Anastasiya Greyson is back in her stuck up hometown for her senior year after the death of her mom. she already left once and she can't afford to get close to people just for her leave again. but would a friendship with her childhood love be worth the cost of her leaving? August Matthews shows everyone the side of him that's on top of the world, pretending what happened to him had no effect on him. But he can't open himself up to anyone, his heart has been locked up and the only one with a key left years ago. But she's back. Can he really be only friends with the only girl he's ever loved? • • • Matthews Series: Book One ⚠️TW: Death, Sexual Assault, Abuse [DUAL POV] [word count: 105064]

they've known of each other for three years-same hallways, same classes, same friend groups orbiting around each other. but 'knowing of' someone isn't the same as knowing them. rory is blunt. she's a little closed off, and saves her best self for only the people who deserve it. but once you've pushed past that guard, she's full of light. kane is quiet, and humble; but beneath that, he's observant, tentative, kind, and annoyingly hot. senior year throws them together when he starts tutoring her, and suddenly, they're seeing each other in a way they never did before. kane can't handle being the centre of her attention. rory wants to know more. however, it turns out that getting to know someone can feel a lot like falling. and maybe, it's worth the risk.

Lila Hart is nineteen, shy, and quietly brilliant. A first-year uni student with her head buried in books and her heart safely tucked away. She's not used to attention, and she likes it that way. Her world is quiet, predictable, and entirely her own-until she's asked to tutor the loudest, most late-to-everything boy on campus. Jack Carter is twenty, the university's star striker and captain, and the kind of guy who gets noticed the second he walks into a room-whether he means to or not. Charming, popular, and always just a little behind, Jack's life looks effortless. But under the surface, there's pressure he doesn't talk about, a father who expects perfection, and a grade point average that's about to cost him everything She's the quiet girl he barely noticed. He's the boy she never thought she'd talk to. But when tutoring sessions turn into something more, neither of them is prepared for the way their worlds begin to change- slowly, unexpectedly, and all at once.

𝐂𝐇𝐋𝐎𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐓 the embodiment of sunshine, always with a bright smile and an easy laugh. She was the one everyone turned to, the friend who never faltered, always radiating positivity. But behind that cheerful exterior, how much darkness could she let in before it consumed her? How many people could lean on her before the weight became too much? Beneath her bubbly personality lay hidden struggles, secrets she kept locked away. And no matter how hard she tried to keep them buried, one day, they would surface-because no one can carry that much without eventually breaking. 𝐉𝐀𝐘𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐋𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐙 a successful soccer player with a future as bright as the lights that followed him on the field. His life had been meticulously planned out since day one, every step calculated to ensure success. And Jayden? He did a damn good job at maintaining it, living up to every expectation set before him. But there was more to his life than just soccer. Taking care of the people he called family-his friends, the ones who needed him most-became his priority. The question was, how would balancing the weight of those relationships affect the future he and his parents had so carefully built for him? Together, they were the people who kept each other thriving. She was the ice to his wounds, soothing the pain he tried so hard to hide, while he was the water to her roots, nourishing the parts of her she kept buried deep. In a world that could easily tear them apart, they found strength in each other, balancing their broken pieces to create something whole.