"Who's the lucky boy, huh?"
Freya asked, leaning in close with a look of pure, unadulterated curiosity.
She was practically vibrating with the need for gossip, her eyes scanning Jay's face for any sign of a name.
Jay opened her mouth to provide a stuttered excuse, her blush deepening until it felt like her skin might actually catch fire.
But before a single word could escape her lips, the playful atmosphere was shattered.
"Ahhhhhhhh! Leave me!"
The scream ripped through the quiet corridor, sharp and desperate.
The girls froze, their laughter dying instantly.
They looked at each other, the confusion on their faces quickly turning into a cold, sinking dread.
The university break had officially ended minutes ago; the halls were eerie and hollow, most students already tucked away in lecture halls.
It was just the six of them—Jay, Sophia, Cheska, Freya, Mica, and Rakki—standing in the sudden silence of the hallway.
"Help! Help! Please leave me!"
The voice came again, muffled but frantic, echoing from the narrow, shadowed path that led toward the back of the building—an area mostly used for storage and rarely frequented during class hours.
It was unmistakably a girl's voice, and she sounded terrified.
The group of girls didn't hesitate for a second.
The moment the second scream tore through the air, they sprinted toward the back of the university building.
When they rounded the corner, the scene made their blood boil: six or seven boys had a terrified girl cornered against the brick wall, harassing her while she wept.
"HOY! LEAVE HER!" Sophia's voice thundered through the alley.
The boys startled, jumping back for a brief moment, but as soon as they realized it was just a group of girls, they burst into mocking laughter.
The leader of the pack shook his head, looking them up and down with a sneer.
Jay felt a wave of cold nervousness wash over her.
Her fingers instinctively clamped onto Sophia's wrist, trying to hold her back as the brunette started to march forward.
For Jay, the aggressive shouting and the looming shadows of the boys triggered flashes of her past—memories filled with raised voices and the feeling of being small.
"Why the hell are you laughing? Leave her!" Rakki shouted, her cool demeanor replaced by a sharp, protective edge.
"Oh, see who's here to save you," one of the guys mocked, looking down at the victim who was already shaking with sobs.
"A bunch of princesses."
"Didn't you listen to us? We said leave her,"
Freya added, her chin tilted high in her classic queen bee style, her eyes flashing with disdain.
The boys were clearly getting irritated now.
The playfulness vanished from their faces, replaced by a dark, ugly bravado.
"We won't," the leader shouted back, stepping closer to the girls.
"What are you going to do about it, huh?"
To prove his point, he turned back to the girl against the wall.
He gripped her jaw tightly, forcing her to look at him as her cries grew louder.
He leaned in, his face inches from hers, as he began forcing a kiss on her.
The girl tried her best to push his heavy frame away, but her strength was failing.
As his lips were just about to touch hers—
PUNCH.
KICK.
The sounds were simultaneous and sickeningly loud in the narrow space.
The leader thudded onto the dirty floor, letting out a strangled groan.
His face was already beginning to swell where a fist had connected with his jaw, but his hands were frantically clutching his groin as a white-hot pain radiated through his entire body.
The other boys stood frozen, their mouths hanging open in shock.
"Seems like the old Jay is back,"
Sophia said, a dangerous smirk playing on her lips.
She looked at Jay, who was standing with her knuckles still white, her gaze cold and steady.
It was Jay's punch that had bruised the guy's face in a single, professional blow.
Jay tilted her head, her breathing coming in rhythmic, controlled huffs.
The terrified girl from moments ago was gone, replaced by someone who looked like she was standing in a familiar arena.
"And it seems like you haven't changed yet," Jay replied, her voice low and even, looking down at Sophia's foot.
Sophia was the one who had delivered the lightning-fast kick to the guy's most sensitive area.
The rest of the girls stared at them in total awe.
They had no idea that back in high school, Jay and Sophia were a duo to be reckoned with—two girls who had spent their years picking up fights against bullies and winning every single one of them.
The "Golden boy's" sister and his girlfriend were a lot more alike than anyone had realized.
The alleyway erupted into total chaos, but the boys had made a fatal mistake: they assumed only Jay and Sophia knew how to fight.
As the remaining five guys launched forward, expecting an easy win, the expressions on the other girls' faces shifted from shock to sharp, dangerous smirks.
Freya didn't even ruin her makeup.
She stepped forward with regal precision, grabbed the nearest boy by his collar to pull him off balance, and drove her knee upward with a sickening "thud" to his midsection.
"Over," she muttered, stepping over his doubled-over body.
Rakki moved like a blur.
Her years of karate training kicked in as she delivered a perfect roundhouse kick that sent another boy spinning into the brick wall.
He hit the ground and didn't get back up.
Mica, usually the softest of the group, was surprisingly ruthless.
She swung her heavy designer bag like a flail, pelting any guy who tried to crawl away, punctuating every hit with a sharp, stinging slap across their faces.
Meanwhile, Cheska was a whirlwind of energy, matching Freya's intensity as they cleared the perimeter.
Jay was in the zone.
She dodged a swinging arm and landed a heavy cross-punch that sent a guy reeling backward, his legs turning to jelly.
But in the heat of the brawl, she didn't see the seventh boy—the one who had been hiding near the crates—scramble to his feet.
He grabbed a rusted iron rod from the trash and lunged toward her.
Cheska saw it from across the alley, her face paling.
"Jayyyyyy! Your backkkk!" she screamed, her voice echoing off the walls.
Jay froze. She started to turn, but the shadow of the rod was already swinging downward.
Because of sharp turn, her feet got trapped with her own second leg, making her trip there.
She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for a bone-shattering impact.
THUD.
The sound was heavy, wet, and final.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Jay waited for the pain.
She waited for the darkness to take over.
Am I dead?
she wondered, her heart hammering against her ribs.
She slowly moved her hands, touching her shoulders, her head, her arms.
No... I'm not dead. I don't feel anything.
The guy who had tried to attack her was on the ground, but he wasn't just "down."
He was brutally bruised, his face a mess of crimson, unconscious before he even hit the pavement.
The iron rod lay several feet away, bent from the force of the intervention.
Jay stared at the boy on the ground, her mind still racing to piece together how he had ended up there so fast.
He groaned, coughing as he tried to push himself up, but a heavy boot slammed into his stomach with brutal force, pinning him back down to the pavement.
Jay looked up, and her breath hitched.
It was.....Keifer.
His eyes were dark, swirling with a cold, terrifying rage she had never seen before.
Behind him, the rest of the group came charging into the alley—David, Calix, and even Percy and Aries arrived, ready for a fight.
They all stopped dead in their tracks.
"Woah..." Percy muttered, his jaw dropping as he took in the sight of six or seven guys dismantled and groaning on the floor.
He looked at the girls, who were casually dusting off their hands and straightening their hair.
"I don't think they actually needed any help."
Keifer didn't even acknowledge the other boys.
His entire focus shifted to Jay.
Seeing her on the ground, his expression softened instantly, the lethal edge in his eyes replaced by pure concern.
She had tripped during the scuffle, and now she looked small against the backdrop of the dirty alley.
"Jay..." he murmured, reaching down.
He took one of her hands firmly in his and placed his other hand on her shoulder, gently helping her stand up.
"I'm fine, I'm—" Jay started, but as she put weight on her left foot, a sharp, white-hot pain surged through her ankle.
"Ow!"
"Jayyy!" the girls shouted in unison, rushing toward her with worried faces.
Keifer's grip tightened protectively.
"Jay, I think we should go home. Let's go. Now."
"No, Keifer, it's okay," she insisted, giving him a small, stubborn smile.
She didn't want to miss her classes over a little trip.
"Still some lectures are pending and it's just a small pain. See? I can walk..."
She took one determined step forward to prove her point, but the moment her heel touched the ground, the pain flared again.
"See—ahh!"
Her balance gave way, and she started to tip over, but Keifer was faster.
His arm snaked around her waist, catching her before she could hit the floor.
"Yes, I can see you can walk really very well," Keifer said, his voice dripping with a thick layer of sarcasm.
He didn't wait for her to argue or protest again.
In one swift, fluid motion, he hooked his arm under her knees and scooped her up into a secure bridal style.
Jay's hands instinctively flew to his neck for balance, her face heating up as her friends watched with wide eyes.
**
"Jay?" Freya called out, raising a perfectly manicured brow as she watched Keifer carry Jay with such effortless possession.
"Huh?" Jay squeaked, her voice an octave higher than usual.
Freya's smirk widened, her eyes darting pointedly toward the hickey on Jay's neck that was now fully visible from this angle.
"Why do I feel like he's the... artist behind that masterpiece?"
Jay's eyes widened to the size of saucers.
Her grip on Keifer's shoulders tightened instinctively, her fingernails digging slightly into his jacket.
A furious, burning flush crawled up her neck and over her cheeks as she realized exactly what Freya was implying in front of all their friends—and the boys.
Keifer stopped in his tracks.
He raised a brow, looking down at Jay's flustered face, initially clueless about the specific joke.
But as he saw her bite her lip and look away, unable to meet anyone's eyes, the pieces clicked together.
A slow, devastatingly arrogant smirk spread across his face.
He didn't look embarrassed; he looked proud.
To drive the point home, he adjusted his hold, hoisting her higher and pulling her even closer to his chest.
Jay let out a small gasp, her ear pressed so firmly against his heart that she could literally hear its steady, powerful thrumming.
Then, Keifer leaned down.
Jay's breath hitched in her throat.
Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird.
She wanted to look away, she wanted to whisper that everyone—the girls, the boys, the entire courtyard—was watching them.
But as his face came closer, her voice died in her throat.
Her eyes fluttered, and her lips parted almost involuntarily.
Instead of the neck, Keifer claimed her attention properly.
He pressed a firm, quick peck on her lips—a bold, public seal of ownership.
He pulled back just an inch, his dark eyes shimmering with mischief as he looked past Jay toward Freya and the rest of the group.
"Need to ask more?" he asked, his voice low and challenging.
The girls immediately shook their heads in frantic denial, pressing their hands over their mouths to stifle their laughter and squeals.
Even the boys—Percy, Aries, and the others—looked away, grinning at the ground.
They had their answer.
Without another word, Keifer turned and continued his march toward the car, leaving the group behind and a very stunned, very red Jay in his arms.
As they left the crowd behind, the silence of the parking lot felt heavy.
Jay, still reeling from the shock of the public kiss, slammed her small fist against his chest.
"Why did you do that?" she demanded, her voice a mix of embarrassment and lingering adrenaline.
Keifer didn't flinch; he only let out a low, vibrating chuckle that rumbled under her hand.
"Why are you laughing? It's not funny! Everyone saw!"
He didn't answer her directly at first.
Instead, he looked down at her, his eyes glinting with something like pride.
"I didn't know my girlfriend was this brave," he murmured.
Before she could process the "girlfriend" comment, they reached the car.
He unlocked it and carefully lowered her into the passenger seat—the very same seat she had scrambled out of this morning to escape after teasing.
"Ow!" Jay hissed as a sharp jolt of pain shot through her ankle when he shifted her weight to get her inside.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Keifer said instantly, his voice losing all its arrogance.
He knelt down in the space between the open door and the seat, his expression etched with worry.
Jay instinctively clutched his shoulders for support, her fingers digging into the fabric of his jacket.
He reached out, his large hands moving toward her foot.
He began to slowly and softly remove the sandal from her injured ankle.
"Hey, don't do that! I can do it on my own," Jay said immediately, her face flushing again.
It felt too intimate, too humble for someone like Keifer Watson to be touching her feet.
He immediately caught her hands, stopping her from pushing him away.
"I know you can do it," he said softly, his voice dropping to a tender register she rarely heard.
"But please... let me do it for you."
(Ok I know this line is common nowadays but still....I love it)
He gently placed her hands back on his shoulders and leaned back down to remove her other sandal.
Jay watched him, her eyes suddenly moistening.
The contrast between the boy who had just brutally taken down a harasser and the boy now cradling her foot with such gentleness was overwhelming.
It was the purest form of love she had ever felt.
"You know, I never knew you could fight this well," he asked, his thumbs beginning to massage the area around her swelling ankle with feather-light pressure.
Jay chuckled softly, a bittersweet sound.
"Me and Sophia used to fight a lot when we were in high school. We were quite the duo but..."
She stopped mid-sentence, her smile fading.
Keifer didn't need to look up to know why she had stopped.
He didn't need to see her face to understand how her life had shifted—how the fire she once had was dampened by the entry of her stepfather and the shadows he brought into her home.
He smiled faintly, a sad, knowing curve of his lips.
Instead of asking her to finish the sentence, he took her bare foot into his palms.
He leaned down and pressed a soft, lingering kiss right onto the arch of her foot.
Jay gasped, her entire body jerking in shock. "Keifer!"
Keifer ignored her stunned reaction and simply stood up, carefully adjusting her leg on the seat to ensure she was comfortable.
When he looked at her again, the cold, lethal mask of the "Golden buy" had completely melted away.
He reached out, his hand sliding to the back of her head, his fingers tangling softly in her hair.
He leaned in, his warmth enveloping her, and pressed a lingering, tender kiss to her forehead.
Jay's eyes fluttered shut as she melted into the touch, the tension finally leaving her body.
"I'm proud of you," he whispered against her skin.
His voice was so soft, so genuine, that it pierced through her defenses.
Jay felt a sudden lump in her throat, and tears began to pool in her eyes, ready to roll down her flushed cheeks.
Before she could say anything, he pulled back with a small, private smile and moved to the driver's side, bringing the engine to life.
**
The drive was a blur of golden afternoon light.
When they reached the Watson mansion, Keifer didn't give her a single second to even reach for the door handle.
He jumped out of the car, rounded the front in a few strides, and swung her door open.
In one fluid motion, he slid one arm behind her waist and the other under her knees, scooping her up into a secure bridal style.
"Keifer, I ca—" she started to object, her pride trying to surface.
Peck.
He cut her off by pressing his lips to hers in a soft, quick kiss.
Jay's eyes widened, and a fresh wave of heat rushed to her face.
"Keifer—" she tried again, her voice breathless.
Peck.
This time, the kiss was firmer, more insistent.
It wasn't enough to be a full kiss, but it was enough to send a jolt through her entire system, leaving her shocked and completely flustered.
"Try to speak and I'll kiss you,
And every time the it will be more deeper."
he said, his voice dropping into a tone of pure authority.
Jay's heart skipped a beat at the word 'kiss.'
He didn't mean a peck this time; the look in his dark eyes told her he meant a real, breathless kiss that would leave her head spinning.
"Understood?" he asked, a triumphant smirk dancing on his lips as he began walking toward the grand entrance of the house.
Jay opened her mouth to retort, but the memory of his threat—and the heat of his lips—made her snap it shut instantly.
She simply nodded, her face buried against his shoulder.
As he carried her through the foyer, she couldn't help herself.
She stole a glance upward at him, her eyes trailing over the sharp line of his jaw before landing on his lips.
Realizing what she was doing, she bit her own lip and looked away the second he caught her looking.
She couldn't hide the deep flush on her neck, though.
Keifer felt the heat radiating from her and saw the way she looked away, and his smirk only deepened.
He tightened his grip on her, pulling her even closer to his chest as he headed for the stairs, enjoying the silent, beautiful chaos he had created in her heart.
___________________________________
Hey buddies how are you?
I know updates are a bit late, but I have reasons :
1. Lack of time.
2. I want to write long meaningful chapters with less cliffhangers.
Spoiler for upcoming chapters :
"I want to eat you..," She answered in husky voice.
That's enough for today.
Ok BUDDIES
Bye buddies
Love u 😘