When it comes to the musical Guys and Dolls, Lottie Ingham would not call herself obsessed--just knowledgeable. After all, she can dedicate entire essays to the smooth gambler character of Nathan Detroit, which any average teenage girl can do, of course. Now that it's summer, she can rewatch the movie as many times as she wants. However, what she doesn't expect is to rope her longtime crush, a hot-as-hell soccer star, into her dedication to Guys and Dolls and more than a couple other mishaps. [Camp NaNoWriMo project for July 2015] {stunning cover by @anticlimactic}

"I'm distracted from the boy I've bumped into when the world around me begins to change. The grey and white I've seen ever since I was born into this world slowly begin to bleed away, like rain drops sliding down a car window, being replaced with bright, bright pigments. They cover everything, bring to life the world around me. The gravel underneath my feet is no longer a dull grey, the sky is no longer white, the bricks of the buildings no longer black. They're different, beautiful, bright, extraordinary, breathtaking. Colors, I realize. These are colors." x Natalie Grayson has lived her whole life in black and white. She's been waiting to meet her other half- her soulmate- who will make both of their worlds burst in color. It's what she's been dreaming of ever since she was little. She wants to know what color is, how it feels, what it looks like, if it's really as amazing as everyone claims it to be. On her seventeenth birthday, while walking back home through a sketchy part of town, she bumps into a stranger. Before she can even apologize, the last thing she expected happens: the black and white of her world begins to bleed away and is replaced with something else. Colors. When she looks up, Natalie isn't expecting to lock eyes with a rebel. But she does. She also doesn't expect him to run away. But he does.

My feet hit a particularly slippery patch. Without warning they rocketed out from under me. Mr. Break and Enter came with me, courtesy of me re-establishing my grip in his shirt in a failed attempt at anchoring myself. Pain started in my backside and travelled up my spine, but I was paying it minimal attention. I was too busy being consumed by the heavy weight on top of me and marvelling over the deep smooth voice muttering in my ear. “- never doing the old man another favour, so long as I live.” Before I could collect my scattered thoughts the person on top of me reared back to rest his weight on his elbows, an action that caused his hips to press down into mine. My breath caught in my throat as my startled gaze met his. A pair of vibrant green eyes stared back with more than a hint of annoyance bleeding out of them. Full lips were pressed together like he was biting back an insult directed at me, and locks of black hair framed a near symmetrical face, one with high cheekbones and a strong jaw line. “If you’re going to kill me, I’d prefer it if you didn’t do it with an axe,” I blurted. I immediately cursed my runaway mouth. Come on, brain, where are you? Time to join the conversation. Dark brows drew together and he leaned even closer, almost like he was trying to assess my sanity levels. “What?” Embarrassment was pushed back in favour of deep suspicion. “Well, if you’re not here to kill us then I guess you want to rob us. Go ahead. Annabel has some expensive luggage that will sell for a nice buck. And take her Hello Kitty collection while you’re at it. None of us will be sorry to see those creepy cats go.” The boy on top of me shifted his weight and used one of his hands to brush the curls back from my face. With a gentleness that surprised me, he cupped one of my cheeks. “Are you okay?” he asked, clearly concerned. “Did you hit your head when you fell?”

My eyes roam over her face while I wait for my brain to finally click back into gear. But I just can't stand here like a total dumbass, I have to say something. Maybe if I can figure out who she is, I can get us back on even footing. "Let me save you the trouble, Parker Montgomery, because I can see the little hamster wheel spinning in your head. You don't know me. And frankly, because of your rather man whore-ish reputation, I'm totally okay with that. You're like a walking advertisement for STD's." I'm pretty sure my chin just hit the cement. Holy crap. Did this girl seriously just say that to me? I have to admit that I'm sort of blown away. Man whore? I'm not a man whore. I mean, sure I've been with a number of girls, but does that necessarily make me a man whore? All I can do is stare at her feeling totally... damn it! I can't even adequately explain how I'm feeling right now. The only thing I seem capable of doing is hoisting my cup to my lips and taking a giant gulp of beer. I have to admit that this has not exactly been one of my finest Parker moments. Not by a long shot. But like I said, this girl has somehow thrown me completely off my game. I'm hoping the beer will help me get my mojo back. Liquid courage or something like that. I don't even know anymore. Just as I open my mouth to fire some cutting retort back at her she beats me to the punch. "Listen, this little meet and greet has been awesome, but I've got to take off." What? Does she really think that I'm just going to let her walk away from me? Oh. Hell. No.