Jay's POV
Zein and I were still locked in that fierce, grounding hug on the stone bench when the heavy iron doors to the rooftop didn't just open—they exploded inward. I lurched back, my hand instinctively dropping to the hidden pocket in my skirt, but the tension snapped instantly as a wave of familiar, chaotic energy flooded the roof.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
The roar was deafening. Leading the charge was Cin, holding a battery-operated strobe light. "To the queen flames of Hell U! May your survival rate stay at a solid hundred percent!"
Felix and Jerome followed, Cin throwing a handful of glitter that caught the moonlight like tiny diamonds. "Happy birthday, Zein! Jay! Stay fierce, stay terrifying," Felix chirped.
Jerome gave a solemn nod, holding a stack of books. "To another year of outsmarting the HU. Happy birthday."
Dave and Mia were next. Dave gave a mock salute. "Happy birthday, ladies. If anyone tries to ruin your day, I've got the shovel ready."
Mia rolled her eyes but hugged us both. "Happy birthday! Let's try to keep the blood off the dresses today, okay?"
Vanessa, Rakki, and Freya crowded in, their voices a melodic blur of "Happy birthdays" and "Stay gorgeous."
Rory and Edrix hung back slightly, Rory offering a rare, genuine smile. "Happy birthday, guys. Glad you're still here."
Then came Percy, shoving his way to the front with a grin that could rival the sun. "Move aside, plebeians! The main event is here." He struck a pose, running a hand through his hair. "Happy birthday, Jay-jay, Zein! I know, I know—having a brother and friend as handsome as me is the greatest gift of all. Try not to let my jawline distract you from your cake."
"You're a dork, Percy," I laughed, feeling the first real spark of joy in months.
Then, the crowd parted for Angelo and Ion. My heart swelled. Angelo looked at me with that protective 'Kuya' gaze. "Happy birthday, Jay. Stay strong. And Zein," he turned to her, "you're family now. Happy birthday."
Ion hugged us both, her scent of vanilla and gunpowder comforting. "Happy birthday, girls. We've got your backs, always."
Keifer stepped out of the shadows last. He ignored the others, his eyes locked on mine. He walked over, his presence a warm weight. He turned to Zein first. "Happy birthday, Shion. Keep Supremo on his toes."
Then, he pulled me into his arms, leaning down to whisper against my ear, "To my light in this darkness... I didn't just fall for a girl; I fell for a storm. Happy birthday, my Queen I'm yours, through every lie and every truth." He pressed a lingering, unique kiss to my temple that made my toes curl.
"Ooooh", Others roared and Angleo rolling his eyes.
Suddenly, the air chilled. Ace appeared. The "Supremo" walked with a silence that commanded the room. He looked at me. "Happy birthday, Jay." Then his gaze shifted to Zein, intense and unreadable. "Happy birthday, Zein."
We were just about to cut into a smuggled chocolate cake when Angelica appeared, breathless. "Supremo! The competition. It's tonight. King and Queen. The authorities... they're demanding everyone in the garden. Now."
The transition from the intimacy of the rooftop to the grand garden was jarring. Hundreds of students were gathered, the atmosphere electric and dangerous. Liam caught up to us as we walked. "Happy birthday, Zein, Jay! Vanessa tipped us off. Glad we made it in time for the chaos."
The stage was set. The competition began with representatives from every class. Nazeer and Nicky went first, their movements sharp and practiced.
Then Roxanne and Liam, bringing a level of intensity that hushed the crowd.Then, Me and Keifer moved towards stage.
Our friends started chanting. "Jay! Keifer! Jay! Keifer!"
Then Zein and Supremo walk down the stage.They were looking perfect with eachother.
The round changed. "The Trial of Form," the announcer boomed. "Remove your shirts!"
A collective gasp went up. Several boys stepped forward, shedding their layers. Matt stepped up, his physique lean and scarred. Then, Ace moved in front of zein . He pulled his shirt over his head in one fluid motion, followed by Keifer and Angelo.
Keifer opened his shirt. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks, but I wasn't the only one. I heard the predatory whispers of the girls in the crowd.
"Look at Keifer's body..."
"Ace is literally a god..."
"Angelo looks damn good "
Before another word could be uttered, the three men moved like a coordinated wall. Angelo stepped directly in front of Ion, Ace blocked the view of Zein, and Keifer loomed in front of me, his bare chest a wall of muscle and heat. Girls tried to peer around them, some even trying to push past, but they didn't budge.
Angelo growled, grabbing Ion's hand and dragging her toward the shadows of the hedges. Ace followed suit with Zein, and Keifer, with a possessive glint in his eye, swept me back toward the darker corners of the garden while our friends hooted and cheered behind us.
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Ion's POV
Angelo slammed me back against a thick oak tree, his bare chest heaving. The moonlight filtered through the leaves, casting shadows over his furious, handsome face.
"You were looking," he hissed, his hands pinning my wrists above my head.
"I have eyes, Angelo," I teased, though my breath was hitching.
He didn't respond with words. He leaned in, his lips crashing against mine in a hungry, desperate kiss that tasted of possession and fire. It wasn't gentle; it was a claim. Every inch of his skin against mine felt like a brand, reminding me exactly who I belonged to in this lawless place.
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Zein's POV
Ace stood in front of me, his shirt discarded on the grass. He didn't pin me. He just stood there, letting the moonlight trace the lines of his body—the scars of a hundred battles and the perfection of a King.
"You wanted to see?" he asked, his voice a low vibration. "Watch me, Zein. Look at me as much as you want. I am the only one you need to see."
I found myself breathless, my eyes tracing the pulse in his neck, the strength in his shoulders. He was terrifying, yes, but in the silence of the garden, he was magnificent.
I reached out, my fingers trembling as they brushed his skin. He didn't flinch; he leaned into the touch, a predator tamed by a single hand.
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Jay's POV
Keifer had my hands pinned against the stone wall of the gazebo, his body pressed so close I could feel his heartbeat against my own.
"My Jay," he whispered, his voice thick and spicy with intent. He kissed me hard , it was rough, claiming, possessive kiss.As if he was devouring me.He leaned down, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin of my neck. I gasped, my head falling back as he left a hot, marking hickey right above my collarbone.
"Now everyone knows," he murmured against my skin. "Birthday or not, you're off-limit
When we finally emerged back into the light of the main garden, the mood had shifted. Matt approached us, looking hesitant. He held out a small, wrapped gift toward Zein. "Happy birthday, Zein. I... I wanted you to have this."
Zein didn't even look at him. She walked past him as if he were a ghost, her jaw set in ice.
Matt's face fell, the rejection visible in his eyes. He turned to me, his hand shaking slightly as he offered the gift. "Jay?"
To the absolute shock of everyone—especially Zein, who stepped forward with a scowl—I smiled. I stepped toward Matt and took the gift. "Thank you, Matt."
Then, I did the unthinkable. I hugged him.
"Jay, why?!" Dave shouted. "He betrayed us! He's the reason—"
"I know," I said, pulling back but keeping a hand on Matt's arm. "I know what he did. But I also know why. He made a choice to protect us in the only way he knew how. Sometimes, the situation forces you into a corner where there are no good moves, only survival."
The silence was thick. Then, Keifer stepped up. To my surprise, he didn't attack. He placed a heavy hand on Matt's shoulder and pulled him into a brief, rough hug. "She's right. If you ever need a way out, Matt... we're here."
Slowly, the others followed. The tension that had been strangling our group for weeks finally began to fray. I hugged Matt one last time, whispering, "You remind me so much of Jare, Matt. Don't lose yourself."
Onel leaned over to Keifer, whispering loudly, "Are you seriously not jealous? He just hugged your girl!"
Keifer didn't even look away from me. "Why would I be? She treats him like a brother. I know where her heart is
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Zein's POV
The music swelled, and for a moment, we were just teenagers again. We were dancing, laughing under the stars, the horror of the school fading into the background. Matt had retreated back toward the BBG group, but he looked lighter, his burden shared.
Suddenly, a hiss pierced the music.
A thick, yellowish gas began to pour from the garden vents.
"GAS!" Ace yelled. "Cover your mouths!"
Panic erupted. I felt Ace's hand grab mine, pulling me toward the exit, but the smoke was so thick I couldn't see my own feet. I coughed, my vision blurring.
When the wind finally cleared the garden minutes later, the students were coughing and gasping on the grass.
Keifer stood in the center of the clearing, his face a mask of pure, unadulterated rage. He looked at his empty hand—the hand that had been holding Jay's.
"JAY!" he roared, the sound echoing off the school walls like a death knell.
Jay was gone.
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Keifer's POV
The world was a blur of retreating yellow mist and the sound of my own pulse thundering in my ears. My hand was still held out, my fingers curled into a claw where Jay's palm had been just seconds ago.
She was gone.
The realization hit me like a physical blow to the gut, but instead of air, I breathed in pure, concentrated rage. I felt it—a white-hot snap in the center of my mind. The "mask" Jay talked about didn't just fall off; it disintegrated.
I spun around, my eyes landing on Edrix and Rory, who were still coughing near the gazebo. I didn't walk; I lunged. I grabbed Edrix by the collar, nearly lifting him off his feet, while my glare pinned Rory to the spot.
"TRACE HER. NOW!" I roared, my voice sounding like grinding stone. "If you don't find her signal in the next sixty seconds, I will burn every floor of this building until the smoke leads me to her. MOVE!"
Rory didn't hesitate. He pulled out his modified tablet, his fingers flying across the keys despite the lingering gas. "I'm on it, Keifer! I'm on it!"
Behind me, Angelo was a silent, vibrating statue of fury. His eyes were dark, almost black, as he looked at Ion. He didn't need to say a word. Ion nodded, her hand already reaching for the blade hidden in her boot. Without waiting for the rest of the group, the two of them turned and stormed toward the Main Office, leaving a trail of terrified students in their wake.
"Such a dramatic display, Keifer," Violet said, her voice carrying easily across the silent garden. She came to a stop just a few feet away from where he stood, her eyes gleaming with a sadistic delight. "You speak of monsters and graveyards as if you aren't already standing in one."
She turned her gaze toward the empty spot where Jay had been, her smile widening. "You all play at being warriors, at being kings and queens. But in Hell University, there is only one authority that matters. And right now, that authority has decided that a certain birthday girl is far more valuable as a prize than a student"
I didn't move, but the air around him seemed to distort with the sheer force of his killing intent. I turned my head slowly, my eyes locking onto hers with a promise of absolute annihilation.
"You're still talking," I whispered, the sound more terrifying than my earlier roar. "Every word you waste is another second of your life I'm going to personally tear away."
I stepped closer, ignoring the guards who instinctively moved to intercept him. "You think you're the architect of this nightmare? Look at me, Violet. I am the nightmare. You didn't just take a girl; you unleashed the only thing in this hellhole that doesn't fear the dark. I am done playing your games. I am done following your rules. If Jay isn't back by the time the moon reaches its peak, I won't just burn this school. I will hunt down every single person who carries your bloodline until the name 'Violet' is nothing but a stain on the floor."
I leaned in, my voice dropping to a jagged edge. "I'm not a king, and I'm not a monster. I'm the end of your world. Start running, because I'm not coming for answers anymore. I'm coming for blood."
The mist was still swirling around my ankles like a living thing, but my focus was narrowed to a single point of failure: the empty space where Jay had stood.
The garden, once filled with the warmth of a birthday hug, had turned into a tomb of yellow mist. As the haze thinned, the space beside me felt unnervingly cold.
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Zein's POV
My lungs burned from the gas, but the ache in my chest was sharper. I reached out, my fingers grasping at the empty air where Jay's hand had been seconds ago.
"Jay?" I called out, my voice cracking. "Jay!"
There was no answer. Only the sound of Keifer's animalistic roar and the heavy, rhythmic thud of boots. I watched, rooted to the spot, as Keifer descended upon Madam Violet like a storm made of shadow and bone.
I had seen him angry before, but this was different. This was the Keifer who had once been a predator, stripped of every shred of humanity that Jay had worked so hard to give him.
As he leaned into Violet's face, whispering threats that made the air itself feel jagged, I saw the woman flinch. He wasn't just threatening her life; he was promising the erasure of her entire existence.
"I am the end of your world," Keifer hissed, and for a moment, I believed him. I saw the monster he had kept caged for Jay, and now that the cage was gone, there was nothing left to stop the carnage.
But as Keifer stormed off toward the Forbidden Sector, I didn't just follow. I stood my ground, my eyes locked on Madam Violet. She looked at me, her smirk returning, as if she expected me to crumble or plead.
"Don't look at me with that pathetic smile, Violet," I said, my voice dropping into a deadly, crystalline calm. The Shion blood in my veins felt like liquid ice. "You think you've won a piece of the game? You've just committed the ultimate sin."
I stepped toward her, my shadow stretching long and dark across the grass. "Jay-jay is the only person in this hell who reminded me that I'm more than just a name or a legacy. She is my sister in every way that matters. You didn't just take a student; you took a Shion's heart."
I leaned in, my gaze piercing through her like a blade. "Keifer will burn this place down to find her, and he might be messy about it. But me? I will be precise. I promise you this, on my life and the lives of my sisters I've yet to meet: If a single hair on Jay's head is harmed, I won't just kill you. I will make sure you stay alive long enough to watch me dismantle every secret, every record, and every brick of Hell University until there is nothing left but dust and your screams. I am coming for her, and God help anyone standing in my way."
I turned my back on her, not giving her the satisfaction of a reaction. I looked toward the dark silhouette of the laboratory wing where Rory's tracker was pointing.
"Hang on, Jay-jay," I whispered into the wind, a silent pact echoing in my mind. "It's our birthday. And I refuse to let the sun rise without you."
I broke into a run, my boots hitting the pavement in sync with the heavy thud of Ace's footsteps behind me. We weren't just students anymore. We were the reckoning.
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Ace's POV
I stood in the center of the garden, the silence following Keifer's roar more deafening than the shout itself. My hands were balled into fists, the knuckles white and bloodless.
I looked at Zein—her face was a mask of cold, Shion steel—and then I looked at the retreating back of Keifer, who was already a silhouette of pure destruction.
But then my eyes landed on Madam Violet. She was still standing there, preening like a vulture that had just found fresh carrion.
I walked toward her. Every step I took felt like the ground was cracking beneath me. As the "Supremo," I was supposed to be the balance, the one who kept the peace between the students and the authorities. I was the bridge.
I reached out, my hand moving so fast it was a blur, and gripped the front of Violet's throat. I didn't squeeze—not yet—but I felt the pulse of her fear drumming against my palm.
"Ace!" she gasped, her eyes bulging. "You wouldn't dare... the Board... your position..."
"The Board is a collection of old men playing with dolls," I said, my voice coming from a place deeper and darker than I'd ever let anyone see. "And my position? My crown? It's just a piece of metal if the people I value aren't here to see me wear it."
I leaned in, my face inches from hers. "You think you're holding Jay to control Keifer. But you've forgotten one thing. Jay-jay is Zein's anchor. And Zein? She is my world. If you break the anchor, my world drifts away. And you forget that Jay is my sister too.And if I lose her or Zein, I have no reason to keep this school standing."
I tightened my grip just enough to see her face turn a frantic shade of red. "Listen carefully, Violet. I am ready to sacrifice every title, every scrap of power, and every life in this garden to bring Jay back. I will burn my own throne and use the ashes to bury you. I am not the Supremo tonight. I am the man who is going to tear your empire apart brick by brick if that girl isn't found."
I threw her back, and she stumbled, falling onto the grass she had just been standing on so proudly.
I turned to Zein, who was already moving. Our eyes met for a split second—a silent understanding. We weren't just fighting for a friend; we were fighting for the only light left in this hell.
"Let's go," I growled, my heart a heavy, rhythmic drum of war. "If they want a King and Queen, let's show them what happens when the royalty goes to war."
We sprinted toward the Forbidden Sector, the shadows of the old lab looming like a monster's maw. The "Birthday Pact" wasn't just a promise between two girls anymore. it was the spark that was going to ignite the entire school.
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Author's POV ( other pov)
Percy & Dave
The jokes died instantly. Percy's handsome mask cracked, revealing a brother ready to kill, while Dave stood guard with his shovel, his eyes promising a shallow grave for anyone involved. "She's family," Percy hissed. "And this school is about to find out what happens when you touch a Gallagher."
Matt:
Matt:
The gift Jay accepted lay crushed on the grass. Seeing her disappear after she had just forgiven him sparked a fire he couldn't put out. "I know the secret passages," he muttered, his guilt turning into a weapon. He didn't care about his cover anymore; he was going to bring her back or die trying.
Felix, Jerome, and the boys formed a wall of steel. No more dancing—only the cold, hard focus of a pack whose heart had been snatched. They didn't need a Supremo to tell them what to do; the hunt was on.
Mia & Vanessa
"They waited for the one moment we let our guard down," Vanessa hissed, her eyes tracking the retreating shadows of the guards. She wasn't the "pretty face" of the group anymore; she was a predator. Mia gripped a jagged piece of the broken cake platter, her knuckles white. "They didn't just take Jay," Mia whispered, her voice trembling with cold rage. "They took the heart of this group. If they think we're just going to sit here and cry while the boys do the work, they've clearly forgotten who survived the Bloody Night."
Rakki & Freya:
Rakki looked at the spot where she and Jay had been laughing just minutes ago. The luck she always relied on felt like it had run out, replaced by a sharp, intuitive needle of ice. "The gas came from the north vents," she noted, her voice clinical and detached. Freya nodded, already tyingher hair back into a tight, practical knot. "Then that's where we start. No more rules, no more 'Queen' titles. We're going to find her, and we're going to make sure whoever grabbed her never sees the sun rise again."
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A/n
Things just went from 0 to 100! 😱 Jay is gone, and the boys have officially unleashed their inner monsters. Are you guys excited to see the total carnage Keifer and Ace are about to cause?
This is my biggest chapter till now... It was my apology for not posting two chapters as I said.
Comment your theories on where Jay is and what should happen next! Your comment keeps this story alive. 🖤🔥
See you soon 💕
Bye 👋
I forgot..
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