Emma didn't give up after Anna shut her down. The hurt was still there, sitting heavy in her chest, but Billy's compass felt warm in her pocket — like a reminder that she wasn't done yet.
So she tried again.
This time, she went to someone who actually paid attention: Samtha. They weren't best friends anymore, not after everything that had happened, but Samtha had a softness beneath her chaos that Emma trusted, even a little.
Samtha was sitting under the bleachers, doodling stars on her notebook when Emma approached.
"Can I tell you something?" Emma asked, voice quieter than she meant.
Samtha glanced up, surprised but not annoyed. "Yeah. What's up?"
Emma sat down beside her, hugging her knees. "I met someone. His name's Billy. He was at the old train station. And he… I don't know how to explain it. He helped me. Not like telling me what to do — more like he saw what I was going through."
Samtha's pen froze mid-line.
"Wait, are you serious?"
Emma nodded.
Instead of rolling her eyes or brushing her off, Samtha actually turned toward her. "Emma, that sounds… kind of amazing. Like one of those random people who show up at the right time in movies."
Emma blinked. "So you don't think I'm weird?"
Samtha snorted. "Girl, I'm weird. You're fine."
Emma laughed — a real one this time.
"What did he say to you?" Samtha asked.
Emma hesitated, then told her: about the humming, about the way he read her feelings without prying, about the compass he handed her like it meant something bigger than both of them.
Samtha listened the whole time, eyes softening more and more. When Emma finished, Samtha said, "Maybe you were meant to meet him. Maybe he was meant to tell you that stuff."
"Do you really think that?"
"I do." Samtha nodded firmly. "People don't always show up in our lives for long, but sometimes the shortest moments hit the hardest. And maybe Billy… maybe he's your sign that you're gonna be okay."
Emma didn't realize she was smiling until she felt it.
For the first time since meeting Billy, someone believed her.
Someone understood.
And that changed everything.