The first time Mel saw Dean was in an elective class called Madness in Literature. He had been sitting a few rows down in his green parka, writing furiously into his notebook. Something about him made her stop and stare, and it felt like she hasn't looked away since. But there is a reason why Dean seldom comes to class. And why he seems reluctant to be her friend. And why he disappears for ages with answering her messages. Mel would have been bothered by all of it, except that she doesn't care. When it comes to Dean, she was willing to overlook a lot of things. This is a short story about two young people trying to find themselves and instead stumbling upon love.

He closed his eyes again and tried to remember. There had been a fight. Alice was there. She had been naked, screaming and hitting him. He remembered entering the house. He was holding his shotgun. He had wanted to teach them both a lesson. Before that, he could remember sitting in his shed, watching them through the half pulled curtains as he eased his pain with whisky, seeing them as they laughed together and crying as he saw them kiss.