The rain beat a relentless rhythm against the glass of the abandoned classroom, but inside, the silence felt heavy enough to suffocate. Marlene stood by the window, her arms crossed tight against her chest, watching the blurred reflections in the dark pane rather than looking back.

"I'm tired of this" Marlene said, her voice cutting through the quiet with a sharp, raw edge. "I’m tired of waiting for the halls to clear just to hold your hand. I’m tired of pretended indifference when we pass each other in the corridors."

She turned around, her eyes catching the shadow of her girlfriend standing near the dusty desks. The secrecy had felt like a thrilling game at first—a private haven carved out of a world that was already burning around them. But with every hidden glance and whispered promise in the dark, the sanctuary had begun to feel like a cage.

"It’s never going to be safe!" Marlene took a step forward, the frustration that had been brewing for months finally spilling over. "The world is falling apart out there, and we're spending what little time we have hiding in corners like we’re ashamed. I’m not ashamed of loving you. But I can't keep acting like you're a ghost in my real life."

She stopped a few feet away, her expression softening, though the resolve in her stance didn't break.

"I want to walk into the Great Hall with you" Marlene whispered, her tone shifting from anger to a quiet, ache-filled honesty. "I want to laugh without checking over my shoulder. I want us to be real, out in the light. Because if the dark takes us tomorrow, I don't want my biggest regret to be that I kept you a secret."