The alarm clock's shrill beep cut through the peaceful silence of Ellie Parker's small dorm room. She groaned, pulling the blanket over her head in a futile attempt to block out the world. Another day, another slog through classes and work. She reluctantly peeked out, squinting at the time: 7:03 a.m. Perfect. Just enough time to roll out of bed, slap on some mascara, and grab a questionable cup of coffee from the vending machine downstairs.
With a resigned sigh, Ellie sat up, her auburn hair sticking up in a dozen directions. A glance in the mirror confirmed what she already suspected—today was going to be a "messy bun and oversized hoodie" kind of day. She grabbed her favorite navy sweatshirt, one that had seen better days, and threw it on over her leggings.
Ellie lived in a perpetual state of not-quite-ready, but she didn't mind. Perfection was overrated, and besides, her classes didn't require much more than her brain and a willingness to show up.
"Let's get this over with," she muttered to herself, tossing her books into her battered tote bag.
The lecture hall was half-empty when Ellie arrived, her sneakers squeaking against the tile floor as she hurried to a seat in the back. Professor Whitman's monotone voice droned on about 19th-century poetry as Ellie tried to focus, but her mind wandered. She doodled aimlessly in the margins of her notebook, sketching swirls and stars that had no business being next to notes about Romanticism.
Her best friend Sara slid into the seat next to her with the grace of a tornado, nearly spilling Ellie's coffee.
"Morning, sunshine!" Sara chirped, entirely too cheerful for someone who had probably just rolled out of bed herself.
Ellie raised an eyebrow. "How are you this chipper before noon? Did you make a deal with the devil or something?"
"Two words: energy drinks," Sara replied with a grin, holding up an empty can like it was a trophy. "You should try it. Might make you less... grumpy."
Ellie rolled her eyes but couldn't help smirking. Sara had a way of making even the dreariest mornings feel a little brighter.
As the lecture dragged on, Ellie's attention was snagged by a faint melody wafting through the air. It wasn't part of the lesson—someone outside must have been playing guitar. The notes were hauntingly familiar, tugging at a memory she couldn't quite place.
Sara noticed Ellie's distracted expression. "Earth to Ellie. What's up?"
"Do you hear that?" Ellie whispered, gesturing toward the open window.
Sara tilted her head. "Huh. Yeah, I guess. Some guy with a guitar. Why?"
Ellie shook her head, her brow furrowing. "I don't know. It just... feels familiar."
By the time class ended, the music was gone, leaving Ellie with a strange sense of loss. She and Sara walked to the campus coffee shop, their usual post-lecture ritual.
"So," Sara began, stirring an alarming amount of sugar into her iced latte, "are you coming to the reunion thing next week?"
Ellie groaned. "Please don't remind me. High school was four years ago. Why do people keep trying to relive it?"
"Because some of us actually had fun," Sara teased. "C'mon, it'll be good for you. You might even run into someone interesting."
"Like who?" Ellie asked, narrowing her eyes. "Most of our classmates were either jerks or people I've blocked on social media."
Sara smirked knowingly. "What about Liam Carter?"
The name hit Ellie like a punch to the gut. She tried to keep her expression neutral, but her fingers tightened around her coffee cup.
"Why would I care about him?" she asked, a little too quickly.
"Oh, I don't know," Sara said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Maybe because you had the biggest crush on him ever? You used to tutor him, for God's sake."
"That was ages ago," Ellie muttered, staring into her coffee. "Besides, he's, like, a rock star now. Probably doesn't even remember I exist."
Sara raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding, right? He wrote that song about you. Don't pretend you haven't thought about it."
Ellie flushed, her mind flashing back to the first time she'd heard Liam's breakout hit, The Girl Who Got Away. The lyrics had struck her like a bolt of lightning, every word echoing their brief but unforgettable connection.
But that was then. Liam Carter was a world away now, living a life Ellie could barely imagine.
"I'm not going to the reunion," Ellie said firmly. "End of discussion."
That night, Ellie curled up in her tiny dorm room with a book, hoping to lose herself in someone else's story for a while. But as she turned the pages, her thoughts kept drifting back to Liam.
She remembered the way he used to strum his guitar in the empty music room after school, his crooked smile making her heart race. She remembered the way he'd looked at her during their last tutoring session, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. And she remembered the kiss they'd shared on prom night, a moment so fleeting she sometimes wondered if she'd imagined it.
Ellie shook her head, trying to push the memories away. It didn't matter now. Liam Carter was just a chapter of her past—one she had no intention of reopening.
But as she drifted off to sleep, the faint melody she'd heard earlier played in her mind, weaving through her dreams like a ghost of what could have been.
And somewhere, miles away, Liam Carter was staring at a photo tucked into his guitar case—a photo of a girl with auburn hair and a lopsided smile, the girl he'd never been able to forget.