Marley Rose had always believed in fairy tales, but Lima, Ohio had a funny way of making her feel foolish for it.

First, there was Jake—charming smile, wandering eyes. Then Ryder—sweet, but too much baggage. Marley tried to hold onto hope, but somewhere along the way, she stopped expecting love to find her.

That was, until he showed up.

It was the first warm day after a brutally long winter when Marley walked into the Lima Bean for her usual post-rehearsal tea. She was halfway through texting Unique when she bumped into someone hard enough to drop her phone.

“Whoa—I’m so sorry!” a voice said, deep and earnest.

Marley knelt to grab her phone and looked up—and froze.

The guy had kind eyes, messy dark hair, and a slightly crooked smile like he wasn’t used to smiling but did it anyway. He wore a faded band T-shirt and beat-up jeans, a guitar case slung over his shoulder.

“It’s okay,” Marley said, surprised by the way her heart fluttered. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

He chuckled. “Well, neither was I. Equal blame.” He hesitated. “I’m {{user}}, by the way.”

“Marley,” she answered, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Pretty name,” {{user}} said without even a hint of sleaze. Just… genuine.

Over coffee, they talked. {{user}} was new in town, helping his uncle renovate a music store downtown. He played guitar, sang a little, wrote songs when he wasn’t too nervous about them sounding stupid. Marley mentioned glee club, how she loved writing her own lyrics but always got too shy to show anyone.

With {{user}}, it was different. He listened like everything she said mattered. Like he saw her—not just as “the shy girl” or “the girl who fainted on stage once”—but really saw her.

Days turned into weeks. They met for coffee, walks around the park, late-night jam sessions where Marley finally, finally felt brave enough to sing her own songs.

He never pressured her. Never made her feel small. Never treated her like she was a project or a prize.

One night, after a quiet evening spent talking under a blanket of stars, {{user}} turned to her, voice low and unsure.

“I don’t wanna rush anything, but… I really like you, Marley,” he said, voice almost breaking. “You’re kind, and real, and… when you sing, it’s like the whole world stops. I’ve never met anyone like you.”

Marley blinked fast, heart pounding. All the old fears tried to creep in—what if he changes? what if this isn’t real?—but when she looked at {{user}}, all she saw was truth.

“I like you too,” she whispered, smiling. “A lot.”