Chapter 6
Jayjay's POV
Miss Reyes stood at the front of the classroom with a smile that could only mean trouble.
"Midterm Collaboration Week begins today," she said, voice calm but eyes glinting with quiet mischief. "You'll be partnered with one of your peers for a full month. You will complete three tasks: a debate, a group presentation, and a joint written report. All topics will be assigned."
She paused. "No switching partners."
My stomach dropped.
She started calling out names.
And then—
"Jayjay Mariano and Keifer Watson."
My entire soul died in that moment.
Across the room, Keifer made an exaggerated choking sound. "You have got to be kidding."
Bianca and Yuri high-fived in the back like absolute traitors.
I turned in my seat slowly, locking eyes with the human headache himself. "I will kill you."
Keifer didn't flinch. "You'll have to wait in line."
"Oh I'm not waiting. I'll be doing the world a favor."
"You're the only person who can turn a business report into an act of war."
"You're the only person who can make me want to drop out of school just to avoid your voice."
He leaned back in his chair, arms folded. "God, you're so intense all the time."
"And you're so... casually smug, I want to launch you into orbit."
"I'd look great in zero gravity."
"You'd talk too much and get banned from space."
Miss Reyes cleared her throat at the front, not even pretending to hide her smirk. "Good. I like that you're both... passionate. Let's channel that."
Passionate. Great.
Later that day, we met in the library — as required — to start on the first part of the assignment.
The tension was so thick you could slice it with a blade.
Keifer pulled out his laptop and sat across from me, legs splayed out like he owned the space. Meanwhile, I had to physically resist the urge to launch my pencil at his forehead.
I glared. "Could you sit more aggressively, or is this your final form?"
He blinked innocently. "This is me behaving."
"I hate you."
"Mutual."
For the first twenty minutes, we worked in silence, but it wasn't peaceful. It was weaponized silence. Every time he flipped a page too loudly or tapped his pen, I wanted to scream.
Eventually, though... the storm eased.
Just a bit.
I don't know how or when it shifted. But somehow, the insults got quieter. The looks lingered longer. The silence got... heavier.
And then—
He looked up at me.
His eyes flicked — just for a heartbeat — down to my lips.
Then back up to my eyes.
I froze. Breath caught. Like something unspeakable had passed between us.
He leaned forward slightly, voice low.
"You know they're watching, right?"
I didn't need to ask who. "Yeah," I said under my breath. "I saw Ci-n hiding behind a bookshelf with binoculars."
Keifer let out a short, barely-there laugh. The moment cracked, but it didn't fully break.
We both turned our heads — and sure enough, Section E was scattered around the library in the worst camouflage ever.
Ci-n was pretending to read a magazine upside down.
Edrix had a fake mustache.
Mica was sitting two tables away, not even trying to hide the fact she was taking pictures.
She waved at us. "You guys look comfy!"
I dragged a hand down my face. "I hate everyone."
Keifer leaned closer. "They got a picture of me looking at your mouth, didn't they?"
"Multiple."
That night, back in my dorm, I opened my document.
"The Ones Who Never Slept"
Tonight's chapter felt different. Unsteady. Like a shifting current I couldn't control.
"She hated him. She hated the way he cracked open her calm.
The way his voice crawled under her skin.
The way she noticed him noticing her — like something was waiting to spark.
And maybe... maybe what she hated most was that he noticed at all."
I stopped.
My fingers hovered over the keyboard.
No. No. This wasn't about him. This wasn't about anything.
I shook the thoughts off like dust and slammed the laptop shut.
I still had citations to finish and a script to write for our debate.
And a month of Keifer Watson to survive.