Her brother's rival, the captain of the enemy football team, and the boy who always smirks when he wins. He's loud, cocky, and impossible to ignore... especially when he starts looking at her like she's more than just her brother's little sister. She knows better than to fall for someone wearing the wrong colors. But when late-night arguments turn into stolen glances, and those glances turn into something she can't quite name, the rules start to blur. Now, every game feels like a secret war between her heart and her loyalty. Because in a town where football decides everything, loving him might just be the biggest betrayal of all.

Edel doesn't do soft. She doesn't do safe. And she definitely doesn't do sober. She walks into BCS with sharp eyes, dirty secrets, and an addiction she pretends she controls. A dead father. An alcoholic mother. A home that never felt like one. Until John Kavanagh. John has money, a future, and a family that still works. A life Edel was never meant to touch. Different worlds - same school. She doesn't need saving. He doesn't know he's trying anyway. Some girls don't run because they're reckless. They run because staying would kill them.

18+ | 2026 WATTYS SHORTLISTER | First Draft | Not edited. |"You gonna sit there all night?" Luka glances at me, smirking. I glare back. "I was enjoying the last few seconds of peace before having to spend an evening pretending to like you." "That's funny," he says, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Why?" I snap. "Because I was thinking the same thing." | The rules? Easy enough. 1. Pretend to be the perfect couple. 2. Keep it professional. 3. And whatever you do, don't. catch. feelings. Simple, right? Sofia Calloway never planned on going viral for throwing a drink in Luka Mikhaylov's face. But one video, one pissed-off hockey star, and one furious university later... she's suddenly stuck in a fake relationship with the guy she can't stand. He needs to clean up his image before the NHL draft. She needs the free tuition that comes with the deal. All they have to do is smile for the cameras, hold hands at the games, and act like they don't want to strangle each other. Then come the late-night arguments that last too long. The stolen glances that feel too dangerous. The moment where "pretend" starts looking way too real. Because when you break the rules, someone's bound to lose. And this time, it might be both of them.

She's an American. Born and raised in Tennessee. Thats what she's used to. The rodeos, and the country accents, and the fast food, and the cowboys, and the football, and baseball, and nachos. So imagine how she feels when she finds out her dad has been placed in Cork, Ireland as his naval post.

Nora O'briens mind replays the crash that killed her dad over and over again even though it has almost been a year since he died. With an almost nonexistent mental health and a ma who only wants prefect, when Nora can't be that she pretends she doesn't exist and a older brother who blames her for their dads death, taking out his pain and grief on her. Will she learn to love living again? Still haunted by his parents death five years ago Tadgh Lynch lives with his dads voice in his head. Focusing too much on the present he forgets the past is still a part of who he is. His life is always how he dreamed it would be, he had amazing friends and a loving family in a safe house but not having anyone to talk to about what happened, he feels alone. Will he learn to get better you sometimes have to let someone in? Will they help each other before it's too late and they lose each other forever.