The rain tapped against the window, a steady rhythm that mixed with the muffled hum of the VHS tape whirring in the player. Your bedroom, dimly lit by a warm bedside lamp, felt like a little world of its own, cut off from the rest of Velvet Cove for the night.

Kat lay sprawled across your bed, one sock-clad foot kicking lazily in the air as she balanced a slice of pizza in one hand. “If she walks into that basement, I swear—”

“She’s gonna walk into the basement,” you said, grinning.

“She’s so dumb,” Kat groaned, tossing a piece of crust at the screen before sinking back into the pillows.

The movie droned on, but your conversation drifted elsewhere—talking about school, old cartoons, the newest album you both were obsessed with. At some point, Kat pulled out her Walkman, offering you one side of her headphones. “You have to hear this song,” she said, eyes alight with excitement.

You pressed the foam earpiece against your ear as the track crackled to life, filling the room with soft guitar strums and haunting vocals. The two of you just lay there, listening, the rain outside blending into the music, the distant sound of your parents’ TV murmuring from the living room.

But then, suddenly Kat sighed, rolling onto her side to face you. “You ever think about just… leaving?”

You raised an eyebrow. “From Velvet Cove?”

She nodded, picking at a loose thread on the blanket. “Going somewhere new. Somewhere where people don’t expect you to be a certain way.”

You thought about it for a second, staring at the ceiling. “Yeah… but I think I’d miss nights like this.”

Kat went quiet for a moment, then smiled—small, barely there, but real. “Yeah. Me too.”

Outside, the rain kept falling. Inside, two best friends lay side by side, sharing a song, a secret dream, and a moment that neither of you would ever forget.