CHAPTER: "Mr. & Mrs. Watson?"
✦ Jay's POV
I should've known something bad was about to happen.
Because things were too quiet.
Keifer was standing behind me while I was fixing the fairy lights along the wall. The ladder wasn't even tall this time — but he still had one hand lightly resting on my waist "for balance."
"For safety," he said.
Liar.
My heart was doing gymnastics.
"Stop moving," he murmured near my ear. "You'll tangle it again."
"I'm not tangling—"
His hand tightened slightly.
"Jay."
"What?"
"You're shaking."
"I'm not!"
"You are."
Before I could argue—
A very familiar voice echoed from the classroom door.
"Ahem."
Silence.
Complete silence.
I froze.
Keifer's hand was still on my waist.
I slowly turned my head.
Aries.
Standing at the door.
Arms crossed.
Eyebrow raised.
Expression unreadable.
Section E turned dramatically in slow motion.
Blaster whispered loudly, "We are dead."
Yuri slapped his own forehead.
Ci N looked like he was about to enjoy this.
Aries cleared his throat again.
"Mr. and Mrs. Watson," he said calmly, "can we have a moment?"
The classroom EXPLODED.
"MR AND MRS?!"
"WATSON?!"
"OH MY GOD?"
"WHEN WAS THE WEDDING?!"
My face went nuclear red.
"ARIES!" I shouted.
Keifer didn't move his hand.
Of course he didn't.
Aries stepped inside slowly.
"Am I interrupting something?"
"Yes," I snapped.
"No," Keifer answered at the same time.
I turned to glare at him.
"LET GO."
"Say please."
"Keifer."
"Not good enough."
The boys were dying.
"PLEASE STOP ENCOURAGING HIM," I yelled at the class.
Aries walked closer.
He looked at Keifer's hand.
Then at me.
Then back at Keifer.
"Balance support?" he asked.
Keifer nodded calmly. "Structural safety."
Aries looked at the ladder.
"You're on the ground."
Silence.
I shoved Keifer's arm off.
"For your information," I snapped, "we are NOT lovers."
Blaster clutched his chest dramatically. "Friend-zoned in front of the whole class."
"I will throw you out of this building," I warned him.
Aries tilted his head slightly.
"Not lovers?"
"No!"
"Then why were you staring at each other like a slow-motion drama?"
I sputtered. "We were not staring!"
Keifer leaned slightly toward me.
"You were staring," he whispered softly.
My brain short-circuited.
"I was not!"
Aries smirked.
"Oh, so this is how Section E decorates now?"
I crossed my arms.
"And why are you here, Mr. Section A President?"
He raised a brow. "Checking on my sister."
"I don't need checking."
"3:47 A.M. says otherwise."
The room went silent for a split second.
I glared at him.
"LOW BLOW."
He shrugged slightly.
Then I smirked.
"Oh really?" I stepped closer to him. "Should I call Ella to check on you too?"
Section E gasped dramatically.
"ELLA?"
"WHO IS ELLA?"
"ARIES HAS LORE?"
Aries choked.
"Jay."
"What? Just checking on you."
Keifer crossed his arms, watching quietly.
"Ohhh," I continued innocently. "Didn't Ella give you cookies last week? So sweet."
Aries' ears turned slightly red.
"That was a group thing."
"Sure," I smiled sweetly.
Blaster whispered, "Plot twist."
Aries narrowed his eyes at me.
"You're very brave today."
"Festival confidence."
Keifer finally stepped forward.
"Can we return to the actual topic?" he said calmly.
Aries looked at him.
"Yes. The topic is your hand."
Keifer didn't even hesitate.
"I'd hold her again if she almost falls."
The class screamed.
"BRO?"
"CONFESSION?"
"IS THIS LIVE?"
I stared at him.
"Keifer!"
He looked at me innocently.
"What? You fall a lot."
Aries folded his arms.
"So you're her official catcher now?"
"Seems like it," Keifer replied smoothly.
I covered my face.
"This is embarrassing."
Aries looked between us.
"Jay."
"What?"
"Are you okay?"
The tone changed slightly.
Less teasing.
More real.
I softened.
"I'm fine."
He studied my face for a second.
Then nodded slowly.
"Good."
Silence lingered.
Then—
Keifer leaned closer to me again.
"If you're done arguing," he murmured quietly but not quiet enough, "we still have lights to fix."
Aries heard that.
"Oh, you do?"
"Yes," Keifer answered calmly.
"Together?" Aries asked.
"Of course," Keifer said.
I kicked his foot lightly.
"Stop."
He looked down at me.
"You started it."
"I did not."
"You fell."
The class lost it again.
"BRO SHE SLIPPED."
"NOT FELL."
"DIFFERENCE."
Aries shook his head.
"You know what?" he sighed. "I'm leaving before this becomes a wedding rehearsal."
"GOOD," I shouted.
As he turned to leave, I quickly added:
"Tell Ella I said hi!"
He didn't turn around.
But I saw his shoulders stiffen.
Victory.
✦ Aries' POV
They think I don't notice.
I notice everything.
The way Keifer's hand moved to her waist instantly.
The way she didn't move away immediately.
The way they look at each other when they think no one's watching.
It doesn't make me angry.
It makes me careful.
She's still healing.
Still fragile at night.
But right now?
She's laughing.
Arguing.
Flushed and alive.
And that's what matters.
When she teased me about Ella, I almost smiled.
She's coming back.
Slowly.
I paused at the door and glanced back one more time.
Keifer was holding the ladder again.
Jay was pretending not to look at him.
But she was.
I sighed softly.
"Don't hurt her," I muttered under my breath.
I'm not sure if he heard.
But I think he did.
✦ Keifer's POV
Aries thinks I don't notice his protectiveness.
I do.
And I respect it.
But when he saw my hand on her waist?
I didn't remove it.
Because she didn't pull away.
Because when she's near me, she doesn't look scared.
She looks steady.
Alive.
After Aries left, she turned to me.
"Why would you say that?"
"Say what?"
"That you'd hold me again."
I stepped closer.
"Because I would."
She froze.
"Keifer."
"You fall a lot."
"That's not funny."
"I'm serious."
Her eyes softened slightly.
"I don't fall that much."
"You do."
"How?"
"Emotionally. Physically. Mentally."
She stared at me.
"And I don't mind catching you."
The room went quieter around us.
Not silent.
But softer.
Her voice dropped.
"You flirt too much."
I leaned slightly closer.
"Only with you."
Her breath hitched.
Then Blaster screamed from the back again.
"STOP ROMANCING AND FINISH THE LIGHTS."
The moment broke.
She shoved me lightly.
"Go work."
"Yes, Mrs. Watson."
She grabbed the nearest cloth and threw it at me.
The class exploded again.
Festival Week just started.
And Section E?
We're already more dramatic than the carnival itself.