Chapter 170 - Cyrus Velasco

Jay-Jay's POV

*Flashback*

"You have a new classmate!" Ma'am announced.

Please, not near me!

Someone gestured toward the door, and a tall guy walked in. He had sharp, narrow eyes and a confident aura that immediately had my classmates swooning over him.

"Hello... I'm Cyrus Velasco, 16 years old. Nice to meet you all. I'm your new classmate," he said with a smile.

Tsk. Yeah, right.

It seemed like we all had the same thought. I immediately looked away, uninterested. He looked arrogant—such a show-off.

Ma'am continued speaking, but I wasn't paying attention anymore. It was too boring to listen to.

Suddenly, my classmates in the front row started whispering excitedly. It seemed like he was looking for a seat. I sighed and turned to stare out the window.

Even watching dust stick to the glass was more interesting than this.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed my classmates looking at me.

What's their problem?

Annoyed, I turned to face them—only to realize that they were all staring at me. My gaze stopped at the guy in front of me. He was smiling.

"Can I sit here?" he asked, pointing to the empty seat beside me.

"It's taken," I replied flatly.

"No one sits there," one of my classmates chimed in.

I shot him a glare. "Shut up!"

I received a playful slap in response.

"Taken by whom?" Cyrus asked casually.

"By my bag," I said, quickly placing my bag on the chair. "...See?"

He laughed loudly.

That irritated me even more. There were plenty of empty seats, yet he insisted on sitting here. Was he trying to annoy me?

"Don't laugh! I'm serious... My bag is studying!" I huffed, pointing at my slightly open bag, which was stuffed with trash.

He laughed again, making my irritation grow.

Annoying guy!

Suddenly, he grabbed my bag and handed it back to me before casually sitting in the seat next to mine.

Still smiling, he said, "You're cute."

"Son of a—!" I snapped.

"Ms. Mariano!" Ma'am shouted.

Crap!

"What now?"

"Guidance Office. Now!"

My classmates burst into laughter.

Ugh, I'll deal with you all later!

*End of Flashback*

Almost two years had passed since that day—since the moment he walked into our classroom and introduced himself.

He had a kind-looking face, and because of his looks, many people admired him. But that was all just on the surface.

Because Cyrus was arrogant, manipulative, and desperate for attention.

"I knew you'd come back," he said, stepping closer.

I instinctively stepped back.

I hadn't expected to run into him here. My eyes flicked to the door. I wanted to run, but my body refused to move.

Cyrus lunged forward and grabbed me by the throat.

"...Don't leave just yet," he said.

"C-Cy...rus..."

His grip tightened, making it hard for me to breathe. My feet slowly lifted off the ground. I struggled to pry his hands off, but my strength was failing me.

"Argh!" I gasped, pushing against him with all the strength I had left.

"It's a good thing you came back," he sneered. "Because I really missed you."

There was something sinister in the way he said that.

"B-bastard..." My voice was barely a whisper.

His grip tightened even more. My vision blurred.

"Does it hurt?" he taunted. "...I felt the same way. You're an animal!"

"C-Cy..." I tried to speak, but no sound came out.

Move! Do something!

Even my arms refused to cooperate. My body was shutting down.

Help me...

Just when I thought it was over, he suddenly laughed and loosened his grip, letting me drop to the floor.

I gasped, clutching my throat as I coughed violently, struggling to take in air.

"I'm not stupid enough to kill you," he said coldly. "I just want you to suffer—like I did."

With that, he turned and walked out of the Guidance Office.

Tears stung my eyes.

I was scared. Even though I told myself I shouldn't be. My heart was pounding so fast that all I wanted to do was curl up and cry.

But I couldn't.

I shouldn't.

My hands were shaking as I crawled toward one of the chairs, reaching into my pocket for my phone.

Even my fingers trembled.

I wanted to call Keifer or Yuri.

But... for what?

I'm not a kid to go around reporting people. If I do, they'll just cause even more trouble because of me. Maybe it's better if I keep this to myself.

Forcing myself to sit on one of the chairs, I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself. Then, I suddenly remembered the envelope. My eyes scanned the floor until I spotted it. I quickly picked it up and placed it on Ma'am's table.

Fixing my hair, I pulled my collar up to cover my neck. I couldn't see it, but I knew it would leave a mark. Thankfully, the Guidance Counselor hadn't returned yet.

"Sorry for taking so long," she said as she entered and sat in her large chair. "...Were you bored?"

I shook my head, but she studied me carefully.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"O-oro..."

She shrugged and picked up the brown envelope from the table. For a moment, she read through the documents inside.

"Did you and Mr. Velasco meet here?" Ma'am asked, her eyes still on the papers.

If only you knew.

"Yes," I muttered.

"That boy has been nothing but trouble since he came back from the hospital. I think you've been assigned quite the headache here at school," he joked.

But I wasn't laughing.

"...If you don't mind me asking, what really happened between you two? We've heard so many different stories that it's hard to tell what's true."

I looked away.

It's been a while—why are people still gossiping about it?

"T-that.... B-because..."

*Flashback*

"It's ugly! I'm gonna mess him up for the Boss!" one of Cyrus' friends shouted.

I looked toward them. They had tripped a first-year student—a small, dark-skinned boy.

Annoyance flared in me. How many times have they done this? Don't they feel the slightest bit of guilt for bullying freshmen?

I walked up to them. "Hey!" I called out.

Cyrus turned to me with a smile.

But I was far from pleased. His smile no longer affected me the way it used to. And I was certainly not happy with what they were doing.

"Hi, babe!"

Babe?

His friends burst into laughter. I knew they were only teasing him with that word.

"You!" I called out to the freshman they had tripped.

"M-me?" he stuttered, pointing at himself.

I nodded. "Go back to your classroom."

"Wait! We're not done with him yet!" one of them protested.

"It's Jay!" another one teased.

The freshman finally ran off. They didn't bother stopping him.

I shot them a glare.

Cyrus' friends had lost all respect for me.

"KJ, your girlfriend is such a killjoy, Cy!" one of them groaned.

Cyrus stepped closer to me. I grabbed his arm and whispered, "We need to talk."

I led him away, already knowing what he'd say.

He'd complain—again—that I embarrassed him in front of his friends.

"I hate what you just did," he muttered, turning to face me.

"Why did you do that? You think I was happy?" I snapped, crossing my arms.

"We weren't doing anything wrong. We were just having fun with him," he defended.

I raised an eyebrow.

How many times do they need to have "fun" at someone else's expense?

"You're scaring that kid! He's just a first-year!" I took a deep breath, trying to control my anger. "...What you're doing isn't funny anymore. Your friends have no respect, and now my name is getting dragged into it."

He let out a small laugh. "We're the ones ruining your name now?!" He ran a hand through his hair, looking exasperated. "...You're the one ruining our reputation!"

Me?! Wow.

"Really? I'm the problem?" I scoffed. "Your behavior is embarrassing!"

"Yeah? Well, we're the ones getting caught up in your fights outside of school!"

I met his gaze head-on.

"Excuse me? I wasn't aware..." I said sarcastically. "...Then leave. That way, you won't have to deal with it anymore. Let's break up."

His eyebrows immediately furrowed.

I don't want to deal with this anymore. We obviously don't even have real feelings for each other.

"You can't break up with me!" he snapped.

His voice was so loud that his friends immediately came over, along with a few students who had been watching from afar.

"I can break up with you," I stated firmly.

I turned to walk away, but he suddenly grabbed my arm. My skin burned from the force.

I glared at him. He didn't let go.

"We're not done talking yet," he growled.

"Cyrus! I don't want to do this anymore!" I shouted.

Then, without warning, he grabbed my jaw, squeezing so tightly that I shut my eyes in pain.

Bastard.

"You can't leave me," he hissed, pulling my face closer to his. "...I will be the one to decide when we're over!"

Summoning all my strength, I ripped his hand off me. Before he could react, I punched him—hard.

He stumbled backward, falling to the ground as his friends rushed to help him.

But he shoved them away.

I saw blood dripping from his lips.

Good. That punch had some power.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked down at the blood. His lips curled into a smile, but his eyes burned with anger.

I instinctively stepped back, but it was too late.

His palm struck my face so hard that I collapsed onto the ground.

His slap was heavier than my punch.

"Pre!" one of his friends shouted. "...What the hell! She's still a girl!"

My face felt numb from the impact. I glared at Cyrus as I slowly stood up.

A strange taste filled my mouth. I knew it wasn't just saliva. A sharp pain shot through my lip. I touched it—damn it.

Damn it!

Pft! Blood.

His slap had been so strong that my lip had burst. What a beast!

I was about to look at him again, but something felt off. My gaze remained fixed on my blood-stained hand. My body trembled.

For some reason I couldn't understand, my heart pounded faster and faster.

"Swallow it!"

Huh?! W-where did that voice come from?

A deep sense of fear crawled up my spine. My breathing became uneven, more labored.

"You should die!"

WHERE IS THAT COMING FROM?! WHO IS THAT?!

"What's wrong? Scared of blood?" Cyrus sneered, annoyed. But I ignored him.

Why? Why does blood look so beautiful?

Why am I... drawn to it?

I finally realized—my hand was near my mouth.

T-the taste of blood...

*End of Flashback*

"Because we had a fight. My vision went dark," I told Ma'am.

Literally.

"Tsk, tsk! You young people nowadays... Boy or girl, you all just fight," she said, shaking her head.

She lowered the paper and was about to sign it when she suddenly stopped and looked at me.

"Where is Mr. Fernandez?"

Kuya?

"H-he's at work. Why?"

She let out a deep breath. "It's a bit embarrassing to say, but... he's one of the school's major sponsors. Ever since you left, he stopped funding us." Leaning back in her chair, she added, "...Maybe you can talk to him."

W-what...?

"...because we need funding for a new building," she continued.

Why are they beating around the bush? Why not just say it outright?

"W-wait... Are you asking me to convince Kuya to donate money again?" She nodded.

Son of a fishball!

Did I even say I'd do that?! I never should've come here!

I had overheard Ma'am and Kuya talking before. Since it didn't concern me, I ignored it.

But now it was clear—Kuya had been bribing this school!

"Why would I do that?" I asked, irritation creeping into my voice.

"Because, Ms. Mariano..." she said, smiling. "It wouldn't look good if your records showed multiple suspensions and an expulsion."

Huh?! But I was never—

"...Mr. Fernandez is the reason you were never suspended, despite all the trouble you caused." She leaned slightly closer. "...He's also the reason why your records list 'transfer' instead of 'expulsion.'"

My eyes darted to the papers on the table. Damn it.

That's why my records were a mess—because they kept altering them! And here I thought the school was actually being lenient!

But this was my choice. I wanted to leave. So even though I hated this...

"Alright... I'll talk to Kuya."

Ma'am's smile widened. She quickly signed the papers, placed them back into the envelope, and handed it to me.

"We'll be waiting," she said cheerfully.

"Okay. Thank you," I replied before hurrying out of the office.

Ugh!

I stopped at the stairs, inhaling deeply to calm myself. This is so frustrating.

Isn't this school embarrassed? Every time I got sent to the Guidance Office, Kuya bailed them out with money.

How convenient!

This place is expert-level annoying. Otherwise—shit!

I froze.

Cyrus was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, smirking. His entire stance screamed trouble.

I turned to go back upstairs, but his friends were already blocking my way.

"Can we talk for a moment?" he asked.