The next few days felt… different.
Jay had gone from bickering with Keifer every other hour to barely talking to him at all. She left early for class, came back late, and when they were in the same room, she acted like he didn't exist.
Keifer noticed everything.
The way she kept her headphones in when he tried to talk.
The way she avoided his eyes at breakfast.
The way she flushed when their hands brushed by accident.
He hated it — hated that he missed her voice, her sarcasm, even their fights.
One evening, as Jay sat at her desk pretending to study, Keifer finally dropped his pen with a loud sigh. "Okay, enough."
She didn't look up. "Enough what?"
"This." He gestured between them. "You ignoring me like I suddenly turned invisible. What's your deal?"
Jay kept her eyes on her notes. "I'm just busy."
"Busy avoiding me, yeah."
Her jaw tightened. "Keifer, not everything is about you."
He crossed his arms, stepping closer. "Really? Because the second I mention what happened, you shut me out completely. So, yeah — maybe it is about me."
Jay finally looked up, meeting his eyes. "You kissed me. Then said it meant something. What am I supposed to do with that?"
He paused, thrown by her bluntness. "I don't know… maybe talk to me instead of running away?"
Jay's gaze softened just slightly, then hardened again. "You don't get it."
"Then help me get it," he said quietly, stepping closer. "Because I can't keep pretending I don't care."
That made her freeze.
Her heartbeat quickened, and she looked away, trying to sound calm. "You shouldn't say things like that."
Keifer's voice lowered. "Why not? Because you might actually feel the same?"
Jay's eyes snapped up to his, her breath catching for a second too long.
She quickly stood, brushing past him. "You're impossible."
But as she walked out the door, her hands trembled — not from anger, but from the truth she didn't want to admit yet.
Keifer stood there, watching her leave, frustration and longing twisting together.
He muttered under his breath, "I told you not to make me fall for you, Jay…"
Should I write one more chapter today