Jay's POV
Cin was in the middle of some dramatic retelling of how Felix almost spilled juice on a teacher yesterday, waving his hands like his life depended on it, and David kept adding fake sound effects that made it ten times worse.
"So then—BOOM—juice apocalypse," David finished.
I snorted. "You're both idiots."
Cin gasped. "Hey. Accurate idiots."
I shook my head, smiling despite myself.
The bell rang sharply, cutting through the noise, and everyone groaned as they shuffled into their seats. I was still half-turned toward Cin, muttering something about how Felix exaggerates everything—
When the door opened.
Late.
Sir Alvin looked up from his papers. "Class has already started."
A voice answered, calm and unapologetic.
"Sorry I'm late, sir."
That voice.
I froze.
Sir Alvin adjusted his glasses, eyeing the guy at the door. "You must be the new transferee."
The boy nodded once. "Yes, sir."
He stepped inside.
Tall. Relaxed. Hoodie half-zipped. That stupidly familiar confidence like he owned every room he walked into.
Kairo.
My brain short-circuited.
He scanned the room slowly, like he was calculating. Rows. Faces. Expressions.
Then his eyes landed on me.
And softened.
Just like that.
The corner of his mouth lifted. Not a smile—worse.
A teasing little smirk.
He raised an eyebrow.
I mouthed, How.
He winked.
I nearly choked on air.
Sir Alvin cleared his throat. "Attention, everyone. Please welcome your new classmate. Introduce yourself."
Kairo turned to face the class, hands casually in his pockets.
"I'm Kairo," he said easily. "Kairo Valen"
A few murmurs.
"New transferee?"
"They didn't tell us?"
"How did we not know?"
Sir Alvin nodded. "Alright, Mr.Valen. Go ahead and pick a seat."
Kairo glanced around—and without hesitation—walked straight toward us.
Straight toward my row.
Cin had just stood up to say something to Felix behind him.
Bad timing.
Kairo slid right into Cin's seat.
Cin turned back, blinked. "Hey—uh—that's my seat?"
Kairo looked up at him slowly. Then smiled.
"Oh?" he said. "I thought it was empty."
Cin frowned. "I literally just stood up."
"Exactly," Kairo replied. "Abandoned property."
A few people snickered.
Cin spluttered. "You can't just—"
Kairo leaned back lazily. "You snooze, you lose."
David covered his mouth, shaking with laughter.
Cin looked betrayed. "Jay."
I shrugged. "He's got a point."
Cin gasped again. "Traitor."
Kairo rested his chin in his hands, turning toward me. "Missed me?"
I snorted. "You know you're really cute when you act like this."
His smile widened. "Only when I act like this?"
I giggled, shaking my head. "Don't push it."
I leaned toward Kairo, whispering, "Don't look so smug."
He whispered back, just barely audible over the chatter, "Too late. You know you love it."
I rolled my eyes. "Annoying."
He chuckled under his breath. "Adorable, though."
I elbowed him lightly. "Stop—everyone's going to hear."
Kairo stuck his tongue out at me. "Nope," he said teasingly.
I muttered, "Childish."
He tilted his head, smiling. "But still more mature than you. At least I didn't cry when I told someone to buy me ice cream and they didn't make it in time… and the ice cream vendor was gone."
The class erupted.
I shoved him lightly. "Stop embarrassing me."
He laughed softly. "Nope. Too good a story."
Then, Keifer.
I didn't need to turn to feel it. The heat of his stare burned straight into my back.
He didn't move. Didn't whisper. Just watched.
I leaned into Kairo, trying to block him with my shoulder.
The class fell silent—like someone had pressed pause.
"Everyone here is scared of you, right?" Kairo whispered, grinning.
"Stop laughing!" I hissed.
"Nope." He pressed a finger to my shoulder, warm and steady. "But still…"
The room's whispers resumed, quieter this time, like a low hum of excitement:
I groaned. "I hate you guys."
Kairo grinned. "Nah, you love it."
I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't stop smiling.
We whispered more, teasing and joking quietly, Kairo narrating every minor absurdity of his day, and me poking fun at his dramatic gestures.
Kairo nearly choked trying to hide his grin.
I jabbed him lightly in the ribs. "Stop!"
Felix whispered from the back, "You two are ridiculous."
Cin added, "Seriously. You're making the rest of us look boring."
Kairo tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
I rolled my eyes. Keifer's burning gaze followed us the entire time.
Finally, the teacher moved on, and everyone returned to their work.
I glanced at Keifer once more, smirk teasing him just slightly.
He didn't flinch. Didn't move. Just burned a hole through me with his stare.
I squeezed Kairo's hand lightly under the desk. Comfort. Safety. Fun. And a little chaos.
Perfect.
We kept whispering, laughing under our breath—him commenting on the class, me roasting his dramatic entrance—when suddenly…
It got quiet.
Too quiet.
I glanced up.
Everyone was staring.
Like—everyone.
Felix. Cin. Even Sir Alvin had paused mid-sentence.
I blinked. "Why are you all staring?"
Sir Alvin cleared his throat sharply. "Ahem."
I stiffened.
"Miss Mariano," he said calmly, "could you keep your flirting for after my class?"
The room exploded with laughter.
My face burned. "Sorry, sir!"
Kairo pressed his lips together, shoulders shaking as he tried not to laugh.
I shot him a glare.
He mouthed, Worth it.
After a minute, things settled. People went back to work.
I leaned toward Cin. "Why were you all looking at us like that?"
Cin smirked. "Because you were talking louder than the teacher."
Felix added, "And smiling like you forgot the rest of us existed."
Kairo leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Yeah. You were a little busy with me."
He reached up and gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
"Ohhh!" I whispered dramatically.
I glanced around—people were still sneaking looks.
I glared at them.
They immediately looked back down at their papers.
Then my eyes drifted back.
To Keifer.
He wasn't pretending anymore.
His jaw was clenched so tight it looked painful. His leg bounced under the desk, hands fisted, eyes dark and burning straight at us.
At me.
I sighed.
Rolled my eyes again.
Then—very deliberately—I leaned my head onto Kairo's shoulder.
He stiffened.
Just for a second.
Then he relaxed, lifting an arm and resting his hand lightly on my shoulder, steady and warm.
Comforting.
Keifer saw everything.
I didn't look back.
I didn't need to.