It started like any other morning.
Jay walked into the cafeteria, already complaining about the early class schedule. Mila handed her tea. Bella showed her a new sketch. Adrian started explaining some magical theory no one asked about. Daniel sat in his usual spot, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else.
Normal.
Then Keifer walked in.
And Jay knew something was wrong immediately.
He was pale. Too pale. His usual perfect posture was slightly off, like standing straight took too much effort. His eyes had dark circles underneath. His steps were slower than normal.
"Keifer?" Jay stood up. "You okay?"
He looked at her. Tried to smile. "Fine."
"You don't look fine."
"Didn't sleep well." He reached her table, put a hand on the back of a chair. "It's nothing."
Jay wasn't convinced. But Keifer was Keifer. He never admitted weakness. She let him sit, pushed her tea toward him.
"Drink this."
"I don't drink sweet tea."
"Drink it anyway."
He looked at the tea. Looked at her. Picked it up and took a sip.
The table went silent.
Lyra's jaw dropped. "He... he actually listened to you."
"He always listens to me," Jay said.
"He doesn't listen to ANYONE."
"He listens to me."
Keifer took another sip. His hand was shaking. Just a little.
Jay noticed. Her stomach dropped.
"Keifer," she said quietly. "When did you last sleep?"
He didn't answer.
"Keifer."
"Tuesday."
"Tuesday?" Her voice went sharp. "It's Friday. You haven't slept since TUESDAY?"
"I had work."
"You had WORK?" She was standing now, leaning over him. "What work is more important than SLEEP?"
"The quarterly reports. The faction budgets. The—"
"I don't care. You need to rest."
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine. You're pale and shaking and you drank sweet tea without complaining. That's how I know something's wrong."
He opened his mouth to argue.
And then his eyes rolled back.
And he fell.
One second he was sitting. The next he was on the floor, crumpled, completely still.
Jay screamed.
"KEIFER!"
She was on her knees beside him in an instant, her hands on his face, his chest, checking for breath, for pulse, for anything.
He was breathing. Thank god, he was breathing. But his skin was burning hot. Fever hot. Wrong hot.
"Someone get help!" she yelled. "NOW!"
Adrian was already running. Lyra was frozen, hands over her mouth. Bella was crying. Mila was kneeling beside Jay, trying to help.
Daniel was already gone—running for the infirmary faster than anyone had ever seen him move.
Jay held Keifer's hand. It was limp. So unlike him. Keifer was never limp. Keifer was always in control, always steady, always strong.
"Keifer," she whispered. "Keifer, wake up. Please wake up."
He didn't move.
The infirmary was chaos.
Teachers rushed in. Students crowded the hallway. Principal Morticia appeared out of nowhere, her face unreadable but her eyes sharp.
Jay was pushed aside. She stood against the wall, watching, helpless, as healers worked on him.
"What happened?" Morticia demanded.
"He hasn't slept since Tuesday," Jay said. Her voice was hollow. "He said he had work. Quarterly reports. I didn't—I should have made him—"
"This is not your fault." Morticia's voice was firm. "Keifer Watson has always pushed himself too hard. It was only a matter of time."
"That doesn't make me feel better."
"Good. Guilt means you care. Now channel that into being here when he wakes up."
Jay nodded. Swallowed. Kept watching.
The healers worked. They took his temperature (104 degrees). They gave him medicine. They put cold cloths on his forehead. They talked in low voices Jay couldn't hear.
Finally, one of them approached her.
"He'll be okay," the healer said. "Exhaustion. Severe fever. His body finally gave out. He needs rest. At least a week of bed rest."
Jay's knees almost gave out. "He's okay?"
"He will be. But someone needs to make sure he actually rests. He's not good at that."
Jay laughed. A broken, relieved sound. "I know."
"He'll wake up soon. You can stay with him if you want."
"I want."
Keifer woke up two hours later.
Jay was sitting in a chair beside his bed, holding his hand, staring at his face like she was afraid he'd disappear if she looked away.
His eyes opened slowly. Confused. Then they found her.
"Jay."
She burst into tears.
"Hey—" He tried to sit up, winced, fell back. "Hey, don't cry. I'm okay."
"You're NOT okay." She was sobbing now, ugly crying, not caring who saw. "You passed out in front of EVERYONE. Your fever was 104. You haven't slept since TUESDAY. You could have—you almost—"
"I'm here." His voice was weak but steady. "I'm right here."
"You scared me." She grabbed his hand tighter. "You scared me so much."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. Just—just don't do that again. Promise me."
He looked at her. His fever-bright eyes were soft, sorry, full of love.
"I promise."
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
"You're Keifer. You never rest. You work until you die."
"I won't die." He squeezed her hand. "I have you now. I have reasons to live."
She cried harder.
He pulled her down gently, until her head rested on his chest, his hand in her hair.
"Stay," he whispered.
"Always."
The news spread fast.
President Watson collapsed. President Watson is in the infirmary. President Watson almost died.
By evening, the hallway outside the infirmary was packed with students. Crimson Oaths. Nightthorns. First-years. Teachers. Even the ghosts were hovering nearby, curious.
Jay stepped out to update them.
"He's okay," she said. "He needs rest. A lot of rest. But he'll be fine."
The crowd exhaled as one.
Lyra pushed to the front. "Can we see him?"
"Not yet. He's sleeping. He really needs to sleep."
"How long will he be out?"
"At least a week. Bed rest. No work. Nothing."
Lyra nodded slowly. Then she turned to the crowd.
"Alright, listen up! President Watson is down, which means we need to step up. Crimson Oaths: cover his duties. Nightthorns: stop being annoying for once. Everyone else: send good thoughts, not chaos. Got it?"
The crowd murmured agreement.
Jay stared at Lyra. "You're... organizing?"
"Someone has to." Lyra's voice softened. "He does so much for us. It's our turn."
Jay felt tears prick her eyes again. "Thanks, Lyra."
"Don't thank me. Thank him. For being worth all this." She smiled. "Now go back inside. Sit with him. We'll handle the outside world."
The next few days were strange.
Jay barely left the infirmary. She slept in the chair beside his bed. She made sure he ate, drank, rested. She argued with him when he tried to do work.
"No," she said, taking a stack of papers from his hands.
"Jay, those are important."
"So is your health. Sleep."
"I slept."
"Four hours is not enough."
"Four hours is plenty."
"It's not. Sleep more."
"I don't need—"
"Keifer." She put her hands on her hips. "I will sit on you."
He stared at her.
"I will literally sit on you and hold you down until you sleep."
A pause.
"Promise?" he said.
Her face went red. "THAT'S NOT—I MEANT—YOU'RE AWFUL."
He smiled weakly. "You love me."
"I love you when you're not being impossible."
"I'm always impossible."
"I know." She sat on the edge of his bed. "Now sleep. Please."
He reached for her hand. "Stay."
"Always."
He closed his eyes. Within minutes, he was asleep.
Jay watched him, her heart so full it hurt.
The teasing started when he was well enough to leave the infirmary.
Day 4: He was allowed to sit in the common room for short periods. Jay wrapped him in blankets like a burrito. Mila took a picture.
"Documentation," Mila said solemnly. "For history."
"Erase that."
"Never."
Day 5: He tried to walk to class. Jay stopped him at the door.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Class."
"No."
"I missed three days."
"You'll miss four. Sit down."
"I'm fine."
"You're fine because I MADE you fine. Now sit."
He sat.
Their friends watched from the corner, barely containing their laughter.
"She's so bossy," Bella whispered.
"He loves it," Mila whispered back.
Day 6: Keifer finally admitted he felt better. Jay finally relaxed. Slightly.
"You know," he said, sitting in his usual spot, "you're very intense when you're worried."
"You're very stupid when you're stubborn."
"I'm not stupid."
"You worked until you passed out. That's stupid."
He opened his mouth to argue.
Closed it.
"...Fair."
Jay blinked. "Did you just... agree with me?"
"I agreed that working until I passed out was stupid. Not that I'm stupid. There's a difference."
"Still counts."
"It really doesn't."
"Does."
"Does not."
"DOES."
"DOES NOT."
Their friends watched the argument with fond smiles.
"They're back," Adrian said.
"Thank god," Daniel muttered. "I was getting worried."
Lyra wiped a fake tear. "Our idiots are arguing again. Everything is right in the world."
Day 7: Keifer was officially cleared for normal activity.
He walked into the cafeteria, Jay beside him, and the entire room stood up and cheered.
He stopped. Stared.
"What..."
"You almost died, man," a first-year yelled. "We're happy you're okay."
"The President is BACK," someone else shouted.
"We missed you," Lyra said, walking up. "The school was boring without you. Also Jay was really scary. Please don't get sick again."
Keifer looked at Jay. "You were scary?"
"They're exaggerating."
"She cried for three days," Mila said.
"Threatened to sit on him," Adrian added.
"Stared at the healers until they gave her hourly updates," Bella contributed.
"Wouldn't eat," Daniel said flatly. "Had to be forced."
Jay's face was on fire. "I was WORRIED."
Keifer pulled her into a hug. Right there. In front of everyone.
"I'm sorry," he murmured into her hair. "I'm sorry I scared you."
She hugged him back, tight. "Just don't do it again."
"I won't."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
The cafeteria exploded into cheers again.
Someone started a chant. "JAYFER! JAYFER! JAYFER!"
Jay buried her face in his chest. "I hate them."
"No you don't."
"...No. I don't."
Later, back in his room, Jay sat on his bed while he rested (doctor's orders, she enforced strictly).
"You know," she said quietly, "when you fell... I thought I lost you."
He reached for her hand. "I'm here."
"For a second, everything stopped. The whole world just... went silent. And all I could think was 'no, no, no, not him, please not him.'"
He squeezed her fingers. "Jay."
"I can't do that again. I can't watch you fall and not know if you'll get back up." Her voice cracked. "I love you too much for that."
He pulled her down beside him, wrapped his arms around her, held her close.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."
"Just promise me you'll take care of yourself. For me. If not for you, for me."
"I promise." He kissed her forehead. "I'll take care of myself. Because I want to stay with you. Forever."
She looked up at him. "Forever?"
"Forever." He smiled, tired but real. "If you'll have me."
"Idiot." She kissed him. Soft. Sweet. "Of course I'll have you."
The next morning, Lyra had a new whiteboard.
JAYFER: THE FEVER INCIDENT
Days Jay Didn't Sleep: 7
Times Jay Threatened to Sit on Him: 4
Times He Let Her: 0 (disappointing)
Times He Agreed With Her: 1 (historic)
Recovery Status: COMPLETE
NEW MILESTONE PREDICTIONS:
Next time he overworks himself: TOMORROW (probably)
Next time she kills him for it: ALSO TOMORROW
Forever status: CONFIRMED
Jay stared at the board. "Forever status?"
Lyra shrugged. "He said forever. We heard him. It's official."
"He said forever in PRIVATE."
"Nothing is private in Black Hollow."
Jay groaned.
Keifer appeared beside her, coffee in hand. Normal coffee. Normal Keifer. Normal day.
"What's that?" he asked, looking at the board.
"Nothing."
"Forever status confirmed," he read aloud. His lips twitched. "Accurate."
"KEIFER."
"What? It's true."
"You're impossible."
"You love me."
"I do." She grabbed his hand, pulled him toward the table. "Now sit down and eat. You need to keep your strength up."
"For what?"
"For forever."
He smiled. That real one. Only for her.
"Okay."