Jay-Jay's POV
After school, Freya practically dragged me out the gate.
"Come on, Jay! Shopping therapy fixes everything," she said, looping her arm through mine. ✨
"Even rumors?" I asked dryly.
She grinned. "Especially rumors. Now hush, let's go spend your emotional damage away."
We met Rakki, Alys, and Grace at the mall — the big, fancy one where even the escalators smelled rich. 🛍️💅
It felt good to laugh again after the chaos of Kiefer and Kuya Angelo. I had just picked up a cute top when a familiar voice slid through the air like silk.
"Well, didn't think I'd see you here."
I turned around — and there he was. Kiefer Watson, in his usual outfit-but-make-it-rich vibe, hands in his pockets, smirk locked and loaded 😏.
"Kiefer," I said flatly. "Don't tell me you own this mall too."
"Not yet," he said casually. "You missed your stop. Angelo told me to make sure you got home safe."
I blinked. "What—he's sending you to babysit me now?"
"More like damage control," he replied.
Rakki nudged me, whispering, "Jay, he's hot. Like, main-character hot." 😂
"Ugh, don't feed his ego," I whispered back.
Still, when he joined us, the group somehow split — the girls diving into the sale racks, leaving me with him.
"So this is what you do after causing school-wide chaos?" he teased.
"Oh, I'm sorry," I said dramatically. "Does my shopping offend your rich sensibilities?"
He chuckled. "Not at all. I just didn't peg you as the sundress type."
I looked down at the floral dress in my hands. "And what type am I, then?"
He paused, eyes flicking briefly to mine. "Complicated."
My heart did a little flip-flop, but I hid it with a smirk. "Wow. Deep answer, Candyboy. You been reading poetry or something?"
He laughed. "Nah. Just learning to keep up with you."
Before I could reply, Freya popped up, holding two dresses. "Okay—Jay, pick one!"
"One's cute," I said. "The other's Kiefer's-bank-account expensive."
Kiefer shrugged, taking both and heading for the counter. "I'll take them."
"Wait—what?!"
"Consider it an apology for last weekend," he said with a grin.
I crossed my arms. "You think you can buy forgiveness with fashion?"
He leaned closer, eyes glinting. "It's a start." 😉
And just like that, my heart betrayed me with one loud ba-dump.
Maybe retail therapy did fix things…
Just not in the way Freya intended. 💖