After the breakup, Jay Jay threw herself into her studies with a fire she hadn't felt in years. No more doubts, no more feeling like she wasn't enough. She wasn't proving herself to anyone anymore-she was doing this for herself.
Keifer and Ella were her constants.
Keifer made sure she didn't burn out, dragging her to midnight snack runs.
Ella kept her sane, reminding her to breathe between deadlines.
The day of graduation arrived, a culmination of all the battles she had fought. As she stood in her cap and gown, she caught a glimpse of Yuri inthe crowd. But for the first time, he wasn't a presence in her mind. He was just another face in her past.
She turned to Keifer and Ella, grinning. "We made it."
Keifer smirked. "Obviously. Who else would carry you through your breakdowns?"
Jay Jay rolled her eyes but laughed, feeling lighter than ever. She had won -not over Yuri, but over her own self-doubt.
And that was all that mattered.
At Night
The night air was crisp, carrying the distant hum of city life below. The rooftop had become their spot-quiet, familiar, safe. Jay Jay sat on the ledge, legs dangling, watching the twinkling skyline.Jay Jay leaned against the ledge, her graduation cap tossed aside. "Well, that's it. We did it."
Keifer, sitting on the concrete with his legs stretched out, twirled his cap in his fingers. "Yep. We are now officially adults. Terrifying."
Jay Jay smirked. "Speak for yourself. I've been an adult since I was ten."
Keifer raised an eyebrow. "Oh, right. The infamous Jay Jay Maturity Era-when you yelled at your kindergarten teacher for teaching colors 'inefficiently."
Jay Jay huffed. "She was inefficient."
Keifer chuckled, shaking his head. Then, after a beat of silence, he exhaled. "But seriously... doesn't it feel weird? Like, we spent years thinking graduation was some big moment, andnow that it's here, it's just-"
"Underwhelming?" Jay Jay finished.
Keifer nodded. "Yeah."
She sighed, tilting her head back to look at the stars. "Maybe it's because the people we expected to be proud of us... aren't."
Keifer glanced at her. "You mean your parents?"
Jay Jay scoffed. "Ding ding ding. I got the polite congratulations speech, the we-hope-you-find-a-good-husband remark, and then they moved on like I just won a participation trophy."
Keifer frowned. "That's messed up."
Jay Jay shrugged. "I should be used to it by now."
Keifer studied her for a moment. "Youshouldn't have to be."
She let out a dry laugh. "It's funny, you know? I spent years thinking that if I just achieved enough, if I proved I was worth something, they'd finally..." She trailed off, gripping the cold metal railing.
"See you?" Keifer finished softly.
Jay Jay swallowed. "Yeah."
Keifer exhaled. "Yeah, I know that feeling."
Jay Jay turned to him. "Your dad?"
Keifer gave a hollow smirk. "The man who thinks emotions are optional? Yep."
Jay Jay sat down next to him. "What did he say?"
Keifer tossed his cap aside. "Didn'teven show up."
Jay Jay frowned. "Wait-what?"
Keifer chuckled bitterly. "Sent a text. Congratulations. Make sure you don't mess up the next step."
Jay Jay's jaw clenched. "That's it?"
Keifer shrugged. "Classic. You see, in the Keifer St. James Guide to Parenting, affection is a rare collectible item-only available in limited quantities and never in stock when you actually need it."
Jay Jay shook her head. "I don't get it. You're-" She gestured at him. "You. Smart, talented, stupidly good-looking
Keifer smirked. "Go on."
Jay Jay rolled her eyes but continued, "And yet, no matter what you do, it'slike he just... doesn't care."
Keifer sighed. "He cares in the way CEOs care about stock performance. As long as I keep looking good on paper, I'm useful."
Jay Jay's fingers curled into fists. "That's
"Yeah." Keifer ran a hand through his hair. "You'd think I'd be over it by now, but some part of me still thought maybe, just maybe, today would be different."
Jay Jay leaned her head back against the railing, exhaling. "Maybe that's why we go searching for love in all the wrong places."
Keifer tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
Jay Jay ran a hand through her hair. "I mean... when you don't get love fromthe people who are supposed to give it unconditionally, you start looking for it somewhere else. Even if it's from people who'll never give it to you the way you need."
Keifer's jaw tightened. He hesitated, then said quietly, "Like yuri."
Jay Jay exhaled. "At first, he was... perfect. Charming. Smart. He knew exactly what to say, exactly how to make me feel special." She paused, fingers gripping the railing. "And then, little by little, he started changing the rules."
Keifer frowned. "What do you mean?"
Jay Jay's voice was quieter now. "It started small. He didn't like my friends, so I stopped hanging out with them.
He thought my jokes were 'too much,' so I toned them down. He told me I could be 'better,' so I tried harder. And harder. And harder." She let out a drylaugh. "Until one day, I looked in the mirror and didn't recognize myself."
Keifer's expression darkened. "Jay..."
Jay Jay shook her head. "It took me so long to see it. He wasn't loving me-he was controlling me. And the worst part? I let him."
Keifer sat up, turning fully toward her. "That's not on you."
Jay Jay gave him a sad smile. "It felt like it was."
Keifer's hands clenched into fists. "I should've"
Jay Jay cut him off. "You didn't know. No one did."
Keifer's jaw tightened. "I hate him."
Jay Jay smirked. "Join the club."
Jay jay gave him a look. "I just spilled my tragic love story. Your turn.when are you finally going to confess to Ella?"
Keifer went still. His usual sarcastic expression faded into something unreadable.
Jay Jay frowned. "Keif?"
He exhaled. "She's still with Aries, Jay."
Silence.
Jay Jay's stomach twisted. She had almost forgotten that detail-almost allowed herself to believe that things would work out the way they should.
"She shouldn't be," Jay Jay muttered.
Keifer let out a humorless chuckle. "Yeah, well. That's not up to me."
Jay Jay turned to face him fully. "Youlove her."
Keifer clenched his jaw. "Yeah."
"And you're just gonna sit back and-what? Wait for Aries to screw up?"
Keifer shook his head. "I can't wait for something bad to happen, Jay. That's not love. That's selfish."
Jay Jay exhaled sharply. "But he will screw up. You know that."
Keifer looked away. "Maybe. Maybe not. Either way... she chose him."
Jay Jay hated the way those words sounded. Hated the way Keifer looked -like someone who had accepted defeat before even trying.
"That's stupid," she said.
Keifer let out a short laugh. "Thanks for that deep insight, Dr. Phil."Jay Jay scowled. "I'm serious, Keif. You're going to sit here, feeling miserable, when you could just tell her?"
He shook his head. "And then what? Put that weight on her? Make her question everything when she already made a decision?"
Jay Jay threw up her hands. "She made the wrong one."
Keifer let out a slow breath. "Maybe. But it's hers to make."
Jay Jay crossed her arms, frustrated beyond belief. "So what, you're just going to bury this? Pretend you're fine while she's with him?"
Keifer gave her a tired smile. "Been doing it for months. What's a little longer?"
Jay Jay's heart ached for him.
She had never seen Keifer like this-not bitter, not angry, just... tired.
"You deserve to be happy too, you know," she said softly.
Keifer sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah. But sometimes, loving someone means letting them be happy-even if it's not with you."
Jay Jay's throat tightened.
That wasn't fair.
None of this was fair.
She reached over and squeezed his hand. "For what it's worth... I think she's an idiot for not seeing you the way I do."
Keifer smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Yeah, well. Can't all have
your impeccable taste, Jay."
She smirked. "Damn right."
They sat there for a moment, the weight of their pasts still lingering, but a little lighter now.
Then, Keifer nudged her shoulder. "But hey-at least we had each other, right?"
Jay Jay smirked. "Oh, you had me? Bold statement."
Keifer grinned. "I stand by it."
Jay Jay chuckled. "Fine. I guess I had you too."
Keifer leaned back, looking up at the sky. "You ever think maybe we were supposed to find each other because of this?"
Jay Jay raised an eyebrow. "What, like some cosmic 'trauma bonding'situation?"
Keifer smirked. "More like... maybe we weren't meant to get the love we wanted from them, because we were supposed to find it somewhere else."
Jay Jay went quiet.
Then, softly, she said, "I think I'd like to believe that."
Keifer smiled. "Me too."
They sat there for a while, side by side, two people who had been let down by love in all the wrong places-until they found it in the most unexpected one.
Finally, Keifer stretched, forcing a grin. "Alright. Enough with the tragic love story. Let's talk about your future heartbreaks."
Jay Jay groaned. "Oh my god, shut up."
Keifer laughed, nudging her shoulder. "Hey, fair is fair. I suffer, you suffer."
Jay Jay rolled her eyes but smirked. "Honestly, the way you're handling this? It's tragic. Like, Shakespearean tragic. I half expected you to be wearing a dramatic cape tonight."
Keifer snorted. "A cape?"
She waved a hand. "Yeah, like a whole woe is me outfit. Maybe a skull in one hand. Crying into the night sky."
Keifer laughed, shaking his head. "Okay, first of all, if I was gonna be dramatic, I'd go full Phantom of the Opera. Mask and all."
Jay Jay grinned. "Oh yeah, that would definitely win Ella over. Nothing says 'I'm the one for you' like hiding in a basement and singing about it."
Keifer burst out laughing, tilting hishead back.
Jay Jay smirked, victorious. "There it is. The Keifer special-stupid, borderline obnoxious laughter."
Keifer wiped a tear from his eye. "You're the worst."
She grinned. "Yeah, but I'm your worst."
He shook his head but smiled. "Yeah. You are."
And for now, that would have to be enough.
The city hummed with life around them, but for Jay Jay and Keifer, the world felt quiet. It was their last night before everything changed-before new jobs, new cities, and the reality of adulthood pulled them in different directions.
Jay Jay kicked a stray pebble as they walked down the dimly lit street. "So, this is it, huh?"
Keifer smirked, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I mean, we could make a dramatic scene at the airport tomorrow. Maybe some slow-motion running, tears, overly long hugs..."
Jay Jay snorted. "Tempting. But I don't do public displays of emotion."
Keifer gave her a sideways glance. "You cry over dog videos."
"Okay, first of all, everyone cries over dog videos."
Keifer chuckled. "Fair."
They walked in silence for a while, their steps in sync.
A pause. Then-
Jay Jay sighed. "Okay, let's get the sadpart over with."
Keifer smirked. "Oh, you mean where you cry and hug me?"
Jay Jay rolled her eyes. "Please. If anyone's crying, it's you."
Keifer gasped, clutching his chest. "How dare you."
Jay Jay grinned. "I dare because I know you."
Keifer shook his head, laughing. Then, without warning, he pulled her into a tight hug.
Jay Jay froze, her breath catching in her throat. His arms wrapped around her with a kind of certainty that made her feel safe. Steady. It wasn't just a casual embrace. It was the kind of hug that said everything words couldn't.
For a second, she hesitated. Then,slowly, she relaxed against him, her fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt.
Keifer sighed against her hair, shifting slightly to pull her even closer. His warmth seeped into her, steady and familiar.
Jay Jay felt his chin rest lightly on the top of her head. His breath was even, but she could feel the slight tension in his hold-like he was memorizing this moment, like he didn't want to let go just yet.
Then, just as she was about to pull back, she felt it.
A slow, lingering kiss pressed gently to her hair.
Jay Jay's eyes fluttered shut. Her grip on his shirt tightened. It wasn't just a simple kiss-it was something else entirely. A quiet reassurance. A silent promise.
Keifer stayed like that for a moment, his lips resting against her head, as if he was telling her something without words.
Jay Jay swallowed hard, not trusting herself to speak.
He shifted slightly, his chin brushing against her hair again. "You okay?" he murmured, voice softer than she'd ever heard it.
Jay Jay nodded, her voice barely above a whisper. "Yeah. You?"
Keifer let out a short laugh, but it wasn't his usual teasing one. It was something quieter, almost hesitant.
"Getting there."
They didn't move. Neither of them seemed to want to. The city buzzed around them, cars honking in the distance, the faint hum of streetlights above. But right here, in this smallspace between them, everything felt still.
Keifer's fingers brushed against her back in slow, absent circles. Jay Jay felt herself leaning in more than she meant to, pressing against him like she needed to memorize the way this felt.
Keifer chuckled, his chest vibrating against her. "See? You do like hugs."
Jay Jay huffed. "Shut up."
He smirked but didn't let go just yet. Instead, he gave her one last, firm squeeze before finally-reluctantly -pulling back. His hands lingered on her arms for a second longer than necessary.
"Text me when you get home," he said.
Jay Jay saluted, trying to regain her usual bravado. "Yes, sir."
Keifer grinned, brushing his knuckles lightly over her cheek before finally stepping back. "Goodbye, Jaybird."
Jay Jay exhaled, shoving her hands in her pockets. "See you soon, Keifer."
And as they walked in opposite directions, she realized this wasn't really the end. It was the beginning of something new