BETWEEN DANGER AND LOVE

8:00 AM. Bayland College, California. The sun was already burning through the dorm window. *Damsel Leone* stood in front of the mirror. Her fingers trembled as she fixed the thin silver necklace around her neck. It was the last thing her mother gave her before the car accident 3 years ago. "Don't ever stop singing, baby girl. Your voice is your way out." Her mom’s words echoed in her head. Behind her, *Emily Carter* was cursing at her zipper. "Damsel. We’re gonna be late. Mr Vin’s office. 10AM sharp. If he doesn’t approve your audition tape today, you’re out of the competition." Emily finally gave up and yanked the dress over her head. Red. Tight. Dangerous. Damsel turned. Cream dress. Simple. Hair in a low bun. No makeup except gloss. She looked like a secret. "You look like trouble," Damsel said. "You look like the girl trouble prays doesn’t notice it," Emily shot back and grabbed her bag. This competition wasn’t just about music. Winner gets a $50,000 record deal, a national tour, and their face on Times Square. For Damsel, it meant paying off her mom’s hospital debt. It meant not losing the house. It meant everything. They rushed downstairs. Their Uber was waiting at the curb. --- *BAYLAND COLLEGE - 9:45 AM - PARKING LOT* Music was blasting. *Billy Wilson* was driving with one hand. *Jason Barry* was in the passenger seat rapping badly and missing every beat. "Bro, turn left—" "Chill, I see it—" Screech. Billy slammed the brakes so hard his phone flew off the dashboard. A black Tesla swerved in front of them, missing their bumper by one inch. "What the HELL?!" Billy yelled. The Tesla’s driver door flew open. *Emily*. Heels clicking. Furious. "Are you blind?! You almost killed us!" Billy and Jason scrambled out, hands up. "My bad! I’m sorry! That was on me," Billy said fast. But his eyes weren’t on Emily. They were on the passenger seat. Sitting there was a girl. Cream dress. Hair in a bun. She wasn’t looking at them. She was looking at the time on her phone. But even sitting down, even in chaos, she looked... different. Calm. Like the storm didn’t touch her. Beautiful in a way that made your chest hurt. "Emily, we’re gonna be late," her voice came out. Soft. But it cut through Billy’s anger like a knife. It was *Damsel*. Emily turned, still glaring. "Whatever. Drive better next time." She slid back in. The Tesla pulled away. Jason let out a low whistle. "Bro. Those girls are fine. But the one in the passenger seat... damn. She’s not real." Billy watched the car disappear. Then he smirked. "Keep dreaming." Neither of them knew her name. But 3 parking rows over, someone was watching the whole thing through tinted windows. --- *OFF CAMPUS - 9:50 AM* The Range Rover was silent. Too silent. *Jerrick George* sat in the back. Black hoodie. Headphones on. Eyes closed. He hadn’t spoken in 2 days. Not to anyone. In the front, *Daniel Cole* was talking to fill the silence. "Dude. I’m serious. I’m proud of you for even coming to campus. You’re literally the richest, coldest, most dangerous guy at Bayland and you spend all your time in that mansion." Daniel glanced in the rearview. "Mr Vin’s office. Drop the donation papers. 5 minutes. In and out. Then we’re gone." Jerrick didn’t move. "Maybe you’ll see someone," Daniel kept going. "A friend. Or a girl. God knows you need someone to knock some of that darkness out of you. You can’t keep living like this after what happened to—" "Don’t," Jerrick said. One word. Ice cold. "Right. Shutting up." The gates of Bayland College opened. Jerrick opened his eyes. Gray. Empty. Tired. He had no idea that in 10 minutes, a voice was going to c***k something open inside him that he thought was dead. --- *MR VIN’S OFFICE - 9:58 AM* The hallway was chaos. 30 students. All holding folders. All sweating. *Damsel* sat in the corner with her eyes closed, breathing. In. Out. "You’ve got this," Emily whispered, squeezing her hand. "The second you open your mouth, it’s over for everyone else." The door opened. "Damsel Leone?" Damsel stood. Her legs felt like jelly. Inside, *Mr Vin* didn’t look up from his laptop. He was a man in his 40s. Tired eyes. Reputation for destroying dreams. "Play," he said. Damsel sat at the grand piano. She didn’t touch it for 3 seconds. Then she closed her eyes. And sang. No music. No backup. Just her. It started soft. Like a whisper. By the second line, Mr Vin had stopped typing. By the chorus, the door had opened and two other judges had walked in to listen. When she hit the high note, the room went completely silent. For 5 seconds, nobody breathed. Mr Vin finally looked up. He studied her. "You’re in," he said. "Top 12. First rehearsal Friday 6PM. Don’t be late." Damsel exhaled. She hadn’t realized she was holding her breath. "Thank you," she whispered. She walked out. Head down. Folder clutched to her chest. She didn’t see him. At the end of the hall, leaning against the wall. Arms crossed. Black hoodie. *Jerrick George*. He came here to sign papers. He was supposed to walk in and walk out. But the moment Damsel started singing, his feet stopped moving. He didn’t move for the entire song. When Damsel walked out, she was looking at the floor. She almost ran straight into him. She looked up. One second. Brown eyes. Warm. Tired. Gray eyes. Cold. But something flickered there. Like a spark in the dark. Emily grabbed Damsel’s arm. "Come on. We’re celebrating." They walked away. Daniel appeared next to Jerrick. "You okay, man?" Jerrick didn’t answer. His jaw was tight. His hands were in fists. He didn’t know her name. But he knew he wasn’t going to forget her face. --- *6:00 PM - BAYLAND PARKING GARAGE* Damsel was walking to her car alone. Emily had gone to work. The garage was empty. Too quiet. Her heels echoed. She fumbled with her keys. That’s when she heard it. Footsteps. Behind her. She turned. Nobody. Her heart started racing. She picked up her pace. Click. A car door closing somewhere in the dark. She started to run. Her car was 20 feet away. 10 feet. 5— A hand grabbed her arm and spun her around. Damsel screamed. It was *Billy Wilson*. "Whoa! Chill! It’s just me!" he said, hands up. "I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!" Damsel’s heart was pounding out of her chest. "What do you want?" "I... I saw you this morning. I just wanted to say sorry again. And..." Billy rubbed the back of his neck. "You’re really good. I heard you singing in Mr Vin’s office. You’re gonna win." Damsel didn’t answer. She just walked around him and got in her car. Locked the doors. As she drove off, she saw another car in the corner of the garage. Black. Engine off. Watching. --- *11:30 PM - DAMSEL’S DORM* Damsel was practicing. Softly. So she wouldn’t wake Emily. Just humming. The competition song. Knock knock. Damsel froze. It was late. Emily opened the door. A delivery guy. "Package for Damsel Leone." Plain white envelope. No return address. Damsel’s hands shook as she opened it. Inside: One piece of paper. Block letters. Printed. *_STOP SINGING. OR YOU’LL REGRET IT.__ Emily gasped. "Damsel... what the hell? Who sent this?" Damsel couldn’t speak. Her mouth was dry. She had no enemies. Nobody knew she was competing except Mr Vin and Emily. She walked to the window and pulled back the curtain. In the dark parking lot below, a car was parked. Black Range Rover. Lights off. And in the driver’s seat... a shadow. Watching her window. Damsel dropped the curtain and stumbled back. Outside, in the Range Rover, *Jerrick George* cursed under his breath. He followed her because he didn’t know why. Because her voice wouldn’t leave his head. Then he saw her hold up the note to Emily. His entire body went cold. He grabbed his phone. To: Daniel `Track who sent this. Now. I need a name in 1 hour.` Then he looked back up at her window. His voice was barely a whisper. "Nobody touches her. Nobody." He didn’t know her. But he knew one thing. She was in danger. And from now on, she was his problem. -TO BE CONTINUED