Chapter 2
Chapter Two
The first thing Dante heard at three in the morning was the sound of tiny rocks hitting his bedroom window. He ignored the first two, buried his face deeper into his pillow after the third, but when another pebble tapped against the glass, he let out a frustrated groan.
"Seriously?"
He dragged himself out of bed, his feet barely finding balance as he stumbled across his dark room. His hair was a complete mess, and his mind was still trapped somewhere between sleep and reality.
When he pulled open the door to his small balcony, the cold midnight air hit his face. Then a familiar voice called out from below.
"Good morning!"
Dante looked down.
Standing below his balcony was Adrian Harrington, looking far too awake for three in the morning and far too pleased with himself for someone who had clearly lost his mind.
The moonlight reflected against his blonde hair, and that same bright smile from yesterday was already spread across his face like waking up at three in the morning was the most normal thing in the world.
Dante stared at him.
"It is literally the middle of the night."
Adrian laughed.
"Technically, it's morning."
"Technically, you need to go back to bed."
Dante turned and headed back inside. He had barely reached his bed when Adrian's voice rang out again from below.
"Come on!"
Dante rolled his eyes, already fighting the urge to yawn.
"No."
"We're going to watch the sunrise!"
Dante rubbed a hand over his face.
"No."
"It'll be beautiful! Dante!”
A grin spread across Adrian's face.
"Get dressed."
Dante grabbed his pillow and dropped his face into it.
"Five more minutes." A laugh came from outside.
"Dante, if you don't come down, I'm going to keep throwing rocks until one actually hits your window."
Dante lifted his head.
"You know that sounds like a threat, right?"
"It's motivation."
"It's definitely a threat."
Despite himself, Dante laughed.
He walked back to the balcony, resting his elbows against the railing as he looked down at Adrian.
The former golden boy of Westbridge High was standing in the street at three in the morning, smiling like he hadn't spent the last few weeks being treated like a stranger by everyone around him.
Dante shook his head as he spoke. "Do you always bother people this early?"
"Only people who need more excitement in their lives."
"You're unbelievable." Adrian grinned.
"And yet you're still talking to me."
Dante rolled his eyes.
"Give me five minutes."
"Promise?" Dante sighed in defeat and stared at Adrian.
"Yes, Adrian. I promise."
Satisfied, Adrian stepped back while Dante closed the balcony door and returned to his room, still wondering why he had agreed. Maybe it was because Adrian was impossible to ignore, or maybe because, despite only knowing him for a few days, Dante could already see what everyone else missed, a man trying to stand back up after falling.
By the time he stepped outside, Adrian was waiting beside an old convertible parked along the street, and Dante instantly regretted every life choice that had led him there.
"You're telling me you woke me up at three in the morning just so we could watch the sun rise?"
Adrian opened the driver's door.
"Yes."
"You're insane."
Adrian grinned then shrugged. "Maybe."
Dante climbed into the passenger seat.
The car looked old, but it was obvious Adrian cared about it. It wasn't the flashy vehicle people expected from someone like him.
Then again, maybe that was the point, because ever since losing his popularity, Adrian no longer seemed interested in proving anything to anyone.
The old convertible rumbled to life, and they drove through the quiet streets of Westbridge in comfortable silence.
The world outside was still dark, the streets empty, and the city looked completely different without crowds of students filling every corner.
Dante glanced at Adrian, and the sight felt strangely unfamiliar. For the first time, Adrian looked relaxed, genuinely happy, and almost... normal.
"You know," Dante said, breaking the silence, "most people sleep during this hour."
Adrian smiled.
"Most people miss moments like this."
Dante shook his head.
"You really changed, didn't you?"
Adrian's smile faded slightly.
"What do you mean?"
"You don't seem like someone who cares about what people think anymore."
For a moment, Adrian stared ahead before letting out a quiet laugh.
"I guess I don't."
The answer reminded Dante of the conversation they'd had yesterday, of the reason everyone had turned their backs on Adrian. It all came down to one championship, one loss, and one mistake that had cost him everything.
"I still can't believe they turned against you because of one game," Dante said.
Adrian's hands tightened slightly around the steering wheel.
"It wasn't just the game."
Dante looked at him.
Adrian sighed.
"After everything happened, I realized how fake everything was."
He glanced out the window.
"My friends liked me because I was useful. Because I was the captain. Because I was the person everyone expected to win."
His voice became quieter.
"When I stopped being that person, they stopped caring."
Dante didn't know what to say because, in his own way, he understood what it felt like to have people decide who you were before they ever bothered to know you. Before the silence could grow too heavy, Adrian suddenly smiled again.
"But enough depressing conversations."
Dante raised an eyebrow.
"You're the one who brought it up."
"I know."
"You're weird."
"I've been told."
That made Dante laugh, and Adrian looked absurdly pleased with himself, as if making him laugh was an achievement worth celebrating. By the time they reached Crescent View Hill, the darkness had begun to fade, the first streaks of morning painting the horizon, and after parking near the edge of the cliff, they stepped out into the cold wind. Dante pulled his jacket tighter around himself as he took in the breathtaking view in front of them.
Below them, the entire town lay asleep beneath the fading night as Adrian walked to the back of the car and popped open the trunk. Dante watched him with quiet curiosity.
"What are you doing?"
Adrian pulled out a guitar case.
Dante blinked.
"You brought a guitar?"
Adrian smiled.
"Of course."
"Why?"
"Because it's on my list."
Dante remembered, bucket list number six. Play guitar and sing in front of a crowd.
Dante watched as Adrian opened the case and carefully lifted out the guitar, his entire demeanor changing the moment his fingers touched it. In that instant, he looked less like the famous athlete everyone expected and more like someone finally discovering who he wanted to be, and as they sat on the hood of the car while Adrian played a few quiet notes, Dante found himself smiling without realizing it.
"Not bad." Adrian looked offended.
"Not bad?"
"Okay. Good."
Adrian looked horrified, as though Dante had just cursed him.
"No, I am not good. Better."
Hew corrected making Dante laughed.
"I didn't know you could play."
Adrian looked down at the guitar.
"I only started recently."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
He hesitated.
"I want to perform at the talent contest this summer."
Dante looked surprised.
"You?"
Adrian nodded.
"I've never played in front of people before."
Dante studied him.
The same person who used to stand in front of hundreds of people during basketball games was afraid of performing?
"Why?"
Adrian smiled faintly.
"Because basketball was different."
He looked at the guitar.
"People expected me to be good at basketball. It was the one thing I was known for."
His fingers brushed against the strings.
"But this..."
He swallowed. "This is something I'm doing because I want to. Not because people expect it."
Dante understood. For Adrian, this wasn't just about singing. It was about proving he was more than one mistake, one missed shot, or the reputation everyone had forced onto him, and that realization made Dante smile.
"I think it's a good idea."
Adrian looked at him.
"You do?"
"Yeah."
A small smile appeared on Adrian's face.
"Thanks."
For some reason, Dante found himself looking away because Adrian's smile stirred something inside him that he didn't understand yet. Unaware of the effect he'd had, Adrian lowered his gaze to the guitar in his hands, his fingers brushing lightly over the strings.
"I still need to write an original song," he admitted.
Dante glanced at him.
"Can't you just play something you already know?"
Adrian shook his head.
"The talent contest doesn't allow that. Everyone has to perform something original."
Dante nodded slowly. "So what are you going to write about?"
Adrian looked toward the horizon, where the darkness was slowly giving way to the first traces of morning.
"I don't know." He laughed softly.
"Isn't that the problem?" Dante leaned back against the car.
"Write about something you know." Adrian looked at him.
"Like what?"
"Your life."
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
"My life?"
"Yeah. Everything that happened."
Dante shrugged.
"Your whole thing is about realizing you wasted time trying to be someone else. Maybe write about that."
A small smile appeared on Adrian's face.
"You make it sound easy."
"It is easy."
"No, it isn't."
"Why?"
Adrian looked down at his guitar. "Because I don't know if I'm actually good enough."
The answer caught Dante off guard. This was the same person who had once stood in front of thousands during championship games without flinching, yet somehow the thought of singing a single song terrified him even more.
"Adrian."
He looked up.
"You don't have to be perfect."
The words came out before Dante could think about them.
"That's the problem, isn't it? Everyone expected you to be perfect. But you don't have to prove anything to anyone."
Adrian stared at him, and for a brief moment, the teasing smile slipped from his face. Then he looked away and let out a quiet laugh.
"You really are different." Dante frowned at him.
"Is that a compliment?" Adrian nodded without hesitation.
"It is."
"Good." A grin tugged at Adrian's lips.
"I was worried you were going to insult me."
"I can still do that later."
Adrian chuckled. "Good. I would miss it."
Dante rolled his eyes, though he had to fight the smile threatening to appear.
There it was again, that strange, effortless comfort between them, as though they'd known each other far longer than just a few days. As the first light of sunrise spilled across the horizon, Adrian lowered his gaze to the guitar resting in his hands.
"The melody in my heart," he murmured.
Dante looked at him.
"What?"
Adrian shook his head.
"Nothing."
Adrian never stopped smiling as he adjusted the guitar and closed his eyes, sitting perfectly still for a few seconds before his fingers finally moved across the strings. A soft melody drifted through the quiet morning air, and with no crowd, no cheers, no pressure, and no one there to judge him, it was simply Adrian and the music.
Then Adrian began to sing, his voice far from perfect but so honest that it was impossible not to listen. Dante didn't interrupt or make a single joke, he simply sat there in silence, listening to every word.
For the first time, Dante wasn't looking at Adrian Harrington, the basketball star everyone admired. He was simply looking at Adrian, and when the last note faded into the wind, he quietly met his gaze.
"That was good." Adrian smiled slightly.
"Just good?"
Dante laughed.
"Fine. It was amazing."
"See? That is so much better."
"You really need compliments, don't you?"
"Maybe."
Dante shook his head. "You're impossible."
"You're still here."
The words were simple, but they made Dante pause because Adrian was right. Everyone else had walked away, yet Dante had stayed, and Adrian had noticed.
As the first rays of sunlight spilled over the horizon, the darkness slowly melted into shades of gold, orange, and pink, and neither of them spoke. Watching the sunrise, Dante finally understood it wasn't just another item on Adrian's list. It was proof that even after losing everything, a new beginning was still possible, and Adrian quietly breathed it all in.
"I think this might be my favorite one so far."
Dante smiled.
"You've only completed one thing."
"I know."
"How can it be your favorite?"
Adrian looked at him.
"Because I didn't do it alone."
Dante suddenly didn't know what to say because Adrian's words lingered in a way he couldn't explain. He looked away, pretending to focus on the sunrise instead.
"It's too early for emotional speeches."
Adrian laughed.
"You're right."
"Also, your hair looks terrible."
Adrian touched his hair.
"What?"
Dante grinned.
"You look like you fought a bird and lost."
Adrian gasped.
"That's rude."
"It's true."
"You were supposed to be encouraging."
"I encouraged your music. Your hair is a different problem."
Adrian laughed so loudly that Dante couldn't help smiling.
And for a moment, sitting there above the town as the sun rose around them, Dante forgot that Adrian Harrington had once been the most popular person in school.
For that moment, Dante forgot about the rumors, the loss, and everyone who had abandoned Adrian. All he saw was the boy beside him, quietly trying to start over.
After they returned from Crescent View Hill, Adrian went right back to talking about his bucket list. Dante quickly realized that whenever Adrian got excited about something, there was no stopping him.
"Number eight is still my favorite," Adrian said.
Dante looked confused.
"Sending a message in a bottle?"
"Yeah."
Dante frowned, amused. "Why?"
Adrian shrugged.
"I don't know. I like the idea that something I write could travel somewhere I've never been."
Dante smiled.
"That's actually not as ridiculous as I expected."
"Thank you? It was almost a compliment."
"Almost?" Adrian raised a brow.
"Don't get used to it."
Adrian laughed.
Dante didn't realize it then, but that morning would become one of the moments he remembered most.
It wasn't because of the sunrise or the song. It was because, for the first time, Dante had seen Adrian Harrington truly happy, and somehow, he already knew he wanted to see that smile again.