Jay Jay's POV
"Jay, why are you sitting there?" Ci-N asked, clearly confused. "Won't you sit in your usual seat?"
"No," I said. "I'll sit here today."
"Why?"
"Because I want to."
Mayo scoffed. "Jay, he betrayed you. He betrayed all of us."
I turned toward him slowly. "So what?"
The room stilled.
"Didn't you all betray me too?" I continued. "Didn't you make a plan to hurt me?"
No one answered.
The silence pressed heavy against my ears. I could hear Drew breathing beside me uneven, breaking. When I glanced at him, tears were already streaming down his face, dropping onto the desk.
"Jay,"Calix said carefully,"we didn't know at first. That's why we made that plan. But later we stopped. We explained everything to you."
"How did I know your intentions weren't good?" I asked, my voice sharper now. "How did I forgive you?"
They stayed quiet.
"Because I knew you betrayed me." I said.
"Jay, we already explained our side."Denzel said.
"Exactly," I snapped, standing up. "You explained your side and I listened."
My voice rose, controlled but loud enough to shake the room.
"So don't you think there might be something you don't know right now?" I said. "Don't you think Drew might not be completely at fault?"
Everyone was watching me now.
"Don't you think," I continued, my voice breaking through the silence, "that he deserves the same chance you all got?"
Drew's shoulders shook beside me.
I clenched my fists. "Drew didn't have a choice."
That made Keifer look up.
"He was forced." I said. "His sister's life was being threatened. His mother is mentally ill. His father left him with thirty-nine million in debt."
The words landed hard.
"He didn't betray us because he wanted to." I said, voice raised now, shaking but firm. "He was surviving."
The class went silent after my words.
No one spoke.
Drew's head was down, his shoulders stiff, like he was holding himself together by force.
Then Ci-N stood up.
Slowly.
Too slowly.
He pressed a hand to his chest like he'd just been stabbed. "So..." he said, voice shaking, eyes wide, "you're telling me..."
He took two steps toward Drew.
"...that while we were busy calling you a traitor.."
Another step.
"...you were carrying your sister's life on your shoulders..."
The room stayed quiet.
Ci-N sniffed loudly. Very loudly.
"And a mentally ill mother."
Another sniff.
"And a father who vanished and left you with thirty-nine million debt."
He wiped his eyes dramatically.
Section E started shifting in their seats.
Ci-N suddenly dropped to his knees in front of Drew.
"I AM A MONSTER."
That's when Section E lost it.
Snorts.
Muffled laughs.
Someone choked trying not to laugh.
"Ci-N..." Mayo muttered.
Ci-N ignored him.
He grabbed Drew's sleeve. "Brother... I judged you. I accused you. I doubted you."
He pulled Drew into a tight hug.
"I APOLOGIZE FROM THE DEPTHS OF MY SOUL."
Drew finally looked up.
And then
He laughed.
Not loud. Not mocking. Just a small, broken laugh that slipped out before he could stop it.
That laugh shattered the tension.
Ci-N froze.
"You're... laughing?" Ci-N whispered, offended and emotional at the same time.
Drew wiped his eyes, still smiling weakly. "You look... ridiculous."
That was it.
Ci-N gasped.
"RIDICULOUS?"
He marched forward and suddenly wrapped Drew in the most dramatic hug imaginable.
"I WILL CARRY YOUR PAIN."Ci-N announced loudly.
"I WILL BE YOUR EMOTIONAL SUPPORT HUMAN."
Section E burst out laughing.
Mayo covered his face.
Felix leaned back, laughing openly.
David shook his head. "This is unreal."
Drew laughed again this time for real and hugged Ci-N back.
Keifer stepped forward, eyes blazing. His voice was tight at first, controlled but then it snapped, sharp and loud.
"Idiot! Dumb! Do you even think before you act, Drew?!"he yelled, each word cutting through the classroom. "You carried all of that alone? Do you have any idea what could've happened?!"
Drew flinched, eyes wide, but didn't pull back. He opened his mouth, trying to speak, but Keifer's gaze pinned him in place.
"You're my brother!" Keifer continued, voice rising, raw with emotion."I could have helped! I would've helped if you'd just told me! You didn't have to suffer like this!"
Drew's lips trembled, and then he let out a shaky laugh, the tension in his body unraveling slightly. "I... I didn't want to tell anyone"he whispered.
"You should never have done it alone, you dumb idiot" Keifer said, softer now, but the heat in his eyes didn't fade."Next time if something happen you will tell me or that will be your last day in earth.I am not dead yet i will help you'll.Don't repeat the same mistake again"
Drew immediately hugged him.Then he hug me too.
That's when Ci-N jumped into full dramatic mode.
Flinging his arms around Drew, then Keifer, then me. "If my mother and father are hugging, I'm joining too!"
That idiot got a nerve i will kill him.