Jay-jay's POV
I swear, this King of Snakes is the worst!
He stole a kiss from me again. And the worst part? Right in front of Yuri.
And those useless snakes just stood there, dumbfounded. So annoying!
"Yuri..." I called out to him.
He's been ignoring me for a while now. Maybe he's mad because of what that idiot Keifer did. I'm in trouble!
"Hm?" He glanced at me for a second before going back to his notes.
"Hey..." I called him again. "...Why aren't you paying attention to me?"
"Because we're studying."
"Weh? But before—"
"Ms. Mariano, do you have something to share with the class?" the teacher called out to me.
I quickly shook my head and sat up straight.
Great! Now I got scolded by the teacher. Seriously! This is all because Yuri won't pay attention to me.
I glanced at him.
He adjusted his notes and let out a sigh. I wanted to ask him again, but I didn't want to get scolded by the teacher twice.
I looked at my notebook—it was filled with nothing but random scribbles. I hadn't written anything down because I hadn't been paying attention. I tore off a small piece of paper and wrote on it.
"Yuri, you're so mean!"
I folded it and quickly passed it to him.
He hesitated at first, unsure whether to take it or not. He even raised an eyebrow before looking at me and finally writing a reply.
Then, he casually tossed the paper back to me. "Please! Pay attention to our lesson and not on me."
Touché!
Ouch. That hurt—right in the gut. That was brutal.
Fine! Since he embarrassed me, I just crumpled the paper and threw it into my bag. I rested my chin on my palm and stared at the board.
So annoying!
I put in all that effort, and he just shut me down.
Then, suddenly, a piece of paper landed on my desk. I knew it was from Yuri, but I ignored it. He told me to pay attention to the lesson, so that's what I was going to do!
Not long after, another piece of paper landed on my desk. I glanced at him for a second, but he pretended like he wasn't doing anything, so I ignored it again.
Then another one.
And another.
Now I was getting annoyed.
I glared at him in frustration. I gathered all the papers he threw at me and angrily dumped them all on his desk.
"Ms. Mariano! If you have no intention of listening, you can leave!" the teacher snapped at me.
Son of a—
"B-but, Ma'am—"
"OUT!" she cut me off.
I had no choice but to stand up. I shot Yuri a glare.
Damn him!
I walked out with my head down, but from the corner of my eye, I caught Ci-N laughing at me.
That little brat! He's dead when we get home!
Once outside, I headed to the side of the room, where the trees were. I didn't really have anywhere else to go.
Thanks a lot, Yuri!
I sat down on the bench we used before. Then it hit me—this was the place where Yuri kissed me for the first time.
Oh, geez!
I get so annoyed whenever I remember him. So frustrating! This is all his fault—I got kicked out of class because of him!
If he hadn't been throwing those stupid papers at me, I would still be inside, paying attention in class—charot! As if I was really listening anyway.
"So annoying..." I muttered.
"Sorry..."
"AHH! FROG!" I screamed.
I was startled by the sudden voice. I thought I was alone out here! I quickly turned and shot a glare at the person who scared me.
"Hahahahaha..."
Oh, laugh it up, Yuri!
"Are you happy now?!" I asked irritably.
He walked over and sat beside me. I kept glaring at him.
Such a demon!
"Sorry for getting you kicked out because of me," he said.
"And what good does your 'sorry' do now? I'm already out here!" I snapped.
He lowered his head and scratched the back of his neck. Maybe I was too harsh. That was kinda mean of me.
"Why are you out here anyway?" I changed the topic.
"I wanted to apologize… and join you as well."
I raised an eyebrow. Join me? Is this guy crazy? So he wants to join in my humiliation?
"Wow, what a fun idea. 'Join you as well'—seriously?"
"I know it was my fault you got kicked out. It wouldn't feel right if I just sat inside comfortably while you suffered out here," he explained, forcing a smile.
"Why were you ignoring me in the first place?!" I asked, still annoyed.
He shifted in his seat and took a deep breath. He looked at me a few times and scratched his head.
What now?!
"B-because... I was jealous," he mumbled.
I froze.
I had a feeling that was the case.
"...I know, you never admit that you love me, but I can't help it. I'm in love with you, and I can't control my jealousy," he added.
I bit my lower lip.
Ugh!
I knew this would happen eventually.
"...I'm your fiancé, but it feels like I'm the one fighting for your attention," he said.
Then suddenly, I saw a tear fall from his right eye.
I panicked.
I wanted to wipe his tear away or stop him from talking, but I couldn't move. It felt awkward to interrupt him while he was speaking... but... Haizzzttt!!
"...I shouldn't even be demanding anything from you because, if we're being honest—"
I didn't let him finish. I knew this day would come—the day he'd complain about what Keifer was doing. I just hadn't thought about what I'd say when it did.
I already agreed to this engagement, which means I have a responsibility, even in some small way.
That includes showing him that I'm willing to give him a chance to prove his feelings for me.
And I'm ready to prove it.
I stopped him from talking in the only way I knew he wouldn't find disrespectful.
I kissed him...
I didn't know how long our lips had been pressed together. I could feel my heart pounding fast and hard, along with the heat rising to my cheeks.
I opened my eyes and pulled away to give him a chance to speak.
Except...
He was completely frozen! His face was red, and he looked like he couldn't breathe.
I had no idea what to say. Embarrassment started creeping up on me for what I had just done.
"J-Jay..." he called my name.
I waited for him to continue, but I couldn't hold his gaze for long.
"Jay... You pervert! You stole a kiss from me!" he accused, making my eyebrows furrow.
The nerve of this shameless idiot!
I smacked his arm hard in response. He suddenly burst out laughing, which only made me even more annoyed.
"You're so full of yourself!" I yelled at him.
"Just kidding..." he said, so I stopped.
I bit my lower lip.
The embarrassment I was feeling—ugh, damn it!
I glanced at Yuri for a moment and caught him biting his lip while smiling.
"Jay-jay..." he called my name. "...Can I have one more?"
I shot him a glare.
This jerk!
"You're taking advantage! I'll punch you!" I warned him, but he just laughed again.
"It's just that... Shit! I'm freaking giddy!"
I suddenly laughed at that.
This was the first time I'd ever heard him say something like that, and he looked absolutely ridiculous.
"This is embarrassing..." he muttered, covering his face with his hands.
I laughed even harder at him.
Neither of us could look at each other because of how flustered we were, but we kept laughing out loud.
It took us a few minutes to finally regain our composure.
"Let's head back... Ma'am is about to leave," he told me.
I nodded, and we both stood up.
I was about to start walking when he suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me close to him.
He hugged me tightly.
"Y-Yuri..."
"Ssshhh... Please give me this moment," he said, so I stayed still.
"...You don't know how happy I am right now. It was just a simple kiss, but it had such a huge impact on me." He kissed my forehead. "...Thank you, Jay!"
W-was this the right thing to do?!
Something felt off.
I couldn't explain what, but I knew something was wrong with what I did.
He let go of me and held my hand. "Let's go..."
I pulled my hand away, making him stop. "I-I'll stay here for a bit... C-check if Ma'am is really gone."
He smiled at me and nodded before walking away.
The moment he was out of sight, I took the chance to think.
I didn't know why I was feeling like this.
What should I do?
Was I wrong?
Was what I did a mistake?
"Jay! Ma'am's gone!" Yuri called out to me.
"I'll follow!" I shouted back.
I quickly stood up and started walking back to the room, but before I could get close to our building, someone suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me behind the classroom.
I never planned to return to this place after ending up here once before. It was overgrown with weeds, and there was even more trash than in front of the room.
He pushed me against the wall, and that's when I finally saw who it was.
His eyes—
They were filled with anger.
I felt fear creep up inside me for reasons I couldn't even understand.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Keifer asked furiously.
"W-what n-now—"
"ANSWER ME! DAMN IT!" he shouted, making my chest tighten.
I couldn't hide or deny the fear I was feeling anymore.
My knees felt weak, and I started trembling.
"W-why?!" I asked, my voice shaking as tears welled up in my eyes.
He grabbed my chin with one hand.
"Y-you're hurting me!" I complained.
He leaned in closer.
"I told you... You're mine! If you ever do what you did with Yuri again, you'll pay for it."
He let go of me, and I couldn't stop my tears from falling.
I had never seen him like this before.
"I'll let this one slide," he said before walking away.
I slumped to the ground. The fear I felt was overwhelming.
I never wanted to see him like that again. I couldn't handle it— I saw Kuya Angelo's anger in him.
W-why was he like that?!