"Smoking is bad, you know." The placid voice speaks up from the distant dark corner, nothing to see but a tall silhouette and an orange glow of a cigarette cherry. "It's the least of my problems," I murmur with my own between my lips, proceeding to feel the stagnant debris valley my throat when I suck delicately. He exhales a chuckle of cynical amusement, his footsteps getting every step clearer to my eardrums until I eventually sense body heat burning my back. "And why is that?" He whispers over my shoulder, hands inviting themselves to grip the railing in front of me so I become a prisoner between his inked arms. I swallow. "Because you'll be the one to kill me first." // Aven Brooks is hired to take pictures for the world-renown punk rock band known today as Duplicity; hoping the experience gets her into her most elite-dreamed university. However, when her lenses accidentally capture more than just cheeky sound checks and performances, she comes to a horrifying discovery that Duplicity is anything but a band. Appalled and frightened, she's trapped. *HIGHEST RANKINGS* #1 IN HARRYSTYLES #1 IN ONEDIRECTION ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TO @happydays1d NOT ALLOWING TRANSLATIONS! CONTAINS VULGAR LANGUAGE / DRUG ABUSE / SEXUAL CONTENT / DESCRIPTIVE VIOLENCE / MENTAL HEALTH READ AT OWN RISK!

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?

Nang malaman ni Klare na hindi siya tunay na anak ng kanyang kinilalang ama, nag bago ang ikot ng kanyang mundo. She's torn between her love for her family and her desire to seek for the fragments of her real identity. Sa kalagitnaan ng lahat ng ito, pilit din siyang binabalikan ng mga alaala ng nakaraan. Her past is haunting her. But she knew it is impossible to turn back the time. Pinanindigan niya ang mga nagawang desisyon noon at tanggap niyang may mga tao na dumadadaan lang ngunit hindi nagtatagal. Ngunit paano naman ang mga umaalis at magbabalik? Sa pagbabalik ba ng kanyang minamahal matitibag ang kanyang mga paniniwala at desisyon? How will she handle him now that he's back? Will she fight now? Now that he's returned?

After losing her entire family to a devastating typhoon, Behati joins a powerful global aerospace organization dedicated to saving humanity from disasters, only to find herself torn between duty and love when a fearless astronaut from her past becomes her partner in missions that could decide the fate of the world. *** After losing her family in a catastrophic typhoon, Behati Azalea Monzanto dedicates her life to saving others by joining UASA, a global organization that responds to disasters and worldwide crises. Now one of its most skilled flight lieutenants, she meets the relentless astronaut-pilot Rylandrien Peter Armstrong, a man connected to a painful part of her past. As dangerous missions and global threats push them closer together, Behati must confront grief, love, and the sacrifices required to protect humanity. DISCLAIMER: This story is written in Taglish. COVER DESIGN: Louise De Ramos

Angela promised Dylan to wait for him. Kasabay ng pangakong iyon ay ang kanyang sumpa na matututo siyang lumaban at ipagtanggol ang sarili laban sa mga umaapi sa kanya. She promised, but Dylan never returned. With a broken heart yet an unyielding desire to be with Dylan again, Angela set out to find him. Natagpuan niya ang binata, ngunit ang sakit na nadama niya ay nadagdagan nang malamang hindi na siya nito naaalala. Determined to rekindle his memory, she did everything to make him remember. But it wasn't the gentle, timid Angela who faced him this time. Dylan had once told her: "Huwag kang magpaapi. Huwag mong hayaang saktan ka ng iba, pisikal man o emosyonal. Huwag kang maging mahina." And so, Angela transformed into a fierce, unapologetic woman. Gone was the soft-hearted Angela. She became the rebellious, sharp-tongued Angela who thrived on... chaos? Will Dylan recognize the woman she has become? Will he see that this blue-eyed rebel is still his blue-eyed angel? At sa gitna ng lahat ng ito, isang tanong ang nagpapalala sa gulo: Sino ang nagtatangka sa buhay ni Angela?

I'm scared of the sea. I can't help but think of the danger it brings. The width and depth seem forever. But I know that someday, I'm going to swallow all my fears and sail into that immense body of menace. Because I have to find him. I have to see him. I have words I haven't told him yet. There are things he needs to know and I don't care if it matters now or it never really mean anything at all. I just have to find him.

What's a reckless transferee with a feisty attitude got to do when her new school puts the lives of its students in danger? According to Summer Leondale...try and save it, of course. *** Used to being the new girl, Summer Leondale thinks nothing of staying long in her new school Montello High before she gets kicked out again for not being a model student. But she can't be further from the truth when she discovers that Montello High is more than what meets the eye--a school for delinquents with two rival gangs running the campus. Summer's chance for a normal high school life gets thrown out the window when she gets involved with Van Freniere, the leader of one of those gangs and rumored to be connected to an underground organization. A fire, murders, death threats, and more mysteries...Montello High is a magnet for danger, and Summer's attraction to Van has warning signs all over it. But when the school is surrounded by sinister forces that puts its students' lives in danger...well, Summer's always been a reckless troublemaker, and it's up to her to save it--if she can. DISCLAIMER: This story is written in Taglish. COVER DESIGN: Regina Dionela

Every poet is trying to send a message to someone in secret. If you would only learn to listen, you'll know it's for you.

(Yours Series # 5) Graciella Rae Arevalo just wants to love and be loved. She feels like she has a lot of love to give and she just wants her own person to love. Mayroon na kasing mga boyfriend at girlfriend iyong mga tao sa paligid niya. She doesn't want to be a burden to anyone. She wants her own person to love and to spoil. Ang problema, parang ayaw naman sa kanya ng pag-ibig. She has been told to just wait for it because it will eventually come to her. And she wants to, ang kaso, she's always surrounded by death that she feels like she's always running out of time. Ilang blind date na ang napuntahan niya. She always tries to find the good in the person in front of her, but for some reason, walang spark. Ayaw niya naman na i-sacrifice iyon. Alam niya na nag-eexist iyon. She's seen it. She just needs to look harder. Pero baka tama nga sila... na kapag hindi mo hinahanap, saka doon dadating. Because apparently, she's been looking for love in all the wrong places when all along, he's always been right in front of her.

(Game Series # 8) Adriadna Deanne Manjarrez, NBSB, promised herself na kapag pumasok na siya sa law school ay magkakaroon na siya ng boyfriend. Sabi ng parents niya, kusang lalapit ang lalaki sa kanya basta mag-aral lang siya nang mabuti. Kalokohan. Naka-graduate na siya at lahat pero wala namang lalaking luma-lapit. So, she made a promise na pagpasok niya ng law school ay maghahanap agad siya ng boyfriend. She wanted someone na gwapo dahil naniniwala siya na kung masasaktan na lang din siya, sa gwapo na. And after a while, she finally decided to chase after Rhys Arevalo-gwapo, mukhang mabango, at top 1 sa batch nila. She wanted him to be her first boyfriend... kaso hindi siya mapansin nito. Sino ba naman siya? Ni hindi nga siya kasama sa top 10 ng batch nila. At ang balita ay type nito 'yung matatalino. Ginawa niya na lahat, pero walang umeepekto... until she decided to befriend his best friend Samuel Hayes Fortalejo.