(Jay's POV)
Fourth period.
Section E was chaos as usual.
Felix was spinning a pen between his fingers like it was an Olympic sport. Drew and Blaster were arguing over whose lunch smelled worse. Cin was leaning half off his chair, grinning at me like he was about to cause trouble.
I flicked his forehead.
"Focus."
"You're the one distracting me," he shot back.
"Oh please. I'm not the one who failed math."
He gasped dramatically. "Low blow."
I smirked and leaned back in my seat, pretending to check my phone.
Across the room—
Keifer was quiet.
Too quiet.
He hadn't joined the teasing today. Didn't glare. Didn't react.
Just sat there.
I noticed.
I didn't let it show.
The lunch bell rang.
And the class exploded.
"FINALLY!"
"LET'S GO!"
Chairs scraped loudly. Bags zipped. Everyone shouting at once.
I laughed softly and stayed seated, scrolling through my phone while Cin kept talking about something I wasn't even listening to.
Then—
A loud sound.
A sickening crack.
BAM.
The chair hit the floor.
Someone screamed.
"KEIFER!"
My head snapped up.
And I saw him.
On the ground.
His head tilted unnaturally against the fallen chair.
Everything inside me froze.
Then—
"KEIFER!"
I was already running.
I dropped to my knees beside him, lifting his head into my lap.
"Keifer… Keifer, please…"
His skin felt too cold.
"Wake up. Please open your eyes."
He didn't move.
"KEIFER!"
My voice broke.
Tears blurred my vision.
"Pick him up!" David shouted. "We'll take him to the hospital!"
Hands lifted him from my lap.
I followed blindly.
Hospital.
White lights.
Cold air.
They rushed him inside.
I tried to follow.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, you have to wait here," the nurse said firmly.
"No—please. Please let me in. I—"
"You have to wait."
The doors closed.
And something inside me shattered.
My knees gave out.
I hit the floor.
I couldn't breathe.
Aries. Percy. Angelo came rushing in.
"What happened?!" Aries demanded.
They explained.
Their faces changed instantly.
Angelo cursed under his breath.
Percy ran his hand through his hair, panicked.
Then I saw them.
Keiren.
Keigan.
Their eyes red.
Their lips trembling.
"K-kuya…"
I forced myself up and walked to them.
"It's going to be okay," I whispered, even though I didn't believe it myself. "Your kuya is strong."
They nodded.
Then hugged me.
And we cried together.
Hours passed.
Six hours.
Food came.
I didn't touch it.
Cin crouched beside me. "Jay… eat."
"No."
Angelo knelt down. "You need energy."
"I don't want to eat."
Percy sighed softly. "Baby sis, you can't turn into a zombie. He'll scold you if he sees you like this."
"Not when Keifer needs my help," I whispered, crying again.
They tried.
But I wouldn't eat.
Aries just stood there.
Helpless.
Watching me fall apart.
Finally.
The doctor came out.
"The patient has woken up. He fainted due to hunger and improper diet. He's totally fine. No need to worry."
My heart started beating again.
"Can I go inside?" I asked immediately.
"Yes. But don't crowd the room."
We rushed in.
I ran to him first.
I grabbed his hand.
"K-Keifer…"
He stirred.
His eyes opened.
For a second—
Confusion.
Then recognition.
Then—
Something else.
Anger.
"Yo bro, you finally woke up!" Edrix laughed in relief.
"Man you scared us," Blaster said.
"Idiot, eat properly next time," Drew added.
But Keifer wasn't listening.
He was staring at me.
"Why are you here?"
His voice wasn't soft.
It was sharp.
I blinked. "Huh…?"
"Why are you here now?"
Now.
The word hit me like a slap.
Everyone went silent.
"Keifer calm down—" David tried.
"Keifer baby stop," Percy said.
He didn't look at them.
"I said why are you here now?"
Tears spilled again.
"I—what are you talking about?"
"Get out."
My heart cracked.
"What is happening to you, Keifer?!"
"I SAID GET OUT!"
The room felt too small.
Everyone trying to calm him.
"Bro relax."
"Stop shouting."
"Keifer."
But he only looked at me.
"Get out."
The final blow.
My chest hurt.
"Fine," I whispered, voice shaking. "You want me to leave? Okay."
I wiped my tears angrily.
"Don't worry. I won't bother you again."
And I walked out.
The door closed behind me.
And I broke.
I slid down the wall, sobbing so hard I couldn't breathe.
Percy rushed out. "Jay? Are you okay?"
I shook my head.
Aries stormed out next. "That fucking man— I swear—"
"I want to go home," I whispered.
Aries looked at me, his anger fading into concern.
He nodded. "Okay. I'll take you."
He looked at Percy. "You stay."
Percy nodded silently.
Aries wrapped his jacket around me.
And led me outside.
I didn't look back.
But inside that room—
Keifer had finally closed his eyes again.
And this time—
It wasn't from fainting.
(Keifer's POV)
The door had barely stopped shaking from when she left.
Silence.
Heavy. Suffocating.
Then—
A hand grabbed my collar.
Hard.
I was yanked forward.
Kuya Angelo.
His eyes were blazing.
"What the hell was that, Keifer?!"
The room froze.
"I—"
"HOW DARE YOU?" he snapped, fist tightening in my shirt. "She was outside crying her lungs out and you tell her to get out?"
Section E rushed forward.
"Kuya Angelo calm down—"
"Let him go—"
But Angelo didn't.
"You think you're the only one hurting?" he hissed. "You think you're special because you collapsed?"
I clenched my jaw.
I deserved that.
Still didn't say anything.
The door slammed open.
Aries.
Percy.
Both furious.
Aries pointed at me immediately.
"That fucking—"
Percy stepped forward, voice shaking with anger. "What did you say to her?"
Aries pointed straight at me.
"YOU THINK YOU'RE A MAN FOR THAT?!" he barked.
No one answered.
Because they all heard it.
Kuya Angelo shoved me back onto the bed.
"She stayed here the whole time," he said through his teeth. "Begging the nurses. Crying on the damn floor!."
My chest tightened.
Aries laughed bitterly. "You wanna know something funny?"
I didn't respond.
"She didn't eat."
My head snapped up.
Cin spoke from the corner.
Soft.
But sharp enough to cut.
"She said she can't eat when you're like this."
The room went dead quiet.
"She kept saying, 'Not when Keifer needs my help.'"
My breathing stopped.
Percy ran a hand through his hair. "We tried forcing her. Angelo tried. I tried. She wouldn't."
Aries kicked the side of a chair. "She was shaking."
Cin's voice broke slightly. "She thought you were dying."
Something inside my chest cracked.
No.
No, no, no.
I swallowed hard.
"She… didn't eat?" My voice didn't sound like mine.
Section E exploded.
"Yeah, genius!"
"You think she was laughing outside?!"
"She was crying for six hours!"
"You made her cry!"
The words kept hitting.
Each one worse than the last.
Kuya Angelo leaned close again.
"You don't get to push her away like that," he said lowly. "Not after she stayed."
My vision blurred.
I tried to blink it away.
Didn't work.
Aries stepped forward.
"If she stops smiling because of you," he said quietly, "I swear I won't forgive you."
Percy didn't yell.
That was worse.
"You broke her," he said.
And that—
That did it.
My hands started shaking.
I covered my face.
And for the first time—
I broke.
Not quiet tears.
Not subtle.
My shoulders shook.
I couldn't breathe.
"I didn't…" my voice cracked. "I didn't know."
Aries exhaled sharply. "You didn't ask."
That hurt more than everything else.
I didn't ask.
I just assumed.
I just let my jealousy rot inside me.
And then I stabbed her with it.
Section E was still cursing.
"Idiot."
"Stupid."
"Blind."
They weren't wrong.
Kuya Angelo stepped back finally.
"You better fix this," he said.
Not angry anymore.
Just disappointed.
And that was worse.
Aries looked at me one last time.
"If she cries like that again because of you—"
He didn't finish.
He didn't need to.
The room slowly emptied.
Leaving me alone.
With the machines.
With the silence.
With the fact that she didn't eat.
Because of me.
I pressed my hands against my eyes.
And whispered something I hadn't said in a long time.
"I'm sorry."
But she wasn't there to hear it.
NEXT DAY.
The hospital room was chaos again.
Section E was loud like nothing ever happened.
Cin was arguing with Edrix about who stayed the longest.Freya was stealing snacks.Zane leaned back in his chair like he owned the place.
The doctor walked in.
"Alright. You're cleared for discharge."
The room exploded.
"YOOOO!""Finally!""Bro give us a treat!""We practically saved your life!"
I chuckled weakly. "Fine. Fine. I'll treat you."
But my chest still felt heavy.
Because she wasn't there.
I changed, signed the papers, and drove home alone.
The house door barely opened before—
"KUYAAAA!"
Keiren and Keigan launched themselves at me.
"You're back!""We missed you so much!""You scared us!"
I smiled — a real one this time — and pulled them into a hug.
"I'm sorry."
I handed them the food I bought on the way home. "Come on. Let's eat."
We sat together like old times.
They talked.
I nodded.
But my mind wasn't there.
Later.
My room.
Quiet.
Too quiet.
I opened my drawer.
Her picture was still there.
Jay.
Smiling.
Teasing.
Alive.
My fingers trembled as I picked it up.
"I'm so sorry…" I whispered.
My voice cracked.
"I didn't mean to hurt you. I was scared. I was angry at myself… not you."
Tears blurred the photo.
"You were crying for me… and I pushed you away."
My chest tightened painfully.
"I don't deserve you… but I can't lose you either."
A tear fell onto the picture.
"I broke the one person who stayed."
I covered my face and cried.
Not the quiet type.
The kind that shakes your shoulders.
And i fell asleep.
CREDITS TO @DEMONSLAYER_9828 FOR THIS CHAPTER IDEA TYSM!
AND IM SORRY IF THE CHAPTER WAS BORING BUT I'LL TRY TO MAKE IT BETTER NEXT CHAPTER YOU WILL SEE🥰