Unsaid Love (JATP fanfiction)

• CHAPTER II •

Juilliard University, NY, 2021

3rd person POV:

"Hey, you must be our new roommate! I'm Melanie, nice to meet you." Melanie says a bit too energetic and hugs the unknown girl, which looks a bit overwhelmed. Fiona grabs Melanies arm "Calm down and don't scare her... Hi, I'm Fiona and her best friend." She explains smiling innocently.

The unknown girl finally chuckles and answers "I'm Julie Molina, nice to meet you too. Where are you from?" "Philadelphia and you?", both reply almost in unison. "I'm from New York but it's like 4 hours away from here." With an understanding nod from the two best friends, the conversation ends rather quickly and an unpleasant silence spreads across the dorm.

The girls unpack their heavy bags and decorate their new home with some cozy lights, pictures, plants and much more. After all, they'll stay there for at least their whole Juilliard freshman year. Because of that reason as well, they try to find a way to get to know Julie more. They had a few short chats about family and hobbies while unpacking, but nothing special.

"Julie... have you already planned something for tonight or are you free?" Melanie asks enthusiastically. "I'm staying here, maybe working on some music. Why?" "Oh that's cool! Would you mind showing us some of your songs later? Uhm we thought we could get to know each other a bit better with a pajama party or so?" Fiona proposes carefully, not sure if she will like the idea. "Sounds awesome! And of course I can show you some lyrics I'm writing on at the moment."

Melanie opens the door with a loud bang "Arrreee youuu ready to rumbleeee?" Fiona and Julie both jump in fright but quickly start laughing at the sight of Melanie in a unicorn onesie with two big bags full of snacks and drinks in her hands.

„Is she that hyper all the time?" Julie asks Fiona with a broad grin. Fiona hesitates with answer and looks at her best friend with a questioning look. She is aware of Melanie's inside out and and knows exactly that there is much more to her than just her openness to the outside world.

Although Julie is a perfect match for the two of them, Fiona doesn't know how much she should reveal already about their deep secrets. Especially about this topic, which is anything but easy for Melanie. To Fionas surprise, Melanie looks pretty relaxed, even though she doens't really reveal this topic to almost anyone.
With a small nod she confirms her that she doesn't have to worry about bringing up this subject. 

„There are actually two different sides to me...", Melanie starts, „but you just never notice the other side of me. Apparently I can supress it very well in front of others."
„What do you mean?" Julie asks a little confused.

„From the outside, I'm always the upbeat person who can turn anything negative into positive vibes. People see me as confident and self-assured. But when I'm alone and don't have a thousand people around me, my whole person changes... Imagine the question of whether you're good enough haunts you every second in your head. Do they really like me or is it just pity?"

Suddenly a completely different atmosphere spreads in the room. There is absolute silence in the room. You can see the oppression in all three faces. No one dares to break the silence. Everyone seems to be lost in their thoughts.

"I didn't expect that, Melanie. I am so sorry!", Julie finally breaks the silence. "Don't worry about it. This is me and I live with that.", Melanie answers quietly.

"Come on guys, I can't handle this kind of atmosphere.", Fiona adds to the conversation, "Julie what do you think about showing us some of your music. I think that might lighten the mood."

Julie hesitates with her answer. She would love to show them her music. But she knows exactly that it would have the exact opposite effect than what the goal is. Her emotional story would come out and that would make the moods even worse.