Chapter 60: Dinner, Disasters, and Absolutely No Table Manners.
Jay's POV
If someone ever asked me what happens when you put two chaotic friend groups, one jealous boyfriend, one living plushie (Dina), and actual food in the same room—
I'd show them this dinner.
The dining table was huge. Like unnecessarily huge. Long enough that you could probably host a royal banquet or reenact a dramatic family feud from opposite ends.
And yet.
Everyone still managed to sit way too close together.
I ended up between Maya and Keifer. Which sounded safe in theory.
It was not.
Dina immediately claimed my lap again, curling up like she owned the place. Keifer noticed. Immediately.
Keifer: …She's back.
Jay: she likes me.
Keifer: I liked you first.
Maya snorted into her water.
Maya: Bro is beefing with a dog.
Edrix leaned over from across the table, eyes sharp and amused.
Edrix: Losing to a poodle is crazy work.
Keifer shot him a look that could've shut down a small country.
Blaster, who had somehow already found the piano in the corner of the dining room—don't ask me how—dramatically cracked his knuckles.
Blaster: Should I play something
emotional for this tragic moment?
Jay: If you play sad music, I'm throwing mashed potatoes at you.
Blaster: Worth it.
Dinner was served in waves. Plates appeared, steam rising, everything smelling so good that Josh actually went silent for five whole seconds.
Five.
Seconds.
Josh: …Okay but why does this look illegal to eat?
Grace: Because you eat like you're being timed.
Josh: I am being timed. By hunger.
Ci-n had already started eating before anyone officially said anything.
Mica stared at him.
Mica: Did you even wait?
Ci-n: I waited emotionally.
Freya laughed so hard she almost dropped her fork..
Freya: That's not how that works.
Across the table, Drew was suspiciously calm. Too calm.
Jay: Drew… why are you smiling like that?
Drew: Oh nothing. Just bet Rory five bucks that Alex spills his drink.
Alex froze mid-sip.
Alex: …What.
Rory: You already owe me ten from the stairs incident.
Alex: I slipped.
Right on cue—
Alex knocked his elbow against the glass.
Water went everywhere.
Dead silence.
Then Rory slowly held out his hand.
Rory: Pay up.
The entire table lost it.
Alex: THIS IS RIGGED.
Eren, who had been quietly eating like a normal human being, finally looked up.
Eren: This is why we don't gamble during meals.
Josh: Says the man who bet on whether Dina would steal food.
Dina, as if summoned by her name, lifted her head and stared directly at Josh's plate.
Josh: …She's looking at me.
Jay: She knows fear.
Maya leaned over and whispered dramatically.
Maya: Dina has chosen her victim.
Josh guarded his plate like his life depended on it.
Meanwhile, Marcus had seamlessly blended into the chaos, sitting near Grace and Felix, casually sipping his drink like this wasn't the most unhinged dinner ever.
Marcus: So… is it always like this?
Jay: This is calm.
Marcus: That's concerning.
Keifer leaned closer to me, voice low.
Keifer: You sure you didn't warn him?
Jay: I tried. He didn't listen.
Keifer smirked, then gently rested his arm behind my chair. Not pulling me in. Just… there.
I pretended not to notice.
Dina did not.
She shifted, placing one paw possessively on my leg.
Keifer stared.
Keifer: She's doing that on purpose.
Edrix: She's asserting dominance.
Freya: Honestly? Respect Dina.
Halfway through dinner, Blaster started tapping his fork against his glass.
Blaster: Announcement!
Everyone groaned.
Jay: If this is a song—
Blaster: It is not. Relax.
He grinned.
Blaster: I just wanna say… this is kinda sick. Two worlds, one table, minimal injuries.
Grace: Minimal.
Calix raised his hand.
Calix: I still think Ci-n tripping me was intentional.
Ci-n: It was fate.
Mica: It was your foot.
Laughter rippled around the table, warm and loud and messy.
I looked around—Maya laughing with Yuri, Rory and Edrix whispering about something definitely illegal, Josh dramatically arguing with Freya,
Marcus fitting in like he'd always been here.
Keifer nudged me gently.
Keifer: You okay?
Jay: Yeah.
I smiled.
Jay: This is… nice.
He smiled back, softer.
Keifer: Yeah. It is.
Under the table, Dina shifted, fully asleep now, tiny snores barely audible.
Maya noticed and gasped.
Maya: SHE'S SLEEPING.
Grace: She's a BABY.
Josh: She's stealing emotional support privileges.
Dinner continued with stolen food, fake arguments, and at least three separate threats to ban Drew from future bets.
And for once—
Nothing went wrong.
Which honestly?
Was suspicious.
Chapter written by Ayesha