LOVE IN THE MOONLIGHT

I failed my final exam. Not just failed. Like... 42% failed. My scholarship depends on keeping a 3.5 GPA. If I drop below that, I lose everything. Tuition. Housing. The part-time job at the campus cafe that barely pays my rent. I stared at the email for 20 minutes in the library bathroom. `Dear Aira, We regret to inform you...` My hands were shaking. My chest felt tight. At 2 AM, I couldn't sleep. I couldn't cry in the dorm because Nadia was sleeping. So I did the only thing I could think of. I climbed to the campus rooftop. Campus rules said "No students after 11 PM." But the security guard knew me. He just sighed and said, "Don't jump, okay?" I didn't plan to. I just needed air. And to cry without anyone seeing. The night was cold. The sky was clear. And the moon was so big it hurt to look at it. But someone was already there. A guy. Sitting on the edge of the roof. Legs dangling 5 floors down. Guitar in his lap. Hoodie up. Rayyan Hale. Music major. Campus legend. The guy who got 3 girls' numbers in one day and forgot all of them. The guy who skipped every class but still aced the finals. The guy who played at the campus coffee shop every Friday and made everyone cry. He looked up when he heard my footsteps. His eyes were dark. Tired. No smile. "You're not supposed to be here," he said. Voice rough. "Neither are you," I said. I hugged myself. "It's cold." He didn't answer. He just looked back at the moon. I sat down. Far away from him. Like, really far. The other side of the rooftop. For 10 minutes we didn't talk. The only sound was the wind and his fingers tapping on the guitar. Then he started playing. Soft. Sad. Beautiful. It wasn't a song I knew. Maybe he made it up on the spot. The notes floated in the air and somehow made the tightness in my chest hurt less. When he finished, he finally looked at me again. "You okay?" I laughed. It came out broken. "My life is falling apart," I said. "So no." He nodded like he understood. Maybe he did. He took off his hoodie. A big, worn, black one. Tossed it to me. "It's cold. Idiot." I caught it. It was still warm from his body. It smelled like guitar wood and rain and something I couldn't name. "Thanks," I whispered. "Don't mention it." We sat in silence for an hour. Watching the moon. I pulled his hoodie tighter around me. For the first time tonight, I didn't feel like I was drowning. Before I left, I gathered the courage to ask, "What's your name?" He was packing his guitar. Didn't look at me. "You don't need to know," he said. "This is a one-time thing." One-time thing. Right. I nodded. Stood up. Gave the hoodie back. "Thanks again," I said. "For the song." He finally looked at me. Really looked. For a second I thought he was going to say something. But he just shook his head. "Go sleep, Aira." Wait. How did he know my name? I didn't ask. I just left. The next night, I told myself I wouldn't go back. I had studying to do. I had to fix my GPA. At 1:55 AM, I found myself climbing the stairs to the rooftop again. And he was there. Same spot. Same guitar. But this time, there were two cups of coffee next to him. He didn't look surprised to see me. "Sit," he said. "Before it gets cold." I sat. Not as far this time. He passed me one cup. "Black. No sugar. You look like that kind of person." I took a sip. It was perfect. "The moon kept bringing us back," I said quietly. He smirked. First time I saw it. "Or maybe you're just as stubborn as me." We didn't talk about my exam. Or his life. We just talked. About music. About stupid classes. About the way the moon looked tonight. At 3 AM, he said, "Same time tomorrow?" I should've said no. But I nodded. Because for the first time in a long time, 2 AM didn't feel so lonely. [TO BE CONTINUED...]