[a story] in which an ailing girl checks off everything on her bucket list with a little help from her weirdly attractive neighbor. [spiritual #8 // short story #41] WARNING: this shit is cheesy as hell i wanna gouge my eyes out

(TH#3)“'If you can look me in the eye and tell me anybody has ever held you like this, kissed you like this, loved you like this, then I will let you go. I will leave and I will never come back.' And as much as I wanted to say that, yes, someone else had, I would be lying. Because nobody, not one person, had ever cherished me like he did." A father convicted of a murder, and Elsie was there to witness the entire thing. It should have left her scarred and afraid, but because of the help from Sam, a mysterious and kind stranger, she powered through it. He was her best friend, always there when she needed him most . . . Until he left her. Nearly eight years later and as Elsie finds herself stuck in a troubling situation under less-than-optimal circumstances, he suddenly comes out of nowhere again. But something has changed, with both of them. The secrets are heavier, the pain is greater . . . and what was once a friendship has turned into the roots for something more. Something that frightens both tortured souls equally. It's big enough, strong enough, to hold through, if they just acknowledge how much they need it to. Everybody has bruises . . . Some just take longer to heal than others.

Luke Archer and Summer Merrick have always been the It-Couple at Roseville High. When Luke breaks up with Summer at the beginning of senior year, Summer reveals that she has been cheating on Luke with Paul Walden, Luke’s best friend. Angry and betrayed, Luke decides to get revenge, and he enlists the help of Jamie Vandeviere, a girl who has always been invisible to the popular crowd. Their goal is to transform Jamie into the most popular girl at school and take down Summer’s position as Queen Bee. However, being popular turns out to be a lot more difficult than what Jamie had in mind. What exactly has she gotten herself into? ***READ AT YOUR OWN RISK***