Kai sighed, stepping fully into the room and crossing his arms. "Jay, it’s me you’re talking to. That tone? That’s your I’m hiding something but I don’t want to admit it voice." His eyes narrowed as he took a step closer. "So… what’s wrong?"

Jay clutched his blanket tighter, curling further into himself. "Nothing. I’m just tired, alright?" he mumbled, but the slight wince in his voice betrayed him.

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. And I’m supposed to believe that? What, did you stub your toe or something? Because you sound way too guilty for just being tired."

Jay remained silent, stubbornly squeezing his eyes shut. Maybe if he stayed still long enough, Kai would get bored and leave.

Yeah. That sounded reasonable.

Unfortunately, Kai wasn’t the leave it alone type.

Instead of retreating, Kai sat on the edge of Jay’s bed, making himself comfortable. "Okay, fine. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," he said, his voice casual but with that underlying Kai tone that meant he was going to find out one way or another.

Jay groaned into his pillow. "Why do you always have to be like this?" he whined.

Kai smirked. "Because you’re bad at lying, and I know you." He leaned back slightly, his sharp gaze sweeping over Jay's form. His eyes flickered toward the way Jay was holding his arm just a little too tightly. His smirk faded, replaced by suspicion. "Wait… are you hurt?"

Jay’s grip tightened, but before he could deny it, Kai was already moving. In one swift motion, he reached for Jay’s blanket.

"NO!" Jay yelped, scrambling to hold onto it, but Kai had the reflexes of a trained ninja—and Jay had the reflexes of, well, Jay.

The blanket was yanked away in one sharp tug, revealing Jay curled up in a protective ball, his right arm clutched tightly against his chest.

Kai’s eyes locked onto it instantly. "Oh, come on," he muttered. Without hesitation, he grabbed Jay’s wrist and gently pulled his arm forward.

Jay tried to resist, but it was no use. Kai was stronger, and Jay’s arm really hurt.

"Ow, ow, ow—fine, fine, you win!" Jay hissed as Kai finally got a good look.

His arm was definitely swollen. A dark bruise was already forming, the skin hot to the touch.

Kai let out an exasperated sigh. "Jay. Seriously? What did you do?"

Jay avoided eye contact. "…Fell."

Kai’s deadpan stare could have melted steel. "You fell," he repeated, completely unimpressed.

"Yes."

"And instead of telling me, you what? Decided to tough it out?" Kai scoffed. "Jay, you’re not Cole. You don’t just ‘tough it out’ and hope for the best."

Jay huffed. "Hey, I can be tough!" he argued.

Kai gave him a flat look. "Dude. You literally cry over mildly spicy food."

Jay’s face turned red. "That was one time!"

Kai snorted. "Yeah, sure." He shook his head, turning his focus back to Jay’s arm. "Well, congratulations, tough guy. You made it worse by not saying anything." He poked the swollen part, and Jay yelped.

"OW! Rude!"

Kai rolled his eyes. "That’s what you get for hiding it." He stood up. "Alright, stay put. I’ll grab some ice."

Jay groaned, dramatically flopping back onto his bed. "Ughhh. You’re so bossy."

Kai smirked. "And you are terrible at keeping secrets. Be right back."

As he left the room, Jay sighed, glaring at his injured arm.

"Stupid arm," he muttered.