"Are you coming to the weekend retreat?" Ginny wiggled her eyebrows at Melissa as they sat on the dorm bed, sharing a tub of ice cream.
Melissa blinked. "Weekend retreat?"
"Yeah! The music club organizes one every year. Kind of a tradition. It's mostly just a bunch of dorks eating bad food, playing instruments and singing late into the night." Ginny laughed. "It's totally optional, but Dayne's going. And… guess who else signed up?"
Melissa didn't need to guess. She already knew. Alec.
Her stomach twisted, and she looked away, poking at the melting ice cream.
"I don't know, Ginny... I have a lot of work to catch up on."
"Boo!" Ginny booed dramatically. "Come on, Lisa. You deserve to live a little. Besides..." she leaned in, voice low, "you can't keep running from your feelings forever."
Melissa rolled her eyes. "You're too much."
"And you're too scared," Ginny said simply, ruffling her hair. "Think about it."
The bus ride to the retreat center was chaotic.
Ginny had practically dragged Melissa onto the bus. Melissa tucked herself into a window seat, headphones on, pretending to be absorbed in music.
"Mind if I sit?"
Alec's voice again, too close, too dangerous.
Melissa didn't answer but didn't stop him either.
He slid into the seat beside her, casual, confident — like they hadn't left a trail of emotional wreckage behind them.
Dayne got on a moment later, scanning the bus. His face darkened slightly when he saw Melissa and Alec seated together. He found a spot nearby, where he could still watch her.
Melissa closed her eyes, feeling trapped.
Why does it always come back to this?
The journey was long. Alec didn't say much, just occasionally bumped her knee "accidentally," each touch sending a confusing jolt through her.
She hated that her heart still reacted.
She hated that she didn't know if it was hate or something else.
The retreat center was a cozy old place in the countryside, with creaky wood floors and huge windows that let in the pale spring sunlight.
They split up into rooms.
Melissa was placed with Ginny, of course.
The boys were just down the hall.
In the evening, after an open mic session full of terrible jokes and surprisingly good performances, Melissa found herself outside on the deck alone, staring at the stars.
The night was too quiet. Her thoughts too loud.
"Can't sleep?"
Dayne's voice broke the stillness. He walked over, hands stuffed into his jacket pockets.
"Just needed some air," Melissa said softly.
He leaned on the railing next to her, close but not touching.
"You were amazing tonight," he said. "Your song... it felt like you were speaking straight to me."
Melissa smiled, a little sadly. "I wasn't speaking to anyone."
"Maybe not," Dayne said. "But I heard you anyway."
Their eyes met, and for a moment Melissa felt herself slipping — into something warmer, safer. Dayne's gaze wasn't hungry or heavy. It was patient. It asked for nothing.
But before anything could happen, heavy footsteps approached.
"You two look cozy," Alec's sarcastic voice cut through the night.
Melissa stiffened. Dayne stayed calm, not moving an inch away from her.
"Just talking," Dayne said casually. But there was a new tension underneath his words now.
"Talking," Alec echoed, his voice dripping with disbelief. His eyes pinned Melissa like a challenge.
"I didn't realize I needed permission," she snapped, surprising even herself with the edge in her tone.
Alec smirked but it didn't reach his eyes. "You don't. Just... don't get too comfortable with people who don't know you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Dayne asked, stepping slightly forward.
Melissa's heart hammered.
Stop it. Stop it, please.
She pushed between them. "Enough," she said firmly. "I'm tired. I'm going inside."
She didn't look back to see if they followed. She didn't want to know.