Jay stepped between them—bloody hospital gown, IV pipe hanging, hair messy, posture shaking but eyes blazing.
"STOP!"
Everyone froze.
Keifer's fist was halfway to Yuri's face. Percy had Aries by the collar. Aries was bleeding from the lip. Yuri's mask lay on the floor, cracked from the punches.
And all four of them stared at her like they were seeing a ghost.
Jay glared at all of them.
"You assholes.I JUST woke up from a coma and THIS is what you morons are doing? Breaking each other's faces like kindergarten kids?"
Yuri's breath hitched."Jay… why did you come out? You— you literally JUST woke up—your body—"
Jay gave him a death glare."Shut up. If I can survive a bomb, I can survive walking ten steps."
Before she could blink—
ACES ATTACKED.
then, sec e Not in violence.
In koala mode.
Cin jumped on her. Calix hugged her from behind. Felix, David, Eman, Mayo, Kit, Blaster, Denzel, Edrix— ALL OF THEM clung to her like she was their long-lost mother.
"JAYYYYYY!!!"
"DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!"
"WE THOUGHT YOU DIED YOU IDIOT!"
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TEXT US FROM COMA?!"
Jay wheezed, trying not to fall.
"Guys—GUYS—I'm not a tree—get OFF— I CAN'T BREATHE!"
They finally let go, sniffling.
Jay rolled her eyes but her smile was soft.
As Aries was pulled away, Jay grabbed him and yanked him into a hug.
Aries froze.
Then broke.
He clutched her tightly, shaking.
"Thank God, Jay… I— I thought I lost you again."
Jay patted his back.
"Horoscope, are you actually crying? Oh my god. You're human?"
Aries sniffed dramatically.
"Don't— don't joke. Just… don't do this again. Please. I swear I'll give you anything."
Jay smirked.
"Cool.
All your hoodies.
All your snacks.
I get the TV remote.
And don't even THINK about stealing my chips."
Aries gave her the most offended look in history.
"WHAT—"
"NO TAKE BACKS."
Then Percy threw himself onto her like a jumping puppy.
"JAAAYYY MY SISTER YOU'RE ALIVEEEEEE—"
Jay laughed, hugging him back.
Percy sniffled."See?! They fought because they were JEALOUS of your handsome brother's perfect face."
Aries scoffed loudly behind them.
Jay just chuckled…
"Take these three idiots," she pointed at the bruised trio, "and go get their faces fixed. They look like rejected potatoes."
ACES nodded like soldiers and dragged Aries, Percy and Yuri toward the nurse station.
Then she looked up.
Keifer.
Standing there.
Shaking.
Eyes red.
Breathing uneven.Looking at her like she was the only surviving star in his entire universe.
They left.
Jay turned to Keifer…
And opened her arms.
He didn't walk.
He didn't hesitate.
He ran.
He crashed into her, burying his face in her neck, arms wrapping around her so tight she could barely breathe.
Keifer broke.
He sobbed like a child— loud, trembling, painful gasps tearing out of him— the kind of crying he had only done twice in life.
Once when his mother died.Once when Serena died.And now… because he thought he lost Jay.
Jay's arms wrapped around him, her own tears finally falling after days of being held back.
Both of them shaking.
Both of them clinging like the other might disappear again.
"Jay…" his voice cracked. "I thought— I thought you were gone. I couldn't breathe— I— I couldn't—"
She cupped the back of his head.
"I'm right here," she whispered, voice shaking. "I'm right here, Keifer. I promised I wouldn't leave you."
He tightened his grip, crying harder.
"And you didn't," Jay whispered into his shoulder. "You didn't lose me. Not this time. Not ever."
They stayed like that—
Two broken hearts finally finding each other again
KEIFER POV — From "STOP!" to Jay comforting him
I froze.
That voice.
That impossible, stupid, infuriating, miracle of a voice.
"STOP!"
Everything in me stopped breathing.My fists were still buried in Yuri's collar, Percy was yelling beside me, Aries' hand was bleeding… but all of it went silent.
Jay stood there in the dim hospital hallway—hair messy, hospital gown too big for her, IV still attached, chest rising and falling like she had sprinted her way out of the afterlife.
For a second I truly thought I was hallucinating.I blinked once.
Twice.
She was still there.
Alive.
Breathing.
Looking straight at me.
My throat closed. Something between a laugh and a sob clawed its way out of my chest.
She called us all—
"ASSHOLES! Do you even have a single brain cell between the four of you? Stop punching each other, idiots!**"
The Aces screamed her name like starved koalas and tackled her into a hug.I just stood there, frozen, heart pounding so hard I thought it'd burst through my ribs.
When she hugged Aries and Percy…When they cried…When she teased them…
I kept staring.
Like I was scared that if I blinked, she'd vanish again.
Then finally—Finally—Her eyes found mine.
She told the others to take Yuri, Aries, Percy for checkups.
And then she walked toward me.
My chest caved in.
She didn't even hesitate—she threw herself into my arms.And I broke.
I grabbed her like a madman, arms locked around her waist, forehead buried into her shoulder.I cried. Ugly, uncontrollable, gasping sobs that ripped everything open inside me.She shook too, holding the back of my neck, whispering "It's okay, I'm here… I'm here…"
I didn't let go.Not even for a second.
She pulled me to her bed. We sat.Correction—I clung, refusing to release her because I still didn't believe she was real.
JAY'S POV
The door clicked shut behind us.
Keifer hadn't let go of me since the hallway. His arms were still wrapped around me like if he loosened even a little, I'd disappear again.
He sat beside me on the hospital bed—too close, too quiet.
"Jay…" he whispered, voice already breaking.
I finally looked at him properly.
And my breath stopped.
There—on his wrist.
Red. Fresh. Some deeper, some shaky.Self–inflicted.
My stomach dropped. My vision blurred.
"What…" I whispered, reaching out with trembling fingers, "…is this?"
Keifer immediately hid his hand like a child caught stealing.
I grabbed it before he could.
He winced.
"Jay—"
I punched his shoulder. Hard.
His head snapped back slightly, but he didn't defend himself.
Another hit landed. "HOW COULD YOU!?" My voice cracked open—anger, fear, everything spilling.
He didn't move. Didn't flinch.He just… smiled. A desperate, broken smile.
"I thought you died," he whispered, like a confession tearing out from the core of him. "I thought you… left me. Again. Like everyone else."
My eyes burned. My chest ached so brutally I couldn't breathe.
"You want to know what I felt?" he whispered, voice trembling. "I—Jay, I wanted to tear the world apart. I wanted someone to blame. I wanted to kill myself because living without you felt like walking around without a heart."
I shook my head violently."Don't—say that."
But he kept talking, words spilling like he'd been holding them for years.
"I lost my mother. I lost Serina. And when I thought I lost you, something inside me snapped." His voice cracked. "You're the only reason I stayed. The only person who made me want to be alive."
Tears spilled down my cheeks before I even realized.
"You idiot," I choked, grabbing his collar. "You absolute—stupid—reckless IDIOT! How could you hurt yourself!? What about me!? What about everyone who loves you!?"
His lips parted.
"Jay… do you still—love me?"
I didn't answer. I pulled him into my chest, arms trembling around him.
He broke immediately.
His head dropped into my lap like he'd been wanting to do that forever, and I automatically threaded my fingers through his hair.
He exhaled—a sound too broken, too relieved.
And I… finally spoke.
"What happened with Yuri… I wasn't alone," I whispered, voice softening despite the storm inside me. "He found me first. I woke up because I heard your name. I kept trying to return because I… felt you waiting."
His grip tightened around my waist.
"I wasn't waking up," I continued, "but my mind kept pulling to you. Like you were calling me back."
Keifer inhaled sharply—like that sentence alone revived him.
I stroked his hair again, slower this time, the motion calming both of us.
"You don't get to leave me," I whispered.
"Wasn't planning to," he mumbled into my lap.
"You don't get to hurt yourself again."
He went still.
"You don't get to die before me."
His breath hitched.
"You don't get to give up on life just because you think I'm gone."
A tear fell onto my hospital gown—it was his, not mine.
I cupped the back of his head gently.
"You're mine, Keifer," I whispered. "And I'm alive. I came back. So you stay alive too."
He looked up at me then—eyes red, swollen, broken, but full of something fierce and devoted.
"You're my everything, Jay," he said, voice hoarse. "When I saw you there—gone—I thought… why should I breathe?"
I shook my head, tears falling freely now.
"You breathe because I need you. You live because I'm here. And you don't get to hurt yourself because I love you, you idiot."
His eyes widened slightly at the last sentence.
But he didn't comment—he just buried himself deeper in my lap, arms wrapped around my waist like the world outside didn't exist.
And I kept stroking his hair.
Because after everything…
He finally felt safe.
And so did I.