THE LAST WEEK — THE CHAOS BEFORE THE GOODBYE
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JAY'S POV — Six Days Before Leaving
My room looked like a luggage factory exploded.
Open suitcases everywhere. Shoes I forgot I owned. Clothes Aries said "throw that ugly shirt away." Angelo dramatically reading my packing list like a disappointed father.
And Section E?
Of course.
They were in my room too.
ALL OF THEM.
Like a colony of loud, judgmental raccoons.
Cin was sitting on my bed, eating chips like he lived there.
"This is too much clothing," he declared. "Harvard is cold. Bring hoodies. Many hoodies. Preferably MY hoodies."
"No," I said.
"Yes," Cin insisted, hugging a hoodie to his chest.
Felix was folding clothes neatly — shockingly neatly.
Drew and Denzel were arguing over whether I needed two or three jackets.
Yuri was checking expiration dates on my skincare.
Rory was vlogging. Again.
Mayo and Kit were organizing toiletries.
Calix was testing my laptop's battery like a tech support agent.
Blaster was crying in the corner.
Eren was hugging my pillow.
Josh was trying to zip a suitcase and failing miserably.
David was sitting at my desk, looking at my Harvard acceptance papers like a proud uncle.
And Keifer—
Keifer was sitting on the floor, leaning against my bed, reading one of my law prep books like he was absorbing it through his brain.
He looked up at me with that stupid soft smirk.
"Tell me again how you're going to survive Harvard if you don't even know where your passport is?"
I threw a sock at him.
"SHUT UP."
He caught it.
Of course he did.
The worst part?
He looked good doing it.
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THE DOCUMENT WAR — THE CHAOS CONTINUES
Angelo stormed into my room holding a stack of papers.
"WHO TOOK HER BIRTH CERTIFICATE?!" he yelled.
Twenty hands pointed to Blaster.
Blaster sniffled.
"I just wanted to see the baby picture attached—"
"THERE WAS NO BABY PICTURE ATTACHED."
"Oh."
Angelo sighed like he was aging ten years per second.
Meanwhile, Aries was beside him holding my passport.
"Your visa interview is in TWO DAYS," he said. "Jay, do you want me to adopt stress on your behalf?"
"No thanks," I said weakly.
David muttered, "This family is going to kill her before Harvard does."
Keifer took the passport from Aries, flipping through it.
"You need new photos," he said casually.
"I hate taking photos," I groaned.
Cin hopped off the bed.
"I volunteer as tribute to fix your face—"
"NO."
"Rude."
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THE NEXT DAY — SHOPPING DAY FROM HELL
We went shopping.
Twenty-one people went shopping.
In a mall.
Together.
I don't know who allowed this.
We were a moving apocalypse.
Cin grabbed every oversized hoodie he could find.
"For emotional comfort, obviously."
Felix dragged me to the formal section.
"You need lawyer clothes. You're going to Harvard, not a sleepover."
Josh kept sneaking crocs into my basket.
Yuri forced me to buy thermal leggings.
"Harvard is cold," he reminded me. "You are… not."
Calix lectured me on laptop chargers.
Denzel carried all the bags like a human storage unit.
Eren kept handing me things and whispering, "Please don't forget us."
Blaster cried in front of the winter jackets.
"I'm not emotionally ready for you to be across the ocean."
Rory recorded everything, narrating like it was National Geographic.
And Keifer—
Keifer stayed beside me the whole time.
Every aisle.
Every store.
Every step.
Quiet.
Watching.
Taking things out of my overloaded arms and carrying them himself.
Every time I felt overwhelmed, he would lean close and say:
"Breathe."
Or
"You're doing fine."
Or
"Don't carry the bags, I'll handle it."
And I hated how much that helped.
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LUNCH — THE "FAMILY" MEETING
We filled an entire restaurant row.
Not a table.
Not two tables.
AN ENTIRE ROW.
The waiter nearly fainted.
When the food came, Cin stood on his chair.
"A toast," he announced dramatically.
"Sit DOWN—" I hissed.
"No."
He cleared his throat.
"To Jay… who somehow survived all of us AND made it to HARVARD."
Everyone cheered.
"To Keifer," Yuri added, "who surprisingly didn't get expelled this year."
More cheers.
"To David," Blaster sniffled, "who's going to London to become British."
David frowned. "Never say that again."
"To Section E," Calix said proudly, "who will forever be the loudest, most chaotic, most traumatizing family anyone could have."
"To friends," Felix said gently. "Who became home."
My throat tightened.
Then Keifer lifted his glass.
His voice low, soft, warm:
"To Jay…
who's about to change the world."
I swear—
I almost cried right there.
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THE C&J CREW — HER WORK FAMILY
The next day, I went to the C&J building for the last time before my flight.
The trainees were already waiting in the practice room — all standing in a line like soldiers ready for inspection.
"Boss Jay!" one of them said.
"We will miss your scary face—"
"I'M NOT SCARY."
"You are terrifying," another said kindly.
I sighed.
We did one last training session.
Warm-ups.
Corrections.
Laughing.
Arguing.
Me threatening to fire them all.
Them telling me to send Harvard hoodies.
Then Zack walked in.
"Leaving, huh?" he said.
"Yeah," I smiled. "But I'll still run things online. Video meetings. Calls. Schedules. I'm not abandoning ship."
He nodded, grinning.
"Knew you wouldn't."
The trainees all shouted at once:
"DON'T FORGET US." "CALL US." "WE'LL STAY LOYAL." "DON'T REPLACE US WITH HARVARD PEOPLE."
I laughed.
"I won't."
But when I walked out of the building…
My chest ached.
These people…
They were mine.
And I was leaving them too.
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THE LAST FEW DAYS — COUNTDOWN
Every day got harder.
Cin: "Three more days until you abandon me."
Yuri: "Two more days until I cry publicly."
Felix: "One more day until I sue Harvard for emotional damages."
Drew: "I'm already crying."
Blaster: never stopped crying.
And Keifer—
Keifer grew quieter.
Softer.
More careful.
More present.
He started picking me up after C&J practice.
Bought me snacks.
Carried my suitcases downstairs.
Helped Angelo sort my documents.
Helped Aries arrange my travel itinerary.
And every night, when Section E went home…
He stayed behind.
We sat on my porch.
Talking.
Not talking.
Just…
Being.
Existing.
Together.
Time running out in the background like a clock we couldn't stop.
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THE NIGHT BEFORE — FINAL GET-TOGETHER
Eman opened the restaurant for us.
"ONLY SECTION E ALLOWED," he announced like a guard dog.
Of course, they destroyed the place.
Food fights.
Screaming.
Group photos.
More crying.
More chaos.
More love.
At the end, Cin grabbed my hand.
"No matter where you go," he said quietly, "you're always Section E."
Yuri hugged me so tight I couldn't breathe.
Felix ruffled my hair.
Drew kissed my forehead dramatically.
David whispered, "We're proud of you."
And then—
Keifer stepped forward.
Everyone went silent.
He didn't hug me.
He didn't kiss me.
He just looked at me…
Like he was memorizing me.
Then he placed something in my hand.
A bracelet.
Simple.
Black.
His initials inside.
"For when you miss home," he murmured.
And my heart—
Broke.
And healed.
At the same time....
KEIFER'S POV — THE NIGHT BEFORE SHE LEAVES
The restaurant was loud.
Too loud.
Section E was screaming, throwing food, arguing, hugging, crying—basically being themselves.
But all of it felt like background noise to me.
Because all I could see was her.
Jay.
In the middle of everyone.
Laughing even while her eyes kept shining like she was trying not to cry.
Talking to each person.
Hugging them.
Smiling that smile that always hits me like a punch to the chest.
Everything in me kept saying:
Remember this.
Remember her.
Remember now.
Because tomorrow?
Tomorrow she was leaving.
For the first time in my life, I didn't know how to prepare for something.
I've survived fights.
Family.
School.
Hell-level stress.
Losing people.
Being alone.
But this?
Her leaving?
I wasn't ready for it.
Not even close.
---
THE MOMENT I KNEW I HAD TO GIVE HER SOMETHING
Cin was hysterical.
Blaster was crying into Mayo's shoulder.
Yuri was doing that soft-smile thing he does when he's trying not to break.
Everyone was saying their goodbyes in their own loud, dramatic ways.
But I—
I didn't know how to do that.
I didn't know how to tell her:
"I'm proud of you."
"I'm going to miss you."
"I don't want you to go."
"I'll wait for you."
"I care too much."
"Please don't forget me."
So instead—
I pulled the bracelet from my pocket.
I had been carrying it for three days.
Touching it.
Thinking about it.
Overthinking it.
Simple black band.
Soft leather.
My initials burned into the inside.
Something she could wear without anyone questioning it.
Something that would stay with her even when I couldn't.
Something that said everything I didn't know how to say.
And when she finally turned toward me, tired and smiling like she'd been holding the whole world together all day—
Something inside me gave out a little.
Her eyes found mine instantly.
And everything around us just…
Faded.
---
THE WORLD SHRINKS TO JUST HER
She stepped closer, and I swear the air got thinner.
Everyone else went quiet—maybe out of respect, maybe because they knew we needed this moment.
She smelled like vanilla again.
Her hair was messy from all the hugging.
Her cheeks were pink.
Her smile was small, but so warm I felt something in my chest twist painfully.
I held out the bracelet.
She looked down at it.
Then up at me.
Her voice wasn't even a whisper.
"…Keifer."
Just hearing my name like that almost undid me.
I took her hand gently—careful, like she might break.
Or maybe like I might.
"It's nothing big," I said quietly, even though it meant everything to me.
"Just… something for you to wear. If you want."
Her fingers curled around the bracelet, soft and slow, like she was holding something fragile.
Then her eyes lifted again.
And there it was—
That look.
The one that made my heartbeat stutter.
The one that made the restaurant around us disappear.
The one that made every fear, every insecurity, every distance feel smaller.
The one that said she didn't want to leave either.
But had to.
And I hated that.
I hated it so much.
But I loved that it was her.
That Harvard was hers.
Her dream.
Her future.
Her path.
I wasn't going to stand in the way of that.
Even if it hurt.
Especially because it hurt.
---
IF I SPOKE THE TRUTH, IT WOULD RUIN BOTH OF US
She whispered,
"It's beautiful."
But what she didn't know was:
I had picked it because it was strong.
Durable.
Hard to break.
The way I wanted whatever we had to be.
Her thumb brushed the leather.
And then her voice trembled.
"This is… yours?"
I nodded once.
"It's yours now."
She blinked, breath catching.
Like she understood what I wasn't saying.
Like she heard all the words stuck in my throat.
Her fingers trembled slightly.
And that made something sharp twist in my chest.
I wanted to pull her into a hug.
Hold her tight.
Tell her not to go.
Tell her I'd follow her anywhere.
Tell her I'd cross oceans if I had to.
But I didn't.
Instead, I just said quietly:
"So you don't forget home."
She looked up sharply at that.
Something fragile flickered in her eyes.
Then—
Then she smiled.
A small, aching, beautiful smile.
"I won't forget," she whispered.
"Not any of you."
And I hated how much I wanted to ask:
And me? Will you forget me?
But I stayed quiet.
Because if I asked, and she said something soft, something sweet, something I wasn't ready to handle—
I wouldn't let her go tomorrow.
I knew it.
I felt it.
So I stayed still.
Silent.
Holding myself together by sheer force.
---
BUT THEN SHE LOOKED AT ME LIKE THAT
Her fingers touched my wrist.
Light.
Barely there.
But it felt like fire.
Like she knew exactly what I was feeling.
And I knew she was feeling it too.
She stepped closer—just a small step—
But it was enough to make everything inside me crumble a little.
"Keifer," she said softly, "thank you."
For the bracelet.
For the moment.
For the week.
For everything we didn't say out loud.
My throat tightened.
I swallowed.
Then forced a smile — soft, careful, the kind I only ever gave her.
"Harvard's lucky," I murmured.
"They don't know it yet, but they are."
Her eyes softened, lips trembling.
"London's lucky too," she whispered back.
"Because they get you."
I had to look away for a second.
Because if I didn't—
I would've kissed her.
In front of everyone.
And I wasn't sure I'd be able to stop.
When I looked back at her, she was still watching me.
Still holding the bracelet.
Still standing close enough that I could feel her warmth.
Close enough to break me.
Close enough to heal me.
Close enough to make tomorrow the hardest day of my life.
---
THE PART NO ONE SAW
She turned when the others called her.
But before she walked away—
She looked over her shoulder.
At me.
Not the group.
Not her brothers.
Me.
Her eyes lingered.
And for a second—
A long, breath-stealing second—
I knew:
If I asked her to stay,
she wouldn't.
Because she had dreams to chase.
But if I asked her to wait—
She would.
And I would too.
Her fingers tightened around the bracelet.
My initials.
Close to her heart.
And she mouthed silently:
Thank you.
I mouthed back:
Always.
She didn't see the way my hand curled into a fist after she turned.
Or the way my chest felt like it was splitting open.
Or how badly I wanted to follow her when she walked away.
Section E went back to screaming.
Laughing.
Throwing fries.
But all I could hear was her footsteps getting farther.
All I could feel was the empty space she left beside me.
Tomorrow—
Tomorrow I'd say goodbye.
Tomorrow I'd watch her leave.
Tomorrow I'd let her go.
But tonight?
Tonight I memorized her.
Every smile.
Every laugh.
Every tiny, stupid detail.
Because I knew:
Jay was about to change her world.
And I just—
I just hoped she wouldn't forget I was part of it too.