Chapter-163 Past

Jay-jay's POV

There was a time when I got annoyed with Ci-N because of his laziness and the mess he made in my room. All I could think of then was to make him leave.

I stayed quiet in my room when he wasn't there. I didn't have to clean every day or every night.

But my world was shaken when he came back. Every now and then, there'd be snacks, ice cream, juice or soda, candy, and cake. I'd always find myself hanging out at the Mini Mart to buy midnight snacks for him.

I was the one who did his laundry since he didn't know how and didn't want to have it done by Tita Gema's maid—he said their hands were full of germs.

I was always staying up late watching movies on his laptop. I also often got scolded because of his antics that he blamed on me. Hee was often taken care of by Tita Gema and Kuya Angelo more than I was.

And most of all, Aries and I would often argue because of him.

Messy? Yes! But it was so much fun...

I slouched my shoulders as I watched him pack his things.

I didn't want to help him so it would take longer.

So he'd stay here a little longer.

There were times I wanted him to leave, but now that he was really leaving—I don't want him to go!

"Can you help me out?" he said.

I sighed and walked over to him. But instead of helping him put things in the suitcase, I was doing the opposite.

I was taking out the things he had packed.

"Hey! We're never going to finish if you keep doing that. Keep going!" he said in annoyance, grabbing the clothes I was holding.

"Can you leave tomorrow instead?" I pleaded.

"Mama doesn't want that... She says it's embarrassing." he sat next to me. "...If you don't want to be separated from me, then apply to be my maid."

I gave him a harsh look. He's crazy! Why would I work as his maid?!

"...This way, Keifer and Aries won't get jealous." he added.

Huh?!

"Keifer and Aries?" I asked, confused.

I get Keifer. He's really jealous—even if it's just candy in my mouth, he'd get jealous. But Aries? That seems impossible.

"How can you say Aries gets jealous?"

"I can see it in his eyes. He's so envious whenever we're having fun."

She quickly answered me.

That's unclear!

It's more unclear than floodwater. He probably gets jealous because all the attention in the house is on Ci-N.

He went back to packing her things. Even though it wasn't easy for me, I reluctantly helped him. While folding the clothes, I noticed something.

"This is mine!" I said, looking at the t-shirt in my hand.

I looked at Ci-N, who was laughing at me. "Just give it to me."

I grimaced but gave it to him. We finished packing her things, and I was amazed. We managed to fit everything in his huge suitcase.

With all the clothes, toys, and other stuff she had, I thought it wouldn't fit in his suitcase. But we made it work.

There was a knock on the door, and it opened. It was Kuya Angelo, who immediately looked at Ci-N's suitcase.

"Are you ready?" He asked us.

Ci-N smiled and nodded. I stood up, and together we tried to push the suitcase out, which probably had enough room to fit me inside.

But we failed. We had just passed Aries' room when I felt like all the blood had drained from my body.

"Ci-N! What are all your things? Gold?"

He just shook his head at me. We were close to the stairs, so I tried to push the suitcase.

I pushed too hard, and by accident, the suitcase rolled down the stairs.

Shit! Shit!

"Argh!" Someone screamed.

We ran downstairs. My eyes widened when I saw the suitcase, and it had hit—actually, it was more accurate to say it had fallen on—someone.

"A-Aries! S-sorry..." I said, trying to move the suitcase.

Aries pushed the suitcase with all his strength. Ci-N and I joined in.

We managed to get the suitcase off Aries, but it was clear that he was hurt, especially in his chest area.

"Hey... I didn't mean to." I said, about to reach out to him, but he swatted my hand away forcefully.

"What the hell?! Where did that come from?!" He said angrily.

"S-sorry. It's my suitcase." Ci-N replied.

Aries stood up slowly and immediately yelled at Ci. "You should just leave! You're just causing trouble!"

I hid Ci-N behind me. "It's my fault! You don't need to yell at Ci-N!" I said angrily, matching his stare.

It was obvious from his face that he was in pain. Beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. He walked away but not without shooting one last nasty glare at Ci-N, who was still behind me.

Once Aries left, we tried to push the suitcase again. We finally made it to the door, where Kuya Angelo was waiting.

He grabbed the suitcase, and almost stumbled when he realized how heavy it was.

"How much do you bet? Kuya won't be able to lift that." I whispered to the brat.

"He can lift it. Kuya's strong." He replied to me.

Kuya tried to lift the suitcase. He even counted, "One, two, three," to build up momentum.

Ci-N and I just laughed at the sight of him struggling, looking like he could barely breathe.

"Get in the car! You guys are still laughing at me!" He said irritably.

We quickly got in the car. Ci-N and I sat next to each other, his arm still resting on mine.

"I'm going to miss you..." I whispered, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Jay... Don't be so dramatic. We'll see each other at school."

I shot him a glare. This kid really ruins the moment!

We were quiet during the drive. I watched the lights of the buildings we passed. His condo unit wasn't far, but it felt like I was already in a different world.

A world of extreme wealth!

Kuya parked, and just as we couldn't hold out any longer, I saw Ci-N's whole family waiting by the entrance of the building. Rakki was there too, standing next to his older sister.

I heard Ci-N sigh next to me. He bent down, fiddling with his fingers.

"This is it... I'll be living on my own from now on."

I felt a wave of sadness. I knew he wasn't ready. He was only 14, but with the mindset of a 4-year-old. How could he live on his own?

He looked at me. "Are you sure you don't want to apply to be my maid?"

I immediately pinched his cheek. He's so annoying! Why does he want me to be his maid so badly?!

Kuya put down the suitcase. His family was waiting for us.

I held Ci-N's hand.

"It's okay... Just call me if you need anything." I said.

"Thank you." He replied, forcing a smile. "...I was just thinking. Now that I have my own place." He suddenly grinned widely. "...I can throw parties and bring girls—Argh!"

I punched him in the stomach to stop him. My heart was already heavy because he was leaving, and now all he could think about was his nonsense.

So annoying!

"It was just a joke... Why did you have to punch me?" He asked, his voice shaking with tears.

"You're so annoying!"

I got out of the car, and he followed me. Kuya Angelo was the one pushing his suitcase now. Even though he didn't show it, I could tell he was struggling.

"Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Fernandez." Ci-N's mom greeted us.

"...I know that Ci-N has been causing a lot of trouble for you."

Ci-N lowered his head. I could feel that he was embarrassed by what his mom was saying.

"It's fine, ma'am. Ci-N hasn't really been a bother to us." Kuya Angelo said with a smile.

Well, not for you, but for me, yes!

"Let us thank you for letting Ci-N stay in your house. How about dinner?" Ci-N's dad suggested.

"Thanks, Mr. Peralta. That sounds great." Kuya replied.

"Saturday night?"

"Sure."

I kept glancing between Kuya and Ci-N's dad. Their conversation sounded so smooth, so refined. They sounded so wealthy.

Even though I speak English, I don't come off like that.

I looked at Ci-N, who had his head down, glancing at his brother. I also looked at his siblings. His brother was glaring at me—expected. His sister, on the other hand, was practically inspecting me from head to toe, checking me out—intense.

As for Rakki, he just forced a smile. I smiled back at him. But wait, why is he here? Is he already part of the family? How sweet.

"Ci-N! Come on! Say thank you and goodbye to your friend." His mom ordered.

He turned to me and smiled. "You really don't want to apply?"

Ugh, so persistent!

I just shook my head, laughing.

"What a waste... the salary is 50,000."

My eyes widened at what he said, but then he laughed, so I realized it was just a joke. What a trickster!

I messed up his hair, even though, to be honest, I kind of wanted to shove his face into the floor.

"Bye, Jay... See you at school tomorrow." He said and started walking towards his family.

Kuya walked up to me and put his arm around me. "Ready to go?"

I nodded, and we walked back to the car. Once the car started moving, we stayed quiet, or more accurately, the surroundings were quiet.

There was no noise anymore.

Hay...

Kuya stopped the car in front of the Mini Mart.

"Come on... I just need to buy something." He said and got out.

I followed, though I was curious. He grabbed a basket as soon as he entered. He picked up a few things and then looked at me.

"Get whatever you want, Jay." He ordered.

I smiled and grabbed my own basket. He said I could get whatever I wanted, so I might as well grab everything. Just kidding—but I really did want everything.

While picking things out, I glanced across the shelves. I noticed someone with corn-colored hair. The person was tall because I could see their head over the shelves.

Corn-colored hair!

Suddenly, I remembered something. Who was it with corn-colored hair? Someone with a super cheesy name, and they looked like the person who sang PPAP.

"Jay-jay?" Someone called.

I turned, and it was the guy with corn-colored hair. He was the one who looked like the person who sang PPAP.

"Tiger?"

"I knew it was you!" He said and immediately walked up to me.

I took a step back when he motioned as if he were going to hug me. Thankfully, he quickly realized that I wasn't comfortable with him hugging me.

He looked like a hassle!

He was wearing a long-sleeve shirt with holes, faded shorts, and slippers while wearing socks. Quite the fashion statement!

"How did you get here?" I asked, confused.

"Obviously, I rode a car and parked it outside." He answered, annoyed.

"Ahh... So, you didn't walk from the car to come in here?" I asked sarcastically.

He fell silent and looked at me. Suddenly, he burst out laughing loudly, and I couldn't help but laugh too. It was just so abnormal!

"Jay!" Kuya Angelo called out to me. "...Are you okay—" He stopped when he saw who I was talking to. "Leo?"

Leo?

Who's Leo? My gaze kept shifting between Kuya Angelo and Tiger—wait a minute! Leo, like lion.

I looked at Tiger. "Are you Leo?"

He suddenly flashed a wide smile. Kuya put his arm around me and gently pulled me closer to him.

"How's it going, Angelo? Long time no see." He said, teasing.

Kuya's grip on my shoulder tightened, and I looked at him. He was staring at Leo—Tiger.

"I'm good. Nice seeing you here." Kuya answered, a bit reluctantly.

The two of them just stared at each other for a while. There was definitely something going on between them.

Suddenly, Tiger turned to me and winked.

I furrowed my brows. "I'll poke your eye out." I warned him.

He chuckled slightly. "You're cute like that. I'm not buying you pizza anymore."

Fine by me!

"Do you two know each other?" Kuya asked.

Oh shit!

I forgot Kuya didn't know I went to Kingsground. I'm in trouble now! I glanced at Tiger, who was chatting with us. But what a shameless person—so rude.

"Yeah... I met her when they went to Kingsground."

Kuya's grip on my shoulder tightened suddenly. Ouch! Damn it! I felt like he was going to break my bones.

"They went to Kingsground." Kuya repeated, then looked at me meaningfully.

Jay-jay! Play dead!

But that's not going to work. I'm really in trouble when I get home. I think I should just eat everything I want. I'm about to get hanged.

"Hey, look at that..." Tiger said, looking toward the back of us. "...Alvin!"

We all turned to look at what he called out. Sir Alvin! He looked at our side in surprise and walked over to us.

Do they know each other too?

"Angelo..." He greeted Kuya and smiled. They even did a fist bump.

Are they buddies?

He turned to me and smiled as well. "...Hello, Jay."

I smiled back and almost wanted to shout, 'Get me away from Kuya, Sir!'

Maybe he could help me, after all, he's my teacher. He turned to Tiger, and suddenly, his face grew serious.

"Leo."

Tiger chuckled slightly but with some irritation. "Don't look at me like I'm some kind of bad guy."

"Sorry... You've changed so much." Sir said.

"Well... How have I changed? Is it okay?"

Kuya Angelo and Sir Alvin both looked him up and down.

"You... You're ugly." Sir replied seriously.

Pfffttt...

I almost choked on my laughter. Tiger immediately furrowed his brows.

"Ugly?! Are you stupid?!" He glared at Kuya. "...Am I ugly, Angelo?!"

"The truth is... not really." Tiger smiled at Kuya's answer. "...It's just that you're so ugly."

I couldn't hold in my laughter anymore. Their faces were so serious while they were answering. These two are something else! They definitely look like close friends.

"Tsk! I need to leave! Too many people insecure about my handsomeness! They're just trying to bring me down!" He said as he walked toward the cashier.

Kuya and Sir were still serious as they exchanged pleasantries before walking toward the cashier. Luckily, they didn't talk about my studies.

As soon as we left the Mini Mart, Kuya suddenly put his arm around my shoulders, but it was around my neck. I'm in trouble now!

"You went to Kingsground without me knowing. You're so hard-headed!" He said.

I slapped his arm lightly. "K-Kuya! That was a long time ago!"

"Even so! You're such a troublemaker!"

His arm tightened around my neck, and I almost screamed.

"You're going to regret this—"

Suddenly, his phone rang. He let go of me and answered the call.

"Mom, we're on our way—huh?!... What?!... What happened?!... Okay, we'll be there soon."

He ended the call and quickly walked toward the car. I followed him.

"What's going on, Kuya?" I asked as I got in the car.

"Aries was rushed to the hospital."

I suddenly felt worried. My heart was pounding in my chest from the anxiety.

Aries! W-Why?!