Mini-Chapter: The Percy Leak
It started as a whisper.
By noon the next day, it was an entire storm.
Jay sat in the university library, peacefully annotating her Business Ethics textbook, when Aries dropped into the chair across from her with a grin like she'd just won the lottery.
"So…" Aries said, eyes sparkling. "You and Keifer, huh?"
Jay looked up slowly. "Excuse me?"
Aries slid her phone across the table. It was a blurry photo from Percy's private story — Jay's hoodie, Keifer's neck, suspicious red mark, timestamped 6 a.m.
Jay blinked. "He didn't."
"He did."
She buried her face in her hands. "I'm going to murder him."
Meanwhile – In the Engineering Hall
Keifer was cornered by three guys from his track team.
"So… engaged, huh?" one of them said.
"Congrats, man," another added. "Didn't know you had it in you."
Keifer frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"Dude, Percy Mariano's on a one-man press tour. He told like… four people in the cafeteria, someone in Marketing, and I think he made a slideshow?"
Keifer groaned. "Of course he did."
Back at Home – That Evening
Jay slammed the front door. "PERCY."
From the couch, Percy peeked out from under a blanket, sipping milk tea. "Yesss, my queen?"
"You told everyone!"
"I told, like, seven people. Tops."
"SEVEN—"
"And maybe a group chat. And Aries. And my Twitter mutuals."
Jay marched toward him, grabbing the nearest pillow. "I swear to God, if I see this on Wattpad—"
"You're welcome," Percy interrupted. "I've been rooting for Jayfer since the forced engagement arc. Now that it's canon, the people deserve to know."
Keifer appeared behind her. "What did you post now?"
Percy grinned. "Only a soft launch. No tags."
Jay looked at him. "What does that mean?"
Keifer pulled out his phone.
Opened Instagram.
Paused.
Percy had posted a photo of Jay's casted hand in Keifer's, resting on the picnic blanket from last week. Captioned:
"Enemies to lovers. And y'all said I was dramatic."
Jay lunged. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU."
Percy screamed, flailing off the couch. "YOU LOOKED SO CUTE. I DID IT FOR THE SHIPPERS!"
Later That Night
Jay slumped on the bed, face in her hands.
Keifer sat beside her, laughing softly.
"You okay?" he asked.
She groaned. "Everyone knows. Because of your number one fan."
Keifer kissed her cheek. "Could be worse."
Jay blinked at him. "How?"
He smirked. "He could've live-streamed it."
Jay stared. "Don't give him ideas."
From the hallway:
"TOO LATE!"