The music room was almost deserted after club hours, with only the golden afternoon light slanting through tall windows.
Melissa sat quietly at the corner piano, running her fingers over the keys.
It had been so long.
The familiar feel of the ivory sent a strange ache through her chest — a bittersweet longing for something she couldn't name.
She hesitated.
Then, almost without thinking, she pressed a key.
And another.
A soft melody filled the air — hesitant at first, like a fawn taking its first steps, then slowly gaining strength.
Melissa closed her eyes, letting herself get lost in it.
Every note was a whisper of her emotions — the loneliness she carried, the fear she hid, the hope she still cradled deep inside.
In that moment, she wasn't the broken girl anymore.
She was just Melissa — a girl with music in her veins.
Outside the music room, Dayne lingered.
He hadn't meant to eavesdrop.
He was passing by when he heard the sound — something pure, something raw — and it stopped him in his tracks.
He leaned lightly against the wall, listening.
He had never seen Melissa like this — so open, so vulnerable, yet so strong.
A small smile tugged at his lips without him realizing.
Inside the room, Alec stood too — hidden in the shadows near the door.
He hadn't planned to follow her.
He wasn't even sure why he had wandered here after his last class.
But hearing her play — it brought back things he thought he had buried.
Memories.
Regrets.
He didn't step forward.
He couldn't.
Not yet.
Alec watched her through the sliver of open door, his fists clenched and eyes heavy with something close to guilt... or maybe something deeper.
Melissa played until the last note faded into the heavy silence.
She opened her eyes, feeling strangely lighter.
Gathering her bag, she turned — but caught a flicker of movement outside the door.
Someone had been there.
Watching.
She felt her stomach twist — a familiar fear rising.
But when she peeked out into the hallway, it was empty.
Only the fading echoes of her music remained.
She shook her head, blaming it on her imagination.
No one cares. Stop dreaming, Lisa.
With that thought, she walked away from the piano, missing the two pairs of eyes still lingering in the shadows, each carrying a different kind of longing.