Jayjay'sPOV
Yesterday was the last exam, tomorrow is my birthday, and today is result day. Everyone in the school is busy checking their grades, but me? I'm standing a few feet away from the bulletin board, my palms sweating like crazy. I don't know if I passed or failed. What if I failed? Would I have to repeat high school? Kuya would kill me. Oh God, please save me from Kuya's extreme anger; I know if he screams now, my eardrums will burst.
Okay, Jayjay, calm down. Calm down. But HOW? Where are the Ulupongs?
Speak of the devil and there they were—Yuri, Calix, Felix, and Ci-n were running toward me. But where were Aries and Keifer?
"Jayjay, is everything alright?" Yuri asked as he reached me.
"I don't think so," Calix noted, looking at my face.
"Huh?" was the only word that came out of my mouth. Seriously? Of all the questions in my head, only a "huh" came out.
"Jayjay, you're sweating too much," Felix said. I quickly wiped my forehead.
"Am I?" I asked, my breathing starting to get heavy and uneven.
"Yeah... you are," Yuri said, sounding hesitant. I didn't know why I was panicking so much. "She's having a panic attack! Call Keifer!" Yuri yelled to Calix and Felix.
"Keifer isn't here!" Felix shouted back.
"Call Aries then!" Yuri ordered, and they both sprinted toward Aries' classroom.
Ci-n started rubbing my back to comfort me while Yuri tried calling someone. "Shoot!" he muttered, lowering his phone. Whoever he was calling didn't pick up.
After a moment, Aries came running and hugged me tightly. He stroked my hair with one hand and rubbed my back with the other. Gradually, my breathing steadied. He pulled away just enough to look at me, and that's when I noticed Keifer had arrived too.
"Keifer..." I whispered. He heard me and stepped closer, grabbing my hand and squeezing it lightly.
"Everything is going to be alright, okay?" he said. I nodded.
"Jayjay, now go and check your results," Aries encouraged. I nodded again, but I still couldn't bring myself to walk toward the board.
Aries watched me for a second, then took my hand and led me to the board. I slid my finger across the list to find my name, but I couldn't see it anywhere. Then, Keifer pointed to a spot on the list. I swallowed hard and looked.
"ARIES! KEIFER! YURI! I PASSED!" I shouted. I saw my name—I got 97.9%! It was all thanks to Keifer, Aries, and Yuri. Yuri stepped forward and patted my shoulder.
"Good job," he said.
"That's my sister!" Aries beamed, and we shared a high-five.
"You did it," Keifer said. We were both about to hug when we saw Aries staring at Keifer like he wanted to kill him. His eyes were easy to read: 'Move an inch closer and I'll kill you.' We both stepped back, and Keifer started whistling awkwardly. I stared at the ceiling, then the walls, then back at the board.
"Ci, I passed!" I said, giving Ci-n a high-five.
"I knew you could do it," he said with a smile.
"My phone! Where's my phone?" I asked hurriedly.
"Here. Why are you in such a rush?" Keifer asked, handing it to me.
"I need to call Percy and tell him!" I dialed the number immediately.
"Wow, Percy," Aries muttered under his breath. I heard him; I knew he was jealous. Percy picked up on the second ring.
"PERCY! I PASSED!" I yelled into the phone.
"Wooo! Baby sista, that's awesome! But why are you yelling?" he laughed.
"Let's go to the amusement park today!"
"Why not? I'm always ready for that," he said, and I could practically feel him grinning through the phone. I knew him so well.
"We're coming too," Aries chimed in.
"Yeah, you can come too," I said, and he smiled.
"What about us, Jayjay?" Ci-n asked, sounding sad.
"How could I not invite Section E? Everyone is coming!" I announced.
"Here we go..." Aries muttered, but we all heard him. Me, Keifer, Yuri, Felix, Calix, and Ci-n all gave him a death glare. How could he say that to Section E?
Anyway, today was a fun day. No more school. Aries and I had already planned that once we saw our results, we would leave, and Kuya Angelo had actually agreed.
"So, what time are we going?" David asked. I nearly jumped onto Yuri, who was standing beside me. When did the whole of Section E get here?
"When did you guys arrive?" I asked, rubbing my chest because my heart was racing from the fright.
"While you were busy talking to your 'favorite' brother," Aries replied, looking clearly pissed off.
"Whatever you think," I rolled my eyes.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed. It was a text from an unknown number. Who could it be?
From Unknown: I can see you.
I looked around everywhere, but I didn't see anyone suspicious.
"Everything alright?" Keifer asked. I wanted to say no, but I didn't want him to worry, so I just nodded. "You sure?"
I nodded again, but he didn't look convinced. Argh, this man always knows when I'm lying! He snatched the phone from my hand and looked at the screen.
"Keif..." I started, but he ignored me.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, his jaw tightening.
"I—I didn't want you to worry," I said, fidgeting with my fingers.
"Jayjay, if any other texts come, you tell me, okay?" he asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. I just nodded. Then my phone buzzed again. He checked it, rolled his eyes, and let out a sigh. "It's Percy."
I started smiling immediately. "What is he saying?"
"He says, 'Your handsome brother is here. Come on, let's go to the park,'" Keifer read from the screen.
Tss. So full of himself, that Percy.
"HOI!" I yelled at the top of my lungs to catch their attention. It was worth it because they all froze. "Percy texted that—"
They didn't even let me finish; they all just sprinted out. Hoi! I'm getting left behind! I wanted to sit next to Percy, but I knew Keifer wouldn't agree to that, and Aries would get so jealous he might actually kill Percy. But why? Percy was there for me when everyone else betrayed me. Jayjay, that was the past and a lie, I reminded myself.
I ran outside and saw Percy leaning against his car.
"PERCYYYYYYYYYYY!" I yelled.
"BABY SISTAAAAAA!" he yelled back.
I ran to him, he ran to me, and we shared a huge hug. "Congrats to my sister," he said, pulling away with a grin.
"Hahaha! Never underestimate Jasper Jeen Mariano," I said proudly.
"Jasper Jeen Fernandez Mariano," Aries corrected, and I nodded because that's my full name.
"Jasper Jeen Fernandez Mariano Watson," Keifer added. I turned to him, confused. Why does he keep adding his surname to my name?
"If she's a Watson, then she's Jasper Jeen Fernandez Mariano Watson Collins," Percy joked.
"Hoi! That's such a long name!" I complained.
"She is neither a Watson nor a Collins," Aries snapped, clearly taking his anger out on Keifer.
"Well, soon to be," Keifer replied smoothly.
Aries just rolled his eyes. "Tss." Oh! He used his signature word!
"Tss... childish," I teased, looking at Keifer and smiling. He looked back at me and smiled too.
"You... remember?" he asked. I nodded.
"How could I forget? You used to say those two words to me so much that they never left my head," I said, tapping my temple. Everyone laughed, and I joined in.
"Should we go now?" David asked. We all nodded, though not in unison.
"I'll be going with Percy!" I announced.
Immediately, I got a double death glare from Aries and Keifer. They were so jealous. "What?" I asked, pretending to be dumb.
"You'll go with me," they both said in unison. They looked at each other and repeated, "ME!"
"Okay, okay, okay! Stop!" I stepped between them before the tension grew any worse. "I'll go with Keifer, Ella can go with Aries, and some of Section E can go with Percy."
Keifer smirked. This guy and his smirk against the world. Percy sighed, and Aries just rolled his eyes before walking toward his car.
"Good luck, Percy, dealing with the Ulupongs!" I teased, and Keifer and I shared a laugh.
"HOI!" Drew, Felix, Calix, and Ci-n yelled back in protest, which only made us laugh harder.
After that, we got into the car and Keifer started driving.
"Jayjay," he called out softly. I didn't shift my gaze from the window, watching the city blur past.
"Hmm?" I replied, still looking out.
"I was serious about the marriage," he said. This time, I didn't just look; I practically snapped my head toward him.
"Keifer, I don't want to marry this soon. I want to wait until after graduation," I said firmly.
"Okay. It's your choice, and I won't force myself into your life," he said, offering a small smile. Even though he was focused on the road and wasn't looking at me, I smiled back. This is the one thing I truly love about him—he never forces me to do anything I'm not ready for.
The rest of the drive was silent, but it wasn't awkward; it was comfortable. As soon as we reached the park, I jumped out before he could even finish parking the car. I was just too happy and excited to wait!
"HEY!" I snapped, as someone suddenly smacked the back of my head. I spun around and saw the "Horoscope" himself—Aries.
"Why did you jump out of a moving car? If you want to end up in the hospital, just tell me. I'll tell Kuya you failed the exam while I'm at it!" he scolded.
"I didn't fail!" I countered. "So you just shut up!"
"Oh, misbehaving now?" he teased, lightly grabbing my ear.
Just then, I saw Keifer and Percy walking toward us. "PERCY! KEIFER!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.
Aries immediately turned to see where I was looking, and I took the chance to bolt. I ran straight toward the Ulupongs. Phew! I wiped my forehead, finally safe.
"Woah, what happened?" Yuri asked, appearing out of nowhere. I almost punched him because he scared me so much.
"You scared me!" I huffed, clutching my chest.
"And your inner fighter woke up!" he joked, and we both burst out laughing.
"That's called reflexes," I said, looking around to find the two people who complete my trio—Ci-n and David. I spotted them and ran over.
"CI-N! DABID!" I yelled.
"Whoa, calm down!" David said as I approached.
"You're not with Aries?" Ci-n asked.
"Nah, he's with Ella," I replied.
"What about Percy?"
"Felix, Drew, Eren, Rory, and Edrix are with him," I said, and Ci-n's mouth formed a perfect 'O'.
"And Keifer?" David asked.
"Oh, I forgot that Hari is also here," I said casually.
"You forgot him?" Ci-n asked, stunned.
"You literally came here in his car!" David added.
"It's just that we weren't talking in the car, so I forgot. If you tell him, I'm going to chop your heads off," I said, pointing a threatening finger at them.
"Why?" Ci-n asked.
"Because he'll sulk like a child," I answered.
"Really?" David looked skeptical. "Keifer? Sulking like a child? No way. You're joking, right?"
I shook my head. "He's only like that in front of his favorite girl," Ci-n teased, bumping his shoulder against mine.
"Yeah," I admitted.
"So, do you like it?" David asked. "His sulking?"
I thought about it for a second. I actually loved it, but there was no way I was confirming that to these two idiots; they'd tease me to death. "I don't know," I said.
"I DON'T KNOW?!" they both yelled in unison.
"Ci-n, where is your Grandpa Dabid?" I teased David.
"Grandpa Dabid!" Ci-n shouted, jumping on him.
"Get off me, you little brat!" David grunted, trying to push Ci-n away.
"Okay, okay, let's go on a ride," I suggested.
"No, you go with Keifer. He'll be waiting for you," David said. He grabbed my shoulders and turned me around. There was Keifer, leaning against a pillar, talking to someone on his phone and laughing. Probably some friend.
I walked up to him. He looked at me but didn't say anything, turning his attention back to the call.
"Who are you talking to?" I asked, feeling irritated.
"Kylie," he said. A girl's name. Who is she?
"Keifer, you're talking to a girl?" My eyes narrowed and my brows knitted together.
"Yeah..." he said, hesitating.
"HOW DARE YOU CHEAT ON ME!" I shouted, hitting his arm as hard as I could.
"Hey, hey! Calm down! She's in my company—she's an employee!" he said, still holding the phone to his ear.
"You don't laugh like that when you're talking to employees!" I snapped. He started laughing, which only made me angrier. "You're cheating on me! Don't talk to me!" I pointed my index finger at him and turned around. He tried to grab my arm, but I jerked it away.
"Jayjay, I was jok—"
"Don't lie to me!" I stormed off toward Percy. "Percy!"
"What happened?" he asked, his voice full of concern.
"Where's Aries?" I asked. He signaled to Aries, who came running over.
"What happened to you?" Aries asked, looking worried.
"What if my boyfriend was cheating on me? What would you guys do?" I asked.
"Wait, is Keifer cheating?!" Percy asked, his face darkening with anger.
"No," I said.
"Then why are you asking?" Aries asked.
"Because you're both my brothers and I need to know for the future."
"I'll kill him," they both said at the exact same time.
"Well... he was talking on the phone with a girl named Kylie. He said she's an employee, but he was laughing," I stirred the pot.
In an instant, they both sprinted toward Keifer. Oh crap. He's dead meat. I ran after them and saw that Aries already had Keifer by the collar, while Percy was doing something frantic on his own phone.
I ran to Aries and tried my hardest to loosen his grip on Keifer's collar, but he wouldn't budge.
"Jayjay, he was talking to a guy named Clyde, not Kylie," Percy said, looking at the call log. Aries immediately let go of Keifer.
"But he told me—" I started, feeling confused.
"You didn't listen when I said I was just joking and teasing you," Keifer said, smoothing out his shirt.
"Oh... sorry," I muttered, looking at my brothers.
"That was just the trailer," Aries said, pointing a finger at Keifer. "But if she ever comes to me and says you're talking to a girl for real, you won't stay alive." With that warning, he turned and walked away.
"Baby sista, I'll go now!" Percy said. He handed Keifer his phone back and ran off to join the others. I immediately snatched the phone out of Keifer's hand.
"Let me go through this," I said. I started scrolling through his gallery and messages, but he had nothing suspicious at all. "Fine. Here you go," I said, handing it back.
"You don't trust me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I do," I said.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Okay," he said with a small smile.
"I'm bored," I sighed. "I thought I'd enjoy it here, but I'm really not."
"Want to have some real fun?" he asked, that signature smirk appearing on his face. I looked at him, confused.
"What kind of fun?"
"That kind," he said, pointing toward a massive tower. It had metal stairs leading to the very top, where people were jumping off. Thank God they had safety ropes! "Want to experience it?"
"What if—"
He cut me off before I could finish. "No 'ifs' or 'buts'. I've done it many times and it's so much fun."
I thought about it for a bit, feeling the adrenaline start to kick in. I finally nodded. He grabbed my hand and led me toward the tower, buying two tickets—one for him and one for me.
We showed our tickets and started climbing the stairs. Keifer stayed behind me the whole way, saying it was for my safety. When we finally reached the top, the instructor looked at us and asked, "Who's first?"
I didn't hesitate. I quickly pushed Keifer forward. "He is!"
"Hey, but—" Keifer started to protest.
"Please?" I gave him my best look. He sighed and nodded, and the guy started preparing the rope.
"Actually, we can do two at a time," the instructor said. "We have two ropes."
"Okay," Keifer replied, then turned to me. "If you go alone, you'll probably get scared of the height. Let's do it together." I nodded, feeling a bit relieved. The guy gave me the rope and I tied it around my waist, arms, and wrists exactly where he told me to.
We both stood at the very edge. Keifer grabbed my hand, squeezed it, and then we jumped.
"AHHHHHHHHH!" We both screamed at the top of our lungs as we plunged toward the ground, eventually ending up hanging upside down.
"I thought you said you've done this before!" I yelled, my hair dangling toward the grass.
"I have!" he shouted back.
"Then why did you scream?"
"Everyone screams when they jump from this height!" he argued.
We were still hanging there, swinging slightly. "Why are we still upside down?" I asked, feeling the blood rushing to my head.
"Umm, they should be pulling the ropes up now," he said, looking up toward the tower.
"Keifer," I called out, and he turned to me. "I think I'm about to vomit."
"Not on my face!" he joked, even though we were both dangling.
"Stupid, I wouldn't vomit on your face!" I laughed, the feeling passing. Suddenly, my rope started to move. I was being pulled back up, but Keifer wasn't. I reached the top platform and immediately turned to the instructor. "Excuse me! Why isn't he coming up?"
The guy looked at the mechanism, his face turning pale. "Sorry, his rope is tangled."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S TANGLED?!" I shouted, my heart hammering against my ribs.
"It will take a while to fix the pulley," he said.
I didn't wait. I turned to the stairs and sprinted all the way down. I ran to the area directly underneath where Keifer was hanging. He was still quite a distance from the ground, but I realized that if a tall vehicle was under him, he might be able to reach it.
"GIVE ME YOUR JEEP KEYS!" I yelled up at him. Keifer didn't argue; he reached into his pocket, pulled out the keys, and threw them down. I caught them mid-air and ran straight to Aries.
"Aries! No arguing, please! Just drive Keifer's jeep and park it right under where he's hanging!" I thrust the keys into his hand. Aries seemed to understand the emergency immediately. He didn't say a word, just took the keys and sprinted to the parking lot.
I ran back to the tower. After two tense minutes, Aries roared up in the jeep, positioning it perfectly under the dangling Keifer.
"PUT YOUR FEET ON THE ROOF!" I yelled.
"HOW?!" he yelled back, struggling to right himself. But just as he tried to reach for the vehicle, his rope gave a loud clack and suddenly started moving upward. The instructor had fixed it!
I watched as he was pulled safely back to the top. Oh, thank God. He was alright.
He finally came down, and I rushed over to him.
"You scared me to death!" I cried.
"Sorry, but it really wasn't my fault," he said. I nodded, knowing he was right; it was just a mechanical glitch.
"What actually happened?" Aries asked as he approached us.
"Actually, we decided to..." I explained the whole jump and the tangled rope to him. He listened quietly and nodded once I finished.
"We should go home now," Aries said, checking his watch. I checked my phone—he was right. It was getting late, and if we didn't make it back on time, Kuya would definitely kill both of us.
"Yeah, we should," I agreed. I turned to Keifer. "We're leaving now."
"I'll drop you off," he offered.
"Aries and I live in the same house, and besides, Keigan and Keiran must be waiting for you," I said with a smile. He smiled back and nodded. Just then, the rest of Section E came running toward us, all of them out of breath.
"I'm going home now, guys," I announced.
"It's so early!" Felix complained.
"I know, but... Kuya," I said simply. They all sighed and nodded, understanding exactly what I meant. "Bye-bye!"
"Bye!" they all chorused.
I turned back to Keifer one last time. "Take care. Bye-bye."
"You too. Bye," he said softly.
My "Horoscope" brother and I started walking toward the car. Since Ella was still with us, I sat in the back. The ride was silent until we dropped her off. As soon as she was gone, my stomach let out a growl so loud it echoed in the car.
"Hungry?" Aries asked. I nodded vigorously. "Lechon?"
I nodded instantly—who in their right mind would say no to lechon? He pulled the car over in front of a restaurant and made a quick call. I didn't hear what he said because I was too busy thinking about food. After a minute, he said, "Come out," and we headed inside.
We sat at a table for two, and when the food arrived, we ate in comfortable silence. After he paid the bill, we headed back to the car. This time, I sat in the passenger seat. We finally reached home, and luckily, the living room was empty. We both headed straight to our rooms. As soon as I stepped inside, I dropped onto my bed. I didn't even have the energy to change or move; I fell fast asleep in that exact position, still wearing my uniform from the park. After a while I woke up and went to washroom to change bcz the uniform was so uncomfortable. After changing into my night suit I went back to sleep.
The End🌸.
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