Keegan is a boy who loves affection. He's usually quite peppy and excitable, but everything in life has turned against him. He ends up locking away his emotions and making himself distant from the world, trying to avoid further suffering. He's left a shell of his former self, struggling to get through life. He decides to take time away from his abusive life by going on a week long school trip to collect his thoughts. He is placed in situations he couldn't have imagined. Theo is a laid back jock. He can come off as aggressive and bossy, usually around his friends, though he has a heart and can be quite kind. His life is hectic and full of annoying people. His parents are inconsiderate, his friends are clingy and loud, and the rest of the school sucks up to him, which he doesn't received well. He just wants to be left alone. After deceiving his clingy friends he snuck away on the school trip, hoping he could finally get some peace and quiet. This trip would hold some surprises for him, and maybe even change his life. What future will await these two? Are they destined for greatness, or despair?

"Are you going to jump off the bridge now or not?" "Are you going to stop me if I said yes?" "Of course not," "Then, what would you do?" "Probably count you off," "Wow," "Do you want me to count?" "No," "Why not?" "Because I'm not going to jump off the flippin' bridge!" *** Joshua Goldmann was seemingly the perfect boy of the perfect small town, Willowcreeks. Even so, he found himself on the edge of an abandoned bridge on one fateful night. It was supposed to be the end, not the beginning

Conan Hill is a trans male looking to escape his haunting past. He wants nothing more than to keep his head down and remain unnoticed at his new school, though that is quite difficult when the captain of the track team seems to have fallen for him. ***** Life has been hard for Conan. In hopes of escaping past bullies and finding a fresh start where no one knows who he used to be, his family decides to move from Texas to Massachusetts. He makes a promise to himself that he will survive high school by going unnoticed and avoiding any conflict that might reveal his former identity. But this ends up being more difficult than expected when the school's golden boy and popular jock, Owen Wilson, takes up a keen interest in him. Could this be the beginning of something beautiful for Conan, or just another chapter of his life that he would have to run away from? Content/trigger warning: This story contains themes of bullying, transphobia, homophobia, abuse, and suicidal thoughts, as well as sexual activity. [[word count: 80,000 - 90,000]] Cover designed by Jenna Conrad