JAY JAY POV
I woke up inside my tent, my head still feeling like it was stuffed with cotton. Who even put me here? I have zero memory of how I got back.
Maybe I walked here myself? I mean, I've done weirder things while sleepwalking, but the last thing I remember is the smell of the lake and the sound of someone's voice.
I stretched my sore muscles and crawled outside. The morning air was crisp and cold, hitting my face and helping me wake up properly.
I brushed my teeth and quickly changed into some athletic clothes. I needed to run. I needed the wind to blow away the thoughts of last night—the beer, the crying, and the feeling of Keifer's hands on me.
I checked out with the teacher, but I wasn't alone for long.
Aries decided to join me. He was already in his running gear, looking like the perfectly disciplined Student Council President he is.
"What got you up so early in the morning?" Aries asked me while we started our jog, our sneakers crunching on the dry leaves.
"I don't know. What got my brother to join me?" I countered, trying to keep my breathing steady.
"Just wanted to get some miles in," he said simply.
I just nodded. We didn't say anything for a long time. We just ran and ran, the only sound being our rhythmic breathing and the distant chirping of birds. It was peaceful, almost enough to make me forget everything.
Almost.
"So... how did your father die?" Aries asked out of nowhere.
I nearly tripped. I yanked my earpods out, the music cutting off abruptly.
"What?" I asked, stopping in my tracks. I looked at him, panting, my heart hammering against my ribs—and it wasn't from the running.
"How did your parents die? Kuya Angelo told me it was an accident, but—" Aries started, looking at me with a search in his eyes.
"Someone killed them," I said, my voice sounding flat and cold, even to my own ears.
The words felt like lead. I turned around immediately, making my way back toward the campsite. I didn't want to talk about this.
Not with him. Not now.
"Jay Jay!" Aries called out, trying to catch up with me.
I didn't stop. I ran faster, my vision starting to blur. I bit my lip so hard I could taste copper, desperately fighting back the tears that were already threatening to fall.
I didn't want to break down in front of him.
I ran until my lungs burned and my legs felt like they were going to give out, but the image of that bathroom floor was already etched behind my eyelids.
Why do people keep digging into the shadows? Don't they know that some secrets are buried for a reason?
My eyes were already filled with tears, and the woods around me became a smear of dark green and gray.
ARIES POV
After that run with Jay Jay, it became crystal clear to me—something massive was happening right under my nose, and I was being kept in the dark.
I know I shouldn't have asked her that question. I know it was like poking a fresh wound with a jagged stick. But it was the only way to confirm my suspicions, and turns out, my little sister has dragged herself into something way deeper and more dangerous than I ever imagined.
FLASHBACK – LAST NIGHT
I was walking around the campsite because sleep was refusing to come.
The woods were too quiet, too full of shadows. Then, I heard it—the sound of someone crying.
I moved toward the noise and froze. Jay Jay was there, crumpled against Keifer's chest, sobbing like her heart was being ripped out of her body.
What the fuck is happening now?
My first instinct was to storm in there and pull her away. My hands were already clenching into fists.
But I stopped myself.
Something about the way Keifer was holding her—like she was the only glass ornament in a room full of hammers—made me stay back and listen.
She said something about Jare. Something about a choice.
What the hell did Jare do?
Since when did my impulsive brother become the center of a secret that makes Jay Jay break like this?
I watched from the shadows as Keifer carried her back to her tent, tucking her in with a tenderness that didn't fit the King of Monsters persona he wears like a shield. Then, he headed back to his own tent.
I followed him, moving silently through the trees. I made sure to stay downwind, making sure he wouldn't realize I was there.
That was one thing about our history—I know him in and out. I know how he operates. I know the way his jaw tightens when he's planning a war and the way his footsteps change when he's on the hunt.
It's something I learned from our friendship. It wasn't long enough to be called a brotherhood, but it wasn't short enough to forget either.
Forget it, Aries. Focus on your sister.
I crouched near the back of his tent, the fabric thin enough that I could hear every word.
"What?!" I heard him yell, his voice vibrating with a sudden, violent rage.
"My father is involved in this shit?!"
The silence that followed was heavy with realization. Then I heard Edrix's voice, low and frantic.
"This is deeper than we thought, Keif. Your dad... he's the one who ordered the hit."
My blood turned to ice. Kaizar Watson.
I stood there in the dark, my heart slamming against my ribs.
I looked toward Jay Jay's tent. My poor sister—she thinks she's protected here.
She thinks she finally found a place where she can breathe, away from the shadows of our family's past. But the storm isn't coming anymore; it's already here, and it's wearing a Watson's face.
I'll be damned if I let a Watson be the one to finish her off.
Suddenly, movement caught my eye. A guy was creeping toward Jay's tent, the moonlight glinting off a knife in his hand. My blood ran cold. Before I could even lunge, Keifer was already there, faster than a predator. He dragged the guy into the woods with a silent, terrifying efficiency.
I followed them, staying low. I saw the struggle, and then I saw the bastard escape. He bolted into the deep brush.
"Stop, you fucker!" Edrix yelled from somewhere behind.
I didn't stop. I don't think they saw me in the darkness, which was fine. I wanted this guy for myself. I sprinted, pushing through the branches, noticing that Edrix and Rory were falling far behind. I was faster.
I finally caught up, lunging forward and trapping him in my arms, slamming him against a tree trunk. I reached for the hand holding the blade, twisting it until it dropped.
"Who are you?!" I hissed near his ear. "Why were you going toward my sister's tent with a knife? Answer me!"
He struggled, his mask muffling his breath. I was about to rip it off and beat the truth out of him when—
"Aries!" a girl's voice yelled, piercing through the trees.
Fuck.
I instinctively turned my head toward the sound. In that split second of distraction, the motherfucker delivered a sharp elbow to my ribs and a shove that sent me stumbling back. He didn't wait; he vanished into the dark ravine like he was never there.
I groaned, clutching my side, and looked up to see a familiar face standing in the shadows.
"What the fuck, Ella?!" I snapped, my voice raw with frustration. "You just let him get away!"
Ella stood there, looking pale and out of breath, her eyes wide with a mix of fear and confusion. "I—I saw you running... I thought you were in trouble! I didn't know you were catching someone!"
I looked back at the dark woods where the masked guy had disappeared. He was gone.
The only lead I had to the person trying to kill my sister had just vanished because of a girl who shouldn't even be out of her tent.
"Dammit!" I kicked a loose stone.
I looked at Ella, then back at the trail where that bastard disappeared. My chest was heaving, partly from the run and partly from the sheer frustration of losing our only lead.
"What are you doing here?" I asked her, my voice turning cold. The last thing I needed was the Ex-Girlfriend Drama added to a high-stakes murder attempt on my sister.
"I wanted to help you," Ella answered, her voice small, trying to play the innocent girl role she was so good at.
"Well, fine. Do me a big fucking favor and keep your mouth shut about what happened here," I snapped. "If word gets out that there's a killer in these woods, the teachers will cancel the trip and my sister will be in even more danger in the city. You didn't see anything, you didn't hear anything. Got it?"
She bit her lip, looking at me with those eyes that used to work on me.
"I was wondering if we could be back together, Aries," she asked, stepping closer to me.
I looked at her and felt nothing but a bitter reminder of why we ended.
how she was still playing games with Yuri behind my back, using me as a stepping stone while she kept her options open. She didn't want me; she wanted the status of being with the Student Council President.
"I already told you the answer, which is no," I said, not even waiting for her reaction.
I turned my back on her and started heading back toward the campsite. My side was still throbbing from the kick that masked guy gave me, but my mind was focused on one thing.
If that guy is a student, he has to be back in his tent by now.
I reached the clearing and saw the familiar setup of the tents. My eyes immediately drifted toward the Section E area.
Keifer was sitting outside Jay Jay's tent, his face a mask of brooding intensity. He looked up as I approached, his eyes sharp and suspicious.
We didn't say a word to each other. We didn't need to. In that one look, we both knew the same thing: The school wasn't a sanctuary anymore. It was a cage, and the wolf was already inside.
I walked past him and went back to my own tent, but I didn't sleep. I sat by the opening, my hand resting on my phone.
"I'm sorry, Jay Jay," I whispered.
"Aries," a low voice called from the darkness.
I didn't even have to turn around to know it was him. Keifer. He was standing near the edge of the shadows, his face half-hidden by the moonlight
"What?" I asked, standing my ground.
"I think you know what is happening right now," he said. He didn't sound like a typical Watson; he sounded like someone who had been hit by a truck.
I nodded. "I saw him. The masked guy. He escaped."
"Help us," Keifer said, stepping into the dim light. "It's easier to find that student when we have the Student Council President on our side. You have the access, Aries. You can see who's missing from their tents without looking suspicious."
I crossed my arms, looking at him with pure skepticism. "Why? You're a Watson. Use your power. Call your dad's private army to sweep the woods."
Keifer flinched, his jaw tightening until the bone nearly popped. The mention of Kaizar always made him go cold. He hated that man—he hadn't lived under his roof in years, and he sure as hell didn't want his help.
"I can't use his power, Aries. You know damn well I don't talk to him," he hissed. "And even if I did, calling him is too much work on top of this. He'd just turn it into another way to control me. This can't wait—we need to find that bastard now."
I looked at him. I knew he was telling the truth about his old man. They were more like enemies than father and son.
"Fine," I said, my voice like ice. "I'll help you. But don't expect this to reunite our friendship, Keifer. I'm doing this for my sister, not for you."
Keifer let out a dry, bitter laugh that sounded more like a cough. He looked at me with those dark, unreadable eyes.
"Friendship my ass," he muttered, turning his back on me and walking toward the darkness. "Just get the names."
I watched him walk away. He was a disaster, but he was a disaster that was apparently willing to go to war for Jay Jay. I reached for my phone and logged into the camp's digital roster.
"God, Jay Jay," I whispered. "What a mess you've made of these boys."
+++++++++++++
Okay guys, I was scrolling through Wattpad and saw some Kaidres stories… and honestly, it pissed me off 😭💀 They're literally painting Ash as the villain, like she ruined everything, and it's just stupid. So yeah, I reported those accounts. If you think I was being harsh — I wasn't. Don't drag Ash and make her look like the bad guy when she was here first.
Besides that… I actually have good news 😭✨ My MISA test results came back — it's a state science test and counts for 20% of my grade. I was stressing so bad thinking I wouldn't pass, but I ended up getting an amazing score. I'm so freaking happy today 😭🔥