Chapter 204 - Eruption

Jay-Jay's POV

Password Incorrect!

This app is driving me crazy. I don't even understand its purpose. It kept me up all night, and I could barely put my phone down just to check on that sneaky app.

"Are you listening?"

I looked up at Kuya. He was starting to lecture me again while waiting for me to pick him up.

"Obviously not," Aries groaned.

I made him suffer right away. I quickly hid my phone because Kuya didn't look too pleased.

"I'll say it again... Why didn't you go with Yuri yesterday?" Kuya asked.

"I had something to deal with," I answered quickly.

"Where?"

"To—"

I couldn't finish my sentence when we suddenly heard a car horn. Moments later, Yuri entered the house and greeted everyone good morning.

"Talk to them later. They might be late," Aunt Gema reminded Kuya.

Kuya just nodded and motioned for me to leave. I got up and walked outside, passing by Yuri. But before I could reach his car, I stopped abruptly.

What if I end up riding with that guy again?

I hunched over, almost crawling toward the car. I must have looked like an idiot, peeking through the back window. Since I was in the back, I couldn't see who was sitting in the front.

Ugh, this is bad! What if I have to ride with him again? It's embarrassing. He has so many cars, and yet, here he is, offering me a ride. Why is this so difficult?!

Ha! Ha! Karma, bro!

"What are you doing?"

My body stiffened when I heard that voice. I practically pressed my face against the car window, avoiding him at all costs.

"Again… What are you doing?" Keifer repeated.

Kissing the car?

I slowly turned to face him, keeping my head down. I probably looked like a kid being scolded by their parents. I coughed a little, trying to shake off the nervousness creeping in.

"N-none of your business," I replied weakly.

I was about to open the backseat door when Keifer suddenly blocked my way, leaning his palm against the car window.

I tried to slip past him from the other side, but he did the same thing again. I was completely trapped.

"W-what?!" I asked, annoyed, still avoiding his gaze.

I had to stay strong in front of him. I needed to show that I was still holding my ground, despite what he had done.

"Look at me," he ordered.

I refused.

"Look. At. Me."

Don't look...

"Look..." He held my chin and lifted my face. "...At..." Our eyes met. "...Me."

My mind instantly panicked. My hands and knees trembled as I stared into his eyes again. His face was so close to mine.

His eyes…

I don't like this. He can see that I'm still affected by him. I swallowed hard and did the only thing I could to break eye contact.

I squinted.

It hurts my eyes, but at least his face became blurry. Now I could see two of him—double vision!

"What the hell?" he muttered.

Go ahead and laugh. I don't care! As long as I can hide what needs to be hidden, I'll endure it.

The eye pain!

My eyes started to sting, so I closed them and pressed my hands against them.

"You're unbelievable," Keifer scoffed.

I rested my eyes for a moment. When I was sure it was okay, I opened them and looked at the person in front of me. He still hadn't removed his arms from around me.

"Go away!" I shouted at him, but he didn't budge. "Damn it! Go away!"

A smirk slowly formed on his lips, his eyes glinting with amusement as if he were challenging me.

"Keifer."

I turned toward the voice. Yuri. I guess I should thank him for his sudden appearance.

"...Let's go," he said in a lifeless tone.

The grin on Keifer's face still hadn't disappeared. I wanted to punch him just to wipe it off.

"Go away!" I yelled at him again.

Instead of backing off, he leaned in closer, making me even more irritated. I pressed my head against the windshield to put some distance between us, but it was useless. I turned my face in another direction, which only brought his mouth dangerously close to my ear.

"Profanity," he whispered before leaving a kiss on my neck. Then, without another word, he walked away and got into Yuri's car.

My heart pounded in my chest. It felt like a surprise party was happening inside my body. And not just any surprise party—it needed confetti.

Surprise!!! You're exploding inside!

Why? I shouldn't be affected anymore. I shouldn't be! But my body refused to cooperate. It was reacting all on its own, against my will.

"Jay-jay..." Yuri called me softly.

I slowly looked at him. He didn't react to my outburst, just extended his hand toward me.

"I-I won't go with you," I said.

"You have no choice. Angelo might get mad."

I glanced inside the car. That smug bastard was sitting there, relaxed as if he owned the world.

"I don't want to be around him."

Yuri let out a deep sigh. "Keifer can't drive yet. His wound is deep—he says it hurts when he moves his whole arm."

Oh, so now I have to adjust?!

"Tsk! Annoying!" I huffed and stomped over to the backseat door.

I jumped inside, making sure not to glance at Animal King. Instead, I focused on the window, refusing to acknowledge his presence.

But Yuri's words echoed in my mind. Pain when moving his whole arm? Then how did he block me earlier? He moved his whole arm just fine!

Something was fishy.

It was official—this snake had tricked me again. Nice one, Keifer. Truly, you never miss a chance.

When we arrived at the school parking lot, I immediately got out of the car. I didn't wait for them and quickly walked to my classroom. Some people greeted me along the way, but I ignored them.

"Good morning," Ci-N greeted me when I sat down.

I didn't greeted him back either. I just sat there, trying to ignore the Serpents passing in front of me. Were they doing that on purpose?

"Jay-jay..." Ci called me, lightly touching my arm. "...Hey."

Annoyed, I lifted my head and glared at him. He smiled at me while holding out a piece of chocolate.

"I don't want it," I said, pushing it away, but he moved closer again.

"Come on. Before they take it," he insisted.

Tsk! So persistent!

"I said I don't want it. If you don't want them to take it, then hide it," I replied irritably.

I was about to go back to ignoring him, but he pushed the chocolate toward me again. My patience was starting to wear thin.

"It's for you," he said, his voice carrying a hint of something else.

"I don't want it! What part of 'I don't want it' do you not understand?!" I snapped at him.

I saw a flicker of fear and sadness in his eyes, but he quickly masked it with a sweet smile.

"Alright, I'll put it aside. We can eat it later," he said, placing the chocolate in his bag.

I glanced at the Serpents who had been watching us. The moment our eyes met, they quickly looked away and pretended to be busy. Pathetic.

And then, there was that guy.

Keifer, you smug bastard.

Now look! What you have done to me!

I made it hard for him and just faced the door. I felt really heavy. I was yelling at Ci-N, but not like this. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my headset and cellphone from my bag.

I intended to listen to music when I noticed the OTJ101 App again. I still couldn't uninstall this stupid application.

Looking around for Edrix, I wasn't disappointed. His feet were still propped up while he played on his cellphone. I stood up and walked toward him.

I could feel their eyes following me. It was as if they needed to know everything I did.

"Edrix," I called him.

He panicked, immediately stopped playing, and lowered his feet to the floor. His expression was full of wonder, and I thought I could see a hint of excitement as well.

"W-what?" he asked.

I held my cellphone out to him. "Do you know what this is?"

He barely glanced at it before looking back at his phone and shaking his head.

"I-I don't know that."

You can't even look at it properly!

My eyebrows furrowed. It felt like he was deliberately avoiding looking at my phone. Annoyed, I dropped it onto his table.

"You're good with gadgets and computers, aren't you? Uninstall this app from my phone, or just format it," I ordered, irritation creeping into my voice.

Edrix bit his bottom lip and wiped his palm on his thigh. My brows knitted together even more. His behavior was strange—too obvious, like he was hiding something from me.

I'm not an investigator, but I know when something isn't right.

"W-well... Jay-jay..." he stammered, his voice filled with worry. "...I-I can't."

I raised an eyebrow. His excuse was pathetic.

"You can't?" I asked sarcastically. "Who do you think you're fooling? Yourself?"

Edrix glanced at Keifer for a moment, and that was all the confirmation I needed. My suspicion was right. My blood started to boil.

I snatched my cellphone back and faced him again.

"Look at it!" I demanded, annoyed. "I'll repeat the question. Do you know this app?!"

He couldn't answer. His mouth opened as if to speak, but he quickly closed it again. He fidgeted where he sat, rubbing the back of his neck.

He's saying yes without words.

I slammed my cellphone onto his table, the loud thud grabbing everyone's attention.

"Answer me! I'm starting to lose my patience!" I shouted at him.

He shut his eyes tightly, biting his lip again. They're hiding something from me. I can feel it. They've done something behind my back—again.

They're keeping secrets from me.

I clenched my fist and punched the table at the realization. No. I won't let them do this to me again.

"Jay-jay," someone else called my name, but my focus remained on Edrix.

He swallowed hard and took a deep breath before facing me again. Then, without asking for my password, he unlocked my phone.

I was shocked when he opened the OTJ101 App without hesitation, entering a password I didn't even know. The application finally opened, and he looked at me.

He was the one who put it on my phone.

"OTJ101 stands for Operation Tracking Jay-jay Version 10.1," he said, placing the cellphone down on the table. "I-I programmed that app to track your phone's location. It uses a signal, making it easier to use than the systems the police or regular people rely on."

So that's why… That's why they always knew where I was. That's why, whenever I was in trouble or in the middle of a fight, they showed up.

"This is the reason," I whispered.

"B-but there's more..." Edrix continued hesitantly. "...This app is linked to another phone."

He glanced at Keifer, so I turned to look at him too.

Keifer showed no reaction. He simply listened, just like everyone else. I couldn't help but glare at him.

"Also," Edrix added, "all your text messages and phone calls go through the app. That means whoever has the linked phone can read your messages and listen to your calls as well."

His explanation hit me like a bucket of cold water.

Shock and anger surged through me as I stared at him. I felt like I had been caged, completely stripped of my privacy.

I lost my privacy.

"W-why did you p-put that on my cellphone?" I asked, trying to calm myself down.

Edrix bowed. "B-because you and P-Percy met before."

Oh!

I ran my hand over my face. This doesn't seem real. I have no idea how he managed to do this.

"Whose cellphone is it linked to?" I asked again.

"K-Keifer."

Without thinking, I grabbed my cellphone from the table and hurled it at Keifer with all my strength. I aimed for his face, but he dodged effortlessly by tilting his head to the right.

My cellphone shattered.

I couldn't control my anger. I wanted to smash his face. I wanted to beat them one by one. I never thought they would go this far.

"You're so strong!" I shouted at Keifer, emphasizing every word. "You really have no excuse!"

He remained unresponsive, staring at me as if he didn't care.

"You're really persistent with your plan, aren't you?! Even interfering in private matters!" I screamed. "...Are you really that cruel?!"

Instead of answering, he just stood there, giving me more reasons to lose control. I took a big step toward him, ready to punch him in the face, but a firm grip stopped me.

Someone grabbed me from behind, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me away from Keifer.

"Let go of me!" I screamed, struggling.

"Enough! Stop!" It was Yuri's voice.

I have to stop?!

I wrestled out of his grip. Once I was at a safe distance, I forcefully pushed him away, glaring at him.

"Jay..."

"What are you trying to prove by acting like my best friend?!" I snapped. "Your foolishness is on another level!" I clenched my fists. "Go ahead, take advantage of my anger! Maybe there's something else I don't know yet. Tell me!"

I took a deep breath. It felt like I had done too much. Every day I spent with these snakes, the weight in my chest grew heavier. I wanted to rip my heart out just to make the pain stop.

"Jay... please."

I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to hold back my emotions, but my tears spilled out in anger. I swore I wouldn't cry anymore, but here I was again—breaking. And they were still ahead of me, as if this were some sort of race.

Catch up? What a joke!

"Can't this just be right for once?! It's hard because I already…" I clutched my chest. "…I can't stop myself."

I thought I was the problem. I thought I was in the wrong for almost bringing them together like some fool. I thought I was wrong for giving Yuri false hope.

I almost looked down on myself, thinking I was being flirtatious. But I never wanted to be like those women who stand in the square, waiting for customers.

A desperate girl—just waiting to be taken.

My hair is long, two men like me, and I can't even sleep because of them. I've been worried that my actions would hurt all of us. My conscience ate me alive, but I tried to mask it with a smile whenever I was with the one I loved.

But in the end, I was the one who got played. I was the fool who ended up hoping for nothing.

Back then, I thought I was being flirtatious. Now, I realized I was just stupid. So stupid that I might as well build my own statue—

The National Fool of the Philippines!

"Jay…" Yuri called softly. "…I'm sorry."

"Do you think 'sorry' can change what you did?"

He didn't answer, but his warm embrace did.

I was too weak to fight him anymore. My body felt drained. My mind had given up, and my heart was on the verge of surrendering to the pain.

I wanted to give up.

And it seemed like my entire body agreed.

My knees buckled, and suddenly, I collapsed. The last thing I heard before everything turned dark was Yuri's desperate voice.

"Jay—Jay!"