Ruz's POV
5:30 AM.
The alarm buzzed beside my bed like it had personal beef with me.
I blindly smacked the clock, hit it twice before it finally shut up and buried myself deeper into the blanket.
Five more minutes.
Just five.
Then my phone started vibrating nonstop.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
The sound was relentless, I groaned and grabbed my phone from under the pillow, squinting at the screen.
Liam
23 Messages.
Of course. Twenty-three. Because he never sent a normal number of messages in his entire life.
I scrolled through the chaos
hey wake up
where are u
why are u not seen my msg
are u ok
im going to call adrian
are u in any trouble
im going to call kuya Azmain
are u kidnapped again
should i call cops
wait maybe ambulance first
no maybe cops first
maybe both
im serious
Ruuuuz
please reply me
im not kidding
i will actually do it
last warning
okay im calling kuya
WAIT
did u die while sleeping
that's not allowed
only old people die in their sleep
I immediately called him before he actually embarrassed me further. Before he actually called Kuya.
"WTF, Liam," I hissed sleepily, my voice still thick with exhaustion. "Stop annoying me early in the morning. Some of us are considering murder as a valid solution to this problem."
"WHY DIDN'T YOU REPLY THEN?" he shouted dramatically, loud enough that I had to hold the phone away from my ear.
"BECAUSE I WAS SLEEPING."
There was a pause.
Then, in a much smaller voice: "Ohhhhh."
I rolled my eyes so hard I probably pulled a muscle. "You're unbelievable."
"I know," he said cheerfully. "Listen, I have something to show you. Something exciting."
"What is it?"
"It's a surprise."
"I hate surprises."
"I know," he answered proudly, like that was the best part. "But you'll love this one. I guarantee it. Get ready, fast or you are going to be late for school."
Before I could answer, before I could threaten him, he cut the call.
I stared at my phone.
"Ugh. So annoying."
I dragged myself out of bed, my feet heavy against the cold floor. The shower barely helped, the hot water woke up my muscles even if my brain was still running on zero.
When I got dressed, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Dark circles under my eyes. Hair is still slightly messy despite my best efforts. Expression somewhere between exhausted and anxious.
Just hearing the word 'exams' made my stomach twist into complicated knots.
I had studied. I had prepared. I had done everything I was supposed to do.
But still.
The fear was there.
The fear of failing. Of not being good enough. Of proving every whisper right.
I took a deep breath. Pushed it down.
Not today.
I got out downstairs, the house was unusually quiet.
Not the peaceful kind of quite the kind that made you feel like something was missing. The dining room was empty. The chairs were pushed in. Only Aling Rosa moved around the kitchen, her footsteps soft against the tiles.
"Good morning, hija," she said with her usual gentle smile.
"Morning, Aling Rosa."
I sat down at the dining table. The plate appeared in front of me full of rice, eggs and longganisa as always.
A few seconds later, Adrian walked in.
His uniform was perfectly ironed not a single wrinkle, his expression was cold, unreadable.
He sat beside me without saying anything.
Then Kuya Azmain entered, reading something on his tablet. His glasses were perched on his nose. His tie was already perfectly knotted. He looked like he had been awake for hours.
"Where is tita and tito?" I asked.
Kuya looked up briefly. "They flew to London early this morning. For an important business meeting. There are some issues in the company."
Of course there were.
Rich people never rested. Problems multiplied like rabbits, and the only solution was more meetings, more flights, more time away from home.
Adrian casually took a sip of coffee. "Meaning kuya will become even more unbearable this week."
"I heard that," Kuya replied calmly, not looking up from his tablet.
"You were supposed to."
I nearly laughed into my juice.
Kuya ignored him and looked at me instead. "How's exam preparation?"
"Fine."
"That answer sounds suspicious."
"That's because she studies like a criminal hiding evidence," Adrian said lazily, reaching for the rice.
"I do not."
"You literally disappear with coffee and notes at 2 AM. I've seen you. The lights are on. The door is closed. You're muttering formulas under your breath like a possessed witch."
"That's called dedication."
"That's called concerning behavior. Normal people sleep at 2 AM."
Kuya sighed like exhausted parents.
"You both better maintain your grades," he said.
Adrian smirked. "I always do."
Kuya turned to me.
"…And you?"
I gave him my most innocent smile. The one that usually made him suspicious.
"I'm trying my best."
"That sentence terrifies me more than any threat you've ever made."
Adrian snorted into his coffee.
Siblings.
Pure support.
After breakfast, we headed outside.
Adrian's black sleek car waited in the driveway, his first love.
I was about to get inside when another engine sound echoed through the gates.
Low. Powerful. Smooth. The kind of sound that made you stop and listen, even if you didn't know anything about cars.
A silver McLaren 720S stopped dramatically in front of us.
The sunlight reflected against the metallic body so perfectly. Students from nearby houses literally slowed down to stare. Their jaws dropped and phones came out to take pictures. Someone actually whispered "holy shit" loud enough for everyone to hear.
Liam stepped out wearing sunglasses like he owned the entire city.
"That," Adrian said flatly, "was unnecessarily dramatic."
Liam grinned, pushing his sunglasses up like a model in a commercial. "Jealous?"
"No."
"Yes, you are."
"No."
"A little?"
"Die."
I burst out laughing. The sound surprised me with real laughter, the kind that came from somewhere deep.
Liam walked toward me proudly, gesturing at the car like he was presenting a trophy. "So? What do you think?"
The car looked insanely beautiful. Silver. Sleek. Expensive one.
"It's cool," I admitted.
"Cool?" Liam gasped dramatically, placing a hand over his heart like I had stabbed him. "JUST cool? Not beautiful? Not stunning? Not the most magnificent vehicle you've ever seen in your entire life?"
I lifted an eyebrow and smirked. "Trust me, I've seen cars far more sophisticated and stylish than this one."
Adrian leaned slightly closer to me and whispered, "Do you miss your 911?"
I immediately denied it.
"No."
But honestly…
Maybe a little.
The Porsche 911 had been mine not officially, not legally. It had been my escape, my freedom, the thing that made me feel like I could outrun anything.
And It is gone, for now until they come back.
Liam had a McLaren.
And I was trying very hard not to be jealous.
Liam opened the passenger door with exaggerated elegance, bowing slightly. "Your ride, Queen."
The word Queen felt a little strange, like he meant something deeper, something he wasn't saying out loud.
Adrian and I exchanged a quick glance. Just for a moment, but it said enough.
Adrian instantly frowned. The kind of frown that meant war.
"Why is she going with you?"
"Because she wants to."
"She's my sister."
"And she's not five. She can make her own decisions."
"She's still my responsibility."
Liam placed a hand over his heart dramatically. "Wow. So emotional. I didn't know you had feelings, Adrian."
Adrian glared at him.
Liam grinned wider.
Both of them suddenly grabbed my arms from opposite sides.
"She's riding with me," Adrian said, his grip firm.
"No, with me," Liam argued, pulling me toward his car.
"You drive like a maniac."
"You drive like a divorced billionaire trying to impress his ex wife."
"At least I drive properly."
"At least I'm fun."
"You nearly killed Josh last month with Nika's car."
"That speed bump was aggressive."
"That was a sidewalk, Liam. You drove onto a sidewalk. There was screaming. Someone called the police."
"The police didn't come."
"Because they were too busy to laughing."
I laughed so hard I almost choked.
"Guys, stop."
"No," both answered immediately.
Typical.
I slipped away from Adrian, using my technique I had perfected over years of avoiding unwanted hugs and walked toward Liam's car.
Because honestly?
I wanted the first ride.
Liam smirked victoriously, his eyes sparkling with triumph.
Adrian looked personally betrayed.
"You're choosing him?"
"Yes."
"After everything I've done for you? After years of sibling loyalty? After I covered for you when you broke the vase?"
"You're trying to frame me instead."
And stop saying like that, you sound like a dumped boyfriend. It's uncomfortable."
Liam nearly collapsed laughing, leaning against his car for support.
Adrian looked offended for the next ten minutes.
The ride to school was chaos.
Liam drove smoothly but proudly, one hand on the steering wheel like he was filming a luxury commercial. His sunglasses were back on.
"You can admit it," he said, glancing at me. "This car is beautiful, stunning and life changing."
"It's okay."
"Okay?"
"Yes."
"You wound me. Deeply. Emotionally. Spiritually."
"You'll survive."
He glanced at me briefly, his expression softening slightly.
"Are you nervous for exams?"
"A little."
"A little?"
"Okay. I'm very nervous. Are you happy now? I admitted it. I'm scared of a piece of paper."
His teasing expression softened. Not pity just understanding.
"You'll do fine."
"That's easy for you to say. You memorize things like a psychopath. You probably dream in textbook chapters."
"Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"It still counts. I'm choosing to take it as a compliment."
I smiled slightly and stared outside the window.
For once, the morning felt normal.
No danger.
No secrets.
No fear of Kairo or his men or what they might do next.
Just school stress and annoying friends and the kind of anxiety that came from quadratic equations instead of survival.
And honestly?
I missed this.
The moment we entered campus, chaos exploded.
"THE RICH KIDS ARE HERE!" Josh shouted dramatically across the parking lot, his voice echoing off the buildings.
Half the students turned toward us.
I covered my face immediately. Not because I was embarrassed, okay, maybe a little but because most of the students and teachers were staring and whispering and I had not prepared for this level of attention before 8 AM.
Josh ran toward the car like an excited golden retriever who had been left home alone too long.
Behind him came Eren, Zayn, Rifat, Enzo, Marco, Diego, Nika, Mira, Aira.
Our disaster group.
Josh circled Liam's McLaren dramatically, making exaggerated oohing and aahing sounds.
"Oh my God. Oh my GOD. I can literally see my future reflected on this car. My hopes. My dreams."
"You don't have a future," Eren replied calmly, crossing his arms.
"Wow. That was unnecessary violence."
Zayn touched the hood carefully, like he was petting a sleeping lion. "If I scratch this accidentally, will Liam kill me? Or just emotionally destroy me?"
"I'll roast you like roasted chicken," Liam answered instantly
"Whoa," Zayn blinked, raising an eyebrow. "Violence much?"
Enzo adjusted his glasses while examining the car seriously, "Statistically speaking, this vehicle attracts too much attention. It's impractical for daily use. The maintenance costs alone.."
Marco nodded wisely. "Meaning girls."
"Meaning thieves," Enzo corrected.
"Same thing," Diego muttered.
Mira crossed her arms, unimpressed. "Boys and cars are embarrassing. It's like watching peacocks compete for attention."
"That's because you don't understand art," Liam argued.
"That's not art. That's rich people showing symptoms. Expensive symptoms."
Aira looked at me suspiciously. "You rode with him willingly? Without being coerced? Without being blackmailed?"
"She betrayed me," Adrian said coldly as he finally walked toward us, his footsteps slow and deliberate.
Josh gasped dramatically, clutching his chest. "Sibling betrayal before 8 AM? This is the kind of content I wake up for."
"I hate all of you," Adrian muttered.
"No you don't," Nika replied calmly. "You'd die for us. We've seen it. We have evidence."
Adrian muttered.
"...Whatever."
We all laughed.
We started walking from the parking lot toward the school, talking the whole way, as if we had all the time in the world. One by one, we drifted off to our respective classrooms… reluctantly returning to reality and actually attending class.
Classes started seriously.
Very seriously.
Too seriously.
Teachers suddenly acted like exams were life or death military missions.
Our math teacher entered with terrifying energy, her heels clicking against the floor like a countdown.
"You are all behind schedule."
The entire class looked traumatized immediately. Someone in the back row made a small whimpering sound.
"For the next two weeks," she continued, "your social life no longer exists. Your phone no longer exists. Your happiness no longer exists. Only math exists."
Josh whispered softly, "Mine never existed in the first place. You can't destroy what was never there."
"Silence, Mr. Aquino."
"How do teachers hear everything? Is it magic or is it training or maybe both?"
"Because God loves us," Nika answered.
The class laughed quietly.
But underneath the jokes, everyone was anxious.
Notes piled higher. Deadlines everywhere. Review sessions nonstop. Even the noisy students became quieter, their usual chaos replaced by the kind of tension that came from months of work condensing into a few hours.
During break, I went to section E. I noticed Adrian staring at his notebook too long.
Not reading. Not studying. Just staring.
"You okay?" I asked softly.
"Yeah."
"You look stressed."
"I'm not stressed."
"You reorganized your pens by emotional damage level."
He looked offended. "That was one time. And those pens hurt me."
"Adrian."
"…Fine. Maybe a little stressed."
I smiled slightly.
"You'll top the exams anyway. You always do. It's annoying."
"That's not the point."
"Then what's the point?"
He leaned back slightly, his gaze distant.
"When people expect perfection from you long enough… failing feels illegal. Like a crime. Like something you should be arrested for."
His voice was calm.
But heavy.
I looked at him quietly.
Sometimes people forgot Adrian carried pressure too. The weight of being the oldest, the smartest, the one everyone looked to when things went wrong.
Being the "perfect son" wasn't easy.
I nudged his shoulder lightly.
"You don't always have to carry everything alone."
He stared at me for a second.
Then scoffed softly.
"Don't say emotional things before lunch. It's disturbing. I haven't eaten yet."
I grinned.
There he was.
Lunch break in the cafeteria was absolute war.
Chaos Gang occupied two entire tables pushed together because one table was never enough for our level of chaos.
Josh was stealing fries from everyone's trays, moving with the speed of a pickpocket.
Diego was threatening violence against anyone who touched his food.
Marco was recording everything for blackmail purposes, his phone pointed at various group members.
And Liam kept smirking at Adrian on purpose.
"You know," Liam said casually, taking a bite of his sandwich, "the McLaren suits her better. The color matches her energy. Silver. Cool. Unapproachable."
Adrian looked up slowly.
"Say that again."
"The McLaren…"
"I heard enough."
Rifat sighed dramatically, leaning back in his chair. "Ah yes. Male ego. Nature's funniest disease. No cure. No treatment. Just suffering."
Zayn pointed at Josh. "That one's worse."
Josh looked offended, his hands still full of stolen fries. "Excuse me? I'm emotionally intelligent. I process feelings. I'm in touch with my inner child."
"You cried because your burger fell on the floor."
"It was tragic. That burger and I had a connection. You wouldn't understand."
"You held a funeral for it."
"RESPECT THE DEAD."
Everyone burst out laughing.
Later, again the library became our temporary battlefield.
Books everywhere. Coffee cups everywhere. Mental breakdowns everywhere.
Our table was covered in notebooks, highlighters.
Rifat stared at his notes like they personally insulted him.
"I swear these words are moving. They were here yesterday. Now they're here. This is sabotage."
"They're not moving," Mira replied, not looking up from her own notes.
"How do you know?"
"Because unlike you, I slept last night. My brain is functioning. Yours is not."
Josh dramatically dropped his forehead onto the table with a loud thunk.
"If I fail math, tell my future wife I fought bravely. Tell her I gave everything I had. Tell her…."
"You won't even survive the exam hall," Eren answered. "You'll pass out before the first question. They'll find you face down on the desk."
Liam looked weirdly relaxed while studying.
Which was annoying.
Very annoying.
"How are you calm?" I asked, staring at him accusingly.
He shrugged. "Panicking wastes time. Time is limited. Panic doesn't help. So I choose not to panic."
"That sounds emotionally unhealthy."
"Probably. But it works."
Adrian suddenly slid a chocolate bar toward me without looking up from his notes.
I blinked.
"What's this?"
"You study better when you eat. You get cranky when you're hungry. And when you're cranky, everyone suffers."
Everyone at the table slowly looked at us.
Josh clutched his chest dramatically.
"He loves her."
"She's literally his sister," Mira deadpanned.
"And?"
"THAT'S NOT HOW LOVE WORKS."
"It is in this group."
Adrian threw a pen at Josh's face.
Josh caught it. Barely.
"I'm keeping this as a souvenir."
"That's theft."
"That's friendship."
Hours passed.
The stress slowly turned into sleepy madness.
At some point, Marco started quizzing us aggressively, acting like a game show host with no audience and too much enthusiasm.
"Define photosynthesis."
"Plant witchcraft," Diego answered instantly.
"Wrong."
"Prove it."
"The textbook says…."
"The textbook is lying."
Ruz laughed quietly.
Then Liam suddenly looked at me.
"You've been staring at the same page for ten minutes. Your eyes haven't moved. Your hand hasn't moved. I'm not sure you're breathing."
"I'm thinking."
"No. You're buffering. You're just… frozen."
"I hate you."
"No you don't."
Unfortunately it's true.
Nika closed her notebook and sighed softly.
"Does anyone else feel scared?"
The table became quieter.
No jokes. No teasing. Just honesty.
Aira nodded first. "I do. Every time. Even when I've studied. The fear doesn't go away."
"Same," Mira admitted.
Josh raised his hand weakly. "I'm terrified. Every exam, every test, every quiz. It never gets easier."
Eren leaned back in his chair.
"It's normal."
We looked at him.
"You guys care too much to fail completely," he continued calmly. "That anxiety exists because you're trying. Because you're not lazy. That's proof that you give a damn."
Silence settled for a moment.
Comfortable silence.
Then Diego ruined it.
"If I fail, I'm blaming all of you spiritually. I'm going to haunt you. From beyond the grade."
"Accepted," Liam replied.
By evening, everyone was exhausted.
But lighter somehow.
The library was emptying out, students packing up their things, heading home to whatever awaited them.
Study sessions with friends felt less suffocating than studying alone. Maybe because none of us carried the pressure by ourselves.
As we packed our things, Adrian looked at me.
"Are you coming home with me this time? Or are you planning to betray me again?"
Liam immediately interrupted. "She's riding with me again. The McLaren is waiting. It's eager. It misses her."
Adrian narrowed his eyes.
"Why are you smiling like that?"
"Because I'm winning."
"This isn't a competition."
"It absolutely is. Everything is a competition."
Josh whispered emotionally from somewhere behind us, "Forbidden love triangle."
"IT'S NOT A LOVE TRIANGLE," Adrian and I shouted together.
Josh nodded solemnly.
"Denial. The strongest stage. Right after bargaining."
Rifat grabbed Josh by the collar.
"Come on. Before they murder you, I have to explain it to your mother."
As everyone slowly left the library, I stayed behind for a second.
Watching them.
Laughing. Arguing. Bullying each other lovingly.
For the first time in a while…
Everything felt normal.
No darkness. No fear. No secrets chasing us through hallways and warehouses.
Just school chaos. Friendship. Family. And exam anxiety destroying everyone equally.
Honestly?
Maybe this was the kind of peace people fought for.
The kind that didn't announce itself. The kind that just existed, quietly, in the spaces between chaos.
Outside, Liam leaned against his silver McLaren while Adrian stood nearby looking annoyed simply because Liam existed.
"Choose wisely," Liam called dramatically.
Adrian crossed his arms. "For once in your life, stop being irritating."
"That sounds impossible. That sounds like asking the sun to stop shining. I was born this way."
Adrian looked at me.
I looked at him.
I sighed deeply.
Then smiled.
Yep.
Back to school chaos indeed.