Chapter 5– The Unexpected Truth
The evening sky was painted in shades of orange and purple as JJ stared at her phone. The messages from her brothers blinked on the screen:
Percy: "Be ready tomorrow evening."
Aries: "You're coming with us."
JJ frowned, typing back immediately:
"Where?"
Percy: "Our friend's house."
JJ raised an eyebrow and sighed.
"Why?"
Aries: "Because you shouldn't stay alone tonight."
JJ tapped the screen slowly. She knew better than to argue when Percy and Aries were involved. Reluctantly, she agreed, stuffing her bag into her locker and heading home.
The Mansion
The next evening, as predicted, Percy and Aries arrived to pick her up. Their faces were unreadable, as always.
"Who is this friend?" JJ asked for the third time.
Percy smirked. "You'll see. Stop asking questions."
Aries just nodded, hands casually in his pockets. "Relax, JJ. Tonight's not complicated. Just come with us."
JJ groaned but followed. They drove through the quiet streets of HVIS, the sun dipping behind the distant skyline. Soon, the car stopped in front of an enormous mansion, surrounded by perfectly manicured lawns and high gates.
JJ blinked, taking it all in. "Your friend… lives here?"
Percy rang the bell without answering. The massive door swung open slowly.
And there he was.
Keifer Watson.
JJ froze. His presence was commanding even in the dim evening light, every inch of him exuding that mix of arrogance and control she had grown to secretly hate—and maybe, just maybe, admire.
Keifer's jaw tightened as he looked between her and her brothers. "Why is she here?" His voice was calm but carried an edge that made JJ's pulse quicken.
Percy stepped inside casually, as if he owned the place. "Relax. She's staying tonight."
Keifer's eyes narrowed. "Since when do you bring strangers into my house?"
Aries stepped forward, his tone level, almost teasing. "She's not a stranger, Keifer."
Percy leaned against the wall, smirking at Keifer. "JJ, call tita and let her know we're staying here tonight."
Keifer's fork paused mid-air. He looked at JJ slowly, disbelief mixing with curiosity. "Wait… you know her?"
Percy shrugged, nonchalant. "Of course."
Aries folded his arms, looking at Keifer like he was explaining something simple to a child. "She's our sister."
The words hit Keifer like a punch. His eyes darted between JJ and her brothers. The mysterious transfer student he had been arguing with, observing, secretly intrigued by… the girl who had unsettled his carefully ordered world…
…was the sister of his best friends.
JJ's gaze softened slightly as she noticed Keifer's stunned expression. She didn't say anything, just leaned back slightly, letting her arms cross. Calm, unreadable, but somehow daring.
Keifer blinked, struggling to adjust. "Your sister… you never mentioned this?"
Percy grinned. "Maybe because it was fun watching you figure it out."
Aries chuckled lightly. "We thought it might be more… dramatic this way."
JJ rolled her eyes, a slight smirk tugging at her lips. "Apparently I'm more dramatic than I realized."
Keifer's eyes softened as he looked at her—not the transfer student, not the quiet girl in Section E—but JJ, the tomboy, the sister of his closest friends, the girl he had been secretly drawn to in the last few days.
He opened his mouth to speak, but JJ beat him to it:
"I'll behave tonight," she said. "But don't expect me to suddenly turn into a perfect lady just because I'm inside your precious mansion."
Keifer's frown deepened, but there was a flicker in his gaze—something like amusement. Something dangerous. Something that made him realize this girl wasn't just a challenge to his patience; she was a challenge to everything he thought he knew about control, about appearances… about himself.
Percy guided her to a guest room while Aries filled Keifer in on the small details of the evening.
As the door closed behind her, JJ leaned against it, exhaling slowly. The mansion was big, intimidating, and quiet—but she wasn't afraid. She never had been when her brothers were around. And yet, the knowledge that Keifer was somewhere in the same house… unsettled her in a way that made her stomach twist.
She didn't realize it yet, but the quiet tension between them wasn't about annoyance anymore.
It was curiosity.
And curiosity had a dangerous way of turning into something more.