In the last few centuries, humans have pushed themselves almost to the brink of extinction with wars, famine, and disease. But we have managed to survive and persevere despite everything that has happened. The year 2147 was a year of hope for us, with the arrival of the Golik, an alien race, who were kind and wanted nothing more than to help us. Alongside the Golik, we had five years of peace and prosperity with them, both races gaining knowledge from the other and building to create a wonderful relationship with the other. After five years of peace and prosperity, then the peace ran out and the invasion began. [RANKED 1ST IN SPACE - 13th Nov 2019] [RANKED 1ST IN SURVIVING - 27th Jul 2023] [RANKED 4TH IN INVASION - 9th Aug 2023] [RANKED 26TH IN FUTURE - 1st Aug 2023] [RANKED 44TH IN ALIEN - 25th Dec 2020]

"Go ahead," I said, backing up against the pink wall of the shop. "Do something other than glare at me." I waited. One, two, three seconds... and nothing. I raised my chin at him. "You're boring me, mute boy." He stepped closer. Leaned toward me as his gaze burned into mine. Then... ❀ ❀ ❀ After three months in juvenile detention, it's time for Romy Pereira to help out with her family's flower shop. And it's not all bad... until they hire Jack Michel to work beside her. He doesn't speak, communicating with glares and scowls instead of words, and seems to be more interested in literal rocks than other human beings. And with an ex-convict mother, her friends drifting away, and the flower shop falling apart, the last thing Romy wants to deal with is Jack's attitude. She'll forever praise the day he screws up big time and gets himself fired, but until that day comes, it's mostly one cold-hearted girl, her silent (but still infuriating) coworker, and a whole lot flowers. [word count: 100k] [originally written in 2014-2015; re-write completed 2020-2021] ❀ Rankings ❀ #1 in #badgirl #1 in #goodboy #1 in #flowershop #1 in #sociopath

"You have to learn to live, kid, not just survive."

It's an endless search for something that even the sharpest eyes cannot see. [Beautiful cover made by rigor_samsa.]

In which Becks commits suicide and Gayle spends the next fifty days wondering exactly what she should have done differently. © 2014 inexistence Spiritual #20 [26.11.14] Short Story #26 [05.12.14] Short Story / Spiritual crossover #1 [21.11.14]