We fought a lot."
Keifer: "Productively."
Jay: "Loudly."
Keifer: "With passion."
Alex deadpanned.
Alex: "They once argued over coffee for forty-five minutes."
Honey: "Who won?"
Alex: "No one. They ordered tea.Or so Maya told me."
Laughter again.
Ava watched us like she was filing mental notes, but thankfully didn't say a word. Instead, she smiled.
Ava: "You two make sense."
Jay: "We know."
Keifer: "Terrifyingly so."
Blaster suddenly leaned forward.
Blaster: "Question."
Everyone: "Oh no."
Blaster: "Who would win in a fight. Jay or Keifer."
I didn't even hesitate.
Jay: "Me."
Keifer: "Her."
Alex: "Her."
Mica: "Jay."
Felix: "Jay, but emotionally Keifer would cry first."
Keifer placed a hand over his heart.
Keifer: "Betrayal."
I patted his knee.
Jay: "You'd cry beautifully."
He smiled at me — soft, stupid, and entirely too fond.
Keifer: "Worth it."
The café was loud now. Chairs scraping, overlapping conversations, Felix challenging Calix to arm wrestling, Rory and Edrix comparing laptops, Honey and Alex whispering and pretending they weren't.
I leaned back, taking it all in.
My worlds weren't colliding.
They were blending.
Keifer squeezed my hand under the table.
Keifer: "You happy?"
Jay: "Ridiculously."
Keifer: "Good. Because I plan to be very annoying forever."
Jay: "I expect nothing less."
Outside, the sun dipped lower, light spilling through the windows, and for once — just once — everything felt exactly where it was supposed to be.
And knowing us?
This was only the beginning.