DESCRIPTION: Devonte Armani is seventeen, fragile in ways no one bothers to understand. After a tragic lost, guilt eats him alive, his parents feel distant, and being openly gay makes him a target. He loves too softly in a world that punishes softness, until hating himself feels like survival. Jayden Romari is nineteen feared in the streets, worshipped in the music scene, empty behind the image. Orphaned young, built from violence and silence, he learned power is safer than feeling. He doesn't do weakness. He doesn't do love. So when their worlds collide, Jayden hates Devonte on sight. But when he sees Devonte being hurt, something dark and dangerous wakes up inside him. Obsession replaces hatred. Protection turns possessive. And Jayden is forced to face the one truth that terrifies him most Devonte Armani isn't just a weakness... he's everything he never knew he needed.

"Some looks say more than words ever could."

Shannon Cole has always survived by noticing what others miss. Numbers stick. Faces linger. Conversations don't fade. In the hood, that kind of mind doesn't stay unnoticed-it gets used. Shannon has become a quiet resource, passed between crews whenever something needs remembering, calculating, or confirming. He tells himself it's temporary. Just helping. Just staying afloat. Until everyone wants him. As gangs begin circling closer, access to Shannon turns into competition-and then into risk. Because when too many people want what you know, someone eventually decides you're too valuable to share. Tiger Laurent doesn't compete. He decides. Tiger runs things with calm precision, and when he claims Shannon, it isn't curiosity-it's control. Pulled out of circulation and placed under Tiger's watch, Shannon finds himself safer than he's ever been-and more trapped than he imagined possible. Protection blurs into possession. Use starts to feel permanent. And the more indispensable Shannon becomes, the harder it is to tell whether he's being kept alive... or quietly erased.

sincere brooks is used to people making assumptions about him. they see his makeup, his nails, the way he loves anything feminine, and decide they already know who he is. but sincere doesn't care. between helping out in a 1st grade disability classroom, doing hair on the side, and trying to survive his senior year, he has bigger things to worry about. like graduating. nasir woods has his own problems. his music is finally taking off, his followers are growing every day, and everyone expects him to become the next big rapper from the city. with tattoos, confidence, and a reputation that follows him everywhere, nasir seems like he has everything figured out. he doesn't. when a fake relationship is suggested to help boost nasir's image before the release of his first mixtape, sincere agrees to help. it should've been simple. a few pictures. a few dates. a few convincing captions. that's it. but the longer they pretend to be together, the harder it becomes to separate what's real from what's fake. because somewhere between late-night phone calls, shared secrets, and stolen glances, sincere starts falling for the one person he was never supposed to. and if he's not careful, project: pretty might end up breaking more than just the rules.

Everybody expected Jalen Carter to crash out after prison. Instead, he came home trying to be a father. Trying to stay free. Trying to move differently. Trying not to lose himself again. But Amir Johnson makes that shit difficult. His best friend has been attached to his side since they were kids, still loud, still reckless, still the only person who can get under Jalen's skin without trying. And the closer they get, the harder it becomes to ignore the tension building between them. Now with his baby mama wanting their family back, old street problems resurfacing, and feelings neither of them knows how to handle... everything they built together could either save them- or destroy them..

Ever since they were kids, Darius Lockwood and Xavier King have been butting heads. A childish feud that has lasted for more than twenty years is finally coming to an end- all because of the escape of a convict. But not just any convict. The one responsible for Darius' father's death. Who's to blame for the escape of said convict? Xavier, of course. (cover by @rrosemayaa) #1 in alphaxalpha #2 in rising #3 in diversityinlit

"What am I to you?" "Everything. And if anyone tries to take you from me I will put them in the fucking ground and sleep next to you on top of it."

"Silly boy - you dare ask me that question?" I frown at him instantly - taken aback when he gripped my chin. Yanking me close enough towards him, our lips almost touched. The look in his eyes was one I've seen in wild animals who can't control their animalistic behaviors. Except this one was different...it held desire - which I wasn't for at all. "I became Unhinged because of you." That's when I saw him begin to lean towards me, and wasn't having this any longer. I shove my hand onto his lips right when he was about to kiss me. My eyes glaring into his despite the risks of me doing so. "I refuse for my first kiss to be from someone like you." I growl at him, his eyes widening in shock. That's when I push him back and got off of the couch. I saw him watching me with feral eyes that told me I probably angered him even more. Possibly heightening the chances of my removal from this horrid competition. Except I'm not like the other contestants here. Having him isn't my dream, my dream is helping my family - and being here does that. I could care less if he becomes Unhinged. Especially if it's because of me. *read "Prologue" for story description* 😊💕

I always felt like I was carrying something on my back-bills, family, expectations that weighed more than my own body. Being a first-gen student wasn't a dream, it was a debt and graduate school was currently kicking my ass. I kept my head down, locs falling in my face as I scribbled notes, just trying to stay invisible. But when Professor Kyrie Knight leaned against my desk, his eyes steady on mine, I felt seen in a way that scared me. My name's Cameron Cross, and maybe I was meant to carry this weight-but for the first time, I wondered if I had to carry it alone.

He thought he knew love-until it nearly broke him.