Percy'sPOV
I woke up and blinked, trying to clear my head. Wait—was I hallucinating, or was I actually on the bed? I remember falling asleep on the floor. How did I get up here?
I shrugged it off and hopped down to head to the washroom. I noticed Yuri's spot was empty—where did that rooster go? I didn't think much of it and started singing at the top of my lungs while washing my face. Since I left the door open, my voice was echoing through the whole room like a concert hall.
Suddenly, Aries and Keifer stumbled in, probably woken up by my "beautiful" vocals. We all stopped. Aries looked at Keifer, Keifer looked at Aries, and then they both looked at me.
We stood there for three seconds of silence before we all burst out laughing at the same time.
"Why are you both laughing at me?" we all shouted in unison.
"Your forehead!" we all yelled back.
Aries and Keifer shoved past me to get to the mirror. I looked too, and my jaw dropped. "I love my sister" was written in bold marker across my forehead and Aries'. But Keifer had it the worst—his said "I love my wife."
There was only one person (and probably one "rooster" accomplice) who could have done this.
Keifer'sPOV
Percy laughed, pointing at his own head. "See? She wrote 'my sister.' She knows who her favorite is."
"She wrote the same thing on me, idiot," Aries countered.
"So, from her POV, I'm not just a step-sibling," Percy said, sounding almost touched.
"Believe what you want, you still are," Aries teased.
"I'm her brother," Percy insisted.
"Yes, step-brother."
"Still her brother!"
"I'm her real brother!" Aries yelled.
"Are you guys seriously enjoying this?" I interrupted, gesturing to my face. "She literally ruined our foreheads."
They both turned to me with matching smirks. "Don't play a fool, Keifer. We know you enjoyed seeing the word 'wife' on yours," Percy said. Aries nodded in agreement.
I sighed and turned to the sink to wash my face, but the ink wouldn't budge. My heart sank.
"It's permanent marker!" the three of us yelled at the same time.
"What the hell, Jayjay!" Aries growled, scrubbing his skin until it turned bright red. Slowly, the ink began to fade. Just as we managed to get most of it off, the walking chaos herself appeared in the doorway with Yuri by her side.
"How was the prank?" she asked, looking far too proud of herself.
"Baby sista, you ruined my handsome face!" Percy complained.
"What the hell, Jay!" Aries shouted.
"Don't shout at my wife!" I shouted back.
"She's my sister first!" Aries barked. Before he could say another word, Percy splashed a handful of water directly at Yuri. Yuri jumped in to fight back, but Aries grabbed him while Percy and I drenched him.
Yuri was soaking wet now, and honestly, so were we. Then we all looked at Jayjay. She was standing there laughing, completely unaware that it was her turn. Aries grabbed her by the arms and hauled her into the washroom. Percy didn't hesitate—he splashed her until she was practically drowning.
"You gago!" she yelled, wiping water from her eyes.
"That's karma, baby sista!" Percy laughed.
"Keifer, stop him!" she pleaded.
"You used profanity," I said calmly. Aries and Percy looked at me, completely confused.
"You gago! You're thinking about that damn profanity now?!" she yelled again.
"That's two," I noted.
"Fine! I'll give you as many as you want, just stop this idiot brother of mine!"
I stepped in and pulled her behind me, shielding her from Percy's next splash. "No more," I commanded.
"Dude, don't you want to get even?" Percy asked, holding a cup of water. I shook my head.
"Should I tell them the 'history' of the profanity?" Yuri asked, his eyes dancing with mischief. Jayjay gave him a look that clearly said I will kill you.
"Don't you dare! If you tell them, I'm going to snap that long neck of yours!" Jayjay threatened.
The boys looked at each other and then turned their attack on both of us. "You want to save her? Then get wet with her!" Aries yelled. I grabbed Jayjay's hand and pushed past them, running until we were both standing on top of Aries' bed.
"Hey! Not my bed!" Aries yelled.
"Stop right now or we won't step down!" I ordered. He signaled the other two to stop, and they finally lowered their "weapons."
"That's cheating. Jayjay is using her man as a shield," Percy grumbled.
"Shut up," I said, helping Jayjay down. As I touched her hand, I felt her shivering. I pressed my palm to her forehead and my heart dropped. She was burning up.
"You three demonic, idiotic, stupid assholes! She has a fever!" I yelled.
The atmosphere shifted instantly. The three of them rushed over—Percy checked her neck, Aries felt her forehead, and Yuri checked her cheeks. I kept one firm hand on her shoulder.
"Give her space!" I barked, and they all backed off. "Aries, go get her some dry clothes. Now! Percy, bring a towel and a hairdryer. Yuri, go downstairs and make her some tea."
Yuri nodded and ran. He'd stayed here long enough to know exactly where the kitchen supplies were. The "war" was over; the rescue mission had begun.
Aries returned with dry clothes first, followed closely by Percy with a towel and a hairdryer. I snatched the supplies from them and draped the towel over Jayjay's shivering shoulders. I worked quickly to dry her hair, then ushered the guys out of the room so she could change in peace.
The second the door closed, the blame game started.
"You call yourself her brother? You made her sick!" Aries hissed at Percy.
"You were fifty percent involved in that water fight too!" Percy shot back. Their voices started rising, echoing down the hallway.
"SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "SHE IS SICK AND SHE NEEDS PEACE!"
They both went dead silent. Yuri appeared then, carefully carrying a cup of hot tea. I took it from him, and we all stood in the hallway like a nervous guard detail, waiting for the door to open.
When it finally did, my heart sank. Jayjay looked so pale. I led her back to the bed and made her sit down. Aries sat on her right, I took the left, and Percy and Yuri sat on the floor directly in front of her.
Without a word, the four of us grabbed our ears at the same time in a silent, synchronized apology. Jayjay took a sip of her tea and nearly choked because she started laughing so hard.
"Wow," she managed to say, still giggling. "The four most rude, mean, arrogant people I know are all grabbing their ears in front of a normal girl."
"NORMAL GIRL?" we all yelled in unison.
She froze for a second, startled by our volume, then gave a small, hesitant nod.
"You're the Queen of the Watsons," I said, looking her straight in the eyes. "I can't live without you. You aren't 'normal' to me."
"You're my one and only sister, the one I love most," Aries added firmly. "So you aren't normal to me, either."
"You're Kuya's favorite sibling and the person I love more than anyone," Percy said, his usual cockiness replaced by total sincerity. "You aren't normal for me."
"You're my best buddy," Yuri finished with a rare, soft smile. "The one who taught me the difference between love and ego. You definitely aren't normal to me."
"Oh, my four heroes," Jayjay teased, though her voice was tired. "Now go and do your yelling outside. I want to sleep."
We all nodded immediately, not wanting to upset her further. We crept out and headed downstairs, determined to get her some proper food. We spent a good half-hour trying to negotiate with the maids to let us take over the kitchen, but they wouldn't budge—they were terrified we'd burn the house down.
Finally, after fifty minutes of arguing, Aries dropped his voice into that dangerous, low warning tone he only uses when he's serious. That did the trick. The head maid took one look at his face, handed over the keys to the pantry, and wisely retreated.
The kitchen was ours. Now, we just had to figure out how to cook without causing a second disaster.
We divided the work so we wouldn't end up in each other's way. I took charge of the hotdogs, pancakes, and eggs. Aries was on rice duty and had to mix the pancake batter. Percy was assigned to the dishes, and Yuri was in charge of setting the table.
We were actually working in sync for once, focused on our tasks, when Jayjay appeared at the entrance of the kitchen. She stood there for a long time, just watching us.
Jayjay'sPOV
I barely slept bcz there was coming so much noise from downstairs I dragged myself out of the bed and went down, am I seeing everything true, I rubbed my eyes, nothing changed, I might be dreaming I slapped my cheeks and muttered under my breath "wake up jayjay" but nothing change, so it's true. The four men who usually can't stand each other are actually cooking together.
It was such a strange sight that I felt like I had to be a part of it. "I'll help too," I offered.
"NO!!!" they all yelled in unison, turning to face me like I had just suggested setting the house on fire.
"Are you forgetting what happened at the island?" Keifer asked, eyebrow raised.
"Shut up," I muttered.
"Baby sista, you once made me tea and you practically destroyed the entire kitchen," Percy added.
"You also shut up!"
"Jayjay, remember when you made pancakes in our old building?" Yuri chimed in. "You burned the very first one."
"That was because of Keifer!" I accused, pointing a finger at him.
"Me?" he asked, looking genuinely surprised.
"Yeah, you! You flirted with me," I said. His ears turned bright red instantly. I still remember when he said, "Your boyfriend is going to be lucky... I wish I could be." Because of that stupid line, my focus slipped and my pancake burned.
"And are you forgetting when I asked you to grab a snack from the upper cabinet?" Aries asked. "You fell and took every single thing in that cabinet down with you."
"That's your fault! You know I'm short, so why did you ask me? Besides, that stool I was standing on was so old it was slipping the whole time!"
"Whatever. Just go sit over there and stay out of the kitchen," Aries commanded. I stuck my tongue out at him but eventually gave up and sat at the table.
Yuri started bringing out the plates, glasses, and silverware. "Have you guys made juice?" I asked.
The kitchen went silent for a second. "Ohhhhh," all four of them said at once. "We forgot!"
"I'll make it then," I said. I didn't give them a chance to argue this time. I mixed the juice and brought it to the table without a single spill. "See? Without any trouble," I said proudly.
The four of them just laughed. A few minutes later, Yuri came over and sat across from me. He leaned in, signaling for me to do the same.
"You owe Keifer so much," he whispered.
"I didn't take his money," I whispered back, confused.
"I mean you owe him profanity," he whispered, chuckling. I immediately grabbed a fork and pointed the prongs right at him.
"Dare open your mouth in front of my stupid brothers, and I'll stab you with this fork," I threatened.
He raised his hands in a mocking surrender. "Good boy," I said, and he just laughed.
The other three joined us at the table, carrying the steaming dishes. Keifer took his usual spot on my left, Aries sat on my right, while Percy and Yuri sat across from us. I wasn't quite sure what was going on between Yuri and Percy lately, but seeing them all under one roof gave me hope. I prayed to God that KYAP would truly bond again, just like they were before the incident. I was especially thankful to see Keifer finally bonding with everyone.
Before anyone could even take a bite, Keifer was already serving my plate. I couldn't help but smile.
"Hey, that's not fair! She didn't even help, but she gets served first?" Percy complained. I just gave him a mocking little smirk. Seconds later, Aries was piling a hotdog onto my plate, Keifer was adding more pancakes, and Yuri was handing me a bowl of rice. Even Percy caved, leaning over to pour my juice.
"Here. Now eat before everything gets cold," Keifer said firmly. The other three nodded in agreement. I laughed softly; their care for me was overwhelming. I never imagined that because of me, these four would start clearing their misunderstandings. My four protectors.
Suddenly, I wanted to test them. "Percy, what would you do if my life was in danger?" I asked, taking a bite of my pancake.
"I'll kill whoever dares to threaten my little sister," he said, his voice completely calm and normal. I turned to Yuri.
"And you?"
"I'll make him beg for death," Yuri replied casually, as if he were talking about the weather. I turned to my right.
"Aries?"
"I'll torture the guy whoever wants you dead," Aries said without blinking. Finally, I turned to my left.
"What about you, Keifer?"
Keifer's expression darkened. "I'll make him suffer. I'll torture him until he begs for the end, but I'll never let him die until he's felt every bit of pain, then I'll leave him and then when he will think that everything is good I'll kill him. How dare he even think of touching you?"
I stared at them, a bit stunned. "Whoa... you guys are talking like real mafias."
"Because for you, we would burn the world," Percy said simply.
"Why are you asking, anyway?" Aries asked, looking at me curiously.
"Just checking how much you guys love me," I said with a grin.
They all smiled at once—that one specific smile that says everything without needing a single word.
"Yuri, let's show them the video," I said, grinning like a villain. Yuri immediately choked on his rice.
"What video?" Keifer asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"You'll see," I smirked.
Yuri bolted upstairs to grab his phone and came back down breathless, handing it to me. "Be patient," I told the guys as I set the phone in the middle of the table and hit play.
As the video rolled, showing the three of them tangled together in a "brotherly hug," the room went silent. I watched as Percy, Aries, and Keifer's ears turned bright red. They couldn't even look at the screen anymore.
"So... should I send this to Ella and Honey? I could tell them you guys have finally decided to be more than just friends," I teased. Yuri and I started laughing so hard we could barely breathe.
"Jasper Jeen Mariano!" Aries warned, his voice low.
"Hey, I didn't tell you to hug my boyfriend!" I shot back.
"But you and this rooster put me on that bed!" Percy yelled, pointing at Yuri.
"Jayjay..." Keifer said, his voice dropping into that "trouble" tone.
Before the three of them could launch an attack, Yuri and I scrambled away. We flew up the stairs and into Aries' room, jumping right onto his bed for the high ground. The three of them were hot on our heels.
"Why do you always jump on my bed?!" Aries complained, though he looked ready to pounce.
"Jasper Jeen Mariano Watson," Keifer said, using my full name in that deep, serious voice. "I'm saying this for the last time: delete the video."
I shook my head defiantly. "Make me! I'm not deleting it. In fact, I'm sending it to the Section E group chat right now... oh, and I'll tag your girlfriends too."
"Don't you dare!" Percy lunged forward.
I was just about to hit 'send' when a hand snatched the phone right out of the air. It was Keifer.
"Jerk! Give it back, it's Yuri's!" I yelled, stepping down from the bed to get it.
Big mistake.
The second my feet hit the floor, all three of sorrunded me like there was no where to escape. "Yuri, help!" I shrieked. Yuri tried to step in, but Aries and Percy grabbed him instantly, pinning his arms.
Keifer started walking towards, my back touched the wall and he placed his hand against my head on the wall, I don't know what to do. I had to do something to stop him—so I did. I leaned in "you don't want to get married?" I whispered.
It worked. His brain completely short-circuited. He froze, his face turning a deep shade of crimson. Taking full advantage of his shock, I snatched Yuri away from my brothers' grip.
"Run!" I yelled.
We sprinted through the entire house, laughing so hard our stomachs ached, with the three of them chasing us like a pack of wolves. Finally, our luck ran out at the end of the hallway. They cornered us and grabbed our arms, effectively ending the Great Video War.
"Keifer, how did that walking chaos get out?" Percy asked, sounding genuinely confused.
"She did something I wasn't expecting," Keifer muttered, still looking a bit dazed.
"Huh?" Aries asked.
"Just leave it. Now, where did those two best friends go?" Keifer said, shifting back into leader mode.
Yuri and I were huddled behind a sofa, holding our breath. Suddenly, a hand clamped down on my arm.
"Hoi, Yuri, don't move!" I whispered, thinking it was my partner-in-crime.
"Yuri?" a deep voice asked. I knew that voice all too well.
I turned and looked up at exactly who I expected—Keifer, the King of Ulupongs. I gave him a tiny, awkward wave and a sheepish smile.
"Come with me," he said. Before I could protest, he was already dragging me back toward the others.
"Jerk," I muttered under my breath.
"Third profanity of the day," he noted as we stopped. I saw that Yuri had already been caught, though the guys weren't doing anything to him yet.
"So, Jayjay..." Percy began, a smug look on his face.
"You really thought Yuri was on your team?" Aries asked. I didn't answer. "Well, you were wrong, because he's our best friend first." My two brothers started laughing, looking very proud of their "double agent."
I turned to Keifer. "Keifer..." my voice came out a bit weaker than I intended. I wasn't sure why I was suddenly feeling so small.
"SHUT UP!" Keifer suddenly yelled at the others. The laughter died instantly. "I'm on Jayjay's side."
I couldn't help but smile.
"My own brothers betrayed me. Even my best friend betrayed me," I said, putting on my best dramatic, hurt expression.
"Oh, is baby sista angry?" Percy teased, but I completely ignored him.
"Jayjay, why are you angry?" Aries asked, his smile fading into concern.
"Jayjay, did we do something wrong?" Yuri asked, looking genuinely worried.
"Yeah," I said coldly.
"What?" the three of them asked in unison.
"Your first mistake? You were born. Your second mistake? You guys are in my life. And your third mistake?" I pointed at Aries, Percy, and Yuri. "You ganged up on me."
I grabbed Keifer's hand and started to walk away when I heard Percy whisper behind us.
"What do we do?"
"I don't know," the other two replied, sounding totally lost.
I burst out laughing.
"Why are you laughing?" Keifer asked, looking down at me.
"Because I was just acting! I pretended to be angry and they totally fell for it," I giggled.
"JAYJAY!" the three of them bellowed.
"Let's go to the mini-market nearby!" I shouted over my shoulder as I bolted for the door. I knew if I stayed there even a second longer, they would have buried me with their glares.
The End 🌸
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