Keifer's POV
People often think silence is peaceful.
I used to think so too.
But after meeting Section E...
I realized silence simply meant they weren't awake yet.
The moment the sun dipped below the horizon, my island villa transformed into complete chaos.
Pizza boxes covered the dining table.
Garlic bread disappeared before dinner officially started.
Cold drinks were already opened.
UNO cards were scattered everywhere because Percy insisted he was "warming up."
And somehow...
Keigan had already finished two slices of pizza.
I folded my arms against the kitchen counter and sighed.
"I invited nineteen people."
Edrix laughed.
"No."
"You invited disasters."
"Correction," Ci-In replied while adjusting his glasses.
"intelligent disasters."
Percy proudly pointed at himself.
"I'm the emotional support disaster."
Yuri didn't even look up from his phone.
"No."
"You're just the disaster."
The whole room exploded with laughter.
Percy clutched his chest dramatically.
"Yuri..."
"I thought we were brothers."
"We are."
"Then why would you hurt me?"
Yuri calmly picked up another pizza slice.
"Because I know you'll survive."
Another round of laughter echoed through the villa.
I couldn't stop smiling.
Maybe Angelo was right.
Maybe...
This was exactly what Jay needed.
Not hospitals.
Not investigations.
Not bodyguards.
Just...
People.
"UNO!"
Percy shouted.
Everyone immediately rushed toward the living room.
Within seconds...
Nobody could agree where to sit.
"No!"
Edrix complained.
"I always sit there."
"So?"
Percy shrugged.
"I sat there first."
"You literally pushed me."
"I strategically relocated you."
"That's called pushing!"
Keigan ignored everyone and sat on the floor.
"I'm already comfortable."
Ci-In sighed.
"Can we play before sunrise?"
Eventually...
Everyone settled into a giant circle.
Jay sat beside Keiren.
I sat opposite Percy.
Aries lazily leaned back against the sofa.
Yuri quietly shuffled the cards.
"You shuffle well," Rory admitted.
Yuri looked up.
"I know."
"I hate confident people."
"I know."
Everyone laughed again.
The game started surprisingly peacefully.
For exactly...
Thirty-two seconds.
Jay calmly placed a Draw Four card.
Percy stared at it.
"...No."
Jay smiled.
"Yes."
"I JUST GOT RID OF MY CARDS!"
"Congratulations."
"You planned this!"
"I absolutely did."
Edrix laughed so hard he nearly fell backward.
Keigan looked between them while chewing pizza.
"I don't understand why everyone gets angry."
"Because you're winning," Felix answered.
"Oh."
"That explains it."
Another round.
Another disaster.
Percy slammed a Reverse card onto the floor dramatically.
"I HAVE SAVED MYSELF!"
Jay quietly placed another Reverse.
The direction changed again.
Percy's smile disappeared.
"No..."
Jay smiled even wider.
"Oh yes."
Everyone started laughing.
Ci-In rubbed his forehead.
"I'm surrounded by children."
Keiren immediately raised his hand.
"I am a child."
Ci-In blinked.
"...Fair enough."
Half an hour later...
Nobody cared about winning anymore.
The game had turned into arguments.
Percy suddenly pointed toward Aries.
"Explain something."
Aries looked up.
"What?"
"You haven't called me 'baby' all evening."
The room became suspiciously quiet.
Edrix slowly lowered his slice of pizza.
Felix looked toward Rory.
Rory whispered,
"This should be interesting."
Aries pretended to think.
"Hmm..."
Percy waited dramatically.
Then Aries shrugged.
"I forgot."
Percy gasped loudly.
"You forgot?"
"I've been busy losing UNO."
"You replaced me!"
Aries laughed.
"I didn't say that."
"You implied it."
"I absolutely didn't."
Percy dramatically looked around the room.
"Did you all hear that?"
Nobody answered.
Finally...
Yuri sighed.
"You're arguing over a nickname."
Percy immediately pointed at him.
"Exactly!"
Yuri looked completely confused.
"Exactly what?"
"Take my side."
"I won't."
"Please?"
"No."
"Baby?"
The entire room froze.
Edrix blinked twice.
"...Did Percy just call Yuri 'baby'?"
Yuri closed his eyes.
"I regret existing."
Everyone burst into laughter.
Even I couldn't stop smiling.
Ci-In leaned back against the sofa.
"I seriously study with the smartest students in school..."
He looked around the room.
"...yet somehow..."
"...this is my friend circle."
Keigan proudly raised another slice of pizza.
"We're amazing."
"We're exhausting," Ci-In corrected.
"Same thing."
The games continued for hours.
UNO became charades.
Charades became a guessing game.
The guessing game somehow turned into everyone trying to imitate each other.
Edrix perfectly copied Percy's dramatic speeches.
Percy copied Ci-In's serious face.
Ci-In wasn't impressed.
"That wasn't accurate."
"It was."
"I never sound like that."
"You absolutely do."
"I do not."
"You just proved it."
The room erupted again.
I leaned back against the sofa.
Watching them.
Listening.
It was strange.
Months ago...
Most of us barely spoke to one another.
Now...
This villa felt too small because everyone wanted to sit together.
Jay laughed so hard that tears gathered in her eyes.
Keiren couldn't stop smiling.
Even Yuri...
Actually smiled.
Not a fake one.
A real one.
For the first time in days...
Nobody looked afraid.
Nobody looked broken.
They simply looked...
Happy.
And somehow...
That made this entire island feel more like home than any mansion I'd ever owned.
Outside...
The waves rolled gently onto the shore.
Inside...
Section E continued arguing over who had secretly hidden the missing UNO cards.
Nobody confessed.
But judging by the crumbs all over the table...
I had a feeling Keigan knew exactly where they had disappeared.
The villa had finally become quiet.
The clock on the wall read 2:47 A.M.
The pizza boxes were still lying on the coffee table.
UNO cards were scattered across the floor.
The television was still playing quietly in the background.
Upstairs...
Keigan and Keiren had already fallen asleep hours ago.
Outside...
Percy and Aries had wandered down to the beach, still arguing about who had actually won the last game.
Inside the living room...
Only seven people remained.
Me.
Yuri.
Ci-In.
Edrix.
Rory.
Felix.
Mayo.
For the first time all night...
Nobody spoke.
I leaned back on the sofa, letting out a tired breath.
Edrix looked toward the staircase.
"...She finally smiled."
Everyone knew exactly who he meant.
Jay.
Rory smiled faintly.
"I don't think I've seen her laugh that much in weeks."
Felix slowly nodded.
"Not fake laughing."
"Real laughing."
Ci-In rested both elbows on his knees.
"Did you notice something?"
Everyone looked at him.
"She wasn't looking over her shoulder every five seconds anymore."
The room became quiet again.
Yuri lowered his eyes.
"...I noticed."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"I think..."
"...this island was exactly what she needed."
I looked toward the staircase leading to the guest rooms.
For a moment...
I could almost hear her laughing again.
Edrix broke the silence.
"You know..."
"I still remember the first day she came into Section E."
Rory laughed softly.
"She looked like she'd rather jump out of the classroom window than talk to us."
Felix smiled.
"And Percy somehow managed to become her brother in less than a week."
Everyone chuckled.
Ci-In looked at me.
"And you..."
"You barely spoke three sentences to her."
I couldn't help smiling.
"I wasn't exactly good with people."
Edrix laughed.
"You still aren't."
"Fair."
Yuri looked at me for a long moment before speaking.
"...Can I ask you something?"
I nodded.
"What made you trust her?"
The question lingered in the room.
I thought for a few seconds.
Then answered honestly.
"She never asked me for anything."
Everyone stayed silent.
I continued.
"Everyone around me always wanted something."
"My name."
"My money."
"My influence."
"My family."
"But..."
I looked down at the untouched deck of UNO cards.
"Jay was different."
"She never cared who I was."
"She only cared whether I had eaten."
A small smile appeared on Rory's face.
"That sounds like her."
I nodded.
"She has this habit..."
"...of worrying about everyone except herself."
Ci-In smiled knowingly.
"Exactly."
"If one of us gets a headache..."
"She's already searching for medicine."
"If someone skips lunch..."
"She'll split her own food."
Felix laughed quietly.
"And then she'll claim she wasn't hungry anyway."
Everyone smiled.
Yuri slowly looked toward the staircase.
"...She's stronger than she thinks."
I looked at him.
"No."
"She's stronger than all of us think."
Another silence settled over the room.
Not heavy.
Comfortable.
Edrix stretched before smiling.
"You know what scares me?"
"What?" Rory asked.
He laughed softly.
"One day..."
"We'll all graduate."
"We'll get jobs."
"Move to different cities."
"Meet different people."
He looked around the room.
"I just hope..."
"...we don't stop calling each other idiots."
Ci-In chuckled.
"I'll personally remind everyone."
Felix raised his juice can.
"To Section E."
Everyone quietly lifted their cans.
"To Section E."
I looked around the room.
These idiots...
Had somehow become the family I never expected to have.
And upstairs...
The girl who had changed every one of us...
Was finally sleeping peacefully.
For tonight...
That was enough.
A sudden creak echoed from the staircase. Everyone instinctively looked up.
There she was. Jay. Wrapped from head to toe in a fluffy white blanket like a tiny walking marshmallow.
Her hair was messy from sleep. Her eyes were barely open. She yawned softly while rubbing one eye with the back of her hand.
Edrix blinked. "...Is she even awake?"
Rory chuckled. "I don't think so." Jay took another sleepy step. Then another.
Completely missing the last stair. I stood up immediately. "Jay."
Jay's POV
I wasn't fully awake.
Not even close.
I only knew one thing...
The villa had suddenly become too quiet.
A few minutes ago, everyone had been laughing so loudly that I was sure the neighbors—if this island even had any—would complain.
Now...
I couldn't hear anything.
I slowly opened one eye.
"...Where did everyone go?"
Still wrapped tightly in my fluffy white blanket, I climbed out of bed.
The floor felt cold beneath my feet.
I yawned, rubbed my eyes, and quietly opened the bedroom door.
The voices were coming from downstairs.
I smiled to myself.
"They're still awake..."
Without even bothering to change, I wrapped the blanket around myself like a little cocoon and slowly walked toward the staircase.
Every step felt heavier than the last.
I was definitely still half asleep.
As I reached the stairs, I saw everyone gathered in the living room.
The lights were dim.
Pizza boxes were still scattered across the table.
UNO cards were everywhere.
Some empty juice bottles stood forgotten on the coffee table.
They were all talking so seriously that nobody noticed me.
I carefully took another step...
...and missed one.
Before I could stumble, someone gently caught my arm.
I blinked sleepily.
Keifer.
He gave me a small, amused smile.
"Easy."
"I wasn't falling," I mumbled.
"You definitely were."
"I had everything under control."
"So that's what you call it?"
I puffed my cheeks.
"Exactly."
He chuckled quietly and stayed beside me as we continued downstairs.
The moment I reached the last step...
I accidentally stepped on something.
"Owww!"
Percy's dramatic voice echoed through the villa.
"Baby sistah!"
"Don't you have eyes?"
My sleepy brain finally registered what had happened.
I slowly looked down.
Percy's foot.
"Oh..."
"...There was a Percy."
The whole room burst into laughter.
Aries folded his arms dramatically.
"Jay."
"You also have to look down."
"There are hardworking people sitting here."
I blinked.
"What work?"
Percy pointed proudly at himself.
"Talking."
Aries nodded.
"Same."
"We've been talking for the last twenty minutes."
I stared at both of them.
"...That's work?"
"It requires talent," Percy replied confidently.
"And dedication," Aries added with a completely serious face.
I couldn't help laughing.
"Oh!"
I suddenly remembered something.
"I have to tell Ella that aries yelled at me."
Aries's eyes widened.
"W-Wait!"
He immediately stood up.
"I wasn't yelling!"
"You just called me blind."
"I was... speaking with emotion."
Percy pointed straight at Aries.
"Yes, he was.".
"Whose side are you on?" Aries asked
"My own."
"Traitor."
Percy shrugged.
"I'm protecting myself."
Percy clasped both his hands dramatically.
"Baby sistah..."
Then aries don't listen to him my one and only beautiful sister listen to me "Please don't tell Ella."
I tried very hard not to laugh.
"Why ?"
"Because she'll scold me!"
Percy nodded quickly.
"And somehow I'll get scolded too."
I pretended to think for a moment before smiling.
"Fine."
"I'll let both of you go this time."
Aries dramatically wiped imaginary tears from his eyes.
"I knew my sister loved me."
I pointed a finger at him.
"Don't make me change my mind."
He immediately sat down.
"Understood."
Everyone laughed again.
I looked around the room.
"So..."
"You guys continue your very important work."
Percy nodded proudly.
"We shall."
Aries saluted dramatically.
"We're professionals."
Shaking my head with a smile, I walked toward the sofa.
Ci-In noticed me first.
"Look who's finally awake."
"I was already awake."
"You look like you're still dreaming."
"I'm multitasking."
I picked up a small bowl of chips from the table and happily settled onto the sofa.
The moment I grabbed one...
Ci-In casually reached over.
"I'll take one."
Before his fingers could reach the bowl—
Smack.
I lightly tapped the back of his hand.
"No."
He looked at me in mock disbelief.
"You hit me."
"You were stealing."
"I was sharing."
"You forgot to ask."
"I was about to."
"Liar."
The others watched us with amused smiles.
Ci-In sighed dramatically.
"I helped organize tonight."
"I deserve at least one chip."
I looked at the bowl thoughtfully.
Then picked the tiniest chip I could find and held it out.
"Here."
He stared at it.
"...That's not a chip."
"It absolutely is."
"It's a crumb."
"It's all you're getting."
The room erupted into laughter.
Even Yuri let out a quiet chuckle.
"For someone who just woke up..."
"...she negotiates surprisingly well."
I proudly hugged my bowl closer.
"My snacks."
"Your rules."
Ci-In shook his head with a smile.
"I should've known."
The villa filled with laughter once again, and for a little while longer, none of us wanted the night to end.
The laughter slowly faded into comfortable silence.
One by one, yawns spread around the room.
Percy stretched so dramatically that everyone looked at him.
"I officially resign from being awake."
Aries nodded immediately.
"Accepted."
"You weren't the one hiring me."
"I promoted myself."
Ci-In rubbed his forehead.
"Can both of you stop talking for five minutes?"
"No."
The answer came in perfect unison.
Everyone laughed.
I smiled tiredly and shifted a little closer to the sofa, pulling the white blanket around herself as i rested against the keifer.
Keifer quietly picked up another folded blanket from the back of the couch and placed it over my shoulders.
"You'll get cold."
Jay looked up with a sleepy smile.
"...Thanks."
AUTHOR POV
She adjusted the blanket and curled up comfortably.
Within minutes, her eyes were already beginning to close again.
Felix noticed first.
"I think she's falling asleep."
Edrix lowered his voice.
"Let's not wake her."
Everyone instinctively began speaking more quietly.
The villa, which had been bursting with laughter only moments ago, settled into a peaceful calm.
Percy looked around.
"So..."
"Who's sleeping where?"
"Not beside you," Rory answered immediately.
"That hurts."
"It's the truth."
Keigan's voice drifted faintly from upstairs.
"Can you all be quiet?"
The entire room froze.
Then Percy whispered,
"...He's talking in his sleep."
Another round of muffled laughter spread through the room.
Ci-In claimed one end of the sofa.
Felix grabbed a beanbag.
Rory stretched out on the rug with a pillow.
Edrix threw a blanket over himself on the carpet.
Yuri quietly switched off the brighter lights, leaving only the warm glow of the lamps near the windows.
Outside, the waves continued their gentle rhythm against the shore.
Inside, no one had the energy for another game.
No one wanted to end the night either.
One by one...
Conversations faded.
Yawns replaced jokes.
The television continued playing softly in the background.
The island villa finally grew peaceful.
For the first time in a long while...
Section E wasn't worrying about missions, enemies, or tomorrow.
They simply fell asleep wherever they had been sitting, surrounded by friends, laughter, and the memories of one unforgettable night.
Hello, everyone! 💗
A lovely reader suggested a new hashtag, of keifer and aries #kafer# and I absolutely loved it, so I'm adding it here with credit.
Hashtag credit: jasmine_6389💗
First of all, thank you so much for waiting patiently for this chapter. Every vote, comment, review, and kind message means more to me than you can imagine. Thank you for always supporting me and my stories. 🥹
Don't worry! I know many of you are waiting for more Jayfer moments, funny Section E chaos, emotional scenes, and some shocking twists. I promise I'll keep trying my best to fulfill your wishes while maintaining the flow of the story. 💕
Also... a small hint. 👀
The upcoming chapters won't only be from Jayfer's or Section E's perspective. Someone very close to them is going to take the spotlight, and let's just say... things are about to become much more interesting. Stay tuned! ✨
And now... something personal. 🥹🎉
Tomorrow is my birthday! 🎂💗 30 june
So if I don't upload a chapter tomorrow, I hope you'll understand. I'll try my best, but if I can't, I'll definitely be back with another update very soon!
Also... did you all watch Ash's new video? 👀 If you know... you know. 🤭❤️
Thank you so much for your amazing idea!
Thank you all for being part of this journey with me. I hope you'll continue to stay with me until the very end of this story.
Love you all so much! 🫶💖
#JayferForever
#AshDresForReal
#TeamJay
#TeamKeifer
#Kafer 💙 (Suggested by reader @jasmine_6389)