KEIFER POV
Something was wrong.
Not danger wrong.
Worse.
Jay-Jay disappeared for almost an hour.
With them.
And somehow that annoyed me more than it should.
Cin was lying upside down on the hotel couch dramatically.
"She abandoned us."
Rory nodded seriously.
"For another group."
Blaster frowned.
"I still don't trust them."
Felix looked offended.
"They look too calm. Calm people are dangerous."
"That makes no sense," Yuri muttered.
"It makes perfect sense."
I stayed quiet near the windows.
Watching the hotel lounge downstairs.
Waiting.
Unfortunately.
Cin suddenly looked at me and gasped dramatically.
"Oh my God."
I didn't react.
"You miss her."
Still didn't react.
"She's RIGHT THERE downstairs and you're acting divorced."
"I'm going to throw you off this floor," I replied flatly.
Rory immediately pointed.
"ANGER IS CONFIRMATION."
Idiots.
Absolute idiots.
Then Drew suddenly froze near the balcony window.
"…Wait."
Everyone looked at him.
"What?"
Drew pointed downstairs dramatically.
"Why do they look like a mafia meeting?"
We all moved toward the glass slightly.
And honestly?
He wasn't wrong.
Jay-Jay was sitting with Cyrus, Robin, and Adrian in the lounge below.
The atmosphere around them felt different.
Not awkward.
Not forced.
Natural.
Like they belonged together automatically.
Robin was laughing loudly.
Cyrus looked calmer than earlier.
And Adrian—
Adrian was sitting beside Jay-Jay quietly while she talked.
Not flirting.
Not trying hard.
Just existing beside her naturally.
And somehow that irritated me the most.
Cin squinted downstairs.
"…Why does she look softer with them?"
Nobody answered.
Because everyone noticed it.
Jay-Jay wasn't defensive around them.
Wasn't sarcastic every second.
She looked comfortable.
Safe.
Like she didn't need armor there.
Blaster crossed his arms.
"I don't like it."
Felix nodded immediately.
"Me neither."
Yuri looked thoughtful now.
"She trusts them deeply."
That sentence made silence fall.
Because we all knew it was true.
Then Rory suddenly zoomed in with his phone camera.
"Oh this is BAD."
"What now?" David asked.
Rory looked horrified.
"She's smiling."
Silence.
Cin clutched her chest dramatically.
"Keifer lost."
"I didn't lose anything," I said immediately.
Too fast.
Too sharp.
Cin pointed at me.
"See? Emotional damage."
I ignored her.
Mostly because downstairs—
Adrian suddenly leaned closer to Jay-Jay and brushed something off her hair casually.
Like it was normal.
Like touching her was natural.
And Jay-Jay didn't react aggressively.
Didn't threaten him.
Didn't move away.
That annoyed me instantly.
Blaster noticed my expression and whispered,
"…Oh he's MAD mad."
"I'm calm."
"You look one second away from committing crimes."
Felix nodded seriously.
"Violent romance."
I was surrounded by idiots.
Then suddenly—
Jay-Jay looked up.
Straight toward the glass.
Straight toward us.
And immediately narrowed her eyes.
She knew we were watching.
Cin panicked instantly.
"ABORT MISSION."
Too late.
Jay-Jay was already standing up downstairs.
And somehow—
Adrian looked up too.
Then Cyrus.
Then Robin.
Now ALL of them knew we were spying.
Drew slowly backed away from the window.
"…We're dead."
Probably.
A few minutes later—
the hotel room door opened.
And Jay-Jay walked in.
Slowly.
Arms crossed.
Dangerous expression.
Behind her—
Adrian, Cyrus, and Robin followed casually.
Silence hit instantly.
Cin smiled nervously.
"…Hi?"
Jay-Jay looked at all of us.
"You people are horrible at spying."
Nobody denied it.
Because honestly?
She was right.
Then Adrian looked around Section E calmly for the first time properly.
And somehow—
the atmosphere changed again.
Because now both groups were finally face to face.
No distance.
No windows.
No escaping.
Just tension.
And curiosity.
A lot of curiosity.
Especially from me.
Because I still didn't understand one thing.
How someone from Jay-Jay's past could make her smile that easily.
And why that bothered me so much.
END OF CHAPTER 42