Jay-jay's POV
Password Incorrect!
This app is driving me crazy. I seriously couldn't understand its purpose at all. It wouldn't let me sleep, and I could barely put my phone down because I kept checking that damn app.
"Are you even listening?"
I looked up at Kuya. He was starting to lecture me again while we waited for my ride.
"Obviously not," Aries chimed in.
I immediately shot him a glare. I hid my phone because Kuya was already giving it a suspicious look.
"I'll ask again… why didn't you go with Yuri yesterday?" Kuya asked.
"I had to stop somewhere," I replied quickly.
"Where?"
"At—"
I couldn't finish my answer because we heard a car honk. A few moments later, Yuri walked into the house and greeted everyone with a good morning.
"Talk to them later. They might be late," Tita Gema said to Kuya.
Kuya just nodded and signaled for me to go. I stood up and walked out, passing by Yuri without a word, but before I could get close to his car, I suddenly stopped.
What if that jerk is in the car again?
I bent down and practically crawled as I approached the car. I must have looked like an idiot peeking inside from the back. The problem was, since I was at the back, I couldn't see who was sitting in the front.
This sucks! What if he's really in there again? How embarrassing—of all people, him! He has so many cars, yet he's hitching a ride. What, is he broke or something?!
Hah! Hah! That's karma, bro!
"What are you doing?"
My body froze when I heard that voice. I nearly pressed my face against the car window just to avoid facing him. I knew it!
"Again… What are you doing?" Keifer repeated.
Kissing the car!
I slowly turned to face him while keeping my head down. I probably looked like a kid being scolded by a parent. I cleared my throat a little to shake off the nervousness I was feeling.
"N-none of your business," I answered in a lifeless tone, pretending to be unfazed.
I tried to open the backseat door, but Keifer blocked me with his arm, resting his palm against the car window. I went around to the other side, but he did the same thing.
He had me trapped.
"W-what's your problem?!" I snapped, still avoiding his gaze.
I stayed in that position, feeling oddly safe because I couldn't see his eyes. I needed to stay strong in front of him. I had to show him that I was still tough despite what he had done.
"Look at me," he ordered, but I didn't budge. "Look. At. Me."
Don't look at him…
"Look…" He tilted my chin up, forcing our eyes to meet. "…At…" his voice softened as his face got closer. "…Me."
I swore under my breath. My hands and knees started shaking the moment I saw his eyes again. His face was so close to mine.
His eyes…
I didn't want this. He'd see that I was still affected by him. I swallowed hard, and at the same time, I did the only thing I could think of to break eye contact.
I crossed my eyes.
It hurt my eyes, but it worked because his face blurred in my vision. Though now I was seeing everything double.
"What the hell," he muttered.
It's fine if he laughs at me. I don't care! As long as I can hide what needs to be hidden. As long as I can fight what needs to be fought.
My eyes really hurt.
It truly hurt so much that I ended up closing my eyes and holding them with both hands.
"Serves you right," I heard Keifer say.
I rested my eyes for a moment. When I was sure I was okay, I opened them and glared at him. He still hadn't moved—his arms were still blocking me in.
"Leave already!" I shouted at him, but he didn't move. "Damn it! I said leave!"
He's so good at getting on my nerves!
Slowly, one corner of his lips curved upward. He smirked while his gaze seemed to challenge me.
"Keifer."
I turned to see who called him. It was Yuri. I think this is the first time I was ever grateful for his sudden appearance.
"...Let's go." Yuri's voice was lifeless.
The smirk on this King's face in front of me still hadn't disappeared. I really wanted to punch him so it would vanish from his face.
"Leave!" I yelled at him again.
Instead of listening, he leaned in closer to me, which only made me more annoyed. I pressed my head against the car window to get away from him, but it was useless. I tilted it in another direction, which ended up bringing his mouth closer to my ear.
"Profanity," he whispered, and then he left a kiss on my neck before finally walking away and getting into Yuri's car.
My heart did a full-on somersault. It felt like a surprise party had just exploded inside my body. All that was missing was confetti.
Surprise!!! Your insides are a total mess!
Why is it like this? I shouldn't be getting affected anymore. It shouldn't be!
But my body doesn't know how to cooperate. It reacts on its own.
"Jay-jay..." Yuri called me softly.
I slowly looked at him. He didn't show any expression, but his hand was extended toward me.
"I-I'm not coming with you," I said.
"You have to. Angelo might get mad."
I glanced briefly inside the car. That damned demon was sitting there, completely relaxed.
"I don't want to ride with him."
Yuri let out a deep sigh. "Keifer can't drive yet. His wound is deep, and he says his whole arm hurts when he moves it."
So now I'm the one who has to adjust?!
"Ugh! So annoying!" I said and stomped toward the backseat door.
I got in with a slam. I didn't even look at that Animal King. I just stared out the window.
Yuri's words suddenly crossed my mind. It hurts when he moves his whole arm? Then what was he doing earlier when he blocked me? He moved his entire arm then!
I smell something fishy!
This demon is using his snake-like tricks on me again. Damn it! Always the same with him.
When we arrived at the school parking lot, I immediately got out. I didn't wait for them and walked straight to the classroom. Some of them greeted me, but I ignored them.
"Good morning," Ci-N greeted as I sat down.
I ignored him too and just buried my face on my desk. I could feel the presence of those snakes passing by in front of me. I didn't know if they were doing it on purpose or not.
"Jay-jay..." Ci called, nudging me. "...Hey."
I lifted my head and glared at him. He was smiling at me while holding out the chocolate in his hand.
"I don't want it," I said and laid my head down again, but he nudged me once more.
"Come on. Take it before they grab it," he insisted.
Ugh! So persistent!
"I said I don't want it. Just hide it if you don't want them to take it," I replied irritably.
I was about to rest my head again when he did it once more. My temper was starting to heat up.
"It's for you," he said softly, almost pleading.
"I said no! What part of 'no' don't you understand?!" I snapped at him.
I saw the fear and sadness in his eyes, but he forced a sweet smile.
"Okay, I'll just keep it then. We can eat it later," he said quietly, putting the chocolate back into his bag.
I glanced toward the snakes who were now watching us. They quickly looked away and pretended to be busy. My eyes met that jerk Keifer's.
Look at what you've caused!
I rolled my eyes at him and turned to face the door. Honestly, my chest felt heavy. I had shouted at Ci-N, but not like this. I took a deep breath and pulled out my headset and phone from my bag.
I was about to listen to music when my eyes landed on the OTJ101 app again. I still couldn't uninstall the damn thing.
I looked around for Edrix and, sure enough, I spotted him. His foot was propped up while he played on his phone. I stood up and walked toward him.
I could feel their eyes following me, as if they needed to know my every move.
"Edrix," I called out to him.
He frantically stopped playing and quickly lowered his foot to the floor. His face was full of surprise, and I could also sense some excitement in him.
"W-why?" He asked.
I turned my cellphone toward him. "Do you know what this is?"
Even before he could see it properly, he had already turned back to his own cellphone and shook his head.
"I-I don't know that."
You haven't even looked at it properly!
My brows furrowed at his behavior. It felt like he didn't want to look at my phone. I placed it down on his desk.
"You're good with gadgets and computers, right? Uninstall this from my phone. Or just format it entirely," I ordered, already irritated.
Edrix bit his lower lip and wiped his palm on his thigh. My frown deepened. His reaction was strange—too obvious, like he was hiding something from me.
I may not be an investigator, but I won't let this go.
"B-because... Jay-jay," he started hesitantly, "...I-I can't."
One of my eyebrows shot up so high it could've touched the ceiling.
"You can't?" I asked sarcastically. "Who are you fooling? Yourself?"
Edrix glanced at Keifer for a moment. That only strengthened my suspicion. My blood was starting to boil again.
I took my phone again and held it up in front of him.
"Look at it!" I said irritably. "I'll ask again—do you know this app?!"
He couldn't answer. His mouth opened as if to speak, but he immediately pulled back. He couldn't sit still anymore and ended up rubbing the back of his neck.
I KNEW IT!
I slammed my cellphone down on his desk. It even made a loud noise, finally drawing everyone's full attention.
"Answer me! I'm starting to lose my patience!" I shouted at him.
He closed his eyes tightly while biting his lip again. It was obvious now—he really was hiding something from me. Here they go again, doing something behind my back that I don't know about. Ganging up on me again.
I punched the desk in frustration. I was done. I wasn't going to let them do this to me again.
"Jay-jay," someone called my name, but my focus remained on Edrix.
He swallowed first and took a deep breath before facing me again. He took my cellphone, and I was shocked when he unlocked it without even asking me for the password.
He tapped the app to open it, and when it asked for a password, he entered it himself. The application fully opened, and he turned it toward me.
He was the one who installed it on my cellphone.
"OTJ101 stands for Operation Tracking Jay-jay Version 10.1," he explained, placing the phone back on the desk. "I-I programmed that app to track your phone's location. It uses signal tracking, so it's easier to use compared to what the police or regular people use."
So that's why! That's why they always knew where I was going. That's why, whenever I was in trouble or in the middle of a fight, they always managed to help me.
"S-so this is the reason," I whispered in disbelief.
"B-but aside from that," Edrix added hesitantly, "...this app is linked to another phone." He glanced at Keifer again, and I followed his gaze.
Keifer showed no reaction. He was just listening like everyone else. But I couldn't stop myself from glaring at him.
"All your text messages and phone calls are also routed to that app," Edrix continued. "So the linked phone can read your messages and hear your calls too."
It felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on me. Shock and anger rushed through me at the same time. I felt completely violated, like a prisoner under constant surveillance.
They had taken away my privacy.
"W-why did you put that on my phone?" I asked, struggling to keep my voice steady.
Edrix bowed his head. "B-because of your meeting with P-percy before."
Fvcking shit!
I rubbed my face with my palm. It felt unreal—I couldn't understand how he managed to do something like this.
"Whose cellphone is it linked to?" I asked again.
"T-to Keifer's."
Without thinking, I grabbed my phone from the desk and threw it at Keifer with all my strength. I hoped it would hit his face, but he dodged it with just a tilt of his head to the right.
My phone shattered on the floor.
I couldn't control my anger anymore. I wanted to smash his face. I wanted to hit them all, one by one. I never imagined they would go this far.
"You're unbelievable!" I spat at Keifer. "You really have no limits!"
He remained expressionless, just looking at me like none of this mattered.
"You're so determined to push through your plans, huh?! You even invade my private matters!" I screamed. "...Are you really this cruel?!"
Instead of answering, he just rolled his eyes, which pushed me over the edge.
I stormed toward him, ready to punch him in the face, but someone grabbed me from behind. Arms wrapped around my waist and lifted me away from Keifer.
"Let go of me!" I shouted while struggling.
"Enough! Stop it!" Yuri's voice said.
I'm the one who has to stop?!
He took me out of the room. Only when we were a good distance away did he finally put me down. I glared at him and pushed him away from me.
"Jay..."
"You and your best friend are something else, huh?! You're both Solid jerks!" I said angrily. "...Go on, take all my anger! Maybe there's something else I don't know—why don't you just tell me everything!"
My breathing was heavy, as if I'd been doing so much. The longer I stayed with these snakes, the heavier my chest felt. I wanted to rip my heart out just to make the pain stop.
"Jay... please."
I ran my hand through my hair, trying to hold back my tears, but they came out on their own because of my rage. I told myself I wouldn't cry anymore, but here they were again—rushing out like they were in a race.
"Can't you stop already?! I'm struggling so much..." I clutched my chest. "...Just leave me alone."
I used to think I was the problem. I thought I was wrong because I almost juggled the two of them. I thought I was the one at fault because I gave Yuri false hope.
I nearly lost my self-respect because I felt like I was being seen as someone cheap—like those women lining up in the plaza waiting for customers.
A flirt, in other words!
My hair must be so long for two guys to like me this much. I could barely sleep thinking about them. Thinking that whatever move I made, someone would get hurt. Guilt ate me up, but I kept hiding it behind my smile when I was with the one being loved.
Turns out, I was the one being played. I was the one being strung along for nothing. If I thought I was a flirt before, now I just felt stupid. So stupid I might as well build a statue of myself.
The National Fool of the Philippines!
"Jay..." Yuri called me.
"...I'm sorry."
"Did your sorry change what you did?"
He didn't answer, but his warm body did—he pulled me into a tight embrace.
I was too weak to fight him off. My body was exhausted. My mind was giving up, and my heart was nearly broken from the pain.
I wanted to give up.
And it seemed like my whole body agreed. My knees slowly lost strength, and I felt my body weaken. The last thing I remembered was the world getting darker while I faintly heard Yuri's voice.
"Jay-jay!"