(Adrian's POV)
When I opened the door, everything was pitch dark.
The house was silent — way too silent.
I blinked, confused. "Ciel?"
Then, suddenly —
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 "SURPRISE!!!" 🎉🎉🎉🎊🎊🎊🎊
I literally jumped back a step. The lights flashed on, confetti flew through the air, and in front of me stood almost everyone I knew — Ciel, Keifer, Jayjay, Yuri, CI-N, David, and the rest of Section E — all cheering, shouting, and grinning like maniacs.
For a moment, I was frozen.
Then my eyes found Jayjay. She was standing there, smiling so brightly I couldn't even be mad.
"Jayjay…" I said slowly, shaking my head. "You didn't."
"Oh, I did," she said proudly. "Happy eighteenth birthday, Adrian Voss Delacruze Junior!"
Everyone started clapping again.
Ciel ran up and threw her arms around me. "Surprise, Kuya!"
I sighed but couldn't stop smiling. "You all seriously did this behind my back?"
Yuri smirked. "We had help."
CI-N held up a balloon and grinned. "Team Effort!"
Jayjay came up beside me. "Come on, birthday boy. Don't look so shocked."
I let out a small laugh. "You guys are unbelievable."
After a while, the music was on, the laughter filled the house, and everyone was either dancing, eating, or arguing over snacks.
I stood beside Keifer for a moment, watching the chaos unfold.
He had one arm lazily slung over the back of the couch, where Jayjay sat laughing with Ciel.
"You've got a really good girlfriend, you know," I told him quietly, smiling faintly. "You're a lucky guy."
Keifer looked at Jayjay — his whole face softened. Then he turned back to me with a grin. "Yeah," he said. "I really am."
He gave my shoulder a friendly tap. "And happy birthday again, bro. Don't let all this effort she made go to waste, alright?"
I laughed. "Yeah… I won't."
Soon the real Section E chaos began.
Felix clapped his hands. "Alright, people! Let's see who brought the best gift for the birthday boy!"
CI-N jumped up. "Obviously me!"
"Bro, you bought him socks," Calix said flatly.
"Socks are useful!" CI-N argued. "At least I didn't bring a mug that says #1 Boss!"
"That's vintage!" Calix snapped.
Everyone started laughing.
David rolled her eyes. "You're all hopeless."
"Okay, okay!" Calix said, giggling. "Let's settle it with a game of Truth or Dare!"
Everyone cheered.
We sat in a circle, snacks and soda cans scattered everywhere.
Jayjay spun a bottle.
It stopped — right between Yuri and CI-N.
"Ohhh!" Ciel teased. "CI-N, truth or dare?"
"Dare," he said confidently.
"Alright," she smirked. "I dare you to punch the couch pillow and confess your undying love to it."
Everyone exploded with laughter.
"WHAT?! No way!"
"You said dare!" Yuri reminded him, grinning wickedly.
CI-N sighed dramatically, grabbed the nearest pillow, and said in a serious voice,
"Pillow… you complete me."
The whole room went wild.
"Okay, okay! Next!" Jayjay said between laughs.
The bottle spun again — this time landing on Keifer.
"Ohhh, the mighty lover boy!" David said, smirking. "Truth or dare?"
Keifer crossed his arms. "Dare."
"Alright," Ci-N said mischievously. "I dare you to carry Jayjay for five minutes — while looking straight into her eyes."
Jayjay's eyes widened. "Wait, what—"
But before she could finish, Keifer grinned, stood up, and scooped her into his arms effortlessly.
Everyone started counting.
"ONE! TWO! THREE!"
Jayjay's face turned red. "Keifer, stop smiling like that!"
"You're not making it easy to look away," he said teasingly.
"Four minutes to go!" Ciel shouted, laughing uncontrollably.
"Yuri, start the timer!" David yelled.
"Already did!"
By the time the timer went off, Jayjay's face was pink, Keifer was grinning, and everyone else was dying from laughter.
He gently set her down. "Five minutes. I win."
She smacked his arm. "You're impossible!"
After a few more rounds of chaos, Ciel and CI-N decided it was their mission to annoy David.
"Hey David!" CI-N said, poking his shoulder.
"What?"
"Nothing." Poke.
"Stop it."
Poke.
"I SAID STOP IT!"
They both burst out laughing as David grabbed a pillow and chased them around the room.
It was pure ,glorious, Section E madness.
Later, as the laughter quieted down and everyone was snacking again, I found myself sitting on the couch, feeling… lighter.
For the first time in years, my birthday didn't hurt as much.
Jayjay caught my eyes from across the room and smiled. I smiled back.
But then — before I could even process what was happening —
The front door suddenly opened.
Everyone turned at the same time.
A girl ran inside, breathless, her eyes searching — and the moment she saw me, she rushed forward and threw her arms around me tightly.
The room froze.
Every single person went silent, looking at one another in confusion.
Jayjay's smile faded slowly.
I blinked, completely shocked. "You…?"
The girl pulled back slightly, smiling through tears.
"Adrian…" she whispered. "You're alive."