WATTY'S SHORTLIST 2023 Stuck in the never-ending responsibilities as one of the breadwinners of the family, Calisse Abigail Guillermo, an Iska from UP Manila, seeks to find true comfort between drinking and smoking. But she never does. Her desire to find consolation in everything is not found within the consumption of toxins. When she meets fellow smoker Chance Luy, a UP med student, in the bustling street of Pedro Gil, she thanks the heavens for a chance to meet him. Chance is your worn-out med student who is stingy. As they ponder about life, would they find solace as they share a moment of smoke?

Anjel Delo Santos, a Lasallian, craved affection from her parents. It wasn't easy getting it. She had to be brilliant because her parents were intellectual people who yearned for recognition in their own fields. College was her opportunity of being brilliant. As Anjel walked on the streets of Malate, she will see a disappointed-looking River Alexandre Abad. As a fan of River, who is a DLSU student, she couldn't help but be concerned with the basketball player's state. While they get to know each other, would their eyes appreciate the silver lining in the midst of the nimbus clouds around them?

'If we will be stuck in a remote island naked, nothing will even happen.' Those were Rosh's exact words to describe her relationship with Lucho. She's clearly not a fan of friends to lovers trope. They've been friends for five years yet her indignation towards him gets worse every day. It is past mending. She doesn't even know why she dislikes him, or how and where it all started, she just hates him. That's it. Until her 18th birthday came. Book cover by cottonbro studio in pexels

The thing with Valentine's Day is, either you hate it or you love it. And Zade Pascual definitely belongs to the first category. Para sa kanya, isang araw lang ito ng commercialized version ng pag-ibig. Walang kakilig-kilig at napakalayo sa true love stories na nababasa niya sa mga libro. Nasubok ang kanyang anti-Valentine's sentiment when she unexpectedly meets Andreau Cortez-an award-winning actor and film student at her university-in the cafe where she works-- on Valentine's Day of all days. Andreau, their new cafe regular, surprises Zade by asking for her help with his latest short film project, which she hesitantly agrees to. Despite a rocky start, Zade discovers the real Andreau Cortez beyond the camera and celebrity gossip. Over the fika-not date hangouts and late-night conversations, their effortless friendship blurs into something more, to the point na akala ng lahat (yes, friends and family included) na sila na ni Andreau. Caught off guard by her evolving feelings, Zade must confront her own heart. Hanggang best friend nga lang ba ang tingin niya kay Andreau? Can their story unfold like the happy endings she loves in books? Well, sometimes, the best love stories take time to tell.

He is your brother but he's also crazy to fall in love with you.

✔ | Sun Rays Series #2 Words are powerful, even the ones you never say out loud. Redler, an ABM student, has always been better at writing things down than actually saying them. She's not trying to be invisible; it just kind of... happened. Being quiet is safer and less complicated, and she doesn't even mind staying in the background. Then there's Davin from the HUMSS, her complete opposite. The charming guy everyone knows who's carrying air that draws people in. An artist who believes that art has always had a place in this world, and somehow, he speaks about literature like it belongs just as much. He doesn't try to change her. He just stays and sees her in ways no one else ever bothered to. And for some reason, that's more terrifying than being ignored. Now Redler's caught between the comfort of being unseen and the risk of being known by someone who actually pays attention. Because what happens when the girl who hides behind her words meets the boy who believes those words deserve a place in the world? And what if, for once, she wants to be seen... instead of just writing herself away? Disclaimer: story is written in taglish. Date Started: 03/13/24 Date Ended: 07/16/24

✔ | Sun Rays Series #3 A life you never chose, yet one you're forced to survive. Rhyolite of HUMSS, the class president, the eldest, the one who learned early how to carry a home that was never meant to rest on her shoulders. She raises her siblings without question, even when she herself is running on empty. Hindi niya hinahanap ang presensya ng ina na matagal nang kulang, mas abala siyang punan ang kakulangan ng perang kailangan para mabuhay. Then there's AJ, the HUMSS' class clown. The boy everyone gravitates toward. Athletic, loud, and irritating... at least, to Rhyolite. Or maybe that's just how she chooses to see him. In a world that keeps shifting beneath their feet, they learn to sway just to stay standing... parang buhangin na hindi mo mahawakan nang buo, pero kailangan mong kapitan para hindi ka tuluyang lumubog. But how long can you keep choosing to stay afloat, when the very hands that were supposed to catch you are the ones letting you fall? Because the hardest truth to face is even when you gave everything you had, it isn't still enough. And for two of them who's barely surviving in a life without privilege, the question remains... hanggang saan aabot ang "kaya pa"? Date started: 7/22/24 Date ended: 9/10/25 Disclaimer: story is written in taglish.

✔ | Sun Rays Series #1 Ritienzy, a social butterfly from HUMSS, wears her carefree smile like armor. Palakaibigan siya, oo, pero hanggang do'n lang. Ever since she witnessed her parents' love collapse, she learned to keep her heart at arm's length. Maybe bata pa siya at marami pang kailangang matutuhan, but the wounds beneath her laughter aren't as healed as she pretends. Then there's Jayscen from STEM, a smart, academically-driven guy who chases dreams bigger than the limits around him because of his expectations to himself. And behind his quiet composure hides a temper he once couldn't control. Fate crosses their paths twice, accidental yet strangely inevitable. . . at sa gitna pa talaga ng kalsada. Two teens. Two masks. Two hearts carrying battles the world doesn't see. Naging magkaibigan sila, pero hanggang kaibigan na lang ba talaga? And how will she, who's afraid to love, and him, who's afraid to fail, ever realize that their meeting is more than an accident, but the beginning of a path they must walk together--one that might just lead them past their limits, and into something infinite? Disclaimer: story is written in taglish. Date started: 9/18/23 Date ended: 1/29/24

Kio Soledad de Merced always kept his life quiet and private. He never wanted anything flashy and grand. Attention and spotlight were the two things he never wanted to have. Calm and easy, that's how he preferred his life. Shiloh Lumiere Bendia's life was far from what he wanted, she was born for the spotlight. Living under the scrutinizing eyes of the world, Lumiere's life consists of cameras and flashes following her whenever she moves. The world gravitates around her, and everyone who sees her is drawn to her light, including him. The moment he saw her on that stage with the spotlight shining on her, he knew he would spend his whole life admiring her from afar. But with the twist of fate and a little luck, his fate might have changed. A secret moment. A lingering stare. Quick stolen moments behind the camera that no one knows about. But to what extent can they sacrifice for a losing battle they knew they would never win? To love is to risk. To risk requires courage and courage is only found in places we're too scared to take. ---- Date Started: March 2025 Date Finished: June 15, 2025

Kairos Levi Soledad de Merced was chaos and wildness altogether. A lover of the world and all the pleasures it has to offer. Love and commitment? That never existed in his vocabulary. He was the type to give you the highs and all the best things in life, leaving you wanting more, only to be forgotten by him the next day. Chasing the wild tide of life and living without inhibitions was his way of life. He prefers all things physical and casual. He wants his life to be simple, easy, and hot- the same way he wants his woman to be. Ma. Anisa Sta Ines is smart, confident, strong-willed.... and smart again. Matalino, matapang, magaling. Pero hindi maganda. All her life, she has been nothing but an extra in everyone's story. The wingman, the third wheel, and the go-to person for everyone interested in her friends. She knew she was never meant to be chosen, never meant to be pursued. She was the calm of a Wednesday morning; The stability that people usually take for granted. But her stability and peace ceased to exist when Kairos rejected her love letter in front of the whole Eunthastica. Not because he rejected her in front of the whole school. But because the letter wasn't for him, it was supposed to be for Iñigo, his cousin. ---- Started: June 2025 Completed: September 2025