Nice Meeting You
Jay-jay's POV
"Shit!" one of them shouted after I punched him.
I forced myself to fight—no, I tried to fight back even though, to be honest, my body wasn't in any condition to do so.
There were only five of them, technically, but I was already struggling to keep up. I didn't know why, but I didn't feel like the same Jay-jay who used to fight anytime, anywhere.
Facing Cyrus now made me feel weak. He was just staring at me, but I felt like every stare drained the strength out of my body.
What do they even want from me?
"No change at all… Still packs a punch," said one of them as he wiped the blood off his lips.
Students were now staring at us. And worse? Even the teachers nearby were just watching.
They really brought me here to the field. For what? To humiliate me? What do they want?!
F*ck this!
"Cyrus… Please… I don't want any trouble," I begged.
But he kept staring at me. "What do you want?"
He crossed his arms and chuckled. "It's simple, Jay. I want you to feel the same pain I felt."
I was about to respond when something hard suddenly struck the back of my thigh.
"Ugh!" I cried out, falling helplessly to the ground.
I held my thigh in pain, on the verge of tears. I saw one of Cyrus' friends holding a wide piece of wood.
Shit. This feels worse than a frat hazing.
"Does it hurt?" Cyrus asked, smiling. "That's nothing yet."
Another blow landed on my arm. I gasped in pain, tears now falling uncontrollably.
"Poor Jay!"
"He deserves it!"
"Cyrus is such a bastard!"
"Why don't you help him?!"
So many reactions—but I knew no one would help me. Who would want to help someone like me?
I now regretted not texting or calling Keifer. But even if I did, they wouldn't know where I was. And I didn't want to add to our section's problems anyway.
Whatever. Bahala na si Batman.
I forced myself to stand, holding my arm where I had been struck. My muscles trembled.
"He can still stand?!" one of them laughed.
"Stop it already!" Manong shouted from a distance.
Shit! Manong, don't interfere!
"You want us to hit you instead?" they threatened.
But Manong didn't budge. He looked at me with pity, and I shook my head, silently telling him to stay out of it.
I turned back to Cyrus, who was still smiling at me. Another blow hit my other thigh, and I collapsed again in pain.
Students were screaming now.
Damn it!
Why can't I fight back? Why do I feel like such a coward now? Why now of all times?
I tried to get up again, but someone stepped in front of me and stomped on my hand that was lying on the grass.
I bit my tongue to keep from screaming. I didn't want to give him what he wanted—to see me in pain. If I did, it would be like admitting defeat.
I won't give in!
"So stubborn. Still won't give up?" Cyrus mocked, and they all laughed.
Someone kicked me in the stomach, and I curled up in pain on the ground.
"C-Cy…" I whispered while looking at him and his laughing crew.
Was what I did to him really so bad that he needed to hurt me like this?
He was hospitalized!
Wrong question. The real one is: is there really no forgiveness left for what I did?
But Cyrus doesn't know how to forgive. So even if I apologized a hundred times, it wouldn't mean anything.
"Argh!" I screamed after receiving two more kicks to the stomach.
I couldn't take it anymore. My body trembled with pain. I couldn't move.
Please… Someone help me.
"Cry as long as you want. No one's going to help you," he said, laughing.
Please…
"Should we finish him off?" one of them asked.
"Not yet. I'm still enjoying this," Cy answered and kicked me again in the leg.
It wasn't that strong, but it still hurt like hell.
"Stand him up," he ordered his friends.
They grabbed my arms and forced me to stand. My body didn't want to cooperate, so they had to carry most of my weight. Tears kept falling from my eyes from the pain.
He slapped me hard. But my body hurt so much already, I couldn't even react to the slap.
"He's really tough," said the one holding me.
What's your definition of tough, huh?
I feel like a limp vegetable. Is that what you call "tough"?
I saw Cyrus ball his fist, ready to punch me. I closed my eyes, bracing for it. But nothing came.
A few seconds passed—and nothing.
Was I numb already?
I opened my eyes and saw the real reason the punch never landed.
Someone had stopped him!
Was I seeing things?
There was a hand holding Cyrus' fist. It was… Keifer's hand?
And another hand grabbing his collar—Yuri?
I blinked several times. They were really here! And they weren't alone. I saw the rest of the gang surrounding us.
The ones holding me let go. My knees buckled, and I was about to fall—but David caught me and helped me stay upright.
"Are you okay?" he asked, and I gave a small nod.
I looked back at Cyrus.
"Let me go!" Cyrus shouted, struggling against Keifer and Yuri.
"Cyrus Velasco?" Yuri asked.
"What do you want?!" he snapped.
Yuri smiled. A simple smile, like the one he always gives.
"We've finally met," Yuri said.
I turned to David, confused.
"W-what's going on? How did you all get here?" I asked.
David smiled. "Ask your little friend here."
Ci-N popped out from behind him.
"Hi, Jay! Sorry we took so long!" he said cheerfully.
He looked extra energetic today—grinning and bouncing in place. He only acted like that when he was excited about something.
"Ci… H-how did you… how did you get here?"
"Oh, we just asked Sir and some staff at Camp Is Rock how to get here."
I nodded to show I understood.
"Let me go! What the fuck do you want from me?! Who the hell are you?!" Cyrus yelled while still struggling.
"I'm Yuri Hanamitchi," Yuri replied with a smile.
"Mark Keifer Watson," Keifer answered seriously.
"And we're here to make you pay for what you did to Jay-jay!"
Keifer suddenly punched Cyrus in the stomach. His eyes bulged from the force. Before he could fall, Yuri grabbed him and held him up.
"Nice to fucking meet you," Yuri added and punched him too.
This time they let him fall, groaning in pain.
"Who are they?!"
"Shit, they're hot!"
"I think they're Jay's friends!"
"They're so handsome!"
"That red-haired guy's so cute!"
"That short guy is adorable!"
"Who's the one holding Jay?"
"Aaayyyy! I wish I were Jay!"
"You want Cyrus to beat you up too?"
"Girl! I just want to be surrounded by hotties!"
That's when I remembered—there were a lot of students watching us.
I searched for Cyrus's gang.
Felix, Kit, Edrix, and Denzel had them pinned. Everyone was here.
Wait—if they're all here, then who's at the camp? Oh no! What if the organizers look for us?!
"W-we have to get back," I told David.
I glanced around. My stuff was gone—must've left it somewhere.
"M-my stuff…"
Ci-N and David looked around but couldn't see it. I remembered I had nothing in my hands when I arrived at the field.
"We'll find it," David said.
We saw Calix and Eren waving at some fangirls like celebrities.
Should I report them to Mica?
"Ci-N! Do me a favor. Go smack those two," David ordered.
Ci-N quickly walked over and smacked them hard. They both glared at him, and he pointed at David, who pointed straight at me.
Nice. Blaming each other.
"What was that for?!" Eren asked, annoyed.
No time to explain. They can be mad at me if they want.
"M-my stuff… please go find it," I said.
"That's all? Alright," Calix replied. "Let's go!"
They left right away. How will they find it when they didn't even ask me for clues? Whatever.
"FUCKING ASSHOLE!" Keifer shouted.
We all turned to him. He had Cyrus by the collar. Yuri was sitting on the grass, wiping blood from his lip.
"W-what happened?" I asked, worried.
"That bastard landed a punch! Yuri was the closest, so he got hit," Drew explained.
"Beat him up already!" Ci-N said excitedly.
"Ci-N!" I scolded.
"What is Jay-jay to you guys?! Why do you even care what I do to her?!" Cyrus snapped.
"She's our classmate," Mayo replied quickly.
"She's our friend," Kit added.
"She's part of our family," Ci-N said, smiling at me.
I smiled back, touched by their words. I thought I was the only one who saw them that way. Turns out, they felt the same.
"She belongs to Section E," Yuri said as he stood.
"And she is mine," Keifer added.
I smacked my forehead. Did he really have to say that?! Crazy man!
"Jay replaced me with you?" Cyrus laughed.
That insult clearly hit a nerve. I wanted to tell Cyrus to shut up before Keifer snapped.
"You got fooled by that girl too?!" he added, and Keifer's brows furrowed deeper.
Then—bam! Keifer punched him so hard Cyrus flew back, his nose and mouth bleeding.
I thought it was over—but no. Keifer walked up and started punching him again.
Shit! He just got out of the hospital!
"Yuri!" I shouted. He looked at me. "S-stop Keifer! He just got discharged! He might—he might die!"
"Sorry, Jay! But I can't stop Keifer now," Yuri replied.
"He's snapped," David said.
"He's too far gone," Ci-N added, looking disappointed.
They clearly had no plans to stop him. The onlookers were scared now and backing away.
"Keifer!" I called out. "Keifer, please! That's enough!"
He paused reluctantly and looked at me, panting, then slowly walked over.
"Why?"
"He just got out of the hospital. What if something happens again?" I said.
"Then let's send him back to the same hospital. Maybe they didn't treat him right," Ci-N joked, and some of them laughed.
But I wasn't laughing. I was grateful they saved me—but seeing Cyrus now, I didn't know if I should be.
"What should we do with the rest of them?" Felix asked, gripping the others tightly.
"Whatever you want," Keifer replied, bored.
Ci-N clapped happily. "I'll hit them first!" he said.
No wonder he was so hyper earlier—he was excited to join the fight.
Tsk. What a child.
Suddenly, Keifer picked me up bridal style. I was surprised. I forgot there were still a ton of people watching us.
I even forgot about Yuri. I glanced at him, but he was messing around with Ci-N and the others.
"Jay…" Keifer said. "I forgot something."
He suddenly kissed me on the lips.
People screamed in kilig. I stared at him, stunned.
"W-what was that for?!"
"You owed me a kiss. You cursed last time while eating chocolate," he replied, smiling.
He remembered that?!
I saw Calix and Eren walking back with my things.
"Keifer… let's get out of here," I whispered.
He nodded. "Let's go."
Ci-N looked disappointed, pouting as we walked.
We were finally leaving this school.
As much as possible, I never want to return here again. I don't want to relive what happened.
I glanced back at Cyrus, now surrounded by his classmates.
I hope this is the end.