Chapter: The Public Declaration
(Jay's POV)
The silence of the staircase was still ringing in my ears as we walked into the Section E classroom.
I tried to look normal. I tried to look like I hadn't just grabbed Keifer Watson's collar and claimed him like a crazy person. I adjusted my bag, staring straight at the chalkboard.
Don't look at him. Don't look at anyone.
But this was Section E. These idiots smelled tension like sharks smelled blood.
Yuri was the first to look up from his phone. He squinted at us, then at the door, then back at us. "Why is the air suddenly… heavy?"
"It's not heavy," I snapped, sitting down at my desk. "It's oxygen. Breathe it or don't."
Cin leaned back in his chair, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "You guys were gone for a while. Freya from Section A looked like she swallowed a lemon when she walked past."
David and Emman stopped their thumb-wrestling match. Eren and Rory looked up from their sketches. Even Erdix and Mayo, who were usually asleep at this hour, were suddenly very awake.
"Is there something we should know?" Kit asked, leaning forward.
"Nothing," I said, my voice as cold as I could make it.
Then, there was a scrape of a chair.
Keifer didn't go to his seat. Instead, he walked straight to my desk. He didn't care that Blaster, Calix, and Felix were already whispering and pointing. He didn't care that the whole room had gone silent.
He leaned one hand on my desk, trapping me between him and the chair.
"Jay," he said.
"Go to your seat, Keifer," I muttered, my face already starting to heat up.
"I can't."
"Why not?"
He leaned down, his face inches from mine. I could smell his scent—cool, like rain and something sharp. "Because I haven't finished our conversation."
"The conversation ended at the stairs," I whispered, desperately trying to keep my eyes on my notebook.
"Did it?" He reached out, his fingers grazing a stray strand of my hair, tucking it behind my ear. The touch was slow. Deliberate. "Because I remember you telling me I wasn't allowed to smile at anyone else."
A collective gasp echoed through the room.
"OH!" Yuri fell out of his chair.
"DID HE JUST—?" Cin slammed his hands on the desk.
"SECTION E PRIDE!" Mayo yelled, suddenly standing up.
I wanted to crawl into a hole. "Keifer, stop it. Everyone is watching."
Keifer didn't even blink. He looked around the room at the chaotic mess of boys. David was recording on his phone, Emman was fanning himself with a notebook, and Blaster was whistling.
Keifer looked back at me, a slow, devastating smirk spreading across his face. The kind of smile he told me was only for me.
"Let them watch," Keifer said, his voice loud enough for the whole room to hear. "I want them to know exactly whose 'collar' I belong to."
"WOOOOOO!" Calix and Felix started jumping on their chairs.
Rory started clapping like he was at a concert.
Erdix just shook his head, grinning. "Rest in peace, Jay. You're never living this down."
"You're an idiot," I hissed, my face burning so hot I was sure I was glowing.
Keifer leaned even closer, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous velvet. "But I'm your idiot. Right, Jay?"
I looked at the boys—my chaotic, loud, annoying Section E family—and then back at the boy who was looking at me like I was the only person in the world.
I didn't answer. I couldn't.
But as Yuri started leading the class in a rhythmic chant of their names, I knew one thing for sure.
The secret was out. And the chaos was only just beginning.