JAY'S POV
They were walking toward us like a pack of tigers stalking their prey.
Or, more specifically...Like a group of highly suspicious people preparing to interrogate my childhood best friend.
The moment they reached our table, silence fell. Nobody spoke. Nobody blinked. They just stared at Robin. Robin stared back. Honestly, it looked like a mafia meeting. Finally, Ci-N broke the silence.
"Jay, who is he?"
"He's Robin," I answered. "My childhood best friend."
The moment those words left my mouth, Ci-N looked personally betrayed. Like I had stabbed him in the back. Repeatedly.
"Jay..." he whispered dramatically. "How could you do this to me?"
Oh no. Not this again.
"What now?"
"I'm your best friend!" he cried. "You're betraying me!"
I deadpanned.
This batang.
"Ci-N, you're being dramatic."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"No."
"Yes."
He crossed his arms and pouted.
"You replaced me."
I rubbed my forehead.
"Ci-N, of course you're my best friend."
His eyes lit up.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Then why do you have another best friend?"
"Because people can have more than one best friend, you idiot."
Despite my explanation, he continued pouting. God. He was fifteen years old. Yet somehow he still behaved like a five-year-old.
Then Keifer finally spoke. His eyes never left Robin.
"Jay, aren't you supposed to be with Percy?"
"I was." I pointed toward the shopping area.
"Percy takes forever to buy clothes. So I came here to eat ice cream and ran into Robin."
Robin waved.
"Sup."
The silence that followed was painful. I quickly changed the topic.
"What are you guys doing here?"
Rory answered.
"We planned to go to the arcade. But then we found you."
Drew immediately nodded.
"Now that we're all here...Can we eat something? I'm hungry."
Everyone nodded at the exact same time. Of course. Section E and food were inseparable. A love story for the ages.
A few minutes later, everyone had somehow occupied two large tables. Unfortunately for me, Keifer, Yuri, and Ci-N sat directly across from Robin and me. The atmosphere instantly felt like a corporate board meeting. Or a police interrogation.
Robin looked nervous. Keifer looked dangerous. Yuri looked entertained. Ci-N was still offended.
Then Keifer leaned back in his chair.
"How long have you known Jay Jay?"
Robin smiled.
"Since forever. We practically grew up together."
Keifer's jaw tightened. Very slightly. But I noticed. Yuri noticed too. And immediately kicked Ci-N under the table. Ci-N looked confused. Then he noticed Keifer's face. His eyes widened.
Oh God.
Now both of them knew. Robin, completely oblivious to the danger he was in, continued talking.
"Jay Jay used to follow me around everywhere when we were kids."
I immediately slammed my hand on the table. "Okay! That's enough childhood stories!"
Robin laughed. "Why?"
"Because I said so."
Yuri smirked.
"No, no. Continue."
Ci-N nodded eagerly.
"We're very interested."
Robin grinned. Traitor.
"Well, she used to cry whenever I left—"
"ROBIN!"
The entire table burst into laughter. Even Rory nearly choked on his drink.
Meanwhile...Keifer was very quiet. Too quiet. Robin finally noticed.
"Uh..."
He looked between me and Keifer.
"Does he always look like he wants to fight somebody?"
Yuri answered immediately.
"Only when another guy gets too close to Jay."
The entire table went silent. I froze. Robin froze. Ci-N froze. Keifer slowly turned toward Yuri.
"Yuri."
"Yes?"
"Run."
Yuri stood up instantly.
"Worth it."
And the next second, the entire table exploded into laughter while Keifer contemplated all the life choices that had led him to becoming friends with these idiots. The table was still laughing while Yuri proudly celebrated his survival.
"See? I told you." Yuri pointed at Keifer. "Look at his face."
"Yuri." Keifer's voice was calm. Too calm.
Which somehow made it scarier.
"Yes?"
"Keep talking."
Yuri immediately sat down.
"Actually, I've suddenly decided that silence is a beautiful thing."
The laughter only got louder. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. Then Drew arrived carrying enough food to feed an entire village.
"Move."
He placed the trays on the table.
"Food first. Drama later."
"I agree." Rory immediately grabbed some fries.
Within seconds, everyone was distracted by food.
Well...Almost everyone.
Keifer and Robin were still occasionally looking at each other. Like two rival gang leaders. Or two cats deciding whether to fight. Ci-N suddenly looked between them. Then a mischievous grin appeared on his face.
Oh no.
Whenever Ci-N smiled like that, somebody suffered. Usually me.
"Robin."
"Yeah?"
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
I nearly choked on my drink. Robin blinked.
"No."
Ci-N nodded thoughtfully. "Interesting."
"Why?"
"Just asking."
Yuri immediately understood where this was going. His grin matched Ci-N's. Double trouble. Wonderful.
"What about you, Robin?" Yuri asked.
"What kind of girls do you like?"
"YURI!"
Both boys ignored me. Robin shrugged.
"Someone funny, loyal, and I Like foodie girls. "
The entire table slowly turned toward me. I stared back. Horrified.
"Don't."
Nobody listened.
"Funny?" Ci-N asked dramatically.
Everyone pointed at me.
"Loyal?"
Again. Everyone pointed at me.
"Foodie?"
Once more. Everyone pointed at me.
"STOP POINTING AT ME!"
The entire food court probably heard me. Robin finally realized what was happening.
"Oh."
Then he started laughing.
"Guys, calm down."
"We're calm," Yuri said.
"Very calm," Ci-N added.
"Extremely calm," Rory agreed.
Keifer looked like he wanted to throw all three of them into a river.
Robin noticed that too. Then suddenly a mischievous smile appeared on his face. And for the first time since they'd met, I became concerned. Because I knew that smile. That was Robin's I'm about to cause problems smile.
"So..." Robin said casually. "You're Keifer, right?"
The table immediately quieted. Keifer nodded.
"Yeah."
"Jay talks about you a lot."
I froze. My soul left my body. My ancestors left their graves. My future children disappeared from existence. Everything stopped.
"ROBIN!"
Robin burst out laughing.
Keifer's eyes immediately shifted toward me. Yuri's mouth dropped open. Ci-N looked like he'd just discovered the secret of the universe.
"SHE DOES?!"
"CI-N, SHUT UP!"
"HOW MUCH?!"
"CI-N!"
"EVERY DAY?!"
"I'M GOING TO THROW YOU OFF A BUILDING!"
The entire table was losing their minds.
Meanwhile, Keifer was trying—and failing—not to smile.
And somehow that was even worse. Because now everyone noticed. Yuri dramatically pointed at him.
"OH MY GOD!"
"What now?" I groaned.
"HE'S SMILING!"
The entire table gasped.
Even Drew looked up from his food.
"Rare sighting."
"Take a picture."
"Document the moment."
Keifer immediately stopped smiling. "Forget I did that."
"Too late," Rory said. "We've all seen it."
As the chaos continued around the table, I buried my face in my hands. Why was my life like this? And more importantly...Why was Robin enjoying every second of my suffering?
Robin was still grinning like he had just won the lottery after exposing me in front of everyone. Meanwhile, Section E had apparently decided that embarrassing me was today's main activity.
"So, Robin," Yuri said while taking a sip of his drink, "tell us more childhood stories."
"Absolutely not," I immediately interrupted.
Robin ignored me. Traitor.
"Well, there was this one time when Jay Jay got into a fight because someone called me a crybaby—"
"ROBIN!"
The entire table burst out laughing.
"That's actually kind of sweet," Ci-N said.
"She defended you?"
"Of course she did," Robin replied proudly. "Jay Jay always protected me."
For some reason, the moment Robin said that, Keifer's expression darkened. Not angry. Just...Annoyed. Very annoyed. Yuri noticed immediately. The idiot almost smiled.
"Wow," Yuri said dramatically. "You two seem really close."
"We are."
Robin casually threw an arm around my shoulder. Big mistake. Huge mistake. I felt the temperature drop again. I didn't even need to look. I already knew. Keifer was staring. Hard.
Robin, completely fearless—or completely stupid—continued talking.
"Jay Jay and I used to spend almost every day together."
Yuri looked at Keifer. Ci-N looked at Keifer. Rory looked at Keifer. Even Drew looked at Keifer. The poor guy was being observed like a zoo animal.
"What?" Keifer snapped.
"Nothing." Yuri smiled innocently.
"Absolutely nothing."
"Stop looking at me."
"We're not."
They were. Very obviously. Then, before the situation could get any worse, a familiar voice interrupted.
"Jay."
I immediately turned around.
"Percy!"
Percy walked toward our table carrying several shopping bags. Several. As in enough bags to financially destroy an entire family.
"Did you buy the whole mall?" I asked.
"No. Just necessary things for my handsome face and body."
Typical Percy. Then his expression became serious.
"We need to leave."
I blinked.
"What?"
"Something urgent came up."
My smile disappeared. If Percy was calling something urgent, then it was probably important.
"Now?"
"Now."
I sighed.
"Fine."
I stood up and grabbed my bag. Before I could say anything else, Percy turned toward Keifer.
"Can you drop Jay home?"
The entire table froze.
Including me.
"WHAT?"
Percy looked at me.
"What?"
"I can go by myself!"
"No."
"Percy—"
"No."
"I'm not five years old!"
"Didn't ask."
I stared at him. He stared back. The audacity.
Then Percy turned toward Keifer.
"Can you?"
Keifer answered immediately.
"Yeah."
Traitor number two.
"WAIT!" I protested. "I can literally go home alone!"
Nobody listened. Absolutely nobody. Robin looked amused. Yuri looked excited. Ci-N looked like he was about to start shipping us again.
"This is unfair!"
"Life is unfair," Percy replied.
"Percy!"
"Jay."
"Percy!"
"Jay."
I glared at him. He wasn't affected. Not even a little. Finally, I groaned dramatically.
"Fine."
The entire table looked suspiciously satisfied with my defeat. Especially Yuri. That snake.
Percy nodded.
"Good. Anyway, Percy said. I have to go."
He looked at Keifer.
"Take care of her."
Keifer nodded.
"I will."
For some reason, those two words made my heart skip.
I immediately ignored that feeling. Nope. Not dealing with that. Percy left a few moments later, leaving me standing there with Section E. And unfortunately...With Keifer. Yuri suddenly grinned.
A dangerous grin.
"Well..."
"Don't." I warned.
"Looks like someone has a date."
"YURI!"
The entire food court once again witnessed my suffering. Meanwhile, Keifer simply picked up my shopping bag before I could stop him.
"Let's go."
I opened my mouth to argue.
Then I looked at the smirking faces of Section E. Then at Robin, who was trying not to laugh. And finally at Keifer, who was already walking toward the exit with my bag. I sighed dramatically.
My life was a disaster.
"Bye, Robin!"
"Bye, Jay Jay!" he shouted.
Then he cupped his hands around his mouth.
"GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR FUTURE BOYFRI—"
"ROBIN!!!"
The last thing I heard before leaving the food court was Section E's explosive laughter and Keifer trying very hard not to smile.
------PARKING LOT-----------
We had just reached his car.
He placed all the shopping bags in the trunk while I opened the passenger door and sat inside. A few moments later, he got into the driver's seat.
But instead of starting the engine, he simply sat there. Looking at me. His expression was dark. Intense. For a moment, neither of us said anything. The silence inside the car felt heavy.
Finally, I broke it.
"Keifer?"
His eyes never left mine.
"Childhood best friend, huh?"
Ah.
Jealousy mode activated. I knew it.
I simply nodded.
His expression darkened even more. Then he looked straight into my eyes.
"Do you know why I'm jealous right now, Jay Jay?"
I blinked.
"Why?"
He let out a quiet breath.
"Because you were laughing with him. He's close to you. He talks like he knows you better than I do."
For a moment, he looked away before continuing.
"I know you still haven't forgiven me completely. But that doesn't change how I feel."
My heart skipped a beat. The honesty in his voice caught me off guard.
"Watching him with you...It made me realize how jealous I am. Not because I want to control who you're friends with, But because he has years of memories with you that I don't."
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"And I hate that."
The car fell silent once more. Neither of us looked away.
"Keifer..."
He smiled weakly.
"I know it's stupid."
"No. It's not."
I moved closer and held his face between my hands. His eyes immediately met mine.
"You know," I said quietly, "you have every right to be jealous. Not because you're possessive, but because it shows how genuine your feelings are. It shows how much you love me."
A small smile appears on his face. Then he was about to say something but I didn't let him.
I crashed my lips to his and give him a soft, sweet kiss but it was not enough for him. Because when I pulled apart.
He cupped the back of my neck and kissed me again. He angled my head so he could deepen the kiss. He pushed his tongue inside my mouth tasting me fully.
We kissed like we are drowning, and the other person is our only source of oxygen. Wild. Frantic. Desperate.
After devouring each other for another few minutes, we finally pulled away.
He looked at me with a wide smile on his face.
"I can't even tell you how much I missed this. You. Your lips. Your taste. "
And I couldn't help but blush. I was pretty sure my face was as red as a tomato right now. Unfortunately, Keifer noticed immediately. A smug grin appeared on his face.
"Ah, so you're blushing now."
"I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"Keifer."
"Jay," he replied, mimicking my tone perfectly.
I groaned and turned my face away.
"Just drive."
His grin only widened.
"As my wifey commands."
My eyes immediately widened.
"I'm not your wife."
"Not yet."
"Keifer!"
He laughed. "What?"
"You're impossible."
For a moment, he simply looked at me. Then his expression softened into something gentler. Something that made my heart skip a beat.
"Maybe," he said quietly. "But I'm yours."
And just like that, my face somehow became even redder. The idiot looked far too pleased with himself.