Jayjay'sPOV
Last night was absolutely awesome. My five brothers and I enjoyed every single second of our life. We even ended up racing our bikes the entire way back home, and Kuya Angelo and I crossed the finish line at the exact same time. Everyone completely expected that I was going to get a massive scolding from Kuya for speeding so recklessly on the road, but instead, he actually praised my riding skills! I guess the guys temporarily forgot exactly who they were talking about.
And now, fast forward to tonight. Me, Percy, Aries, and the rest of the boys and girls from the squad were standing right outside Keifer's massive mansion. I reached out and pressed the doorbell. A moment later, the gate clicked open and Keifer stood there. He silently stepped aside, gesturing for all of us to head inside.
"Okay, so my boyfriend's sister's fiancé's mansion is literally huge," Ella teased loudly, nudging my shoulder.
I immediately whipped my head around to give her a fierce death glare, while the rest of the squad chuckled at her words.
"Or," Keifer chimed in smoothly, a playful glint in his dark eyes as he winked directly at me, "you can just call it your boyfriend's sister's house. Because honestly, whatever is mine belongs entirely to her anyway."
I felt a sudden, fierce heat rush straight to my cheeks, turning them a bright shade of crimson. I quickly rolled my eyes at his absolute nonsense to hide my blushing, while the rest of the group burst out laughing.
"Shut up," I whispered aggressively to Keifer as I walked past him. He just let out a low, amused chuckle.
"Come on, let's go eat first," Keifer announced, leading the way. We all vigorously nodded our heads in agreement. Because let's be real—who in their right mind can say no to food? Definitely not me.
We marched over to the grand dining table and slid into our seats. Keifer claimed the chair right on my right side, while Aries sat protectively on my left. We happily devoured our food while loudly debating what we should do for the rest of the night. Keifer mentioned that he had a collection of board games upstairs, so we collectively decided to turn the night into a massive gaming tournament.
Aries, Ella, Percy, Honey, David, and Freya formed a big group to conquer Ludo. Mica, Rakki, and Grace decided to head over to the Carrom board. Calix, Yuri, and Denzel claimed a corner to play cards. Meanwhile, Keifer and I decided to go head-to-head in a classic game of Chess.
Once dinner was finished, we all cleared out and sat cross-legged on the floor in our designated gaming groups.
"I'll go upstairs and grab the games," Keifer said, pushing himself up. He walked a few paces, then paused and turned back to face me. "Come on, help me bring them down."
I nodded, standing up to follow him. We walked up to his room and started gathering the stacks of boxes.
"Just so you know, I'm actually incredibly good at chess," I warned him confidently as he handed me a pile of game boards.
Keifer paused, a brilliant smile breaking across his face. "Then I guess I'm finally playing someone on my level."
Without even realizing it, a soft smile spread across my own face. For a long, quiet moment, neither of us said a word. We just stood there in the middle of his room, looking deeply into each other's eyes.
My heart did a tiny flip. I quickly cleared my throat, breaking the spell. "Let's go downstairs. The others must be waiting for us."
Keifer nodded, and we carried the games back down to the living room. We handed the Ludo board to the chaotic group, distributed the Carrom to the girls, threw the cards to the boys, and finally sat flat on the floor directly across from one another to set up our chess match.
Chess is all about strategy. You have eight pawns, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, one queen, and one king. The most important piece on the entire board is the king—if your king gets trapped, you instantly lose the entire game. The king can move in any direction, but only one single step at a time. The queen, on the other hand, is the most powerful weapon on the board; she can move in any direction for as many spaces as she wants. The white bishop can only move diagonally across the white squares, and the black bishop does the exact same thing but strictly on the black squares. Then you have the two knights, which look like horses; they move in a distinct 'L' shape—two steps forward and one step to the side. The rooks slide horizontally or vertically for as many spaces as are open. And finally, the pawns can only move one step forward, though on their very first turn, they have the option to jump two steps. They can only capture an opponent's piece by moving one step diagonally.
We were just about to make our opening moves when suddenly, everyone else completely abandoned their own games. The entire squad scrambled over, crowding tightly around our board to watch the match play out.
"Hoi! What on earth is going on?" I asked, looking up at the sudden wall of people.
They all just stared back at me with raised eyebrows, as if saying, 'Isn't it completely obvious?' They quickly split up and sat down to support their players—the girls lined up entirely on my side of the board, while the boys packed themselves in right behind Keifer.
I smirked, leaning forward, and confidently moved my pawn from g5 to E5.
"And here goes the absolute first move of the match," Rakki whispered eagerly from behind my shoulder.
Keifer didn't hesitate. He reached out and developed his knight from a2 to c1
"Whoa, a direct knight opening?" Yuri commented, leaning in closer.
I kept my poker face on, smoothly sliding my bishop from h6 all the way out to e3.
"Already mobilizing the bishop so early in the game?" Freya asked, looking completely confused by my strategy.
Keifer remained totally emotionless. He reached out, moving his first knight forward from c1 to e2
"Good move. If you hadn't moved that knight out of the way, it could have easily been sniped by her bishop," David analyzed loudly.
I hid a triumphant smile. It was time to spring the trap. I reached for my most powerful piece, sliding my queen from h4 all the way to d8.
Mica's eyes suddenly widened in realization, and she frantically nudged my arm. "Oh my gosh, I know this move! I know exactly what she's doing!"
Keifer, completely unaware of the looming disaster, calmly reached for his other knight, moving it from a7 to c6.
"Eh? He's moving the second knight out too?" Calix muttered, scratching his head in total confusion.
That was his final mistake. My eyes flashed with pure victory. I reached across the board, lifted my bishop from h3, and slammed it down onto b6, cleanly capturing his pawn.
"Checkmate," I announced proudly, leaning back and crossing my arms.
The entire room went completely silent as everyone stared down at the board. Keifer's king was completely trapped. He couldn't move to any safe squares, and he couldn't even capture my attacking bishop because my queen was standing directly behind it, shielding it perfectly from the square at 8D. It was a flawless Scholar's Mate.
"THAT'S MY GIRL!" Ella screamed at the top of her lungs, jumping up into the air.
A massive, triumphant smirk spread across my face.
Keifer stared down at his defeated king for a second, a soft, defeated smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He lifted his eyes to meet mine. "Okay... you win."
Instantly, all the girls erupted into wild cheers, jumping up from the floor and celebrating our absolute, crushing victory over the boys!
Keifer'sPOV
I just leaned back on my hands, a quiet smile on my face as I watched her jump around, completely full of joy. Seeing her that happy was worth every single lost piece on that board.
"Dude, you literally did that on purpose," Aries deadpanned, leaning over and shoving my shoulder. I didn't bother answering, keeping my expression completely blank.
"Oh, he absolutely did," Denzel added with a knowing smirk. "Because back in London, you won so many official chess competitions, and here you magically lose in four moves? No way."
"I tracked the whole game," Percy said, narrowing his eyes at me. "You completely let Jayjay win. But why?"
(A/N: My dear readers, Keifer absolutely let Jayjay win in chess because seeing her happy smile is his favorite thing in the world).
"Because I wanted to," I finally said, shrugging my shoulders.
Instantly, all the boys' faces lit up with massive, teasing grins. "Ehhhhh, lover boy!" they chorused in perfect, annoying unison. I just shook my head at them, fighting back a smile.
"Alright, clear the board, my turn to play now!" Freya announced, sliding into the spot Jayjay had just vacated. David proudly took the seat across from her.
"You're on," David said, rubbing his hands together.
The game started, but after some time, David's white bishop suddenly slid across the board and cleanly killed Freya's queen. Freya froze, staring at her captured piece for a split second, before she completely lost her patience. With a dramatic sweep of her hand, she flipped the entire chess board upside down, sending the pieces flying everywhere.
"You cheated!" Freya yelled, pointing an accusing finger at him.
The entire room burst into roaring laughter at her reaction.
"I didn't cheat! You just—"
"He cheated," Ella cut David off instantly, crossing her arms defensively.
"Wait, what?" Yuri asked, looking back and forth between them in complete confusion.
"You shut up" Rakki said to Yuri and he immediately shut up.
"You girls are literally ganging up on us now," Denzel complained from the couch. "Freya just lost, that's—"
"No, he definitely cheated," Grace chimed in, cutting Denzel off before he could even finish his sentence.
"Come on, you guys just lost fairly, stop making excuses," Percy argued. The second the words left his mouth, Honey reached over and smacked his arm. Percy rubbed his arm, instantly clearing his throat. "...I mean, yeah, David totally cheated," he muttered quickly. The girls all smiled proudly at his immediate surrender.
"I didn't! Guys, back me up here—" David pleaded, looking completely helpless.
"Look, it's just a game, let's just move on and do something else," Jayjay interjected, waving her hands to keep the peace. The bickering finally stopped, but every single girl in the room was still burning holes into the side of David's head with their dirty looks.
I leaned over toward David, raising an eyebrow. "Did you really cheat?"
David frowned deeply, looking at me in absolute betrayal. "You too, dude? Seriously?"
"Just asking," I chuckled.
"Wait, he actually did!" Aries suddenly yelled, pointing at the scattered pieces on the floor. "I saw him earlier—he didn't even move his knight in an L-shape!"
Everyone's eyes snapped straight to David. Realizing he was completely caught red-handed, David slowly raised his hand, flashing us a guilty peace sign with a massive, sheepish grin.
Before Freya could even reach across the floor to grab his collar, David bolted up and sprinted out of the living room. "GET BACK HERE, YOU CHEATER!" Freya shrieked, instantly jumping up and chasing him down the hallway while the rest of the squad completely lost it, laughing hysterically at the chaos.
Jayjay'sPOV
"While Freya is busy hunting down David, let's play Ludo!" Percy announced, looking around the room. Only Honey, Aries, and Ella agreed to play. Percy's eyes landed on me. "What about you, Jayjay?"
"Nah," I said lazily, flopping straight backward onto the plush sofa.
Before I could even settle in, Keifer walked over and sat down right beside me. Without saying a single word, he smoothly handed me a bag of potato chips and a cold can of cola, opening his own snacks as he got comfortable.
The game kicked off. Aries and Percy immediately formed an alliance, so my two dearest, loveliest future sisters-in-law naturally teamed up to destroy them. Honey took the first turn since everyone had agreed on the order. The first round went by surprisingly smoothly, and no one's tokens got captured—except for Ella, who was currently smiling like a total supervillain.
"And with that rolling of a six and a three, Percy's token is officially dead!" Ella cheered loudly.
The girls all burst into hysterical laughter. Well, everyone except Freya, of course, who was still actively chasing David down the hallway. I honestly began to wonder if she would ever tire out, but knowing Freya, she wouldn't stop until David begged for absolute mercy.
...
Ella was completely dominating the board, but out of nowhere, one of her blue tokens mysteriously went missing.
"I already know this blue-eyed idiot took it," I accused, casually crunching on my chips. My amazing fiancé had already gotten up to fetch me a fresh batch of snacks. Hehe.
Percy gasped, looking at me in total betrayal. "Wait, me?! I didn't touch it! Are you my sister or hers?"
"Of course I'm your sister, but she is literally my white blood cell," I smirked. Ella proudly winked at me.
"I'm telling you, I didn't take it!" Percy insisted.
"Yeah, he's innocent. He didn't do anything," Aries chimed in, rushing to defend his partner-in-crime.
"He absolutely took it," Honey declared deadpan. She stood up, marched right over to Percy's side of the board, and instantly locked him in a tight, inescapable headlock. "Are you going to admit you took it now?" she demanded.
Percy desperately shook his head, choking out his words. "Okay, fine! I did, I did, I did! It's under my knee!"
Honey instantly released him, giving him a forceful shove that sent Percy tumbling flat onto the carpeted floor. She snatched the stolen token, handed it back to Ella, and Ella immediately chucked it straight at Aries's chest.
"You stupid idiot! You really wanted me to lose that badly, huh?!" Ella shrieked, picking up the rest of the tokens and hurling them at him like tiny weapons.
"Of course I did, because I actually wanted to win!" Aries argued back, dodging the pieces.
Losing her patience, Ella slipped off her sneaker and launched it across the room. It flew through the air with perfect precision and snapped directly against Aries's forehead with a loud thud.
"Ow! That actually hurt!" Aries groaned, rubbing his forehead.
Ella flashed him a sweet, satisfied smile, perfectly mimicking his whiny tone. "I know."
"Well done, sister," I called out, and Ella and I shared a victorious high-five across the room.
Watching their chaotic bickering suddenly reminded me of what my brothers had whispered earlier—about how Keifer had completely thrown the chess match. I slowly turned my head toward him, and sure enough, his dark eyes were already fixed intently on me.
"So... you thought I couldn't win on my own, huh, Mr. London Champion?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him playfully.
Keifer didn't say a word. Instead, he reached out, gently placing his hands on my shoulders and physically rotating my body to face the rest of the living room. He made me look at Calix, who was currently getting aggressively smacked by Mica for blatantly cheating at cards. Then he nudged my shoulders toward Denzel, who had his arms raised in a defensive shield because Grace was throwing a tantrum after losing to him.
Next, my gaze landed back on Aries, who was still trying to dodge a barrage of random shoes from Ella. Finally, I looked at Percy, who was desperately trying to sweet-talk Honey while she just stood there, flashing him terrifyingly fake smiles and mocking his dramatic hand gestures.
Once I had taken in the absolute war zone, Keifer gently turned me back to face him. A brilliant, teasing smirk played on his lips as he leaned in incredibly close to my ear.
"I just value my safety, Jayjay," he whispered, his deep voice sending a tiny shiver down my spine. "Look at what Freya is doing to David. There was no way I was risking you flipping the chess board on my face."
I glanced past his shoulder, spotting David still sprinting for his absolute life from our resident lioness, Freya. The sheer comedy of Keifer's whisper caught me off guard, and I instantly choked on a potato chip, coughing loudly. Keifer didn't skip a beat, immediately popping open a fresh drink and handing it to me. I quickly chugged it down, wiping my mouth before glaring up at him fiercely.
I opened my mouth to shoot back a witty response, but I was violently cut off. David came sprinting back into the living room at maximum speed. He aggressively pushed Keifer out of the way, leaped over the back of the sofa, jumped back down, and scrambled to hide directly behind Yuri—who was currently the only boy not getting scolded or beaten up by Rakki.
"Save me, dude!" David begged dramatically, clutching Yuri's shirt like a lifeline as Freya stomped into the room, breathing heavily.
"You actually think you can hide behind him, you pathetic cheater?!" Freya shouted, lunging forward to grab his collar, but David quickly spun Yuri around, using him as a human shield.
The entire squad burst into hysterical laughter at the sight of poor, innocent Yuri getting dragged left and right against his will. Sensing that his time was officially up, David's hand frantically dove into his pants pocket. With a terrified expression, he pulled something out and quickly slid it across the floor toward Freya's feet.
Freya froze, looking down. The entire room went quiet as all of our eyes followed her gaze to the floor.
Lying on the carpet was a large bar of her absolute favorite, imported chocolate.
Freya stared at David. Then she stared at the chocolate. Then she looked back at David, and then right back down at the chocolate. Slowly, she bent down, picked up the candy bar, and inspected it.
We all roared with laughter at her sudden change in expression. Freya just rolled her eyes at our teasing, completely ignoring us as she marched over and plopped down on the sofa right next to me.
She ripped open the wrapper, taking a big bite before pointing a finger at a trembling David. "Just so you know... you are definitely not off the hook yet."
David nodded his head frantically, letting out a massive sigh of relief. "Yes, ma'am."
The End 🌸.