His Voice in my Headphones

e', the faded label read, its edges worn like it had been handled a thousand times. She didn't remember ownin

smooth and coaxing, calling her Muse. It was like he'd burrowed into her, a song stuck on repeat. Her phone sat on her bed, the red-heart icon glowing faintly, daring her to open it. She grabbed her neon headphones instead, slipping them on, hoping her playlist could drown out the noise in her head. But Heart Loc

chaotic drums. But at midnight, it'd be dark, empty, the kind of place where shadows felt alive. "Why there?" she whispered, her voice barely aud

elt wrong, like a song with missing chords. She should've called Theo, told him everything-Ezra, the tasks, the way her head felt like it was unraveling. But Theo's warnings last night, his hand on her arm, his eyes too knowing, made her hesitate. He'd been her best friend fo

she knew a back entrance to the music room, a loose window Kai had shown her. Her sneakers crunched on gravel as she climbed through, the room dark save for the moonlight spilling across the drum kits and guitar stands. The air smelled of wood polish and old sheet music, familiar but eerie in the quiet. She set her headphones on the piano, their neon glow stark against the black wood. "Okay, Ezra," she whisper

nt. Her headphones glowed on the piano, and she swore she heard Ezra's faint hum, like he was watching. Theo hesitated, his hand tugging at his hair. "I... I saw you leave your house, so I followed you" he said, his eyes flicking to the floor, like he embarrassed¬¬¬---or hiding something. "Mina, this has to stop. That app, that voice-t

caught between his warmth and Ezra's pull. The room felt too small, the air thick with something unspoken. The phone buzzed again, and the music shifted, the treehouse lyrics louder now, clearer. 'You promised me, Mina, under the stars.' Her head spun, a memory surfacing: her and Theo in the treehouse, carving a heart with Mina & T. But it felt wrong, like someone else was there, watching. She stumbled back, her hand slipping from Theo's, and saw something on the piano beside her headphones-a folded paper with lyrics scrawled in her handwriting: Treehouse