I was so fed up with my stressful life as a high school teacher. Paano kasi, paborito akong pagdiskitahan ng mapang-alipustang boss ko. Mabuti na lang at nasa working environment ko ang stress reliever slash ultimate crush kong si Jiro Elizalde. I truly believed there was something between us. Ramdam kong espesyal din ako kay Jiro. Pero ilusyonada lang pala ako... sa huli, sakit ng lintik na puso lang ang napala ko. I was terribly devastated. Ngunit sa pinakamadilim na parte ng buhay ko, bumalik si Zephyrus Dechavez, ang best friend ko. Zeph was able to bring back my shattered self-esteem. Hindi ko nga lang inasahang uusbong muli ang damdamin ko sa kaniya na akala ko'y matagal nang nabaon sa limot. But loving Zephyrus has always come at a price. Iyon ang katotohanang masasaktan lang ako sa huli... Disclaimer: This story was written in Filipino. Date started: July 22, 2022 Date finished (final draft): July 14, 2024

For Gale Cerrera, home is not a safe place. Constantly hearing your parents curse and fight is not exactly ideal for a child, but these were the cards she had been dealt. Determined to escape, she tries everything, from joining the school paper to getting a part-time job. Nothing works. Until she meets Ethan. Ethan Zamora is an outcast ─ bullied at school, counseled by an incompetent counselor, and haunted by nightmares from his past. He, too, desperately needs an escape. Through poems, books, and Gale's alluring charm, he finds solace and the freedom to be himself. Every night, Gale and Ethan meet in the woods and sit by an angel statue, sharing their secrets and healing each other's wounds. Together, they learn that the only way to truly escape is to confront what they're running from. As they face the harsh realities they've long avoided, will their friendship survive the storm, or will they find something even deeper?