Ruz's POV
The morning started with violence.
Not the physical kind, though Adrian was still sleeping, so that would come later. The violent kind that came from my phone vibrating, like it was having a seizure on my nightstand.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
I groaned and grabbed it from under my pillow, squinting at the screen.
Chaos Group (CG)
Liam 🐍: Good morning chaos family
Liam 🐍: WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP
Liam 🐍: I have news
Liam 🐍: Important News
Liam 🐍: LIFE CHANGING NEWS
Josh: it's 7am
Josh: why are u screaming
Liam 🐍: BECAUSE I'M EXCITED
Nika: you're always excited
Nika: it's exhausting
Liam 🐍: Mama wants to invite all
of you for a night out
Liam 🐍: TONIGHT
Liam 🐍: AT OUR HOUSE
Liam 🐍: DINNER
Liam 🐍: GAMES
Liam 🐍: CHAOS
Liam 🐍: EVERYTHING
Marco: wait
Marco: like a party?
Liam 🐍: Like a gathering
Liam 🐍: WITH FOOD
Liam 🐍: AND FRIENDS
Liam 🐍: And no Adults except my mom
Diego: that's still an adult
Liam 🐍: My mom is COOL
Liam 🐍: she doesn't count
Eren: all adults count
Eren: that's how counting works
Liam 🐍: you're ruining the vibe
Rifat: what time
Liam 🐍: 6 PM
Liam 🐍: be there
Liam 🐍: or else
Nika: or else what 🤨
Liam 🐍: or else I will find you
Liam 🐍: and I will drag you
Liam 🐍: and I will make you come
Liam 🐍: by force if necessary
Josh: that's threat
Liam 🐍: thats love
Zayn: we'll be there
Liam 🐍: ZAYN SAID YES 😲
Liam 🐍: EVERYONE HAS TO SAY YES NOW 😤
Liam 🐍: ZAYN SET THE STANDARD
Mira: what should we bring
Liam 🐍: SNACKS 😋
Liam 🐍: DRINKS 😜
Liam 🐍: YOURSELVES 🫵
Liam 🐍: YOUR CHAOS ENERGY💪
Aira: i'll bring chips
Nika: i'll bring soda
Marco: i'll bring fried chicken
Diego: i'll bring my charming personality 😎
Josh: that's not a snack
Diego: it's an experience
Eren: i'll bring board games
Rifat: i'll bring my bike
Nika: then i also bring my bike
Josh: i bring my car
Liam 🐍: ADRIAN
Liam 🐍: RUZ
Liam 🐍: WHAT ARE YOU BRINGING
I stared at the screen.
Adrian walked into my room without knocking, because privacy was a myth in this house, then looked back my phone.
"Liam is being annoying," he said.
"Liam is always annoying."
"More annoying than usual."
"Read the chat."
He read the chat.
"What are we bringing?"
"I don't know. Ourselves?"
"That's not enough."
"Then you bring something."
"Why me?"
"Because you're older."
"That's not how responsibility works."
"That's how sibling responsibility works."
He stared at me.
I stared at him.
"We're bringing nothing," he said.
"We're bringing chaos."
"Liam will kill us."
Liam 🐍: i saw you both online
Liam 🐍: REPLY REPLY
Liam 🐍: what are you bringing
Me: us
Liam 🐍: thars not enough
Me: that's all you're getting
Liam 🐍: i will find you
Liam 🐍: drag you
Liam 🐍: i will…..
Adrian: you will what
Adrian: cry?
Adrian: throw a tantrum?
Adrian: call your mom?
Liam 🐍: i hate you both
Me: no you don't
Liam 🐍: i do tooday
Me: see you at 6
Liam 🐍: FINE
Liam 🐍: but i'm not happy about it
Josh: you're never happy
Liam 🐍: I'M HAPPY RIGHT NOW
Josh: you just said you're not happy
Liam 🐍: I CHANGED MY MIND
Josh: that's not how emotions work
Liam 🐍: IT IS TODAY
Nika: this group is exhausting
Nika: i love it
Mira: me too
Aira: me 3
Eren: me 4
Rifat: me 5
Zayn: me 6
Marco: me 7
Diego: 8
Josh: 9
Adrian: 10
Me: 10.5
Liam 🐍: I HATE ALL OF YOU
I put my phone down.
Adrian was still standing in my doorway.
"You're not going to get dressed?" he asked.
"It's 7 AM."
"The party is at 6 PM."
"Exactly."
"So why are you still in bed?"
"Because it's 7 AM."
"That's not an excuse."
"That's the only excuse I need."
He stared at me.
I stared at him.
"Fine," he said. "But I'm choosing your outfit."
"Absolutely not."
"I have better fashion sense."
"You dress like a divorced businessman."
"I dress like a CEO."
"GET OUT OF MY ROOM."
He left.
I went back to sleep.
Adrian and I arrived at exactly 5 PM.
Not because we were early. Because Liam had threatened to send a search party if we were late, and I didn't want to deal with the embarrassment of being found.
The parking lot was already full.
Chaos Gang vehicles everywhere.
Cars. SUVs. Two motorcycles, Nika's red one and Rifat's black one. They looked like they belonged in a music video.
"Show offs," Adrian muttered.
"Projection," I replied.
"Shut up."
"You shut up."
We walked to the front door.
It was already unlocked.
The guards didn't stop us. They nodded like they knew us, because they did. We had been here multiple times during the Kairo incident.
The house was warm.
Lights everywhere. The smell of something cooking, something good, something that made my stomach growl.
And in the living room…
…full of chaos.
Josh was lying on the floor, spread out like a starfish, staring at the ceiling.
"I'm conserving energy," he announced.
"You're being weird," Nika said.
"You are the weird one."
Marco and Diego were arm wrestling at the dining table. Marco was winning. Diego was pretending he wasn't trying.
Mira and Aira were on the couch, scrolling through their phones, occasionally showing each other something and laughing.
Zayn, Rifat, and Eren were talking about random things.
Liam spotted us first.
"Finally, you arrived!"
He ran toward us like an excited golden retriever.
"No, it's our souls," Adrian deadpanned.
Liam shot him an annoyed look and stuck out his tongue.
Adrian rolled his eyes.
Liam grabbed my arm. "Come on. Mom's waiting for you."
"For me?"
"Come on. You're her favorite, after all."
He dragged me toward the kitchen while Adrian followed behind us.
Tita Luna stood at the counter, surrounded by bowls of ingredients. She wore an apron that read Kiss the Cook in bold letters.
"Your favorite people have arrived!" Liam announced dramatically.
She looked up and smiled at us.
"I'm going back to the chaos gang," Liam declared before disappearing almost immediately.
"Ruz, dear. Come here."
I walked over.
Before I could protest, she pulled me into a brief hug.
Her embrace was soft but strong. I remained frozen in her arms, as always.
"How are you?" she asked.
"I'm fine."
"You look tired."
"Obviously. Exams... chaos... and Adrian."
She raised an eyebrow. "Adrian?"
Behind me, Adrian let out an offended noise.
"Especially him," I said, shooting him a teasing glance. "Every day he comes up with a new way to annoy me. Yesterday, he threw water in my face to wake me up. Today, he tried to pick my outfit."
"Oh, that's terrible," Tita Luna said, trying not to laugh.
"I'm standing right here," Adrian protested.
"We know," Tita Luna and I replied in unison.
Adrian looked genuinely betrayed.
"You're teaming up against me."
"We're just bonding," Tita Luna said with a smile. "You just happen to be the topic."
"I'm the most handsome and fashionable person in this group."
"First, it's not a group, it's a gang," Tita Luna corrected. "Second, you're also the most annoying person in it."
"That's exactly what we've been trying to tell him," I added.
Adrian glared at me.
I stuck my tongue out at him.
Tita Luna shook her head, still smiling.
"Ruz, come help me cook."
"I can cook too," Adrian said.
"He'll probably burn something," I replied.
"I can cook better than you."
"Let him try," Tita Luna said.
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
Mira and Aira also joined us in the kitchen.
The four of us, me Mira, Aira, and tita Luna worked together like a team. Chopping. Stirring. Tasting. Adjusting.
Adrian was banned to the corner after he almost cut himself with a knife.
"That's why I don't cook," he said.
"That's why you're useless in the kitchen," I replied.
"I provide moral support."
"You provide commentary."
Tita Luna laughed. "You two remind me of me and my sisters."
"You have sisters?" I asked.
"Had. Have. We're still close. Just… busy."
She stirred the sauce, her expression softening.
"There were four of us," she said. "Me. Regina. Rozelle. And Alessia."
I paused.
Rozelle.
Tita Luna noticed my hesitation.
"Your mother," she said gently, "was my best friend. We grew up together. Went to college together. Dreamed together. Started businesses together."
I said nothing.
"She was fierce. Stubborn. Impossible to argue with." Tita Luna smiled at the memory.
"Sounds familiar," Mira said with a grin.
"Maybe."
Tita Luna's smile softened.
"She would have been so proud of you."
The kitchen was quiet for a moment.
Then Mira broke the silence.
"What happened to them?" she asked softly. "Your friends?"
Tita Luna's smile faded slightly.
""We all got caught up in life."
"Rozelle disappeared. Alessia moved to another city with her family after getting a new job. Regina got busy with her own family."
She paused, her smile growing wistful.
"We still keep in touch. We still love each other. But life took us in different directions, and we're not together the way we used to be."
"That's sad," Aira said.
"That's life," Tita Luna replied. "People grow. People change. People drift apart. But the love doesn't disappear. It just… changes shape."
She looked at me.
"Your mother loved you very much, Ruz. Never doubt that."
I looked at the sauce simmering on the stove.
"I don't doubt it," I said quietly. "I just wish I remembered more."
"You will. Someday. When you're ready."
The food was ready by 7 PM.
The Chaos Gang gathered around the table, pushed together to fit everyone, chairs borrowed from every room in the house.
The spread was ridiculous.
Adobo, Rice, Lumpia, Fried chicken, Grilled fish and Vegetables that no one would eat. Desserts that everyone would fight over.
Tita Luna sat at the head of the table.
Liam sat beside her. I sat across from him. Adrian beside me. The rest scattered around like chaotic satellites.
"Before we eat," Tita Luna said, "I want to say something."
Everyone quieted down.
Which was impressive, considering this group had never been quiet in its existence.
"I'm grateful," she continued. "For all of you. For what you did for my son. For what you did for our family. For the chaos you bring into our lives."
"You're welcome," Josh said.
"That wasn't a request for acknowledgement."
"It was implied."
"It was not."
Josh shrugged. "I'm choosing to take it as one."
Tita Luna shook her head. "Eat. Before the food gets cold."
Nika was the first to break the respectful silence rule by immediately stealing a lumpia off Marco's plate.
"Hey!" Marco protested, but too late.
"Survival of the fastest," Nika said, already halfway chewing.
Across the table, Mira was carefully building an almost impossible rice and adobo tower on her plate like it was an engineering project.
Aira watched her for a second, then calmly added a piece of fried chicken on top.
"That is structurally unstable," Mira said without looking up.
"It needed chaos support," Aira replied.
Eren leaned back in his chair, already relaxed like he owned the place.
"You guys are all eating wrong."
Zayn glanced at him. "Is there a correct way?"
"Yes," Eren said seriously. "Mine."
He immediately reached over and took a piece of grilled fish from the center plate like it was a legally protected right.
Diego tried to stop him but got distracted when Marco slid a spoonful of something onto Diego's plate that Diego didn't recognize.
"What is this?" Diego asked cautiously.
"Mystery food."
"I'm not eating mystery food."
"You already are."
Across the table, Liam was quietly observing the entire situation like he was studying wildlife behavior. Tita Luna noticed and nudged him slightly.
"Don't analyze too much, You'll lose your appetite."
"I already did," he still took a bite anyway.
Adrian leaned toward me, lowering his voice slightly. "If this table collapses, I'm blaming Nika and Eren equally."
"Fair distribution of blame," I said.
As if on cue,
Nika reached for the dessert plate at the exact same time as Eren.
Their hands collided. There was a brief pause. Then both of them grabbed the plate and pulled.
"Mine," Nika said.
"We are literally sharing a house,"
"Exactly. Shared house, shared dessert."
The plate tilted dangerously.
Aira calmly reached in, took a piece from the middle,
"Problem solved."
The dessert survived. Barely
Diego reached for the last piece of chicken at the same time as Josh.
Their hands collided.
"Let go," Diego said.
"You let go."
"I saw it first."
"I touched it first."
"That's disgusting."
"Your face is disgusting."
They wrestled for control of the chicken.
Eren grabbed it while they were distracted.
"MINE," he said.
"TRAITOR," they both shouted.
Eren took a bite. Chewed. Swallowed.
"Worth it."
"This is why we're fat," Nika said.
"We're not fat," Marco argued.
"We're fluffy."
The table was full of chaos.
Tita Luna watched from the head of the table, her chin resting on her hand, her eyes bright with amusement. She wasn't eating anymore, she was just watching. Like this was her favorite show and the season finale was airing live.
"This is why I invited you all," she said.
"For the food?" Marco asked.
"For entertainment."
The atmosphere loosened, we slipped into aimless, useless conversation, half jokes, half nonsense, the kind that didn't really mean anything but filled the silence comfortably.
"I don't know why," Mira said, leaning back in her chair, "but I feel like this is a family."
"We are a family," Liam said.
"Chaos family." Tita Luna added.
Josh raised his hand. "If you adopted someone between us, Tita Luna, who would you choose?"
"Obviously me," Marco said.
"No, me," Diego argued.
"It's me," Nika insisted. "She already has a dumb boy. She might need a smart girl."
Liam looked offended. "Hoy. I'm not dumb. And also my mom doesn't adopt any stray animals."
Tita Luna laughed.
Zayn spoke quietly. "We're not stray animals."
"We're VIPs," Eren added.
"Yes, Very Important Problems." Liam corrected.
"Exactly."
Tita Luna thought for a moment.
Her eyes moved across the table. Josh's eager face. Nika's confident smirk. Marco's hopeful expression. Diego's casual indifference that hid actual interest. Mira's calm observation. Aira's shy smile. Eren's blank stare. Rifat's crossed arms. Zayn's steady gaze.
Then she looked at me.
"If I choose," she said, "it would be Ruz."
The room went silent.
Liam's face lit up like Christmas morning.
"YES," he shouted. "FINALLY. TODAY ONWARD, RUZ IS MY ELDER SISTER."
He grabbed my arm. Clung to me like a Koala. His grip was surprisingly strong for someone who had almost died multiple times.
"Let go," I said.
"No. You're my sister now."
Adrian stood up.
"She is not," he said, his voice flat. Dangerous. The voice he used when someone touched his things.
"She is now," Liam said.
"She is only my sister."
"She can have two brothers."
"NO."
"YES."
"NO."
"YES."
"SHUT UP."
"MAKE ME."
They started arguing over me like I was a trophy.
I looked at Tita Luna.
She was smiling.
"You did this on purpose," I said.
"Maybe."
"You enjoy chaos."
"I enjoy family."
Adrian grabbed my other arm.
"She's coming home with me."
"She's staying here," Liam argued.
"She's not a possession."
"She's a person."
"THEN STOP FIGHTING OVER HER."
"YOU STOP FIRST."
"NO."
"NO."
I sighed.
"Is this my life now?" I said.
"Yes," everyone said.
After dinner the chaos gang moved to the living room.
Games. Phones. Arguments about nothing.
I stayed behind to help Tita Luna clean up the table.
She washed. I dried. The kitchen was quieter now just the two of us, the sound of water running, the clink of dishes being stacked.
"You don't have to help," she said.
"I want to."
"Why?"
"Because you cooked."
"Because you're kind."
She smiled.
We worked in comfortable silence.
Then she spoke.
"You know, Adrian reminds me of someone."
"Who?"
"Myself."
I looked at her.
"Possessive. Protective. Afraid of losing the people I love." She rinsed a plate. Handed it to me. "It took me a long time to learn that love isn't about holding on. It's about letting go."
"What do you mean?"
"Adrian wants to protect you. That's good. But he also wants to control you. That's not."
I dried the plate.
"He's scared," I said. "Of losing me. Of losing control. Of things falling apart."
"Because he's already lost so much."
I looked at her.
"So have you," she said gently.
I didn't answer.
She didn't push.
We finished the dishes in silence.