When the Lights Dimmed

Jayana Quinn enters college with high hopes, a bright smile, and a heart eager for new beginnings. She's bubbly, brave, and always the first to make friends. But she doesn't expect her path to cross with Bren Jairo - a quiet, sarcastic scholar who hides behind humor and group chats, and who carries the weight of a one-sided love he can't seem to let go.

What begins as innocent teasing and arcade candy slowly unravels into something more - moments shared between class recordings, late-day walks, and glimpses of who they are beneath the laughter. Jayana sees him: not just the funny guy in the group chat, but a people-pleaser, an introvert, someone fragile beneath it all. And Bren? He sees her, too - the girl who was never just passing by.

Set in the early days of college life, "When the Lights Dimmed" is a quiet, aching story about the connections we don't expect, the words we almost say, and the people who arrive just when the world stops performing.