After all this time? Always- J.H

1980. Pearl never asked for a new life in San Francisco. The city feels cold, full of strangers, and her new school is nothing like the one she left behind in Los Angeles. But then she meets James.

Shy, blond, and always with a guitar in hand, James is different. He's not like the others, and Pearl can't quite figure him out. At first, they're just two people passing in the halls, exchanging the occasional glance. But soon, their connection deepens.

What starts as a quiet friendship begins to shift-into something neither of them expected. Their moments together feel like stolen hours, the world outside fading when James plays his guitar and Pearl listens, lost in the music... and in him.

It's not just friendship anymore. It's something more. Something real. But as the days slip away, the weight of what's left unsaid hangs heavy. And just as Pearl starts to wonder if she's found something worth holding on to, life has a way of moving forward, leaving them to wonder if their paths will ever cross again.

Some events may have been altered to suit the story