Jay-jay's POV
"What happened to you?" Edrix asked Keifer as soon as he saw him. "...Did you get into a fight?"
He looked at me, so I quickly avoided his gaze. Guilty! Well, it was his fault! He had the nerve to push me into the cubicle, and then—aarrggghhh!!!
He even had the audacity to pull a New Year Part Two!
Annoying!
I had no choice. I bit his lip and punched him. Then, I kicked that part of him. That's why he looks like he just came from a brawl.
"No... I just ran into a demon." Keifer answered as he walked toward his seat.
Demon, huh?
I looked away, pretending I had no idea what happened to him. But this idiot was clearly provoking me.
"You'll pay for this..." he whispered as he passed by me.
I immediately shot him a glare. Jerk! This guy doesn't listen to reason. If he was difficult to talk to before, he's even worse now.
Tsk! I should have expected this from the start. So frustrating!
I turned my attention to the classroom door. I didn't want to waste my time thinking about this idiot.
C-in still isn't here.
What could have happened to him? I suddenly wanted to go check on him at his house. Who knows what his brother has done to him by now?
I remembered how he yelled at me over the phone. It was like he was about to jump through the line just to scream at me in person.
Ugh...
Next, I looked for Kit. He had his headset on and seemed completely indifferent to everything happening around him.
Mayo, on the other hand, clearly wanted to approach him but was hesitating.
More love life drama!
Then, Sir Alvin arrived. He greeted us and asked how we celebrated Christmas and New Year.
He didn't teach today. Instead, he just chatted with us. I kind of missed this—Sir's patience with us and these idiots, plus how he sometimes joined in on our nonsense.
"...The plans for your retreat have already started." Sir suddenly announced.
Retreat?!
"We're included in that?" Calix asked.
"Yes... You're fourth years now. Every student has to attend before graduating," Sir explained.
I knew there was a retreat for graduating fourth-year students, but isn't it a bit early to be talking about it?
"When will it be held?" they asked.
"There's no set date yet, but it'll be earlier than the usual retreat. There's some uncertainty because of the post-final exam."
Post-final exam?
I turned to Yuri and nudged him.
"What's the post-final exam?" I asked.
"It's a fifth exam. It determines whether a student will graduate or not," Yuri explained.
I'm doomed!
Why is there another exam?! What if I don't pass? That means I won't graduate?!
I suddenly felt nervous. We haven't even reached the third periodical exam yet, and now I find out there's this too.
I need to prepare. I might have to burn the midnight oil for this. If I fail, not only will I be stuck in this place—I'll also be skinned alive by my brother.
We spent almost our entire morning class just talking. Even the other teachers didn't teach. Either they weren't in the mood or they just didn't want to.
Lunchtime!
"Just this?" Drew asked Eman.
"Meatloaf is all we have... You guys haven't given money for groceries yet," Eman answered us.
I pouted. We had already run out of supplies before the Christmas party. I should've brought even just a little.
We had to settle for rice and meatloaf. I ate quietly in my spot. But no matter how hungry I was, I felt like throwing my food straight into the face of the person sitting in front of me.
Keifer had suddenly taken a seat on the bench across from me. While I was eating, he just sat there watching me.
"Get lost!" I ordered him irritably.
"What if I don't want to?" he challenged.
I grabbed my food and immediately stood up. I was about to walk away when Keifer suddenly spoke.
"Booooxxxeeerrr..." he sang in a teasing tone.
Okay... Sitting back down.
I sat back down and glared at him. Annoying! I didn't want anyone to find out that I was the one who gave him that.
Looks like the jerk found himself a way to blackmail me.
"What do you want?!" I asked, irritated.
"Nothing... Is it wrong to watch you while you eat?"
"Yes... Now, go away!"
Instead of listening to me, he just laughed.
Look at this guy!
He's really good at pissing me off. I just don't want to cause a scene here, but if I lose my temper—ugh! I swear I'll break everything I can on him.
"Is there a problem here?" Yuri asked.
I hadn't even noticed that he was already there. For some reason, I suddenly felt nervous.
"N-no... W-we were just messing around," I quickly answered.
"Sure?" he asked again.
I nodded. He glanced at Keifer for a moment before walking away.
I kept my eyes on Yuri until he was far enough. Once I was sure he wouldn't hear what I was about to say, I turned to Keifer.
I was practically shooting daggers at him with my gaze.
"Stop this..." I hissed.
He leaned in slightly. "Why?" he whispered back.
"What do you mean, why? Keifer, come on!" I glanced around first to make sure no one could hear us. "...I'm engaged to Yuri."
He chuckled.
"You're asking me to stop?"
I immediately nodded.
"...Stop what?"
"This! Whatever you're doing! Stop bothering me... Stay away... Stop flirting with me."
He glanced at Yuri for a moment before turning back to me.
"What's wrong with me flirting with you? With flirting with the person I love?"
L-love...
Why do I feel shaken every time I hear that word from him?
"Keifer." I called his name. "...Because it's wrong."
"Wrong?! So, it's wrong to show your affection?"
I ended up smacking my forehead. Talking to this guy is impossible.
"It is wrong... We're deceiving Yuri," I said irritably.
My throat was already hurting from whispering and holding back my voice.
"Deceiving? We're not in a relationship. So how are we deceiving him?"
Okay...
That feeling in my chest again. Right... We're not in a relationship. So why am I demanding anything from him?
"...There's nothing wrong with what we're doing..." he added.
Damn it!
"...You have nothing to worry about it..."
Please stop!
"...You're not cheating on Yuri because we're not in a relationship."
His words felt like a slap to my face. Right, we're not even together. So why is he doing this?
I was so annoyed I felt like crying, though I didn't even understand why.
I lowered my head, and for some reason, I couldn't move. I wanted to leave, to walk away from this animal. But how could I do that when my knees were frozen in place?
The heaviness I felt was unbearable. I thought I was about to cry right then and there, but suddenly, he spoke.
"...."
His words wouldn't sink in, but they made my heart race. They overwhelmed my emotions and shook me to my core.
"Did you hear what I said?" he asked.
I couldn't respond. I just stared at him.
He smiled at me and leaned in closer.
"I will repeat it again." He said. "...We are not in a relationship, but YOU..." he pointed at me, "...are..." he pointed at himself, "...MINE."
W-w-what...
I had so much I wanted to say, but my mouth refused to open. My tongue felt stuck.
Should I be happy about what he said?
"Y-you're crazy." That was all I could say.
I stood up abruptly and walked away as fast as I could. My face was burning.
I even smacked my chest because my heart was beating way too fast.
This is wrong!
I stopped in front of the stairs leading to the second floor. I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration.
Damn it!
I must have paced around my spot several times, sighing non-stop.
Keifer is such an asshole. I don't even understand myself anymore. I'm so confused!
"Aaaaggggghhhhh!!"
Someone screamed, making me jump.
W-who was that?
I quickly looked around. There was no one. It didn't come from our classroom either.
Is there a ghost here?
I turned to look at the stairs leading to the second floor of our building.
Up there?
Even though I wasn't sure what or who it was, I still climbed up. My steps were slow and careful.
When I reached the second floor, I saw a guy punching the wall over and over, his rage evident.
"E-Edrix?" I called out.
He stopped and turned his back to me as soon as he heard my voice.
"What?" he asked.
His voice sounded tight, like he was holding back. Is he crying?
"Is something wrong?"
He didn't answer. It seemed like he didn't want to talk about it.
I was about to leave when he suddenly sniffled.
So, I stayed. I waited to see if he would say anything.
"S-sorry... I-I just couldn't hold it in," he said before leaning against the wall.
I stepped closer and leaned against the wall too.
"What happened?"
He took a deep breath and wiped his tears.
To be honest, it's hard seeing them like this.
"I'm just mad at myself. I'm such a coward," he said with a forced smile.
I feel the same way.
I'm mad at myself too—because of that damn idiot.
"Why? Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.
Right now, I just wanted to focus on something else. Thinking about my own situation was driving me crazy.
"Falling in love is so hard. And yet, I can't even tell them or show them how I feel."
t's really hard. But it's even harder when you don't even know who to express it to.
"So frustrating!" he muttered.
It really is frustrating! Especially that King of the Snakes!—Wait! I told myself I'd focus on something else, but here I am, thinking about him again.
I looked at Edrix. "W-who's the girl?"
He turned to me, took out his phone, and started tapping on it repeatedly.
It looked like he was searching for something. When he was done, he showed me his phone screen.
It was a picture of a beautiful girl. Her style was simple, and so was her smile.
"She's beautiful, right?" he asked.
I quickly nodded. "Yeah... She is."
"Freya is really beautiful."
"Yeah, she really is—HUH?! THIS IS FREYA?!" I exclaimed in shock.
I stared at the picture again. Impossible! I zoomed in and out to make sure. It was Freya!
She looks so different without makeup. So simple.
She looks like an angel.
Is this even real? Did he Photoshop this?!
"F-Freya is the girl—"
"Yeah. It's been a long time," he cut me off.
Oh my God! Why Freya of all people?!