Richard and Carlton are childhood friends who haven't seen each other in five years after that embarrassing incident. Things are about to get awkward now that Carlton is the butler of the Preston family and Richard is the sole heir of the Preston-Astor Group, one the largest conglomerate in the world. --Completed 02/27/25 Ranking Milestones #1 boyxboy #1 bxb #1 lgtbt #1 gay

**WATTYS 2025 SHORTLIST** Sixteen-year-old Cas is clever, sporty, and on the brink of a bright future at university. His best friend Vish has no such prospects. A painfully shy artist, Vish's future won't go further than his daily routine of pills, sensory issues and panicking parents. Cas and Vish celebrate what could be their final summer together by painting wildlife and swimming at a secret wetland that they've discovered hidden in the Fens. But something ancient and sinister lurks in the beautiful marsh that Cas and Vish have claimed as their summer retreat. Vish's childhood imaginary friend, Charlie, has returned, and this time Charlie wants Vish's body and soul. The only thing standing in Charlie's way is Cas, and he won't give up on his best friend, even if it means a fight to the death. --- WELCOME TO MY ONC 2025 STORY! This incorporates the following prompt: 105. Your childhood imaginary friend who disappeared years ago returns - only this time they're real. I'll add in some of the other prompts as I go along. Not sure if I'll make it to the end but we'll see how we go!

When Sawyer wakes up one morning, the last thing he expects is to see the ghost of his childhood best friend, Indigo, sitting at the foot of his bed. A fight in middle school shattered their friendship, and they drifted apart. Now in college, a tragic accident brings them back together, forcing them to confront their past and work together to unravel the mystery that binds them. With time running out, Sawyer and Indigo must find a way to make amends before it's too late. **WATTYS 2025 SHORTLIST**

For years, Madelyn's worst fears have only resided in her head, feeding off her heightened sense of her surroundings and unfortunate experiences and accidents in her past. That's why her schooling is more than just assignments, tests, and high school drama. The Eralyn Academy of Secondary Education provides her with a once-in-a-lifetime chance to develop her special ability. It's her safe haven, a place where she can strive to one day control her ability and anxiety - at least, it is until things take a deadly turn. When Madelyn is dared to sign up for the school's joke of a dating app, she reluctantly complies. But when she arrives on the first date, she realizes that she's been matched with a dead man. Caught up in an investigation and ruminations running wild, Madelyn seeks to uncover who the real murderer is in a desperate attempt to outrun one increasingly deafening thought: Is she a killer? *Open Door Awards 2024 - Honorable Mention for Mystery/ Thriller 3x Featured: @Fright @Mystery & @Action Trigger Warnings: Themes of death, anxiety/ ocd, and ptsd.

[2025 Wattys Shortlist] After getting cut off by her wealthy, business-obsessed parents, Emily Grayson finds herself broke, stranded in a small town, and working at a boba café, something she never imagined in her wildest dreams. Her first days on the job are a disaster, her patience (and Jake Sherlind's) running thinner than the tapioca pearls she keeps burning. Jake, the charming yet hardworking guy with big dreams, has no patience for entitled rich girls who don't know how to hold a job. But when Emily starts proving him wrong, their tension brews into something neither of them expected. Between spilled drinks, late-night confessions, and an orange stray cat that won't leave the back door, Emily begins to wonder... maybe losing everything was exactly what she needed to find herself. A small-town rom-com about growth, second chances, and love that's better steeped with time.

~ONC 2024 Honourable Mention~ ~~~ Alaric, the King of Silmarea, recently married to his beloved husband, needs an heir of his own blood to secure the throne. With the help of Emrys, his court magician and best friend, he recalls his youthful escapades and discovers a daughter he once had with a woman he had loved in The World Beyond The Stones (our world). He sends an unlikely but trusted trio on a quest to find her and bring her home-- a brooding dragon shifter and Highlander who owes him a favor, a dashing elf whom he loves like the son he never had, and a loyal, kindhearted dwarf, the elf's best friend. Alaric, the last scion of the old gods, weary of ruling the country and ready to retire and enjoy his love life, doesn't know that this quest will bring much more than he ever bargained for, setting in motion events plotted by the destiny that will challenge his kingdom and legacy. ~~~ Cover: My own picture.

For 17-year-old Nyx Madden, stealing shadows is second nature. This rare power allows her to control the person whose shadow she holds. And, since she's been on her own for the past five years, it's her only chance at survival. But Nyx's life in the shadows is jeopardized when she is visited by Victor, the enigmatic leader of the criminal underworld. Somehow, he discovered that she is the faceless Shadow Thief, Itoria's most wanted criminal. If he reveals her identity, she'll be hanged. Victor strikes a deal with Nyx. He'll give her more gold than she knows what to do with in exchange for the shadow of Itoria's Silver Prince, thus nicknamed for his fickle nature and careless wealth. Nyx readily agrees, as this may be the last shadow she ever has to steal. And, considering the Silver Prince's rotten reputation, Itoria can only improve with him out of the way. In order to take the prince's shadow, Nyx must uncover his greatest fear and confront him with it. She infiltrates the castle, where she discovers that nothing in Itoria is as it seems, including the prince himself. Stuck under his dying father's thumb, the Silver Prince has little freedom-but his selfish, callow nature might be hiding a golden heart. With her identity hanging in the balance, Nyx finds the fate of the entire kingdom in her hands-and her own heart in the hands of the Silver Prince.

In the snowbound streets of 18th-century Paris, destiny stirs in secret. Born beneath omens and raised in silence, Valeriano De La Wien is no ordinary boy. Strange forces bend to his will. Whispers of magic trail in his wake. And now, despite his parents' desperate efforts to shield him, he's ready to discover the truth about the world beyond his gilded prison. But the moment he escapes the manor walls, something ancient takes notice-something dark, relentless, and watching. As old secrets rise and hidden powers awaken, Valeriano must learn who he truly is before the shadows claim him forever. A Remnant stirs. And adventure has only just begun.

[[Wattpad 2025 Shortlist]] Neo and Charlie are back, and there's a new mystery for them to solve. Bernard Malevich, a secondary school science teacher, is found murdered in his classroom at the exclusive private school Haverish Hall. Only his death is a impossible. Pasts collide, and secrets crash into the open, as Neo and Charlie try to figure out their new future together, but will their happy ending be brought to an abrupt end?

Massachusetts State Police Trooper First Class Kevin Thornton joined the force for all the wrong reasons, and as such he's done so little that the only promotion he's received is the automatic one to trooper first class after five years on the job. So when a plane full of drug money crashes on the highway while he's on night patrol, he doesn't hesitate to help himself to it.