CHAPTER: Ladders & Low Voices
✦ Jay's POV
Section E building looked like a disaster zone.
Fairy lights tangled.
Paint buckets open.
Glitter everywhere.
Blaster arguing with Mayo about color combinations.
Yuri pretending to be "creative director."
Ci N climbing chairs he shouldn't be climbing.
David and Emman actually working seriously for once.
And me?
I was on a ladder.
Holding one end of a black-and-gold banner that said:
MIDNIGHT CARNIVAL
"Jay, move it slightly left!" Kit shouted from below.
"This is left!"
"That's right!"
"How is that right?!" I snapped.
The boys started arguing directions like GPS systems malfunctioning.
I rolled my eyes and stretched a little further to adjust the banner.
Bad idea.
The ladder wobbled slightly.
My stomach dropped.
Before I could react—
A hand gripped the side of the ladder.
Steadying it.
Keifer.
Of course.
"Planning another dramatic fall?" he asked casually.
"I'm fine," I muttered.
"History says otherwise."
I shot him a glare.
He stepped closer, one hand still holding the ladder.
The other resting casually in his pocket.
"You're shaking," he said quietly.
"I am not."
"You are."
His voice dropped slightly.
"And I'm the only one who noticed."
My heart betrayed me and beat faster.
"Focus on decorating," I said.
"I am."
He wasn't looking at the banner.
He was looking at me.
I adjusted the cloth ribbon above the banner.
"Done," I said.
"Not yet."
"What now?"
He stepped closer.
Too close.
Close enough that if I leaned down slightly, I'd feel his breath.
"The left corner," he murmured. "It's uneven."
I leaned slightly to check.
"It's fine—"
The ladder shifted again.
Without thinking, his hand moved.
Not to the ladder.
To my waist.
Firm.
Steady.
I froze.
He didn't look embarrassed.
Didn't look nervous.
Just calm.
"If you fall again," he said softly, "I might start thinking you're doing it on purpose."
My brain malfunctioned.
"Keifer—"
"Hmm?"
"Your hand."
"Oh."
He looked at it like he just noticed.
But he didn't remove it immediately.
"Safety protocol," he said smoothly.
The boys below were busy arguing about lights and didn't notice.
I swallowed.
"You're distracting me."
"That's new," he replied.
"I mean it."
"I know."
His thumb shifted slightly against my waist.
Very slightly.
Enough to send a current through me.
"Why are you like this today?" I whispered.
He tilted his head slightly.
"Like what?"
"Like… this."
He leaned in a little closer.
"Festival week," he murmured. "We're supposed to create a little thrill."
My heart was beating so loud I was scared someone would hear it.
"Get down," he said softly.
I climbed down carefully.
The second my feet touched the floor, he stepped back.
Like nothing happened.
Like his hand wasn't just on my waist.
Like he didn't just mess with my brain.
Ci N suddenly looked at us.
"Why are you two quiet?"
"We're working," Keifer answered calmly.
"Working on what?" Yuri smirked.
"Structure stability," Keifer replied without missing a beat.
The boys went back to arguing.
I picked up a roll of fairy lights to distract myself.
But he wasn't done.
He walked beside me and took one end of the lights.
Our fingers brushed.
He didn't move his hand away.
"You know," he said quietly, only for me to hear, "Midnight Carnival suits you."
I frowned slightly. "Why?"
"Because you look better in low light."
That made my breath hitch.
"That doesn't even make sense."
"It does."
"How?"
He looked at me directly.
"Because you stop pretending when it's quiet."
I didn't know what to say to that.
For once…
He wasn't teasing.
He wasn't joking.
He was observing.
And that was more dangerous than flirting.
Blaster suddenly screamed from the back.
"WHO PLUGGED THIS WRONG?!"
Sparks flew from the side outlet.
Everyone panicked.
Keifer instinctively stepped in front of me.
Like it was automatic.
Like protecting me wasn't even a decision.
My chest tightened again.
Festival week just started.
And somehow…
The lights weren't the only thing sparking.