Jayjay POV
Hex had already been transferred into a proper room by the time I sat beside his bed. The beeping machines were calm now, steady, like they were telling me he was still here.
I sighed and rested my hand on his head.
"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "I shouldn't have left you there. I should've taken you with me."
A small hand suddenly touched my wrist.
"Yeah," a weak voice replied, "you should."
I froze.
I lifted my head slowly—and there he was. Awake. Looking straight at me.
"Hex!"
Before I could stop myself, I pulled him into a careful hug. "You scared me," I muttered.
He huffed. "What did you expect? You left me in that place."
"I didn't leave you alone," I said quickly. "I left you in Leo's care."
He chuckled dryly. "Leo? Please. You left me in his care and expected peace? I had to help him solve his own problems."
"Hey!" Leo protested as he entered the room—followed closely by Dominic, Lorenzo, Katrina, David, Endrix, Felix, Ci-N, Drew… basically everyone.
The room instantly became loud.
"Hex, sorry we didn't come earlier." "You look better!" "Man, you scared us."
Hex looked around, unimpressed. "You people talk too much."
I raised a brow. "Careful."
He smirked.
Then he winced slightly and muttered, "But… my head still hurts."
I shot a glare around the room. "Enough noise."
They all quieted—immediately.
Hex sighed. "He came home drunk. Started throwing things. I told him to stop." He pointed lightly at his forehead. "Next thing I know, couch. Floor. Collar grabbed."
My jaw tightened.
"Luckily," he added, "Leo dragged me away before it got worse."
Leo scratched his head. "See? I helped."
Hex shrugged. "Bare minimum."
Keifer scoffed. "You're still a kid."
Hex's eyes snapped to him instantly.
"Don't call me a kid."
Keifer smirked. "You're twelve. That's a kid."
"I am twelve," Hex snapped, sitting up slightly, "but that doesn't make me stupid."
David crossed his arms. "Oh? You think you're smart?"
Hex looked offended. "I know I am."
David grabbed a pen. "Fine. Answer this."
He wrote quickly and held it up.
David:
Solve: (18 × 4) − (36 ÷ 3) + 7²
Hex didn't even blink.
"Seventy-three."
David froze. "…Correct."
Endrix stepped forward next. "Okay then. If a system is protected by a multi-layer firewall but still gets breached through encrypted traffic, what's the weakness?"
Hex leaned back. "Misconfigured packet inspection. Encrypted doesn't mean invisible."
Endrix stared. "…Yeah. That's right."
The room went silent.
Felix whispered, "Okay, maybe he's not a kid."
Hex smirked. "Told you."
The room went quiet after Endrix's question.
Yuri, who had been leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, finally pushed himself forward.
"Alright," he said. "Smart kid."
He tilted his head. "Memory test."
Hex looked bored already.
Yuri spoke calmly.
"Say I give you a sequence:
7, 14, 28, 55, 109.
What comes next—and why?"
Hex didn't even count on his fingers.
"216," he said.
Yuri blinked. "Explain."
"Multiply by two, subtract one. Every time."
Yuri let out a low whistle. "Okay… that's annoying."
Ci-N raised his hand suddenly.
"Uh—my turn."
Everyone looked at him.
Ci-N scratched his head. "This is important."
Hex stared. "Go on."
"If you only have rice, eggs, onions, and one tin of sardines," Ci-N said seriously,
"what's the best food you can make so it doesn't taste sad?"
For a second, even I froze.
Hex sighed. "Fried rice. Sauté onions first. Break sardines into oil. Add egg last so it stays fluffy."
Ci-N gasped. "Bro."
Felix laughed. "That's genius."
Ci-N nodded respectfully. "You may live."
Then Keifer stepped forward.
The room shifted.
He didn't smile.
"Two questions," he said. "Hard ones."
Hex straightened slightly. "Try me."
Keifer's eyes sharpened.
"First," he said,
"If time travel were possible but only backward, how would you prevent a paradox without erasing the timeline?"
Hex answered instantly.
"Branch reality. You don't change the past—you create a new outcome. Original timeline stays intact."
Keifer's brows furrowed.
"And second," he continued, slower now,
"If someone wipes a systtem completely—no backups, no logs—how would you recover what never officially existed?"
Hex's lips curved faintly.
"You don't recover it," he said.
"You rebuild it using behavioral shadows. Metadata always leaks."
Silence.
Keifer exhaled slowly. "…Tch."
David muttered, "That's insane."
Felix whispered, "He answered faster than Google."
Blaster crossed his arms and smirked.
"Alright, genius," he said.
"Serious problem."
Hex looked at him. "Define serious."
Blaster pointed at his face.
"Say you like one girl. Just one."
Hex nodded slowly.
"But because you're good-looking," Blaster continued,
"another girl shows up. Then another. Then another."
The room leaned in.
"They all think you're theirs," Blaster said.
"One gets jealous. One gets mad. One cries."
Hex blinked.
Blaster finished, dramatic.
"What do you do so nobody gets hurt—and you don't die?"
Silence.
Hex thought for exactly two seconds.
"I don't flirt," he said.
"I don't promise anything. And I tell the truth."
"…That's it?" Blaster asked.
"Yes."
Blaster scoffed. "That won't work."
"It works," Hex replied calmly.
"People get hurt when you lie, not when you're honest."
The room went quiet.
Then David muttered, "He just solved romance."
Blaster clicked his tongue.
"Unfair. He's handsome and smart."
Hex frowned slightly and turned to me.
"Jayjay."
"What now?"
"Please tell them to stop asking me life questions," he said.
"My brain is tired.".
Hex leaned back, satisfied.
"Told you. Don't call me a kid."
Keifer clicked his tongue. "Fine. Hex."
Hex smirked.
Then his stomach growled again—loud.
"I'm still hungry."
I sighed. "Unbelievable."
Hex looked at me with wide eyes. "You promised."
I shook my head but smiled. "Yeah. Yeah. I promised."
Keifer exhaled. "Alright, alright. What's your real name anyway?"
Hex looked at me first.
I nodded.
"Charles Navarro," he said calmly.
"Age twelve. But Jayjay calls me Hex."
"Why Hex?" Felix asked.
He smiled slightly. "Because I'm quiet. I look harmless. But when I'm angry… even the devil gets scared."
Everyone exchanged looks.
I added softly, "When Hex is angry, it's already too late."
David cleared his throat. "Nice to meet you, Charles."
Hex frowned. "Don't call me Charles. Hex is fine."
Felix laughed. "This kid—"
Hex glared. "Finish that sentence."
Felix shut up.
David sighed. "I'll go get food."
Keifer stood. "I'll come."
As they turned to leave, Hex suddenly grabbed my sleeve. "Jay… I don't want to go back there."
I quickly covered his mouth before he could continue.
"Shh."
His eyes widened.
I leaned in. "You're not going anywhere. You're staying with me."
His grip tightened. "…Promise?"
"I promise."
Dominic hesitated. "So… what about us?"
I looked at them. "You guys should head back. I'll take care of Hex."
They protested at first—but one look at my face, and they knew better.
"Fine," Lorenzo said. "But call if anything happens."
After they left, Hex relaxed fully into the bed.
He smiled. "See? You're keeping me."
I sighed. "You're impossible."
He grinned. "And you love me."
…Unfortunately, he wasn't wrong
— After they finished eating —
Hex leaned back against the pillows, clearly more energized now.
Too energized.
He crossed his arms behind his head. "You know," he said casually, "for someone who just woke up in a hospital bed, I performed exceptionally well."
Felix groaned. "Here we go."
"I answered math, logic, tech, memory, philosophy, romance—" Hex counted on his fingers. "Basically everything."
Ci-N nodded seriously. "He even solved hunger."
Hex smirked. "Exactly."
I looked at him sideways. "You're flexing."
"I'm stating facts."
"Alright then," I said, folding my arms. "My turn."
Hex's eyes lit up. "Ask."
I leaned closer. "You have ten chocolates."
He nodded instantly. "Okay."
"You give two to one friend," I continued. "Then three to other friends."
"Five left," he said without thinking.
"You eat three yourself."
"Two left."
I smiled slowly. "Then… you feed a snake."
The room went quiet.
Hex blinked. "…Why am I feeding a snake?"
"Answer the question," I said sweetly. "How many chocolates are left with you?"
Hex frowned, thinking harder now. "If I had two left and I fed the snake—"
"Did I say how many you fed the snake?" I interrupted.
He froze.
The others leaned in.
"…You didn't," he admitted slowly.
"So?" I pressed.
Hex stared at the ceiling, jaw tight. "Then the answer depends."
I grinned. "Go on, genius."
"If I fed the snake one, I have one left," he said.
"If I fed it two, I have zero."
"If I fed it none, I still have two."
I raised a finger. "Wrong."
He snapped his head toward me. "What?"
"You don't feed a snake chocolate," I said calmly. "It would die."
The room exploded.
Felix laughed so hard he nearly fell.
David covered his face.
Keifer muttered, "That's cruel but effective."
Hex stared at me, offended. "That was a trick question."
"Yes," I replied. "And you still answered like a kid."
He gasped. "Jay—"
Ci-N suddenly raised his hand. "WAIT. My turn."
Everyone looked at him.
He cleared his throat dramatically. "Okay. Riddle."
Hex sighed. "Fine."
Ci-N smiled proudly.
"What animal walks with zero legs in the morning, two legs in the evening, and two hands and two legs at night?"
Silence.
Hex narrowed his eyes. "That doesn't even make biological sense."
"Answer," Ci-N said confidently.
Hex thought for a moment… then frowned.
"…A human baby?"
Ci-N beamed. "YES."
Hex stared. "How is that an animal?"
Ci-N shrugged. "We're mammals."
Felix clapped. "He got it!"
Hex groaned and dropped back onto the pillow. "I hate riddles."
I smiled down at him. "Admit it."
"…Fine," he muttered. "That was annoying."
"And?" I teased.
"And funny," he added quietly.
I ruffled his hair. "Good. Stay smart—but don't get cocky."
He smirked. "Too late."