Jane's POV
I blinked against the brightness, my eyes feeling gritty. I reached for my phone on the nightstand—9:30 AM. My heart gave a small jolt of panic before I remembered: it was a holiday. No classes. No rush.
The memories of last night came back in a slow, painful drip. The alleyway, Yuri's arms, and Jay... Jay calling me Ate. We had fallen asleep tangled together, a silent pact of protection between us. I looked at the empty spot beside me. The sheets were still warm.
I got dressed in a simple sundress, trying to shake the lethargy.
When I finally stepped out of my room and headed downstairs, the sound of multiple voices hit me like a physical wave. I stopped at the foot of the stairs, my jaw nearly dropping.
Our living room was packed. In the far corner, Freya, Ella, Mica, Grace, and Aries were huddled together, looking like they were in the middle of a strategy meeting. On the main sofa, the air felt significantly more pressurized. Angelo, Yuri, Keifer, and Cin were seated there, an odd mixture of casual and high-alert. Near the kitchen, Tita Gemma and Serina were deep in conversation, the clinking of tea cups providing a domestic soundtrack to the bizarre scene.
"Jane!"
Cin was the first to move, approaching me with a curious tilt of his head. "Didn't you read my message last night?"
I rubbed my temple, still trying to process why the 'Kings' and the 'Uplongs' were staging a sit-in at my house. "No... I was sleeping. I didn't even hear my phone."
"Typical," Cin chuckled, though his eyes scanned me for any sign of the distress from the night before. "Where's Jay?"
"Dreaming about pancakes," I said, a small smile finally breaking through. "She was out cold when I woke up."
Cin nodded, seemingly satisfied, and retreated back to the group. The girls and Aries offered me a chorus of "Good mornings," which I returned with a dazed wave. I was about to ask Tita Gemma what on earth was going on when a thumping sound came from the stairs.
"Ateeee..."
We all turned. Jay was shuffling down the steps, looking like a different person than the lethal girl in the alleyway. She was clutching a large Snorlax plushie to her chest, her hair a chaotic nest of knots. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt that swallowed her shorts, her eyes half-closed as she rubbed them with her free hand.
She didn't even notice the ten extra people in the room. She walked straight to me, ignoring everyone else, and buried her face in my shoulder, hugging me like a toddler.
"What do you want, Jay-Jay?" I asked, smoothing down a stray clump of her hair.
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Jay's POV
My head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. The weight of last night—Victor's threats, Keifer's lips, the crushing guilt of Jane's silence—was still there, but it was buried under a thick layer of morning grogginess.
I reached out, my hand finding the soft, round belly of my giant Snorlax. It was my shield.
I didn't check the time. I didn't check my phone. I just knew I needed Jane. I needed that grounding presence that only she could provide.
I rolled out of bed, my legs feeling like lead. I didn't bother with a brush; my hair was a bird's nest of knots, but I didn't care. I was wearing an oversized grey t-shirt that hung down to my mid-thighs and a pair of tiny sleeping shorts that were practically invisible.
I looked like a disaster, but in this apartment, I was safe. Or so I thought.
"Ateeee..." I called out as I reached the top of the stairs, my voice sounding like sandpaper.
I shuffled down, clutching Snorlax to my chest with one arm while I rubbed the sleep from my eyes with the other. My focus was singular: find Jane, get pancakes, return to the safety of the blankets.
"Ate," I mumbled, finally reaching the bottom. I didn't look left. I didn't look right. I walked straight into the kitchen area where I saw Jane's silhouette. I wrapped my arms around her waist, burying my face in the crook of her neck. She smelled like vanilla and comfort.
"What do you want, Jay-Jay?" she asked. Her voice sounded… weird. Higher than usual.
"Pancake," I groaned into her shoulder. "I dreamed of them. Huge ones. With syrup. Please, Jane... please, Ate."
I squeezed her tighter, playing the "little sister" card for all it was worth. I felt her sigh, and she gave a small nod. "Fine. I'll make them."
Success. I felt a tiny spark of joy. I finally started to pull back, my eyes blinking open as I prepared to go sit at the counter.
But as my vision cleared, the world suddenly expanded beyond Jane's shoulder.
My heart didn't just drop; it executed a triple backflip and crashed into my stomach.
There, sitting in our corner, were the girls—Freya, Ella, Mica, Grace. And Aries.
And on the sofa? Angelo. Yuri. Cin.
And Keifer.
Keifer was leaning back, his eyes dark and unreadable, tracking every inch of me. I realized with a jolt of horror that I was standing there in my underwear-equivalent shorts, hair like a forest fire, clutching a stuffed animal and begging like a five-year-old.
"What the fuck?!" I screamed.
The word tore out of my throat before I could stop it. I jumped back so hard I tripped over Snorlax's feet, stumbling blindly.
"Say that again, Jay. I dare you."
The voice was low, stern, and far too close. Before I could scramble away, a hand clamped onto my ear. Hard.
"Aa! Aa! Kuya, let go!" I wailed. Angelo didn't budge. He stood there like a wall of
discipline, his grip firm. I looked at Jane, my eyes wide and pleading. Help me!
She just stood there, leaning against the counter, and chuckled. She actually laughed at my misery.
"Traitor!" I hissed at her, though it came out as more of a squeak because Angelo gave my ear a tiny twist.
"Tita! See? Kuya is being grumpy again!" I shouted toward the kitchen, spotting Tita Gemma and Serina. "I'm sorry na! Let me go!"
"Grumpy?" Angelo muttered. "You're the one who just cursed in front of guests before even washing your face."
"Aa! Kuya!" I winced, the sting in my ear actually starting to hurt.
Tita Gemma finally took pity on me. "Angelo, leave his ear. She's had a long night. Let her be."
He let go, but not before giving me a look that said We aren't finished. I immediately scrambled behind Tita, using her as a human shield. I rubbed my throbbing ear, glaring at my brother. When he looked away, I stuck my tongue out at him with all the maturity I could muster.
"Good morning, Jay," a voice called out.
It was Cin. He was walking toward me with that annoying, knowing smirk.
"Good morning, brat," I snapped. I tried to pull the oversized shirt down further, suddenly very aware of my bare legs. I squeezed Snorlax tighter, trying to use him as armor.
"You seem... different from how you are in the classroom," Cin said, his eyes dancing with amusement.
I rolled my eyes, trying to find my "Jay" voice—the cold, untouchable one. "Yeah, well, that's because there I have to deal with Uplongs and the Kings of Uplongs. My patience is limited there."
I felt the heat of a gaze from the sofa. Keifer was still watching. He hadn't said a word, but his silence was louder than the rest of the room combined. He was seeing the version of me that only Jane saw. The vulnerable, messy, 'Ate-seeking' version. I felt a flush of heat crawl up my neck that had nothing to do with the humidity.
From the corner, Aries muttered something. "And a monkey too. Don't forget yourself."
My head snapped toward him. The embarrassment turned into a familiar, sharp spike of irritation. "I didn't ask you to say anything, Horoscope."
Aries stood up, his face reddening. "I'm not a Horoscope! It's Aries! A name! Not a zodiac sign!"
"And I'm also not a monkey!" I barked back, stepping out from behind Tita. "So keep your mouth shut."
"You are a monkey," he stepped closer, his voice rising. "Look at your hair. Look at you clinging to that thing. Monkey."
"I'm not! Horoscope!"
"Monkey."
"Horoscope!"
"Money!"
"Horoscope!" I screamed, leaning forward until we were almost nose-to-nose, the old rhythm of our bickering taking over my brain.
Jane stepped between us, her hands up. "Guys, seriously, it's a holiday, can we just—"
"DONKEY!" we both shouted at the same time, turning our fury on her for interrupting.
The word echoed. It hit the walls and bounced back, vibrating in my chest.
Everything stopped.
The air in the room didn't just get cold; it vanished. I felt my lungs seize up. My hand, which had been pointing accusingly at Aries, began to tremble. I slowly lowered it.
Donkey.
It was the word we used to use when we were seven. When we were a team. Before the smell of smoke. Before the screaming. Before I had to become "Jay" to survive the ghost of "Jean."
I looked at Aries. The anger was gone from his face, replaced by a hollow, haunted look. He looked like he'd just stepped over a grave. The girls were staring at us in confusion, but the "Kings"—they knew. They saw the shift.
I couldn't breathe. The walls of the apartment felt like they were closing in, turning into the charred wood of a house that didn't exist anymore. The "Ate" from last night, the pancakes, the Snorlax—it was all a lie. I wasn't that girl anymore.
Without saying a word, I turned on my heel. I didn't look at Jane. I didn't look at Keifer. I dropped Snorlax on the floor—a discarded piece of a childhood I wasn't allowed to have—and ran back up the stairs.
I slammed my bedroom door and leaned against it, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.
Downstairs, I could hear the muffled sound of Tita Gemma's voice. "I wish they become like they were back then... I miss them. But that incident changed everything."
I slid down the door until I was sitting on the floor, burying my face in my knees. The holiday was over. The past was back.
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Jane's Pov
"DONKEY!" they both screamed at me at the same time.
The room went deathly silent. Jay and Aries both froze, the word hanging in the air like a ghost. For a split second, the anger vanished, replaced by a sudden, sharp realization.
The word "Donkey" wasn't an insult—it was an old inside joke. A remnant of a time before the fire, before the secrets, when they were all just kids playing in the sun.
The silence stretched, turning heavy and suffocating. Jay's expression went blank. The fire in her eyes died instantly. Without a word, she turned around, abandoned her Snorlax on the floor, and walked back upstairs.
Aries stood there, his face pale, looking like he'd just seen a spirit.
I looked at Tita Gemma. She was staring at the empty staircase with a look of pure heartbreak. "I wish they could be like they were back then," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I miss them. But that incident... it changed everything."
I turned toward the kitchen to start the pancakes, my heart feeling like lead.
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Keifer's POV
I stayed on the sofa, but every nerve in my body was screaming to follow her.
I've seen Jay angry. I've seen her lethal. I've even seen her flustered. But I had never seen her look... broken.
The moment that word—Donkey—left their lips, it was like a mask shattered. Not just hers, but Aries' too. There is a history there, a deep, jagged scar that ties those two together, and it's a scar that involves fire and loss.
I watched the Snorlax hit the floor. It looked pathetic lying there alone.
I looked at Angelo. He wasn't the "protective brother" anymore; he looked like a man who was watching a tragedy repeat itself. And Yuri... Yuri was watching Jane.
The tension in this room is a living thing. It's not just about who likes who. It's about a secret so big it's choking the life out of everyone who knows it. I gripped the edge of the sofa cushion.
I don't care about the "incident." I don't care about the rules they wrote back then. I just know that when Jay ran up those stairs, she looked like she was drowning. And I'm the only one in this room who isn't afraid to dive in after her.
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Yuri's POV
I stood up slowly, my eyes on Jane. She was standing in the kitchen, her back to us, but I could see her shoulders shaking.
She's the one who tries to hold the pieces together. She's the one who accepts the "Ate" when Jay is falling apart. But who holds Jane together when the silence becomes too loud?
Aries was still standing in the middle of the room, looking paralyzed. The "Donkey" slip-up had stripped him bare. It proved that despite the "Uplong" rivalry, despite the years of distance, he still remembers who she was.
The "Kings" and the "Uplongs" are just labels. Beneath them, there's a group of kids who were burned by the same fire.
Tita Gemma is right. That incident changed everything. It turned friends into strangers and sisters into protectors. I looked at the stairs where Jay had disappeared. The tension wasn't just high; it was combustible.
One more spark, one more memory, and this whole house is going to go up in flames again. And this time, I'm not sure if any of us can get out.
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A/n
Guys , I know I'm unable to upload regularly.But trust me I'm trying my best to upload timely and write big chapters.But you knowy school teachers are literally torturing me, with giving extra homeworks and test.
I try my best to maintain my studies and books.But if I am still disappointing you all then I'm really sorry 😔.
See you soon in next chapter...
Bye