Jay-jay's POV
I'd been staring at the huge Notice for Demolition sign for a while now. I could only see its back, but that was enough.
I was currently on the second floor, eating lunch while watching these two bicker.
"Get out of here! I'll flick you!" Percy said in irritation.
"I'll gouge your eyes out!" Ci-N threatened.
Ci-N had followed me here. He thought I was going to join him for lunch with Eman's cooking. I refused and went straight to the second floor.
"Gimme some of that!" Ci said excitedly and grabbed a slice of pizza.
"You've got some nerve! That's not for you!" Percy snapped, trying to snatch it back.
They'd been like this ever since they saw each other. I really shouldn't have let them hang out together. So noisy and so chaotic. It's like I'm babysitting two hyper kids.
Instant babysitter vibes.
"Are you done eating?" Percy asked when he noticed I wasn't touching the food in front of me anymore.
"I'm done." I replied and handed the rest of my food to Ci-N.
He gladly accepted it. Percy stared at me seriously, as if trying to confirm whether something was bothering me.
"Is it the Demolition Notice that's worrying you?" he asked.
Ci looked at me briefly before continuing to eat. I nodded at Percy in response.
The truth was, it wasn't just that. No matter how hard I tried to convince myself not to believe in or hold onto hope for that annoying King of the Ulupong, nothing changed. I kept hoping even when I knew I shouldn't.
What hurt more was that a big part of me was clinging to what he said—that he'd come back after giving me space.
But it feels like he just hopped on his own spaceship and flew far away from me, never planning to return.
"Don't think like that. He loves you." Ci muttered while continuing to eat.
Percy grimaced at him. If I weren't so used to Ci's weirdness, I probably would've smacked him hard by now.
"Is he always like this?" Percy asked, pointing at Ci-N. "...Starving and talking to himself?"
I nodded. "He bites, too."
Right after I said that, Ci moved automatically toward Percy's outstretched finger. He bit down hard, and Percy immediately panicked.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" he cried, trying to push Ci-N's head away from him. "...Jay! Make him stop!"
Nope! Haha.
I was starting to laugh at how they looked. It's like Ci caught rabies from that cat he called Edy. He even picked up the biting habit.
Percy was on the verge of tears from the pain, so I finally intervened.
"Ci… Let go." I said flatly, and he let go right away.
He turned back to the food and resumed devouring it. Percy, meanwhile, was rubbing his finger that was already turning dark from the bite. His eyes were brimming with tears as he glared at Ci.
The latter just acted clueless.
For a moment, the worries in my mind faded because of these two. But they always come back—Blaster's words from earlier still echoed in my head. Maybe he really won't come back to us.
It's possible. Maybe it's better if I just accept that now, so I won't keep hoping. So it won't hurt as much when that day finally comes.
I heard my phone chime. I picked it up and saw a text message— of course, from my textmate who seems high every single day.
From: GagongBaliw
Message: eat well... Ptba ka, para mlamn.
I wanted to think he was just being concerned. But since he openly admits he's an Ulupong too, I knew he meant something else by "malaman."
I ignored him and just stared off into space. My gaze caught a group of students running. It looked like something had grabbed their attention again.
I stood up and tried to peek. Percy and Ci-N were also watching now.
"Looks like there's some commotion." Percy said.
"Nope! That's not chaos. That's just normal, totally normal." Ci replied sarcastically.
The two were about to start another spicy exchange of words if someone hadn't called my name from downstairs.
"JAY-JAY!" someone shouted.
I approached the stairs to go down, and that's when I saw who was calling me. Eren met me halfway.
"Jay! Your cousin!" he said right away.
I didn't wait for what he was going to say next. I immediately ran toward the main building. A crowd of students had formed—clearly just nosy onlookers.
I was practically shoving people aside just to get to the center. But even before I could fully approach, I already saw what was going on.
The Horoscope!
The students from Section A and D were ganging up on Aries. Leading them was Mykel, who was supposed to be a friend of Kiko and Aries. But I couldn't understand what was going on.
I saw Ella crying as Mica held her in a tight hug. Freya, on the other hand, looked like she was just watching a boring show. She was inspecting her nails and sighed.
"What now! Aries the great... Where's your courage now?" I heard Mykel say. "...And to think we even have the same name, yet you're like this."
His companions burst out laughing. Section D was holding Aries. Section A just watched with amused smiles.
They didn't actually have the same name. Michael Aries is my cousin—I mean, my brother. He's Mykel... Mykeliling!
I couldn't see Aries's face clearly since he was turned to the side. But I could spot some blood on parts of his face and on his uniform.
I was about to step forward and intervene, but a hand grabbed my arm. When I looked, Yuri was staring at me with concern.
"Don't move just yet... Aries might get hurt even more," he whispered to me.
What he said was true. Two whole sections were here ganging up on him. If I moved recklessly, who knows what they'd do.
I ended up just watching what they were doing. My fists were clenched tightly, burning with the urge to smash someone's face in.
Should I just punch this guy in front of me?
"Poor Aries," said a girl nearby.
"Ugh, Jelaii! You're pitying him when he used to be rude to you!" said the girl beside her.
They were so noisy! I wanted to gag them!
Two students slightly blocked my view, so I had to move to a different spot to get a better look at Aries. Thankfully, I was now facing him a little more directly.
"Babe! Poor Aries," said a girl in front of me, clinging to the arm of—probably—her boyfriend.
Wow... there's already trouble, and they're still flirting!
"Hey Rhona Camille! Do you have a crush on that Aries guy?!" the guy said, annoyed.
The girl immediately pouted. "Hey! Sebastian Estebe! Don't go accusing me like that!"
I scratched my head in pure frustration. Geez! Right in front of me, they decide to fight. People these days... When they don't have a love life, they cry about being forever alone. But when they do, they argue over it.
Unbelievable...
I had no choice but to return to my previous spot. I stood beside Yuri again and looked back at Mykel's group. I instinctively covered my mouth when Mykel suddenly punched Aries in the gut. Aries dropped to his knees, held by two students from Section D.
"Yuri! We need to do something," I pleaded.
They gave Aries another round of punches and kicks. He was coughing up blood now, his eyelids starting to droop.
I couldn't take it anymore. I was about to run up to them and punch Mykel in the face, but I stopped midway because... Percy?
Percy was in the middle of it all—picking his nose.
"What's Kuya doing there?!" Felix asked in shock.
Even I was surprised. He looked completely clueless about what was happening while watching the fight. Since he was in the middle, they all paused and stared at him.
"Hey! Get outta here! You're a distraction!" Mykel snapped at him.
"I can't see what you're doing clearly from over there. I'll just stay here," he said like he was just watching a show. "...Who are you guys beating up anyway?"
Son of a— This guy's something else!
"You look familiar. Who are you?!" Mykel asked irritably.
Percy flashed a smile like he was in a toothpaste commercial. "That's how it is when you're handsome. You look familiar to everyone."
What a thick-skinned guy, I muttered.
Aries slightly lifted his head and looked at the person in front of him. His forehead furrowed a little. "P-Percy? W-what... what are y-you doing h-here?" he asked in a near whisper.
Percy scratched the back of his head. "Making a delivery."
Tsk! He delivered food—for me.
Mykel stared intently at Percy, and it looked like he recognized him. He even glanced at Freya briefly before turning his gaze back to Percy.
"You're Freya's boyfriend! But you're dead! How—"
"Correction!" Freya suddenly said loudly. "...EX-boyfriend."
Suddenly, Percy clutched his chest as if in pain from some unknown reason. He even dropped to his knees while staring at Freya.
What a drama king!
"Ow! Ouch! It hurts!" he cried out. "...Freya just killed me."
Then he suddenly lay flat on the floor like he had passed out. I was about to walk over to him and shoo him away for stealing the spotlight, but C-in beat me to it. He grabbed Percy's wrist and looked at his hand as if checking the time—even though he wasn't wearing a watch.
"Time of death: A little past skin o'clock, before bone-thirty. Cause of death: Broken heart because of Freya," said C-in as he covered Percy's face with a handkerchief.
Almost all of us from Section E smacked our own foreheads in unison. Freya just rolled her eyes, shook her head, and walked out.
In a bit, I might do the same—if this one doesn't behave.
"So what if you do?!" he shot back mockingly and ran toward us.
Hey... that sounds like something I'd say!
Percy stood up from the floor and brushed himself off. He even used C-in's handkerchief to wipe himself.
"You punk... You killed me too soon," Percy told C-in.
"Hey! I don't care what pit of hell you crawled out of! Get out of here! You should've stayed in your coffin!" Mykel shouted angrily.
"I don't wanna be there!" Percy protested. "...You go if you like."
It was clear Mykel was starting to lose it. Even the students from Sections A and D were getting irritated with Percy.
Percy flashed a wide smile at him. "Wanna come with me to the hell I came from?"
That was the last straw. Mykel snapped and threw a punch at him—but Percy dodged it easily. He even laughed when he saw me looking at him.
He turned to Aries. "You let this weakling bring you down?"
Aries couldn't even respond. Section D let go of him and he collapsed to the ground. Ella and Mica seized the chance to rush over and help him.
"You're arrogant!" someone from Section D shouted and charged at Percy.
But Percy effortlessly caught the punch and pushed the guy back like a child. His expression turned serious as he noticed how many people were surrounding him.
"I really didn't want to fight people younger than me," he sighed. "...But no choice."
He threw a punch at the first one who came at him like it was nothing. The next didn't even make him sweat. He looked like he was getting bored as he punched another one coming his way.
The girls started screaming in fear. The boys, on the other hand, were cheering for whoever their favorite was.
I turned my attention to Mykel as he circled behind Percy, holding a baseball bat. I bolted toward them when I saw he was about to swing it.
But just as I got there, a foot—a foot?!—flew toward Mykel's face.
Yes! A foot kicked Mykel right in the face. C-in did a flying kick and nailed the bastard. The brat was absolutely delighted.
"Yes! I've been wanting to do that for so long! Though... I'm so dead when Kuya finds out." he said with both arms raised in triumph.
Lunatic! This kid's hit hard in the head.
I know that Mykel and C-in's older brother are close buddies. So, C-in's kuya definitely knows all his antics.
I didn't even realize I'd gotten close to Percy. I ended up right in the middle of the ones charging at him. I was about to leave, but it looked like I didn't need to.
Felix and the others were already coming over to help us.
And since I was in the middle of everything, I had no choice but to join in the chaos.
"Get out of here! Don't get involved in the fight!" Percy scolded me.
I ignored him. I just kicked the Section D student charging at me right in the face. I also managed to land a few punches on others.
I glanced over at Ella when I noticed she and Mica weren't moving from their spot, even with the commotion around us. I rushed toward them.
"Why aren't you getting out of here?!" I asked frantically.
"Isn't it obvious?! We're having a hard time supporting Aries!" Ella replied, clearly irritated.
I'm about to flick her forehead! She's really testing me!
I tried to lift Aries up. They helped me, and we were almost out of breath from how heavy he was.
"Let's go to the clinic!" I said, but Ella suddenly stopped.
"They won't accept him there," she said.
I looked at her, confused, and then at Mica, but both of them stared at me seriously. Why wouldn't they accept him there?
I shut my eyes tightly. "Tsk! Let's just take him to our room!"
They both nodded, so we worked together to carry him there. It felt like we were hauling ten sacks of rice with how heavy he was.
No one even offered to help us. When we got to our room, I dropped him gently and quickly searched for something we could lay him on.
The only thing I found was Eman's apron. I spread it out and helped Aries lie down on it. His face was swollen from cuts and bruises. He was conscious but struggling to move.
"D-don't you have a first aid kit here?" Ella asked through tears as she wiped Aries's face with a handkerchief.
Shit! I don't know...
I just shook my head. Aries really needed to be taken to the clinic or a hospital. I couldn't understand why we weren't allowed in the clinic.
Honestly, I couldn't make sense of anything that was happening. I looked over at Mica, who also seemed deeply worried about Aries's condition.
"What exactly is going on? Why did they do this to Aries? I thought they were all friends?" I asked both of them.
They looked at me, hesitating like they weren't sure if they should say anything. Mica reached out and held Ella's hand, as if to tell her it was okay to tell me.
"T-they put Aries down from his throne," she said tearfully. "...They said that since Angelo's fallen, Aries should go down too."
I sat there dumbfounded by Ella's words. Why does Aries have to suffer because of what's happening to Kuya? Sure, their company is going under, but that doesn't mean they should be dragged down with it.
These people are heartless...
"They held Aries in high regard because Angelo's name was attached to his," Ella added, now crying. "They made him a king in this school, but now that Angelo's gone, it's like Aries is nothing too."
I just sat on the floor. It felt like everything was my fault. Because I was so desperate to escape that marriage, I had to sacrifice Kuya's company. And now, even the lives they were used to… are slipping away from them too.
This must be the price of my selfishness.