After a year spent healing at St. Francis Mental Hospital, Neillah must piece together the life she was forced to leave behind without getting caught. ⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆ When Neillah Thomas is released back into society she expects her family and friends to have moved on--not believe she's dead. Convinced it was for the best, her mother assures her temporary grief was better than long drawn hardship that could only end in pain, keeping her wellbeing a secret from everyone, but also single-handedly cutting off Neillah's entire support system. Sworn to secrecy, she attends college at her dream school only to find her former friend group in shambles. Between the cold stares, scathing retorts, and literal evasion, Neillah is shocked to find her first crush is a loner and that hot-headed best friend of hers? He seems to be staring in her direction a little too long. Clinging to her promise to remain out of sight, Neillah stubbornly fights for the closure they all deserve and answers she never got, no matter the cost. | An Open Novella Contest Entry | | Cover by the Amazing @Caralogues |

When Benaiah Sullivan and Lelaina Ramos meet outside of a bar one night, their chemistry is instant. However, they're both in relationships, so they say goodbye and go separate ways, but life has a funny way of causing their lives to collide. So, they decide to be friends, but over time, unspoken feelings develop as they become each other's safe space. When obstacles arise with their romantic partners, their friendship also suffers with arguments fueled by confusion and unfed desire that pushes them apart on more than one occasion. But they always find their way back to each other. Like an imaginary thread, indefinitely tying them together. **When Harry Met Sally × People We Meet On Vacation** ONC Entry 2026, Prompt 24: Staying as friends feels safe, but that doesn't mean it's the path you're meant to take.

I woke in the dark, and it recognized me. Stars trembled at the edges of my sight, slipping away one by one, their fading whispers reaching for me-begging to be seen, to be heard, to be saved. Voices follow, offering me names that don't belong to me, each one a life they swear I lived. Their memories fracture against each other, splintering into impossible versions of who I'm meant to be. It feels as though the world itself is struggling to hold my shape, unsure which story I belong to-or how many times I've slipped through its grasp. And nothing feels real. Not the town. Not the sky. Not this fragile body that contains me like a trembling lie. At midnight, the tattoos on my skin wake, stirring like constellations trying to remember their shapes. They call to me with quiet urgency, urging me to fulfill the stories they carry-tales carved in light long before this world learned to speak. I don't know who I am. I don't know why I'm here. But something inside me remembers-something vast, ancient, and impossible to ignore. And the darkness I came from is calling me home. 🌌 Dedicated with love to @dyingfrominside - your art gave this story its first breath. 🪐#ONC2026 🌙Integrated Prompts: 69. The stars are disappearing one by one, and only you can hear their whispers. 77. Everyone in town remembers you differently, as if each person has lived a completely different version of your life. 78. You begin to realize that nothing is quite what it seems. 95. At midnight, every tattoo on your body comes to life and demands you fulfill the stories they represent.