Morning didn't end the chaos.
It just relocated it.
By the time the sun fully rose, Lia's house looked like a battlefield after a party no one remembered agreeing to. Pillows on the floor, snack wrappers everywhere, shoes in places shoes should never be. Someone—probably Eren—had fallen asleep halfway under the coffee table. Hunter was still passed out on the couch, an arm dangling like gravity had personally offended him.
Lia woke first.
She always did.
She carefully shifted Jay's leg off her waist, paused when Jay mumbled something incoherent, then slowly stood up. For a second, she just watched the room.
Everyone breathing. Everyone alive.
Everyone… intact.
Good.
She went to the kitchen, started making coffee. The smell spread fast.
Too fast.
"WHY does it smell like responsibility," Jay groaned from the couch.
"Because you're awake," Lia replied without turning.
One by one, bodies stirred.
Aries sat up abruptly. "We're late."
Angelo checked his phone. "…We're very late."
That was all it took.
Panic exploded.
"SHOES—WHERE ARE MY SHOES?" "WHO STOLE MY HOODIE?" "WHY IS MY BAG IN THE FRIDGE?" "That was strategic," Jay said defensively.
They moved like chaos incarnate—bumping into each other, arguing, half-asleep insults flying. Hunter woke up mid-argument between Percy and Eren.
"…Is this a cult?" he asked weakly.
"Yes," Jay said. "You're already in."
They somehow made it out the door.
Somehow.
School didn't feel real that morning.
Word had spread—not loudly, not officially, but enough. The halls buzzed differently.
Whispers followed them like shadows.
"That's them." "Did you hear about the hospital?" "No way they're just students."
"Hunter's here—WAIT, HE'S ACTUALLY HERE."
Hunter wore a cap low over his face, hands in his pockets, walking beside Lia like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Jay noticed the stares and leaned closer to him. "Ignore them."
He smiled faintly. "Hard to do when they know your face better than you do."
They reached the building where the older batch gathered.
Section E.
The door opened.
And chaos resumed immediately.
"Oh LOOK who survived," Felix announced. "DOCTOR BELLS ARE BACK," Rory yelled. "WHY IS HUNTER HERE?" Drew practically screamed. "WHY DOES HE LOOK SO NORMAL," Mayo added.
Hunter waved awkwardly. "Hi?"
The room lost its mind.
Phones came out. Chairs scraped. People stood, sat, stood again.
Kairav leaned back in his chair, unfazed. Ion smirked. Meera whispered something to Cindy. Jessica just crossed her arms like she'd been expecting this for years.
Jay dropped into her seat like nothing was unusual. Lia sat beside her.
Angelo cleared his throat once.
Silence.
Instant.
Jay leaned back. "Still weird how that works."
Angelo ignored her. "Before anyone asks—yes, he's fine. No, we're not talking about the hospital. And no, this doesn't change anything."
Felix raised a hand. "It changes everything."
Angelo's look shut him down.
Class started.
Or at least, something pretending to be class.
The teacher tried. Genuinely tried.
Failed.
Hunter taking notes broke at least three people mentally.
Jayjay leaned toward Lia. "I give it ten minutes before someone snaps."
She was right.
It was Percy.
He leaned back, loud enough for the room to hear. "So… does surviving a global icon surgery make this the most dramatic Section E in history?"
Jay looked at him slowly. "You're still ugly."
The class erupted.
"JAY—" "NOT AGAIN—" "SHE'S CONSISTENT," Eren yelled proudly.
Percy pointed at her. "I TOLD YOU—HANDSOME HUNK."
Lia didn't even look up from her notebook. "Debatable."
Angelo sighed. Aries hid his face.
The bell rang.
Freedom.
The hallway was worse.
Students from other sections slowed, stared, whispered openly now. Section E kids—jayjay, Yuri, Drew, Kit, Mayo, Eren, Rory, Edrix, Freya, Ella, Mica, Rakki, Cin, Felix, Calix, David, Josh, Eman, Percy—some looked starstruck, some confused, some clearly overwhelmed.
Kit whispered to Mayo, "This is not what I expected when I woke up today."
Mayo nodded. "I just wanted cereal."
Hunter leaned toward Lia. "Do they always argue like this?"
"Yes," Lia said. Jay added, "They're calm today."
Someone dropped a bag. Someone screamed because they thought it was a phone. Someone else laughed too hard.
School continued like that.
Chaotic. Loud. Unhinged.
But underneath it all—something had shifted.
People looked at Lia and Jay differently now. Not fear. Not awe.
Respect.
They walked through the halls like they always had—shoulders squared, expressions steady—except now, no one doubted them.
When lunch finally came, they sat together. Loud. Messy. Familiar.
Jay stole fries from Lia's tray.
Lia didn't stop her.
And for the first time in a long while
School felt survivable again.