Sometimes people, like diamonds, need a little friction in life to see how bright they can shine. *** Max Weiser is a depressed high school jock turned depressed YouTube star who always runs away from his problems. Nina Bai is an east coast Cinderella who escapes her prince to look for a different kind of Happily Ever After on the west coast. When Nina moves in next door to Max, these two lost twenty-somethings finally learn to face their troubled pasts head on and stumble into unexpected romance along the way. *** Content Warning: This story contains mature sexual content and themes of bullying, mental health issues, and eating disorders.

Madi's slumber party is suddenly terrorized by a harmless dare.

Henley agrees to pretend to date millionaire Bennett Calloway for a fee, falling in love as she wonders - how is he involved in her brother's false conviction? ****** Henley Linden's brother is in jail for a crime he didn't commit, and she'll take any job to raise the money needed to free him. Soon, she's agreed to pretend to date millionaire Bennett Calloway for ten thousand dollars, so his mother will ease up the pressure on him to find a wife. But once Henley is enmeshed in Bennett's world, he falls for her, and she starts to have feelings for him as well. Despite her romance with Bennett, as she grows closer to the Calloways, Henley realizes they are somehow involved in her brother's conviction. Journeying deeper into a world of wealth and conspiracies, Henley is forced to rely on Bennett, though doing so could cost her everything. [[word count: 200,000-250,000 words]]