AUTHOR'S POV
The sun didn't just rise over the Watson estate the next morning; it attacked. It pierced through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the grand sunroom like a coordinated military strike, specifically targeting the closed eyelids of the two "Queens of the Dancefloor."
Jay was the first to fracture. Her brain felt like it had been replaced by a vibrating washing machine filled with loose marbles. She tried to shift her weight, only to realize her left arm was pinned under something warm and heavy. She squinted, her vision swimming, until she recognized a nest of tangled black hair.
"Mia," Jay croaked. Her voice sounded like she'd spent the night swallowing sandpaper. "Mia, move your knee. It's digging into my kidney."
Mia didn't move. She just let out a low, muffled groan into the velvet cushion. "Kill the sunJay-jay. Use your... your whatever. Fire the sun for harassment. Tell it I'm not in today."
"I can't. The sun has tenure," Jay muttered, finally untangling herself and sitting up
The movement was a catastrophic error. The world tilted sixty degrees to the left, and her stomach gave a warning lurch.
Then, she heard it. The synchronized, rhythmic clink-clink-clink of silver spoons against fine bone china.
Both girls froze. They slowly rotated their heads toward the breakfast nook.
The entire Watson family was there. Keizer was hidden behind a newspaper, but the paper was shaking suspiciously. Keigan was sipping tea with a poise that screamed 'I am judging your life choices .
Keiren was leaning against the doorframe, checking his watch with a smirk, while Keigan was already filming the wreckage on his phone, his thumb hovering over the 'Zoom' button.
But the real problem was the "audience" gathered on the periphery.Aries, Ben, Keifer, and the rest of Section E were lined up like they were at a gallery opening, all of them holding mugs of coffee and wearing grins that promised a lifetime of blackmail.
Oh, look," Aries announced, his voice unnecessarily loud for 9:00 AM. "The Sleeping beauties have returned to consciousness."
"I believe the technical term was 'Queens of the Marshmallow Floor,'" Ben added, tapping his phone screen. "I have the footage. The dip-and-tackle maneuver at 3:15 AM was particularly graceful. Very 'Swan Lake' meets 'WWE'."
Jay grabbed a decorative throw pillow and pulled it over her face. "I am a hologram. I am not actually here. Please proceed with your lives."
"Hard to do that, Jay," Keifer's voice rumbled. He walked over, looking infuriatingly fresh in a crisp white shirt, and leaned over the back of the couch. He placed a cold bottle of electrolyte water against Jay's cheek. "The 'Moon' is currently drooling on my Persian rug, and the 'Sun' appears to be hiding in a pillow."
Mia finally sat up, her hair standing at a gravity-defying angle. She looked at the Watson parents, then at the grinning boys, and finally at her own bare feet. She blinked slowly. "Did... did we try to fight the DJ?"
"No," Edrix piped up from the corner, checking his tablet. "According to the security footage from the club's entrance, you tried to hire the DJ to play the national anthem of a country you made up called 'J-Mia-Land.' You also tried to tip him with a half-eaten taco."
"It was a very good taco," Jay muffled through the pillow.
"Stop it boys, let the girl relax a bit.You can you continue this afterwards.Jay , Mia go freshup up.",Serina said giggling herself.
Jay went to her room. After a shower she finally felt like a human being she came out and started drying her hair. She didn't notice Keifer who was standing at back leaning at door.
Jay started to apply lip gloss ," Don't ",he said to Jay.
"What do you mean Keifer ?",she asked shocked
"Don't apply lipgloss, it tempt me to kiss you and ruin your lips ,Jay",he said in deep husky voice.
My brain shortcircuit after hearing that.I could feel heat rushing to my cheeks.
"Jay, you know if you blush like that , I might need to cancel the gathering today and do some serious business with you ",Keifer said leaning close to Jay.
"What serious business ?",she asked innocently.Keifer chuckled darkly ,"Nothing just come down ",he said heading downstairs.
Jay stood frozen by her vanity, her skin still tingling from Keifer's husky warning about "serious business."
Before she could even process the threat to her lip gloss, her bedroom door was kicked open by the Chaos Crew—Freya, Rakki, Grace, Mica, and Ella.
"JAY! IS IT TRUE?" Ella screamed, shoving a phone screen inches from Jay's nose.
"Is what true?" Jay squeaked, her brain still short-circuiting.
"The WWE audition!" Rakki cackled, while Jay's brothers on the video call erupted into cheers. "The boys downstairs said you and Mia didn't just dance—you tried to body-slam the DJ because he wouldn't play the 'J-Mia-Land' national anthem!"
"I did what?" Jay gasped, her eyes widening
"And the bouncer!" Grace chimed in, acting out a dramatic scene. " you grabbed the bouncer by his tie and told him you were an undercover ninja from a taco-worshipping cult! You threatened to 'unleash the salsa' on him!"
"I don't... I wouldn't..." Jay stammered, but the girls weren't listening to facts.
"Wait, look at her face!" Freya shrieked, pointing at Jay's crimson cheeks. "That's not 'bouncer-shame' red. That's 'Keifer-just-did-something' red! What happened? Did he confess his undying love? Did he propose with a diamond-encrusted taco?"
"He—he just told me not to put on lip gloss," Jay blurted out, instantly regretting it.
The room went silent for a heartbeat before exploding into pure, unadulterated chaos.
"LIP GLOSS?!" Ella screamed, clutching her heart. "That's code! That's total speak for 'I'm going to kiss the skin off your face'!"
"He's going to claim the territory!" Freya yelled . "He told her inot to use lip gloss'! He's probably downstairs right now drawing up a marriage contract written in lip gloss!"
"Did he pin you to the wall?" Rakki grilled her, shaking her shoulders. "Did he do that low-voice growl thing? My guess? He's planning to kidnap you to a private island so he doesn't have to share your blushing face with Section E!"
"It wasn't like that!" Jay cried, trying to fight off five girls who were now trying to check her neck for "business marks." "He just... he was just standing there!"
"Standing there... menacingly!" Mica giggled. "Jay, you're doomed. You're going downstairs to a house full of boys with security footage of you fighting a bouncer, and a man who wants to audit your lips. Rest in peace, bestie."
"Go on," Ella said, shoving Jay toward the door. "Go face your 'Serious Business.' We'll be right behind you to film the 'merger'!"
Jay headed downstairs with them as Serina called them.As soon as she stepped down she was shocked 😯