Chapter: The Plan
Angelo's face was unreadable. Arms crossed, gaze sharp, he listened as I stumbled through everything. The notebook. The names. Yuri's silence. And the fear that had been eating me alive since.
When I finally trailed off, the room was quiet. Too quiet.
Aries swore under his breath, pacing like he wanted to punch a wall. Percy's jaw was tight, hands balled into fists. Keifer didn't let go of me once, his thumb rubbing circles into my palm like he knew I'd break if he stopped.
It was David who broke the silence. "…Okay. First off, what the hell? Second, why wasn't I told sooner?"
I blinked. "Because—"
"Because you can't keep your mouth shut," Percy cut in.
David gasped, offended. "Excuse me? I can keep secrets!"
Aries shot him a look. "Bro, you literally told the whole section when Jay finally got a boyfriend."
"That doesn't count," David muttered. "That was a public service announcement."
Despite myself, I let out a shaky laugh. Keifer squeezed my hand tighter, relief flickering in his eyes at the sound.
Angelo finally sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Alright. Enough. This isn't a joke. If what Jay says is true, Yuri could be dangerous—not just to Keifer, but to all of us."
My chest tightened. "He's not… he's not all bad. He's still Yuri. He's still our friend."
Keifer glanced at me. "Which is why we can't go at him like he's the enemy. If we push too hard, he'll only shut down—or worse."
Percy nodded reluctantly. "So we keep it quiet. Just us. We watch him. We stay close. If he makes a move, we're ready."
Aries crossed his arms. "You mean babysit him."
"Protect him," Keifer corrected. "And Jay." His eyes flicked to me, and the intensity there made my throat close. "Always Jay."
David raised a hand. "Okay, but—what exactly is the plan? I can't just… glare at him in the hallway and hope that fixes everything."
Aries snorted. "That's basically your entire personality."
"HEY—"
"Focus," Angelo snapped. His eyes softened only slightly when they landed on me. "Jay, you did the right thing telling us. From now on, you let us handle the danger. You don't face this alone."
"I don't want to be sidelined," I said quickly. My voice shook, but I forced myself to hold his gaze. "If this is about Yuri, then I have to be involved. He listens to me more than anyone."
Everyone looked at me, and for a moment I thought they'd all say no. But then Keifer's hand tightened on mine again.
"She's right," he said quietly. "We can't cut her out of this. Not when it's Jay."
The room went silent again. Finally, Angelo exhaled. "Fine. But we do this carefully. Slowly. Nobody gets reckless. Got it?"
One by one, we all nodded.
And though my chest still felt heavy, though the thought of Yuri's list still made my skin crawl, for the first time in days, I felt like maybe—just maybe—I wasn't drowning.
Because I wasn't alone anymore.