CHAPTER 9
AFTER THE FALL
JAY JAY P.O.V.
Darkness. then- light
My head hurt. A lot.
I slowly opened my eyes. The ceiling. Familiar.
HOME....
I blinked slowly. Trying to remember.
School.
Fight.
Wall
Blood-
I froze.
My breath hitched slightly.
noo....
I lifted my hand quickly. No blood. Clean. A sigh escaped me. Suddenly, the door creaked open.
ARIES: "You're awake."
I turned slightly. He walked in. Relieved. But trying not to show it.
JAY: "...How long?"
ARIES: "Few hours."
A pause.
JAY: "...Did I-"
I couldn't complete it. But he understood.
ARIES: "Yeah."
Silence. I looked away.
JAY (soft): "...Did I hurt anyone?"
That mattered more.
ARIES: "No."
I relaxed. Just a little.
He stepped closer.
ARIES: "You need to be careful."
I laughed weakly.
JAY: "I tried."
He didn't laugh.
ARIES: "Not enough."
That hurt. But he wasn't wrong.
JAY: "They saw... didn't they?"
he didn't answer immediately.
ARIES: "Yeah."
Great. Just great. I covered my eyes.
JAY: "Perfect first impression."
ARIES: "They'll get over it."
I lowered my head
JAY: "I won't."
SECTION E - SAME TIME
The classroom felt different.
Quieter.
Uncomfortable.
CI-N: "...She'll be fine, right?"
No one answered immediately.
JOSH: "She looked bad."
DREW (quiet for once): "I shouldn't have joked..."
EMAN: "You always joke."
RORY: "This isn't about jokes." He leaned forward. Thinking. Analyzing.
RORY:"She reacted to blood."
"Specifically her own."
"That wasn't panic."
Edrix glanced at him.
EDRIX: "You noticed too."
Rory smirked slightly.
RORY: "Obviously... Something's off about her past" He leaned back.
EDRIX: "I can check."
Rory looked at him.
RORY: "I investigate. You dig."
EDRIX: "Fine."
KEIFER P.O.V.
Keifer hadn't spoke. Not once. Leaning back. Silent. But his mind wasn't.
"She lost control. But she stopped. And she didn't hurt anyone." He thought to himself.
JAY JAY P.O.V.
I sat up slowly. head still aching like I've come out of an roller coaster.
JAY: "...I have to go back tomorrow, don't I?"
Aries sighed.
ARIES:"You just got hurt"
JAY: "And if I don't go back—It gets worse"
I looked at him.
He didn't argue. Because he knew.
ARIES:".. I''ll come with you"
JAY: "No."
ARIES: "Jay—"
JAY: "I need to do this."
He nodded unwillingly.
SECTION E P.O.V.
CI-N:"So tomorrow..."
RORY:"We observe"
EDRIX:"We confirm"
CI-N: "You guys sound scary."
RORY:"We are"
From the back—
A voice.
CALIX: "She'll come."
Everyone looked at him.
CALIX: "And when she does..."
A small smirk.
CALIX: "we'll see what she really is..."
For a moment.. There was complete silence
Until-
KEIFER: "Don't push her."
That surprised everyone. Even Calix.
CALIX: "...Why?"
Keifer didn't look at him.
KEIFER:"Because you won't like what happens."
Silence. complete silence.
JAY JAY P.O.V.
I lay back down. Staring at the ceiling.
New school.
New people.
New problems.
And now, They know..
I closed my eyes slowly.
JAY (to herself):
"...Let's just survive tomorrow."