Hotel Lobby
Jay and Keifer were still staring at each other. Neither of them knew what to say.
Percy looked between them. "Uh... do you two know each other?"
Jay blinked. "He's my—"
"She's my—" Keifer said at the same time.
They both stopped.
Aries stepped forward. He looked at Jay. Really looked at her. His eyes went wide.
"Jay?" he said softly.
Jay turned to him. Her face broke into a huge smile. "Aries!"
She ran and hugged him tight.
Aries hugged her back. For a second, his cold mask dropped. He looked happy. Really happy.
Percy was confused. "Wait... you two know each other?"
Aries let go of Jay. He looked at Percy. "She's my sister."
Percy's jaw dropped. "What?!"
Keifer's eyes went wide. Yuri just watched, surprised.
Jay laughed. "Aries is my stepbrother. Same mom, different dad. We grew up together before I moved to New York."
Percy stared at Aries. "You never told me you had a sister!"
Aries shrugged. "You never asked."
Percy turned to Jay. "And you never told me your stepbrother was my best friend!"
Jay grinned. "I didn't know he was your best friend! I haven't seen Aries in years."
Aries looked at her. "You look good, little sister. Happy."
Jay smiled. "I am happy."
Keifer just stood there, watching. His partner was his best friend's little sister. And also his other best friend's step sister. This was crazy.
Mia and Ben finally walked over. Mia looked at all the boys. "Jay, who are these people?"
Jay introduced everyone. "This is my brother Percy, you know him. This is Aries, my stepbrother. This is Yuri. And this..." She looked at Keifer. "This is my project partner. Mark Keifer Watson."
Keifer nodded. "Hi."
Percy looked at Keifer. "Wait. YOU'RE my sister's project partner? The one from New York?"
Keifer nodded slowly. "Yes."
Percy burst out laughing. "Oh man! This is too good! My cold-hearted best friend has to work with my sunshine sister!"
Aries smiled a little. "This should be interesting."
Jay looked at Keifer. He looked uncomfortable. She felt bad for him.
"Hey," she said softly. "It's okay. We can still work together. I don't bite."
Keifer looked at her. Her smile was so warm. So bright.
For the first time, he smiled back. Just a little.
"Okay," he said quietly.
Percy saw the smile and his eyes went wide. Keifer never smiled at girls. Never.
This was going to be very interesting.