Jay-jay's POV
"Can I have some?" Ci-N whispered while trying to reach for the box of chocolates I got.
"I left you a lot earlier." I complained as I moved it away from his reach.
"I didn't get any earlier." he said, but I could clearly see a piece of chocolate stuck in one of his teeth.
I pointed at his mouth and squinted my eyes at him. "Then what's that on your tooth?"
"Food bit! I didn't brush my teeth." he reasoned out even though it was obvious he got a lot too.
He was sitting right next to me and was the closest one to the stash. With just one stretch of his arm, he could've scooped them all. And on top of that, there were tons of chocolate wrappers under his seat. He even stepped on some of them without noticing.
I heard the sound of the bell. It was the signal for lunchtime. I quickly stuffed the box of chocolates into my bag. When I saw the Little Brat trying to peek at it, I immediately threatened him with a punch.
"Lunch, Jay?" Yuri asked, now standing between Ci and me.
"Yes, you're paying." I answered, and he laughed.
I looked at Ci, planning to ask him to join us, but it was obvious he had no intention of leaving his seat.
"Hey, aren't you coming with us?" I asked him.
He shook his head. "The food's not here yet."
"We might go buy some."
He stared at me like he was confused about what I just said. I raised a brow at him.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Why would you buy food? There's food coming." he answered before scratching his brow.
I looked at him in confusion. Food coming? Like, literally? Someone's going to throw food at us or maybe slap us with it? Is heaven going to rain food? This is new!
I looked at Yuri just in case he knew something, but he was also staring at Ci full of confusion.
Until we found ourselves looking behind us because of the noise of metal scraping against the floor. The rowdy Ulupongs were fixing the tables.
"Lift the table! Stupid!" Blaster angrily said to Drew.
"Maybe you should lift it! You're the stupid one!" Drew retorted.
"It's already lifted! You're the biggest idiot!" Blaster shot back.
"No wonder only my side is lifted! Super stupid!" Drew fired back without backing down.
"You're both idiots! All of you!" Felix shouted at them.
"What is this? A battle of the idiots? You're arguing but you both have the same brain." Denzel said sarcastically.
The servants laughed softly at the noise they were making. Their fight almost turned into a fistfight if Felix hadn't stepped in and smacked both of them on the back of the head. What the hell are these idiots doing?
They were pushing their tables closer together at the back while also pushing the chairs aside. Each of them was setting up their own area like they were preparing for some event.
"What are you guys doing?" I asked them.
Felix looked at me and answered. "We're setting up the place for the food."
I looked at Yuri when he suddenly snapped his fingers. "Oh, right. Keifer ordered food for us. I just remembered." he said and scratched his head.
I wanted to clap my hands in excitement. Food! That jerk was treating us!
But how could I enjoy that when the one feeding us is the person I hated most? The nerve of him if he's going to tease me again like he did with the chocolates earlier.
The nerve! He knows I won't refuse.
But maybe it was better if I filled myself up now so I wouldn't be at his mercy later. If I'm full, I have a better chance of refusing.
Yes! Yes! The chances were high.
I grabbed my wallet from my bag and stood up. "I'm going to the cafeteria."
I didn't wait for them to say anything and walked out. I even heard Yuri calling me, but I ignored him.
I wasn't going to eat here, and I definitely wasn't going to eat the food that jerk Keifer had prepared. It was probably cursed. What if my butt sealed shut after eating it? Or I got a stomachache? Worst case, it might even be laced with a love potion.
I'd rather eat at the cafeteria—wait, what's that lechon smell?
My nostrils flared as I desperately tried to track where the smell was coming from. It was getting stronger, especially as I walked closer to the stairs. I waited for a moment to see if I was headed in the right direction.
My eyes widened when I saw several groups of guys heading up with food. They had so much, it looked like a fiesta. They kept climbing, and when I followed them to see where they were going, they went straight to our classroom.
And when the lechon passed by in front of me, I almost didn't feel the pain in my neck as I tracked its destination.
Bess, my lechon!
I bit my lip. Why was I even going to the cafeteria when the blessing is already here? Heaven is sending it to me. The smell slapped me across the face.
But if I eat that, the King of the Ulupongs might have something planned again. It's probably just like what he did with the chocolates. There's a catch! There's a catch! There's a catch—would he agree to a kiss in exchange for a piece of that lechon?
I almost slapped myself for that thought. When did I become so shameless? And how shallow is one kiss for lechon? The food probably has a much bigger price to pay.
I held my face with both hands. This only meant one thing: I needed to endure and raise my pride even higher. Higher than the patience I had earlier. Higher than skyscrapers.
Will I be able to handle this?
"What—"
"Ay ulupong!" I said in shock.
"—are you doing here?" Kei—kwanan continued his question, even though he was laughing at my reaction.
"Why do you always show up out of nowhere?!" I asked irritably.
He chuckled slightly. "I've been here for a couple of minutes now. Watching you."
I wanted to slap myself. So embarrassing! He's been here beside me the whole time. He probably saw my reaction while I was following the lechon and getting lost in my thoughts.
"Come on. Let's eat." He said, suddenly grabbing my hand to pull me along.
It was like a switch flipped in my heart—it started pounding loudly and quickly. He was being way too extra for today. This isn't good. I think it's time to knock him down. Just kidding!
I immediately struggled and yanked my hand away from his grip. He was clearly taken aback by what I did.
"Don't go around grabbing!" I said, my tone carrying a hint of threat.
"I just want us to eat lunch together." He replied softly.
"I'll eat!" I glared at him. "But I want to make sure that there's no hidden meaning behind me eating what you ordered!"
One of his eyebrows rose. "Okayy…" he answered slowly.
"Just like what you did with the chocolate!"
He nodded, as if he realized what I was getting at.
"You have nothing to worry about. This is truly just for our lunch."
"Don't try anything with me!"
"I am not!" He said and tried to approach me to grab my hand again.
I immediately moved away, keeping my arms away from him as if he were carrying some contagious disease.
It hurt my heart.
"Stop trying to do things!" I said, irritated.
"Do what?" He asked, laughing.
He moved closer again and tried to reach for my hand. I dodged again, but he kept following.
"What the heck?!" I was about to cry from the frustration.
Damn it.
"What's wrong? I just want to hold your hand."
"No holding hands! It's bad!"
I was starting to run out of breath, but he seemed amused that I was struggling because of his teasing. I almost wanted to smack him with a shoe.
Because I couldn't handle the exhaustion anymore, I blocked him with both of my arms to stop him.
"Stop!" I yelled at him, and he did.
"What? Seriously? What's wrong with you?" He asked in quick succession.
Now I'm the one at fault?
"Idiot! I already told you not to touch me!" I answered, gasping for breath.
Suddenly, he grabbed one of my hands. It was tight—so tight he nearly twisted my fingers.
"O-Ow!" I complained.
"I'm holding your hand now. Did something bad happen to you?" He asked, as if accusing me of overreacting. "I just want to hold you.." I noticed the glint in his eyes. "..Because I f*cking miss you."
His voice cracked, and it was clear he was holding back... tears.
Little by little, his grip on my hand loosened I suddenly felt guilty because of what he said. It was as if it was my fault for not wanting him to hold my hand.
But if I let him hold me now, it would be like throwing everything away. All the pain. All the unanswered questions. All my crying. All my overthinking. All the swearing. And most of all—
"It's beating. Damn fast." He said while looking at my hand in his.
This is what I was talking about! He could feel how wildly my heart was racing. I felt like my heart was full of muscles because it's been working out so hard today.
I was about to pull my hand back, but he slowly brought it to his chest. My heart pounded even harder.
"Can you feel it?" He asked as my palm pressed against his chest.
There was a strong heartbeat, but I didn't know if it was mine or his. I couldn't tell because my hand had gone cold.
"My heart beats for us. For me to be alive and for you to know how much I love you."
W-w-w-what did he just say?
I almost collapsed from how weak my knees got after hearing that. My whole system went haywire. It was like my brain couldn't process it at first. I didn't want to accept the words he said. It felt unreal! I must be possessed or something.
Dear God! I need an exorcist!
My mouth kept opening and closing, searching for the right words to say. But I couldn't find a single letter.
He just stared at me, making everything harder. He tried to get closer, so I quickly stepped back. He did it again and again until the wall stopped me from backing away any further.
He still hadn't let go of my hand against his chest. I wanted to push him away with it, but I was too weak to do anything.
"W-w-wait." I stammered, barely able to speak.
Damn you, Ulupong!
And when there was barely an inch left between us, a sweet smile appeared on his lips.
"D-d-damn you. Don't you dare mess up."
"Your lips and profanities are making me damn crazy for your kiss." He said, and just as he was about to kiss me, when we were both stopped by a sudden squeal
I slowly turned to find the culprit. If it weren't for the pain in my neck, I probably could have turned my head much farther.
The little brat was grinning widely, holding his cellphone with the camera aimed directly at us. I also saw other Ulupongs peeking through the door, all sporting broad grins.
My eyes widened as the situation became clear to me. I immediately pushed Kei—kwanan hard. He staggered back in surprise, and I could see the pain flash across his eyes.
"Aw..No kiss?" Ci said, lowering his cellphone.
My eyebrows shot up. "Is that it? After everything you did, you think you can just show up like nothing happened?"
"Awkward." I heard Ci whisper as he quickly ran back into the room.
"Jay—."
"You're good, huh? What kind of facemask do you use? The thickness of your face is impressive."
He tried to approach, but I raised my palm as if to slap him. He stopped, clearly waiting for me to bring my hand down on his face.
"Go ahead. Hurt me." He said with a sigh. "I deserve it."
My vision started to blur as tears began to well up in my eyes. My palm instinctively closed, and I lowered my hand.
"Good thing you know." I almost whispered, then quickly walked down the stairs.
Honestly, I had no idea where I was heading. To make things worse, there were so many students because it was lunchtime, and I couldn't find a place to go. I quickly wiped my face, brushing away the falling tears.
As I reached the ground floor, I ran into Aries and Ella. They both raised their eyebrows at me, probably because of how I looked.
Aries glanced at Ella and nodded slightly. She seemed to understand right away and walked off.
"Have you eaten?" Aries asked.
It seemed like I didn't need to answer. My stomach loudly growled, a clear sign that my hunger had taken over. I casually placed a hand on my stomach.
"Let's go outside." He invited.
Although confused, I still followed him. We headed straight for the parking lot and got into the car together. I knew we were going somewhere outside the school, but I had no idea exactly where.
My question was only answered when we stopped at a restaurant just around the corner from the school. It could have been walked to, but the walk would have taken too much time and it was ridiculously hot.
We both got out of the car and went inside. They only had rice meals, so ordering wasn't difficult. I got the tucino and three orders of rice from earlier.
I wanted the lechon.
There was no room for sadness. I'd look like a fool if, after we fought, I still ate his food. Where would my pride be then? I'd already lowered it when I took the chocolate, and lowering it even more would be ridiculous.
I rested my chin on my hand while waiting for my order. Just my order because Aries had already eaten before we met up. They'd gotten out early from their last class.
"Speak." The horoscope commanded.
I pouted while pretending to read the notes stuck to the table. Reminders for the filthy, uneducated people when eating. That's what the notes said.
"Not yet? I'm getting hungry." I said without looking at him.
"I told you to speak, but not about that." He said irritably.
"At least I spoke." I replied, and he quickly gave me a dirty look. "What am I supposed to say then?"
I knew he wanted to me to say something about his friend who came back from London.
"Of course! About him!"
"He brought you the London bridge." I said, and his hand quickly rose to threaten me with a slap on the back of my head.
Luckily, my order arrived just in time. Meanwhile, he only had juice. He let me eat while he held his phone, busy texting.
"Make sure to think twice before making an action. Your recklessness will put you in danger. Kuya might get mad at you if you do something stupid." He reminded me.
"Why me again?." I complained.
I was the one reminded again. How about him? Who was the one who kidnapped him while searching for his cellphone? Isn't that negligence too? But when it comes to mischief, it's always me.
Am I the only mischievous one?
"Who's the troublemaker here?" He asked sarcastically.
I turned to look in another direction and shoved the straw into my glass. I tried to sip even though the glass was empty except for ice. It only made noise.
"Answer." He ordered.
I stopped sipping. "Me?"
He raised one eyebrow. "Is that a question?"
No, it's an answer.
"Fine, me! It's always me!"
"Because it really is you! Do you want me to lay out a list of your mischiefs?"
"Don't." I mumbled. "It's long."
He suddenly flicked my forehead. I quickly held my forehead and gave him a dirty look.
"Behave." He warned.
He stood up, so I followed, but I cleaned up my plate first and brought it to the counter. That's what the reminder said, after all.
When we got back to school, break was almost over, so we hurried back to our classes. I didn't really want to enter the room yet, but I already saw our next teacher approaching.
When I entered the room, the fools were still eating. Ci's mouth was still oily as he waved at me to come closer.
"Where have you been? Keifer was looking for you." he said just as their so-called King entered.
I avoided his gaze and went straight to my seat. I fixed my things and pretended not to care about what was going on around me, even though I could smell the food.
I think I got hungry again.
"Where have you been?" Kei—kwanan calmly.
I coughed lightly. "Just there. Ate."
He didn't say anything for a moment before nodding and walking away. Ci immediately leaned in and whispered to me.
"He hasn't eaten yet. He's been busy looking for you." He said, with some of his food splashing on my face.
I quickly wiped it off. I felt a bit guilty that he hadn't eaten yet. But why should I think about that? I never told him to look for me. He could've just postponed that and eaten first. Or better yet, not looked for me at all since I never asked him to.
Our next teacher entered the room. There was no more time for the King of Snakes to eat. But instead of scolding those who were still eating, the teacher just let it slide, especially when Felix offered them some noodles and rice cakes.
"Go Join Keifer over there." Eren whispered from behind me. "Even Yuri didn't eat, he was been looking for you."
Even Yuri?
I looked at Ci-N for confirmation, and when he nodded, I felt even more embarrassed. I hadn't realized I'd troubled even Yuri.
Eren nudged me. "Go sit with them."
I turned my whole body around to face him and raised my hand, threatening to slap him. His nudge had been so intense I could still feel the sting on my skin. Damn those sharp nails.
"You didn't have to poke so hard." I said irritably.
I looked at Yuri when I noticed he was staring at me.
I glanced at Yuri and saw him looking at me. He gestured toward the food, inviting me to eat. I shook my head and told him to go ahead. He just smiled sadly.
I gestured again for him to eat, but he shook his head. I had a feeling I knew why—he didn't seem like he planned on eating at all. I scratched the back of my neck in frustration.
I didn't want him to starve because of my stubbornness.
I checked the teacher, who was busy eating, before finally standing up and approaching Yuri.
"Eat already." I ordered him.
"How about you?"
I looked at the food. "W-what? I've already eaten."
"Eat again." He said with a mischievous smile.
"I'll think about it."
He just nodded before standing up and going to Kei—kwanan.
" Let's Eat." Yuri urged, and the other just nodded lifelessly.
They both went over to the food, and I followed behind them, sneaking glances at the dishes. In case I needed to make a run for it.
" Jay? You sure you don't want any?" Yuri asked while holding a plate filled with lechon skin.
I shook my head. "I-I'm good already—."
I didn't even finish my sentence when someone grabbed my hand and placed a plate full of lechon on it.
"Eat or I will kiss you in front of everyone." Whispered the most annoying King of Snakes.
My eyes widened as I stared at the food. I also looked at Yuri when I noticed him laughing and shaking his head. It seemed like he didn't hear what his best friend just said.
I glared at the Snakes when I realized they were also watching us.
It looked like I had no choice but to swallow my pride again and eat the food from this damned man. Even though I was already full and there was no more room to eat.
Excuse me, I really had no choice. Okay.