" I don't even like you like that." Her face scrunched up in disgust watching water drip from curls in his hair. " 'Cause you love me. Just like I love you." He retorted with a grin, disregarding the deflecting she was doing. --- They were two sides of the same city-until one move split them down the middle. Elijah and London were inseparable once, bonded by childhood summers, beat-up bikes, and secrets too deep for anyone else to know. Unfortunately, when Elijah's mom packed up and moved her family across Onyx to a rival neighborhood, everything changed. She always thought when she spoke to him again he would've changed like her. She was witty, sarcastic, and had a low tolerance, but he was still the same calm , sweet, cute boy with a heart the size of the sun. Some things haven't changed. Some things never change. The pull between them, the memories that still burn etched marks in their brain, and the words they never said out loud. In a world where loyalty can be life or death, and love isn't always enough to cross old lines, Elijah and London find themselves circling each other again. --- STARTED; MAY 26th, 2025 PUBLISHED JUNE 6th, 2025 FINISHED; SEPTEMBER 27th 2025

"Beautiful things don't ask for attention." In a world that thrives on conformity, August is an anomaly. Raised in a secretive overbearing family, she was chosen to leave its hidden grounds-not for freedom, but for duty. Sent to college to become the strategic mind for her generation behind the family's growing empire, she tries to move through the world like a ghost, draped in gothic shadows with secrets too heavy to share but her style is just too much to go unnoticed by judging eyes unscathed. Then she meets Kason through his older brother. A rising rapper with a reckless charm and a hunger for something real, dealing with battles of his own, he's instantly drawn to August's eerie demeanor and the quiet storm that lingers behind her dark mysterious eyes. She's nothing like the women he's used to-unbothered by trends, and untouched by the need for validation. The more she resists, the deeper he falls, his infatuation turning into an obsession he can't shake. One he cant let go of. As their worlds collide, the slow burn of their connection threatens to ignite everything August has been taught to suppress. With her past closing in and expectations pressing down, she must decide if she's willing to defy everything she's ever known for the chance at something dangerously real. In a society that demands she fit a mold, August stands in defiance. Unfortunately, love has a way of making even the strongest question their silence. STARTED; February 22nd , 2025 PUBLISHED; MARCH 18th, 2025 FINISHED; MAY 27th, 2025

❝𝖨𝖥 𝖸𝖮𝖴 𝖫𝖨𝖪𝖤 𝖸𝖮𝖴𝖱 𝖢𝖮𝖥𝖥𝖤 𝖧𝖮𝖳, 𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗠𝗘 𝗕𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗖𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗘 𝗣𝗢𝗧. 𝖸𝖮𝖴 𝖢𝖠𝖫𝖫 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖲𝖧𝖮𝖳𝖲 𝖡𝖠𝖡𝖤, 𝗜 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗔 𝗕𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗦.❞ SHORT/QUICK STORY 𝐃𝐄𝐂 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐

In a world where loyalty means everything, Brielle Banks must choose between the family she's always known and the man who could destroy it all. Caught between revenge and unexpected attraction, sparks fly behind bars. Will she fall into Sincere's dangerous world-or will their violent past rip them apart?

"Only the strong survive, this ain't for the weak." After an eight year prison sentence, Justice Bennett is finally home. Even though he's thankful to be out, he's still trying to figure out how to navigate the world and focus on finding his purpose in life. Unfortunately, things aren't that simple and life begins to throw curve balls his way. Will he crack under pressure or will he be able to stay ten toes down and use his strength to push through? Ended: October 10th, 2023 Revamped | Republished: January 20th, 2025

"You know how special you gotta be to change a nigga like me? Huh?" He tilted her head back to make her look at him, and a faint smile grew on her face as he wiped her cheeks. "My own grandparents couldn't do it for me and I loved them more than anything. You the one for me ma. That's why I ain't told you everything yet 'cause I don't wanna run you away. I need you." He laid his forehead against hers, gently kissing her lips. "Nobody will ever believe that King Von from O Block be crying to me like this." She smiled as she gazed into his red eyes, and he chuckled, nodding in agreement. "I ain't King Von wit' you. Just love." He kissed her cheek next, and her smile grew as her arms tightened around him for a warm hug.

Every time Isaiah looked at himself in the mirror, he was constantly reminded of the most traumatic moment of his life. He grew to hate himself until Namiko randomly waltzed into his life one day and began teaching him how to love himself again. It was as if she was his second chance. He'd been so pissed off all night to the point where he was physically shaking like a ticking bomb. This one hug from her felt like the rainbow after a severe thunderstorm. He couldn't believe that his sanity really depended on her. He'd never reached this point of love before. She brought him so much peace. That's why he loved her the way that he did; the reason why he couldn't stand to spend a single second away from her and why he depended on her to keep him sane. She was just it; like a breath of fresh air. He never expected the woman that ended up stealing his heart would be a real life Disney Princess wandering cluelessly around New York City; an autistic one, at that.

𝐢 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐢 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

❝ 𝘏𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘳. ❞ (𝐀𝐔) (𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐅𝐞𝐦 𝐨𝐜 𝐱 𝐍𝐢𝐤𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐬 𝐌𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧) 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐃: 𝟏𝟓.𝟎𝟕.𝟐𝟐 𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐃: 𝟐𝟗.𝟏𝟐.𝟐𝟑

"You can't see the future. I might have a chance. You don't know for sure." He mumbled, making her expression soften. "M-my mom used to tell me t-that birds still sing even after a storm. Why shouldn't people feel as free t-to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them?" Samir stopped talking for a moment to regather himself so that he didn't stutter, but Nina froze completely. "You don't have to settle with him Nina. It's been five years an-and you're not a-as happy as you should be. You smile differently with me.. and you cry a lot with him. I just think that you deserve to enjoy your time with someone other than h-him for a minute because there's still sunlight out there for you too, even if you can't see it yet." How did he become her source of 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 so 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐲? A short story.