Jayjay POV
"Hex."
My voice cut through the noise downstairs.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then footsteps.
Hex appeared at the stairs. Our eyes met for half a second—just half—before he looked away like he hadn't just slammed a door on my heart minutes ago. He walked down calmly and sat beside me on the couch, close enough that our arms almost touched, acting like everything was normal.
I didn't move.
Keifer came down next. He sat on the single couch opposite us, relaxed but alert, then turned to Hex.
"Hex," Keifer said evenly, "do you have anything you want to say to Jayjay?"
Hex sighed dramatically, leaned back, crossed his arms, and stared at the ceiling.
"Well," he began, "if one were to hypothetically consider the societal structure of knowledge acquisition, especially in environments where peers of similar age gather to exchange information, socialize, and—"
Everyone blinked.
"…—then one might conclude," he continued, waving his hand, "that participation in such a structured system could be… moderately beneficial. Under very specific conditions. Temporarily."
Ci-n squinted. "Huh?"
Yuri whispered, "Is he insulting school or praising it?"
Keifer pinched the bridge of his nose. " oh lord ,Hex."
Hex sighed again. "I mean—"
He turned to me. Looked at me properly this time.
"I'll go to school," he said clearly.
"On Monday."
The world froze for half a second.
Then I grabbed him.
I pulled him into a tight hug before I could stop myself, my arms wrapping around his shoulders as relief flooded through me.
"Hex—" I laughed breathlessly. "You have no idea—"
"I do," he muttered, but he hugged me back anyway.
Ci-n jumped up. "THIS CALLS FOR CELEBRATION!"
That was it.
Chaos exploded.
Drew grabbed snacks. Felix turned the TV louder. Blaster started chanting "SCHOOL! SCHOOL!" like it was a victory parade. Someone nearly knocked over a chair. Katherine shouted something from the kitchen. Calix fired a toy gun into the air.
I pulled back and looked at Keifer.
"Thank you," I said softly.
He smiled. "Anytime."
Then he winked at me.
Hex noticed.
He leaned closer and whispered, "You have good friends."
"Maybe," I replied.
He smirked. "You don't know fun people."
I raised a brow. "Says the boy who's always on gadgets."
He gasped. "This is slander."
Then he jumped up and joined the others, laughing, already forgetting the heavy weight that had been hanging over us earlier.
Luna came over and sat beside me.
"So," she said gently, "how are things at Angelo's place?"
I hesitated. "Hmm… not well. We fought yesterday evening."
She nodded like she expected that. "Jay, I know things happened in the past. Painful things. But sometimes peace isn't about agreeing—it's about choosing not to carry old wounds into the future."
I leaned back, watching the boys fool around, Hex laughing freely for once.
"Maybe you're right," I said quietly.
Luna smiled. "I usually am."
Diego had already gone upstairs to sleep, the house slowly settling into a comfortable hum.
For the first time in a long while, I didn't feel like everything was about to fall apart.
For now—
This was enough.