Falling in love
Jay jay's pov
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Keifer greeted me angrily, arms crossed.
I scratched my head and looked away. "I-I woke up late."
"Ci-N said you went somewhere," Yuri added.
I immediately looked around for that little rascal. I told him to say I just woke up late.
"I-I did go somewhere... T-that's why I took so long, right?" I made an excuse. But Keifer was still glaring at me. I walked past him with my head down.
"Why weren't you answering your phone?" he asked authoritatively.
"B-because... um... I knew it was you calling," I answered, then quickly ran away from him.
Was that a bad move?
"Can you please just tell us next time? We were worried. What if something like what happened with you and Rory happens again?" Yuri said with concern.
I looked down. "S-sorry... Promise! Next time," I said while raising one hand.
"Wooo... Promise! Yeah, right," Eren teased, so I shot him a glare.
"Promises are meant to be broken," Ci-N added.
What the heck! Are they ganging up on me now? These devils!
"But where did you really go, Jay?" Kit asked. I coughed awkwardly.
"U-uh... just somewhere..." I mumbled. I couldn't say anything properly. I didn't even know what place to name.
"What?" they asked.
"Uhhhh... just... uhhh... theeeere..." I dragged it out, and they all waited for what I'd say next.
"If you don't want to say, then don't!" Keifer snapped, going straight to his seat. The others left me alone too and sat down just as the next teacher arrived.
During class, I couldn't help but glance at Edrix. I remembered what Kiko told me. Looks like he fell for the wrong person.
But how did he even get involved with those three?!
I remembered what Rakki once said—that there was something going on between Aries and Freya. Could that be what Kiko was talking about?
I can't say anything to Edrix. I don't even plan to help him. Not that I'm being mean or anything, but I really don't like Freya for him.
I know it sounds judgmental, but I'm still unsure of the truth behind what happened between her and those three. What if he just gets hurt again?
Class ended just like that. It's hard to focus when your mind's all over the place.
"Jay-jay..." Eren called. I looked at him, and he was motioning me to go outside the room. I followed him. When we got outside, I thought he had something important to say, but he dragged me toward the stairs.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"It's about Mayo..." he said, glancing back at our classroom door. "He's been bugging me. Asking for help with Kit."
"Then help him..." I answered, clearly bored. Seriously, now I'm being dragged into this too?
"I can't... Kit threatened me. If I meddle in her and Mayo's business, she'll tell all my girlfriends. So I'm hoping..." He paused. "...you could talk to them instead."
Me?
"I don't think I want to," I quickly replied. "I don't even know what to say to them."
"Anything... Just get them to talk it out. You know, man to man."
I winced. What the heck is wrong with this idiot?
"Tell them to act like men?! In their situation?!" I asked, annoyed.
He scratched his head and forced a smile.
"Yeah, okay, that sounded wrong."
I facepalmed. Honestly, maybe it would be better if I handled it. It's dangerous if this guy does the talking.
"Fine... I'll talk to them."
He clapped happily. Just because he's scared of being exposed to his girlfriends, he dumps this on me. Tsk.
He's lucky I care about those two as well. Their situation is tough. Neither of them can act freely.
We went back to the classroom, just in time for our next teacher. During class, I noticed Mayo glancing at Kit, but she was clearly ignoring him.
Sigh...
Class ended. It was lunch! But canned food was still our meal. We still hadn't received funds, so Eman couldn't buy proper food.
"I want something with soup..." I heard Ci-N mumble while staring at his food. "Sinigang or maybe Nilaga."
"Maybe this weekend, Eman and I will go grocery shopping," I said. I usually join him since I promised him I'd help out if he cooked for everyone.
"Jay-jay..." Ci-N called in a whisper. "So, how did your errand go?"
I leaned in closer. "It went okay... That Benedict Hospital was far, but the place is nice."
"Only rich people get confined there," he replied. I nodded.
Yeah, it really looked private.
"How's Kiko?" he asked again.
I glared at him. "You're asking about the guy you beat up?" I said sarcastically.
He scratched his head with a pout. "Just asking."
"He didn't look good. Limping and couldn't move properly."
"Ahh... What a shame..." I heard him mumble.
Shame?! This little punk!
I grabbed his ear. "What do you mean, shame?!"
"Aahh... J-Jay! That hurts! Ow!"
"You were mumbling something!"
"I-it wasn't like that!"
I let go of him. He was near tears while rubbing his ear and glaring at me.
"Mumbling stuff like that..." I grumbled.
"I'll tell Keifer on you!" he threatened, copying my tone.
I glared at him. As if I'd be scared of that. He seriously tried to threaten me?
"Keifer! Jay-jay is cursing!" he suddenly blurted out too fast to understand, but I still covered his mouth immediately.
"What did he say?" Felix asked. I looked at them—most of them were staring at us now. Crap!
"What did Ci-N say?" Rory asked.
I forced a smile. "N-nothing. We're just messing around," I said.
"But he called my name," Keifer said.
I shook my head. "It's nothing."
"Ci-N," Yuri called out, but Ci-N couldn't answer with my hand still over his mouth.
"Mmmm. Mmmm... Mmmm..." he said.
"Huh? What? You want to go outside?" I said, pretending to listen closely.
"Mmmm... MMMMMMMM..."
"Alright! You want to go out, huh? Let's go!" I said, dragging him out while still covering his mouth.
Once we were outside, I let him go.
"I never said I wanted to go out!" Ci-N said, scratching his head.
"You little devil! You're going to get me in trouble," I scolded.
I walked a bit away from him. He followed. I hadn't even finished my lunch because of him.
Speaking of lunch... I saw Josh feeding a black cat. I approached and nudged him.
"That's your food, right? Why are you feeding it to a cat?" I asked and sat beside him.
Ci-N moved closer to the cat and watched it eat.
"I'm not hungry, so I gave it to her," he answered.
We both watched the cat that Ci-N was now poking.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Josh told Ci-N.
"Why not?" I asked.
He just smiled at me in response. This guy is really weird. Sometimes, I catch him looking at me and smiling.
He doesn't talk much either. He jokes around sometimes, like the others, but he's mostly quiet.
"You're so greedy, Edy," Ci-N said to the cat.
Josh and I looked at him in confusion.
"Who are you calling Edy?" Josh asked.
"This cat."
"She doesn't have a name. Don't call her Edy."
I looked at the cat, still eating. Even though she was black, I could see she was dirty.
A stray cat!
"Where'd you get the name Edy?" I asked Ci-N.
"From her color... She's like the one in the Eveready battery commercial. So, Edy," he explained and smiled.
Oh yeah! The black cat in that ad. This kid is smart.
"No way! Don't call her Edy!" Josh protested.
"Did you name her already?" I asked.
He shook his head. The cat—Edy, as Ci-N named her—suddenly came closer and rubbed against my leg.
She finished the food and now moved toward us. Ci-N stood up and ran back to the room. Looks like he was getting more food for Edy.
"You know who they are now," Josh suddenly said while petting the cat.
"Huh?"
"Those people you saw the night of the festival."
Mayo and Kit.
"Hmmm... yeah," I muttered while playing with Edy.
"Now that you know, what are you going to do?"
I looked away. I didn't know how to answer. I wasn't even sure how to help them.
"Just let them be. Keifer might get mad if he finds out those two are involved," he said, then looked at me. "You've never seen him angry."
What's his deal? Why does it feel like he's trying to stop me? Like he wants to say something I can't quite grasp.
"What are you trying to say?" I asked.
"Mayo and Kit are my friends... It's better if they just stop this madness. They're only hurting themselves," he said.
I could feel his concern, but why stop them from making things right?
He reminded me of Ella. She spoke to me the same way back then when she tried to stop Mica and Calix.
"Edy! Here's more food!" we suddenly heard Ci-N shout as he ran toward us.
Josh and I avoided eye contact. Thank goodness Ci-N was too busy fussing over the cat.
While the cat ate, Ci-N kept poking her head until—
Crap! Here we go!
"AAAGGGHHH!!! SHE BIT ME!" he screamed, pulling his hand away from the cat's teeth. But the cat seemed furious and bit down even harder on his finger.
"I told you not to do that!" Josh scolded.
"Get Edy off him!" I shouted at Josh while pushing him.
"Her name's not Edy!" he argued.
"JUST GET HER OFF!" I yelled.
"Jay! It hurts!" Ci-N cried, tears in his eyes.
Josh held the cat and gently stroked her. That got her to finally let go.
"She drew blood!" I pointed at his bleeding finger.
"I'm gonna die! Rabies!"
"Don't be so dramatic!" Josh shouted at him.
"What the hell?! What is going on here?!" someone yelled angrily.
We turned and saw that everyone had come out of the room.
"What happened to Ci-N?" Yuri asked worriedly.
"He got bitten by a cat," I replied.
"He might get rabies! We need to take him to the hospital!" someone said.
Oh no! We're in trouble!
Ci-N cried even harder after hearing that.
"I don't want an injection!"