Jay's POV
The scratch of chalk against the blackboard was the only sound in the room until Sir Alvin cleared his throat, a mischievous glint in his eyes that usually spelled trouble for our GPA—or our sanity.
"Class," he started, leaning against his desk. "Change of plans for tomorrow. We are heading out on a four-day trip to Holy Saint Academy. It's a mandatory socialization event, and yes, it includes a two-night camping excursion on their forest grounds."
The room erupted into a mix of groans and excited whispers, but my heart didn't just drop—it turned into a lead weight.
"Sir, is it absolutely necessary for all of us to attend?" Jane asked, her voice steady, though I felt her glance toward me.
"Yes, Miss Mariano," Sir Alvin replied firmly. "Attendance is mandatory for all Section E students. No exceptions."
Holy Saint.
The name echoed in my skull like a funeral knell. Just hearing it made my scars itch—the ones people could see and the ones they couldn't. I stared at the wood grain of my desk, my vision blurring.
I thought about Sam. I thought about the way his laughter used to sound before it turned into something that haunted my nightmares.
I thought about Cyrus, and the way the hallways of Holy Saint felt like a labyrinth I could never escape. Last year... the incidents. The blood on the pavement, the sirens, the way the air felt too thin to breathe.
I didn't want to go back. I would rather walk through fire than set foot on that campus again. But as I looked at Sir Alvin's uncompromising expression, I realized I didn't have a choice. I was being forced back into the lion's den, and this time, I didn't know if I had enough fight left in me to get out.
The next morning, the air in the Fernandes mansion was thick with a tension that only I seemed to be vibrating with. I got ready mechanically, pulling on my boots and lacing them tight—a soldier preparing for a war she'd already lost once.
When I walked downstairs, Jane and Aries were already sitting at the breakfast table. Jane looked elegant as always, but her eyes followed my every move, filled with a quiet, nagging worry.
At the head of the table sat Angelo, the undisputed king of this domain.
He didn't look up from his coffee at first. When he finally did, his gaze was like a searchlight.
"Don't cause any trouble," he said, his voice dropping into that authoritative tone that brooked no argument. "Especially you, Jay."
I just nodded, my throat too tight to speak. I'm not the one who causes the trouble, Angelo, I thought bitterly. The trouble just knows my address.
The drive to school was a blur. We dropped Aries off at the Section A building—the "royal" side of the tracks—while Jane and I headed toward the weathered bricks of Section E. The familiar chaos of the hallways washed over me, but I was a ghost moving through it. I sat in my usual seat, staring out the window, lost in the grey fog of memories I had spent a year trying to outrun.
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Keifer's POV
I saw them the moment they stepped into the courtyard. Jane was walking with her usual grace, but Jay... Jay looked like she was walking toward her own execution.
Her head was down, her shoulders were hunched, and the usual spark of defiance in her eyes had been replaced by a haunting, hollow stare.
She'd been like this since yesterday, the second the words "Holy Saint" left Sir Alvin's mouth.
I leaned against the wall, my jaw tightening as I watched her. I remembered the files I'd dug up. The "coma incident." The whispers of what happened to her at that school. And then there was the ex—the shadow that still seemed to loom over her every time she went quiet.
Shit, I cursed under my breath, kicking at a loose stone.
I knew something was coming. You don't send a girl like Jay back to the place that broke her and expect things to stay peaceful. The air felt heavy, like the atmosphere before a massive thunderstorm.
I watched her walk past me without even a glance in my direction. My protective instincts, the ones I usually tried to mask with snark and smirks, were screaming.
I'll be there, Jay, I thought, my eyes narrowing as I watched her disappear into the classroom. If those ghosts come looking for you, they'll have to go through me first.
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Yuri's POV
The morning sun caught the gold in Jane's hair as she approached, but my smile faltered when I saw the girl walking beside her. Jay looked like a shell of herself.
I stepped forward, meeting them halfway. "Jane," I said softly, taking her hand. "You look radiant this morning, even with a camping trip looming over us."
Jane offered a small, distracted smile, a faint blush dusting her cheeks. "Thank you, Yuri."
I glanced at Jay, who was currently staring at a crack in the pavement as if it were a portal to another dimension. I leaned closer to Jane, lowering my voice. "Why is she like this? She hasn't said a word."
Jane sighed, her grip on my hand tightening. "Because we're going to a place filled with memories she's spent a lifetime trying to forget. Holy Saint isn't just a school to her; it's a graveyard."
I nodded slowly, understanding the weight of it. I looked at Jane, seeing the reflected pain in her own eyes for her friend.
"No matter what happens there, Jane," I promised, looking her straight in the eyes so she could see I meant it. "I will be by your side. And we'll watch out for her together."
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Jay's POV
I was still standing in the middle of the hallway, the sound of a heart monitor echoing in my ears—a phantom sound from a year ago—when a sudden, loud HONK noise shattered my thoughts.
I jumped, my hands flying up in a defensive crouch, only to see Cin standing there with a ridiculous rubber chicken in his hand.
"Focus, Jay-Jay!" Cin chirped, grinning like an idiot. "You've been staring at that locker for three minutes. I thought you were trying to melt the lock with your mind. If you wanted the snacks inside, you could have just asked!"
"Cin, shut up," I muttered, but the tightness in my chest eased just a fraction.
"I will not! I have a whole routine prepared for the bus ride. I've got jokes, I've got riddles, and I have a playlist that is 40% K-pop and 60% sea shanties. You can't be depressed when 'The Wellerman' is playing, Jay. It's scientifically impossible."
He kept babbling, dancing around me like a hyperactive puppy, until I finally let out a tiny, huffed breath that might have been a laugh in a different life.
"There she is!" Cin cheered. "The grump is back!"
The whistle blew, signaling it was time to load the buses. We moved as a pack. Jane and I claimed the back seat, the "cool kid" sanctuary.
Keifer and Yuri slid in across from us, their expressions uncharacteristically serious. Felix and Cin took the seat directly in front of us—Felix already had his noise-canceling headphones on, while Cin was currently trying to convince a passing freshman that he was the bus driver's secret son.
As the engine roared to life and the bus began to roll out of the school gates, I leaned my head against the cool glass of the window.
The road to Holy Saint was long, and every mile we traveled felt like a step deeper into the past. I felt Keifer's gaze on me from across the aisle—steady, watchful, and strangely grounding.
I closed my eyes. Four days, I told myself. Just survive four days.
But as the bus picked up speed, a cold shiver ran down my spine. The ghosts of Holy Saint were waiting, and I had a feeling they weren't going to let me leave a second time without a fight.
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Jane's POV
The hum of the bus engine felt like a low-frequency warning. While Cin was busy trying to entertain the front of the bus, the air in the back row was thick with things left unsaid.I sat next to Jay, our shoulders touching.
I could feel the tension radiating off her like heat from a pavement—stiff, unyielding, and brittle. She was staring out the window, her reflection ghost-like against the passing trees. I knew that look. It was the look of someone retreating into a fortress because the outside world had become too hostile to face.I looked across the aisle.
Yuri was watching me, his eyes soft and filled with a silent promise of support. Then there was Keifer. He wasn't even pretending to be his usual arrogant self.
He was watching Jay with an intensity that bordered on predatory protection. He knew. Maybe not the full story, but he knew enough to know that Jay was walking into a minefield.
My mind drifted back to last year. The way the white hospital lights had looked. The way Jay's hand had felt in mine when she was in that place—cold, limp, and terrifyingly still.
Holy Saint wasn't just a school; it was the place where jay had almost lost everything. It was the place where Cyrus had turned her world into a nightmare.
I looked at Angelo this morning and wanted to scream. Don't cause trouble? He had no idea. Jay didn't cause the trouble; she survived it. And now, we were being hand-delivered back to the lions.
I reached over and gently covered Jay's hand with mine. Her skin was ice-cold. She didn't turn away from the window, but her fingers twitched under mine, a small acknowledgment that she knew I was there.
"I'm not letting them touch you, Jay," I whispered, so low that only she could hear. "Not this time. Not ever again."
I caught Yuri's eye again. He gave me a small, firm nod. We were Section E—the misfits, the outcasts, the "charity cases." But as the gates of Holy Saint began to appear in the distance, tall and imposing like the bars of a cage, I realized something.
They might have broken Jay once, but she wasn't alone anymore. We were a pack now. And if anyone at Holy Saint thought they could pick up where they left off, they were in for a very rude awakening.
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A/N
The storm is brewing! I hope you liked this transition into the "Holy Saint" arc. Jay's past is about to catch up with her, but at least she has a pretty protective squad behind her this time.
What do you think will happen when they first arrive at the school? I'm sensing a confrontation is definitely on the horizon!
See you soon! 💕 👋