Chapter 70: Bro Code and Heart Codes
The rest of Saturday had been... calmer. Almost suspiciously so. After Celestia reassured me that I wasn’t about to fail Valentine’s by existing, my brain finally shut up for the evening. No overthinking, no panicking—just her stealing my snacks and me pretending I didn’t like it.
But Monday? Monday came swinging.
Honestly. If the school board cared about student mental health, they’d have canceled classes the week of Valentine’s. Because this wasn’t education—it was chaos disguised as homeroom.
By first period, Valentine’s was the topic. Everywhere.
"Who’s your Val?"
"Are you asking her out?"
"My boyfriend got me—"
It was like the school had been infected by some glittery, red and white disease and everyone was delirious with it.
I slumped in my chair while Marina scrolled through her phone beside me. Every direction I turned, hearts and flowers. The whole place was a rom-com I didn’t sign up for.
"Seriously," I muttered, shaking my head at the two guys behind us who were fighting over which bouquet to buy. "You’d think it was a national exam the way they’re stressing."
Marina hummed, half-listening.
"No, like, really. What is it about Valentine’s that turns people into lunatics? It’s one day. Chocolate. Dinner. A couple red balloons. Congratulations, you’ve participated in capitalism."
She finally looked up from her phone, lips twitching. "You sound mad."
"I’m not mad. I’m laughing," I said smugly. "Laughing at how seriously everyone’s taking this. It’s actually hilarious."
Marina tilted her head. "Mm. That so?"
"Yes. That so." I leaned back, extra confident. "Like, imagine losing your mind over a Hallmark holiday. Couldn’t be me."
Her smile widened just a fraction, and I should’ve recognized the warning. "Funny. Because I have a date."
I blinked. "...What?"
She tucked her phone away, almost smug now. "Valentine’s. I actually have a date."
My brain short-circuited. Not you too. Not you too.
"You—" I almost choked. "Marina. You?"
"Why do you sound so offended?" she asked, laughing.
"I’m not offended," I lied. "I’m just... wow. Okay. First everyone else, now you. This is ridiculous."
She arched an eyebrow. "And what, you don’t?"
The way she asked it, casual but knowing, made my ears heat. I didn’t even have to answer. She already knew. Of course she did.
"Don’t look at me like that," I muttered, staring very hard at the desk.
Marina smirked. "Kai. Obviously your date is Celestia."
I groaned into my hands. "Do you even hear yourself? You make it sound like..."
} "Like what? Like she’s literally glued to your side every other second of the day?"
I dropped my hands, glaring. "You’re enjoying this way too much."
Marina just shrugged, clearly satisfied with herself. "It’s not my fault you’re easy to read. Besides, don’t act like you’re above it. You’ve been quieter than usual all morning. Let me guess—panicking about what to do for Valentine’s?"
"I am not panicking," I said firmly. Which was exactly what someone panicking would say.
Marina didn’t get to reply, because that was the exact moment the classroom atmosphere shifted. You know that weird, collective hush when royalty walks in? Yeah.
Celestia Valentina Moreau strolled through the door like the room had been waiting for her all morning. Head high, steps unhurried, the faintest curve of a smile playing on her lips. Queen bee energy.
And yes, okay, my chest did this annoying tight thing, because even after weeks of her doing this, I still hadn’t built immunity.
She spotted us instantly. Me, slouched in my seat, Marina grinning like she’d won something.
Celestia’s smile deepened. She walked straight over. "Good morning, husband."
I barely had time to respond before she turned to Marina. "Marina. How are you?"
"Fine," Marina said smoothly. "We were just talking about Valentine’s."
Of course. Of course they were going to gang up on me.
Celestia’s eyes flicked to me, amused. "Were you, now?"
Marina nodded. "I was asking if Kai’s asked you out yet. You know. Officially."
My head whipped toward Marina. "What?"
Both of them laughed. Out loud. At the same time.
Celestia leaned against my desk, smirking down at me like she’d caught me red-handed. "You didn’t, did you?"
I opened my mouth. Closed it. "We... you literally live with me, every other weekend . Do I really need to—"
"Yes," they said in unison.
I wanted to melt into the floor.
Celestia, grinning wickedly, tapped her chin as if in deep thought. "Mm. Sweet, isn’t it? He didn’t even ask, and still..." She trailed off, eyes dancing as she looked at Marina. "And still, somehow, I’m his Valentine. Imagine the luck."
Marina grinned. "Must be fate."
Celestia’s smirk sharpened. "Exactly. My name is Valentina, after all. His Valentine is Valentina. If that’s not a sign, I don’t know what is."
They both laughed again, like this was the funniest thing in the world.
Meanwhile, I was sitting there dying.
---
By the second class of the day, every conversation, every whisper, every doodle in the margins of a notebook was Valentine’s-related. "Who’s your Val?" was being tossed around like a national anthem. People were comparing roses they hadn’t even been given yet, planning grand gestures, whispering about who might confess to who.
And me? I was trying to pretend none of it mattered.
I was succeeding—mostly—until Professor Halifax of all people decided to ruin it.
Professor Halifax, the man who looked like fun had personally wronged him sometime in the 70s, actually paused at the end of his lecture and said—out loud—
"Enjoy your Valentine’s, students."
The class blinked at him like someone had body-snatched the guy.
Then the whispering started again, louder than before, and I swear something in my chest dropped like a stone.
Great. Now it wasn’t just the students making it unbearable, even the human statue was in on it.
By the time lunch rolled around, I was seconds away from ripping the heart-shaped doodles off the whiteboard myself.
The cafeteria was worse. If the morning had been a warm-up, lunch was the full performance. Noise everywhere, laughter echoing, chairs scraping, trays clattering.
And smack in the middle of the chaos—a guy on one knee, holding out a box of chocolates like he was proposing.
"To Valentine’s!" he shouted, grinning at the girl in front of him.
The entire cafeteria erupted. Cheers, whoops, claps.
Until she said no.
Flat. Quick. Brutal.
The cafeteria flipped instantly—boos, laughter, the kind of heckling that could make a man drop out of school on the spot.
I winced, sinking lower in my seat at our table. That was hard to watch.
Beside me, Celestia pouted. Actually pouted, lower lip and all. "See that? That’s how you ask a girl out for Valentine’s."
I whipped my head toward her. "I’m not the only one who just saw the guy get rejected, right?"
"That’s not the point," she said firmly, turning her pout into a scolding look. "Right, Marina?"
Marina, sitting across from us didn’t even blink. "She’s right."
And yes, for reasons I hadn’t fully processed yet, Marina was sitting with us. With her date.
Which was Trent. Quarterback, golden boy, the kind of guy who looked like he came out of a Nike commercial. He’d joined her at our table like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Trent leaned back in his chair, chewing on a fry. "Gotta agree with them, man. If you’re taking a girl out for Valentine’s, you ask her properly. Big or small, doesn’t matter. Point is, you asked."
I stared at him, betrayed. "You’re seriously siding with them?"
He shrugged, like it was obvious. "They’re right. I mean, look at that poor guy—at least he shot his shot."
I threw up my hands. "He missed. In front of the entire cafeteria."
Celestia reached over and poked my arm, smiling too sweetly. "Don’t listen to him. It’s about effort. It’s romantic."
I gave her a look. "Romantic is not public humiliation."
Marina snorted. "Wow. Real poet, aren’t you?"
Celestia laughed with her, and for a second I thought they’d both start throwing breadsticks at me in solidarity.
But then, thankfully, the conversation drifted. Celestia tugged Marina’s sleeve and stood, announcing they were going to grab more food. "For all of us," she added before I could ask.
And just like that, the two of them walked off together, their voices fading into the cafeteria noise.
I stared after them, still baffled. "When did they even become friends?"
Trent chuckled, leaning an elbow on the table. "You really don’t notice things, do you?"
"Uh?"
He shook his head, grinning like he was in on some joke I wasn’t. Then he studied me for a second, serious now. "Lemme guess. You have no idea what to do for Valentine’s."
I blinked. "Yes." Then, more desperate than I meant to sound, "Yes. I need help."
Trent laughed, low and easy. "Man, I knew it."
I slumped forward. "Don’t laugh. I’m doomed. She’s... she’s expecting something, and I—look, I don’t do this kind of thing."
He leaned closer, dropping his voice like he was about to hand me the secret to the universe. "Listen. I’ll give it to you straight. Your girl?" He nodded in the direction Celestia had gone. "She’s scary."
My head jerked up. "Excuse me?"
"Scary," he repeated. "From afar. She’s gorgeous, yeah, but she’s got that whole... don’t-mess-with-me vibe. Intimidating. Every guy knows it."
I stiffened, not sure whether to feel defensive or agree. "And your point?"
"My point is," Trent said, smirking, "sitting here at this table today? Watching her? I realized she’s not scary at all. Not with you."
I froze.
"She’s soft, man," Trent continued, as if he hadn’t just dropped a grenade in my brain. "Like, crazy soft. You see it in the way she talks to you. The way she looks at you."
My throat went tight. "...What way?"
He gave me a look, like I was the dumbest guy alive. "You know, that way. That look that says you’re her whole world and she doesn’t even care who knows it. You can’t fake that. Not easy to get a girl to look at you like that."
I had no idea what to say.
"So yeah," Trent finished, leaning back again. "Whatever you do, she’ll be happy. You don’t have to plan fireworks. Just show up. She already picked you."
Silence stretched between us for a second.
Then I muttered, "You’re weirdly good at this."
He shrugged, grinning again. "I pay attention. And hey, she even calls you her husband. That’s already settled, isn’t it?"
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. "...Thanks."
"No problem, man."
We sat there for a beat, the cafeteria noise swelling around us again. And then I saw them—Celestia and Marina, coming back, trays in hand, laughing about something. Heads tipped toward each other, eyes bright, like they’d been friends for years instead of days.
And yeah, okay. Maybe Trent was right.
Because the second she walked back into the room, trays in hand, still laughing with Marina, her eyes found me. Instantly. Like she’d been searching for me the whole time without even realizing it.
And in that split second, the noise of the cafeteria didn’t matter, the laughter around us didn’t matter—none of it did.
She looked at me the way people look at home.
And I thought—maybe Valentine’s wasn’t about grand gestures or perfect plans. Maybe it was just this. Her. Choosing me, over and over, without even trying.
---
To be continued...