Chapter-180 No more Secrets

Jay-jay's POV

"...Twerk it like Miley!" Ci-N shouted at Blaster.

We were still playing Truth or Dare. Fortunately, the bottle hadn't landed on me yet. Blaster was the seventh person to get picked.

It looked like the game had woken up those who were feeling sleepy, and they were now eager to play. The teasing got louder, especially when David danced the Budots Dance.

"Dance already!" Felix shouted, his phone ready to record the video.

Blaster had no choice but to twerk. We all burst into laughter because he looked like he had arthritis in his hips. His dance was so stiff.

"Enough already! Your dancing is annoying!" Calix shouted, laughing.

Blaster scratched his head in embarrassment, sat back down, and we resumed passing the bottle and singing.

And if these jerks weren't doing it on purpose… They suddenly sped up the song and stopped right when the bottle landed on me.

Damn it!

The traitors even clapped while laughing loudly. They did this on purpose, ON PURPOSE! These bastards had been trying to make the bottle stop at me for a while, but it kept landing on my seatmates instead.

"Can I ask first?!" Rory shouted, raising his hand.

"Wait! I haven't even chosen Truth or Dare yet!" I complained.

"Are you ready to dance like Blaster?" Felix asked.

"I already said… Truth!"

These pests didn't even give me a real choice. But choosing Truth was safer—who knew what they'd make me do if I picked Dare?

We waited for Rory's question. But the idiot started laughing first, making us all stare at him like fools.

"Jay..." He began while still laughing. "...how many times have you kissed Keifer?"

Oh, crap!

Sometimes, you just really want to punch your friends. The kind of friends who live for messing around. And they don't just mess with themselves—they drag you into it too. His fellow troublemakers howled with laughter.

"You animal!" I snapped at him.

"That's not an answer." Ci-N smirked at me.

Idiots!

Why would I even answer that? Are they insane? If these guys weren't my friends, I'd definitely feel disrespected. Lucky for them, I already knew how they are.

"Jay-jay doesn't want to answer. She'll have to drink the Pepsi." Edrix declared.

"No way!" I refused immediately. "...Your question is just so stupid!"

"Let's just ask Keifer instead." Denzel suggested, and we all turned to him.

He had his arms crossed and was just staring at us, looking bored.

"Have you and Jay-jay done anything?" Drew asked.

You idiot!

His bored expression gradually turned into a smile. He looked straight at me, as if he was showing off.

Just try mentioning that New Year incident, and this Pepsi bottle will go flying straight to your face.

"That smile looks suspicious... Seems like there's something going on." Calix teased.

"Nothing!" I shouted.

Keifer's smug smile was so infuriating. Damn it! And that arrogant look of his—he might as well have just given them a clue.

"Just answer our question already." Rory said.

"It was just a kiss! I don't even have any experience!" I blurted out, and they all burst into laughter.

I probably shouldn't have said that last part. Their laughter only got louder, and I could already tell they were going to tease me again. I felt my cheeks heat up, so I looked down.

This is so annoying!

Now I know the struggles of being the only girl in our section. Bad Trip! Bad Trip! Bad trip!

"You were looking for a virgin last night. You should've just offered yourself instead." Blaster said, laughing loudly.

"I'll ask the next question." David said.

I glanced at him slightly while keeping my head down. He was smiling, but I could still see the seriousness in his expression.

"If Keifer wasn't around, would I have a chance with you?" he asked.

My cheeks burned even more. I looked away as my heart pounded loudly. I could feel Keifer and Yuri staring at me.

I didn't know why, but his question made me incredibly nervous. The others were also waiting for my answer.

Honestly, I didn't even know the answer myself. David was kind to me. He was always with me and Ci-N in our antics. He treated us even when there wasn't a special occasion. Even though he often looked serious, I could tell he genuinely enjoyed being around us.

But no matter how I looked at it, I never saw any deeper meaning in those things. We were just friends, and that's how I assumed he saw me too.

If I say no, he might feel bad. But if I said yes, I wouldn't be sure, and he might get his hopes up.

He suddenly laughed, breaking the tension. "W-why?"

"You didn't have to take it so seriously." He said, and I felt a little relieved.

I let out a small forced laugh. "W-well... You're an Ulupong too, after all."

The annoying Ulupong gang suddenly laughed along, even though some of them were obviously faking it. David just shook his head at their antics. They're seriously messed up in the head.

"What's an Ulupong?" Ci-N, who was beside me, asked.

Crap!

I completely forgot they didn't know I'd been calling them Ulupong all this time. If they found out, they might get mad at me.

"U-uh... A snake, technically. But... for us, the older folks used it as a nickname for mischievous people." I explained.

"What the..." Keifer suddenly spoke. "...You called me the King of the Ulupong."

The others looked at him in confusion. I hadn't told him what it meant yet. I thought he had forgotten I ever said that. I forced a smile, hoping I could charm my way out of this.

That is, if I'm even cute enough for that to work...

"...So you mean I'm the King of the Trouble-makers?!" he asked, clearly irritated.

I stretched my smile wider—gum-showing level if necessary. But it didn't seem to be working. He was already glaring at me.

"I-it's not that—"

"Hold on!" Felix interrupted me. "...If Keifer is the King, then... are we the troublemakers?"

Crap!

I stared at them, unable to blink. I hesitated to agree because they would surely get mad at me and take their revenge.

Why did I even give them that nickname in the first place?

"So it's true, huh?! I knew it!" Felix shouted.

I could only lower my head in embarrassment.

"You're something else, Jay!"

"Great nickname you gave us."

"So we're Ulupong, huh?"

"You're dead meat."

"I-it was just a joke!" I explained.

"Oh no! Tsk, tsk!" David said, clearly trying to scare me.

Don't do that! Don't try to scare me—it's not good, especially for people who are already scared!

"Because of that... You have to answer all of our questions." Ci-N said.

"Didn't you already ask one?" Drew asked him.

"That one doesn't count."

"Don't cheat!" Denzel scolded him.

"It doesn't count, period!" Ci insisted and then turned to me. "...Tell us! Who's the most handsome among us?"

"Oh, come on, Ci! You already know the answer to that. Of course, it's me!" Calix replied.

"Huh?! In what universe?!" Rory asked, scrutinizing his face. "...Don't be blind, bro. The most handsome one is right in front of you." He was clearly referring to himself.

And just like that, the bragging contest began. I never even got to answer because they were all too busy insisting they were the most handsome.

Well, what can I say? They're all ridiculously full of themselves. How embarrassing!

"Forget that question already!" Yuri said, annoyed. "...You're all just arguing."

"Fine, let's change it." Ci-N said. "...Then, who's the ugliest?"

Those jerks immediately started pointing fingers at each other, accusations flying left and right. Some even accidentally poked someone in the nose.

"Stop being humble, just admit it."

"No, man... You already admitted it before."

"No need to talk. It's obvious."

With all the accusations, the majority of the fingers ended up pointing at Ci-N. No wonder he had such a huge scowl on his face.

Nice! Poor Ci.

"All of you pointing at me..." He grumbled before grabbing onto my arm. "...Jay-jay, look! They're bullying me."

He looked like a child complaining to a parent. I grimaced at his actions. Do I look like his parent or something?

"I'll ask the next question." Kit said, shifting everyone's attention to him. "...That scar on your back. Where did you get it?"

"What scar?"

"What?"

Yuri and Keifer both asked at the same time. I had forgotten that they didn't know about it. They weren't with us during that little swimming trip.

No one spoke. Everyone just stared at me, waiting for my answer. They were all my friends. Honestly, they deserved to know more about me too. But no matter what I did, the fear was still there. The fear of what they would think of me.

"Jay-jay..." Keifer called my name.

I looked down, staring at my hands. I fidgeted with them, sometimes hiding them behind my back.

"W-when I was a kid..." I started. "...I woke up in a hospital."

I didn't know if I should continue. It wasn't that I was afraid of drinking Pepsi with soy sauce—it was just that this topic was too heavy for me.

Too heavy.

But a big part of me was telling me to speak. They were my friends, and I already considered them like family. There shouldn't be anything wrong with talking about my past.

"...I don't know what really happened to me. They asked me several times and mentioned names—but I didn't recognize any of them..." I continued. "...I had a lot of wounds on my body—including the one on my back. It took a long time before I was discharged, but instead of taking me back to Mama, they took me to Grandma instead..."

I let out a deep sigh. It felt unbearably heavy every time I remembered my time in the hospital. Not a single day passed when I didn't wait for Mama to visit me and check on me. But nothing hurt more than when they finally told me that she didn't want to visit me at all.

"...When I got home, that's when I found out what had happened to me. I overheard my uncles and aunts talking about it. They said Mama's last husband beat me up. And apparently, even her previous husbands did the same thing to me..."

Tears fell on their own. I couldn't stop them anymore.

"...But the strangest thing is—I don't remember any of what they're saying. Not a single thing... I tried recalling the names they mentioned..." I shook my head and sighed. "...but nothing."

"Episodic amnesia..." Josh suddenly said, making us all turn to him.

"...That's when selective parts of a person's memory are lost. It can return, or it might never come back."

"I-I don't know."

"Have you ever see a doctor about it again?" Yuri asked.

I shook my head. "Grandma and I never really talked about it again. I was only nine years old back then. It's been too long."

"If your stepfathers hurt you, do you think... maybe they burned you with an iron on your back?" Mayo asked.

A wave of unease hit me at his words. What if that was really the case? Fear suddenly gripped me. I didn't know why, but it felt different—like something that had been buried for a long time.

"Your stepdad was out of his mind!" Ci said angrily. "...He better not show his face around me!"

"Oh? And what would you do?" David challenged.

"Hi, Stepdad!" He said, waving and smiling.

We all burst out laughing. I really thought he was going to say something brave — he was so confident earlier. At least the mood lightened up a bit. He really knows how to break the tension.

"You're crazy, Ci-N!"

"All that bravado just to say Hi!

"Classic Ci-N!"

"How was I supposed to know? I don't even know him. Of course, I'd greet him first." He reasoned out, pouting.

"Enough of that!" Blaster shouted. "Let's continue the game! I haven't had my turn for payback yet!"

We laughed a little before everyone settled back into place. The singing and bottle-passing resumed.

As they sang, I watched them. It might sound dramatic, but I was really happy that I ended up in this section. I must have said it a few times already, but I would always be grateful for it.

They were now a part of my life. They were my family.

Suddenly, C-in hugged me. I looked at him in confusion.

"Don't worry... I'll protect you from those Stepdads of yours." he said.

Stepdads, really?

"Sure... if I ever see them again." I replied and smiled.

He smiled back at me and returned to his seat. The singing stopped, and we immediately looked for the bottle. I was utterly shocked when it landed on Yuri.

"Truth or Dare?!" they all asked in unison.

"Truth." he quickly answered.

Damn it!

Why did you choose that? I had a strong feeling they were going to ask about us. And I knew that he knew it too!

"I'll go first!" Rory said. "...When did you start liking Jay-jay?"

I knew it!

"I don't know... Maybe after a few weeks of her being with us." he answered casually.

"Do you also know that Keifer likes her?" Mayo asked.

"Yeah... it's pretty obvious." he answered with a smile.

Why do you seem so relaxed about this? Suddenly, I felt a heavy presence behind me. When I turned around, I saw Keifer looking at me intently from beneath his lashes.

I immediately stood up and approached him. He held my hand, making me look down at it. Something inside me felt strange. It was as if he was angry, even though he looked calm.

I turned my attention back to them as they continued questioning Yuri.

"What do you plan to do now? Jay-jay is with Keifer." Kit asked.

I saw his jaw tighten. He forced a smile to hide it. Then, he suddenly looked at me, and at the same time, Keifer's grip on my hand tightened.

"Keifer doesn't own Jay-jay... They're not married yet." he replied arrogantly.

I was about to speak up to stop them, but someone beat me to it—causing everyone to be stunned.

No!