At first glance, nobody would be able to tell that Nathaniel Jean had a problem. Or second glance, or third, or fourth. After all, he had everything. He was a captain of his school's soccer team and one of the top players in the state. He had a big house and money to spend. He had family, he had friends, he had fun, he had faith. He never meant for it to happen. He never wanted to look at another man in the way he should have been looking at a woman. The idea had disgusted him for most of his life - living in a heavily Catholic town with heavily Catholic parents, homophobia was the only response he knew. That didn't change when he first realized that he didn't like girls. No, Nathaniel Jean was still homophobic. He hated the idea of a man sleeping with another man. He was raised on the notion that all gays went to hell, and he believed it. He despised them, and so he despised himself. Nathaniel Jean was more fortunate than most, because help did arrive for him. Help by the name of Lucas Morgan, they boy he'd always known but never known. The boy with big dreams and bigger talent. The boy that changed Nathaniel's life over the course of their thirty-six week long senior year.

It's hard to believe that a boy who didn't believe in love and a boy who didn't believe he could love himself would have much to learn from each other. But it would turn out that way, of course; with everything to gain and even more to lose. As it turned out, both Liam and Jamie needed to learn not to trust the dim lights and neon nights. This is a backwards love story.

SPIN-OFF TO "FROM THE OTHER SIDE" Having a crush on one of your best friends is already a struggle. Having a crush on one of your best friends, who is overly affectionate and oblivious, is even worse. Marcus speaks from experience. And it doesn't help that his feelings only grew stronger during the year they both took off before college. Now Marcus is away from Ashton, campuses nearby yet just far enough that Marcus believed he could push his feelings aside. And he believes he'll find that in the company of a broody, direct boy named Elliott, but the two opposites only occupy his mind at the same time. started: july 20th, 2019 finished: march 14th, 2020

[This story will become free on DECEMBER 13TH, 2024] Isaiah always had his focus set on school and baseball, but when he meets August, he suddenly begins questioning more than just his lack of a social life. ***** As the star of his high school baseball team, Isaiah Carr is looking forward to senior year. While not the most popular of guys, he's got his friends, he's a shoo-in for a baseball scholarship, and he's perfectly content sitting on the sidelines when it comes to his social life. However, when he meets August, a strange but cute boy with a prosthetic leg, there's no denying the connection between them. From friends to more, the two begin to grow a relationship that balances the troubles of their pasts with the hopefulness and acceptance of a future. [[word count: 90,000-100,000 words]] Cover designed by Eva I. WATTY'S 2020 YA WINNER