"You can't see the future. I might have a chance. You don't know for sure." He mumbled, making her expression soften. "M-my mom used to tell me t-that birds still sing even after a storm. Why shouldn't people feel as free t-to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them?" Samir stopped talking for a moment to regather himself so that he didn't stutter, but Nina froze completely. "You don't have to settle with him Nina. It's been five years an-and you're not a-as happy as you should be. You smile differently with me.. and you cry a lot with him. I just think that you deserve to enjoy your time with someone other than h-him for a minute because there's still sunlight out there for you too, even if you can't see it yet." How did he become her source of 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 so 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐲? A short story.

First time we fucked, we ain't really plan it.. But now I'll be making love to you through him...

" I don't even like you like that." Her face scrunched up in disgust watching water drip from curls in his hair. " 'Cause you love me. Just like I love you." He retorted with a grin, disregarding the deflecting she was doing. --- They were two sides of the same city-until one move split them down the middle. Elijah and London were inseparable once, bonded by childhood summers, beat-up bikes, and secrets too deep for anyone else to know. Unfortunately, when Elijah's mom packed up and moved her family across Onyx to a rival neighborhood, everything changed. She always thought when she spoke to him again he would've changed like her. She was witty, sarcastic, and had a low tolerance, but he was still the same calm , sweet, cute boy with a heart the size of the sun. Some things haven't changed. Some things never change. The pull between them, the memories that still burn etched marks in their brain, and the words they never said out loud. In a world where loyalty can be life or death, and love isn't always enough to cross old lines, Elijah and London find themselves circling each other again. --- STARTED; MAY 26th, 2025 PUBLISHED JUNE 6th, 2025 FINISHED; SEPTEMBER 27th 2025

"I know ma. Stop fronting. Tell me you miss me." He kissed her in between his words, in love with the way her brown eyes dazed. "I miss you. And your mouth tastes like pickles." She spoke softly, a smile taking over her face once he laughed. "You wanna taste it again?" He stuck his tongue out at her, and she closed her eyes after sucking it into her mouth. She cradled the side of his face, rubbing over his prominent jawline as the kiss deepened. Dayvon's hands went underneath her tank top, breaking the kiss for a moment to get it off. The way he rubbed on her body made her moan again, missing the feeling of his hands on her skin. He hadn't touched her intimately in so long. She'd missed him.

"You know how special you gotta be to change a nigga like me? Huh?" He tilted her head back to make her look at him, and a faint smile grew on her face as he wiped her cheeks. "My own grandparents couldn't do it for me and I loved them more than anything. You the one for me ma. That's why I ain't told you everything yet 'cause I don't wanna run you away. I need you." He laid his forehead against hers, gently kissing her lips. "Nobody will ever believe that King Von from O Block be crying to me like this." She smiled as she gazed into his red eyes, and he chuckled, nodding in agreement. "I ain't King Von wit' you. Just love." He kissed her cheek next, and her smile grew as her arms tightened around him for a warm hug.

Everyone's biggest fear when falling in love with someone, is falling for who you 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 they were, instead of who they ARE.

"I made the decision to cheat on my wife because I liked the way you made me feel vulnerable and comfortable enough to open up to you the night before it happened. I ain't never did shit like that before and that's what made it easy for me to choose to risk everything I got for you." "That shit probably not a big deal to you but a nigga like me ain't never opened up to nobody but my best friend-and still..that's rare. I hate even talking about her with you but I don't even feel comfortable talking to Ariana about my feelings 'cause I know she gon' judge me. You don't make me feel like that."

"See, this is exactly why I wish we never met. You came into my life and you just keep shaking everything up!" She stressed, her stomach rumbling with rage. He only stared before his lips twitched into a smirk. "You don't even believe that dumb ass shit." --- She thought running would set her free, but freedom came with a price she wasn't sure she was ready to uphold. She ran from one trap straight into another. Dreams of dancing slip through her fingers when survival forces her into a world she would have to endure. She's dragged into the dark corners of Onyx city and life is nothing as she knew it. Then he appears. A boy who feels different, who makes her believe she might have more to live for than pain. Unfortunately, in the streets nothing is ever as it seems. Every bond comes with secrets, every touch with consequences. And when betrayal cuts deeper than love, she'll learn the hard way what it really means to be slimed out. STARTED; September 18th 2025 PUBLISHED; September 27th 2025 FINISHED; FEBRUARY 7th 2026

"Do you think we're soul mates?" She asked, lifting her head in order to lock eyes with him. It took him a moment, mustering up his answer. Thinking about how they were so alike, but so different. How they had been through similar things and had the same outlooks on certain perspectives in life. The connection that they shared. It was like she was made specifically for him. No one would ever be able to hold a candle to her and the way she made him feel. She was his person, and he was hers. "To be honest...yeah." He replied, wrapping his arm around her. --- Knucks is a misunderstood teenage girl, deemed as destructive to the society with her reoccurring outbursts and rebellious behavior. Anger fuels her defiant spirit but beneath her exterior, lies a vulnerable girl searching high and low for someone to help her through a time of crisis. Bones quiet and reserved, has nothing but a hard exterior looking from the outside in, when in reality he is just an innocent boy. He's fighting to keep his head above the water also known as life, that is trying its hardest to submerge and break him down mentally. When the two teenagers find themselves in an environment far away from home with others just like them, it leaves both of them separately hopeless about the outcomes of their future lives. One night upon meeting each other, one felt as if they had nothing to live for anymore, while the other felt the same way only holding a different meaning a sense.The night bringing them closer than ever eventually has to come to an end. It's up to the two of them to carry out the strange but alluring connection made with each other, or leave it in the night they met. SLOW BURN; 2 books in 1 STARTED; FEB 19th 2024 PUBLISHED; MARCH 3rd 2024 FINISHED; SEPTEMBER 29th, 2024

possessed with an intense but short-lived passion or admiration for someone.. 10/29/2021-11/04/2021