Chapter 16
Jayjay’s POV
The next morning, I woke up before the sun.
Three hours of sleep. Two cups of coffee. One lie on repeat:
“I’m fine.”
No one believed me.
But no one said anything either.
Bianca knocked once that morning, then stopped trying. Freya just gave me a look from across the lecture hall, lips pressed into a worried line.
And Keifer?
He didn’t look at me.
Not once.
Maybe that should’ve made things easier.
It didn’t.
I threw myself into work — notes, outlines, data visualizations, everything that felt tangible.
The CEO report was nearly done, but I rewrote the formatting four times. Spent twenty minutes just adjusting margin spacing. I told myself I was just perfecting it.
But I was spiraling. Again.
At some point in the library, Ci-n appeared and casually placed a water bottle in front of me without saying a word. Just stared at me until I took a sip.
He didn’t even need to say, you’re doing it again.
I knew.
And I hated that I knew.
When I got home, I opened my personal doc — the one I never showed anyone.
I didn’t write another chapter.
I just stared at the blinking cursor.
And then, I broke.
Quietly. Controlled.
Not a meltdown — no sobbing, no screaming.
Just a single, exhausted breath.
And a thought:
“I’m tired of being strong just because no one else knows what to do with my weakness.”
That night, I didn’t touch my books.
I lay on my bed. Staring at the ceiling. Letting silence wrap around me like a second skin.
And for the first time in a long time…
I wished I wasn’t alone.
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Academically Yours (Jayfer)
FanfictionAcademically Yours Jay Mariano has three goals: keep her GPA flawless, avoid Keifer Watson at all costs, and definitely not fall in love. Too bad only one of those is still intact. He's her rival, her academic nightmare, the boy who always manages t...
