The next day, the sky was a soft grey, threatening rain but never quite delivering.
Melissa loved weather like this — it made the world feel quieter, like a secret.
She was sketching random doodles in her notebook outside the music hall when a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Deep thoughts, Miss George?" Dayne teased, plopping down beside her on the stone bench.
Melissa smiled — a real smile this time, not the strained ones she had been wearing lately.
"Just... thinking," she said.
"Thinking about how terrible Alec's guitar skills are?" Dayne joked, nudging her gently with his shoulder.
Melissa laughed — and it felt so good it startled her.
"Maybe a little," she admitted.
Dayne leaned back against the bench, looking up at the low-hanging clouds.
"You know," he said after a pause, "you're different from most people here."
Melissa raised an eyebrow.
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
Dayne turned his head to look at her, his face serious for once.
"It's a very good thing."
Melissa felt a flutter in her chest she hadn't expected.
No pressure. No expectations. Just a boy saying something kind without asking for anything in return.
Dayne pulled something out of his bag — a small, worn notebook.
"Here," he said, handing it to her.
Melissa took it cautiously.
"What is this?"
"My secret songs," Dayne grinned. "I figured... if we're gonna survive this club together, you might as well know my deepest, most embarrassing lyrics."
Melissa opened the notebook, flipping through the messy, beautiful scribbles.
Some pages were filled with lyrics about freedom, sunsets, heartbreak, and hope.
She looked up at him, touched.
"You trust me with this?"
"Yeah," he said simply. "I do."
For a moment, Melissa forgot about Alec. Forgot about everything that had hurt her.
There was just this — a bench, a cloudy sky, and a boy who saw her not as a broken thing, but as someone worth sharing dreams with.
Later that evening, Ginny burst into their dorm room with an announcement.
"Guys, emergency meeting in the music hall! Senior members want to assign everyone into official bands for performances!"
Melissa groaned.
"I barely survived yesterday."
"You'll do fine," Ginny said, pulling her up from the bed. "Especially if you're with golden retriever boy."
Melissa chuckled, but deep down, a nervous excitement started to build.
As they rushed across the campus, Melissa caught herself thinking:
Maybe this year won't just be about surviving.
Maybe... just maybe... it could be about starting over.