Jeremaia Anderson came to Northridge University to win-quietly, cleanly, on his own terms. But in Metro Manila's biggest semi-final, one name keeps getting under his skin: Johnny Harrison, Avalon University's loud-mouthed golden boy who plays like he owns the field... and Jeremaia's attention. Their rivalry is public. Personal. Brutal. And when Jeremaia goes down hard on the last play-knocked out just before the winning shot-he expects to wake up to Northridge teammates and a loss he can't swallow. Instead, it's his rival who's there. A/N: This is my official entry for the Open Novella Contest 2026. Prompt # 58. "You're injured during a big game, and to your surprise, your rival from the other team carries you off the field." #ONC2026

Ivan Guillermo de la Vega knows how to write about people. He just doesn't get involved. As a writer for the Indiana Daily Student, he's built his life on observation-clean, precise, and carefully neutral. Until one late night, when he answers a simple AI prompt and creates something he doesn't expect: An ideal. Calm. Consistent. Someone who stays. He closes the tab and forgets about it. The next day, he walks into a café and meets him. Owen Maverick Turner isn't loud. He doesn't try to impress. He doesn't interrupt. He just... stays. And somehow, without effort, he mirrors everything Ivan was never supposed to find in real life. What begins as coincidence becomes pattern. What feels manageable becomes undeniable. Ivan knows how to observe. He knows how to write. But this time, he's no longer outside the story.

At 3AM, a system begins-quietly, without intention, and without permission. A single swipe connects Christopher Laurence Marquez, an engineering student in Texas who prefers observation over involvement, to two football players in Ohio: identical twins who move through the world in contrast-one all momentum, the other measured control; instinct set against precision. What starts as a late-night conversation settles into something neither of them defines. It isn't fast. It isn't loud. It doesn't ask to be named. It simply continues. Night after night, across distance and routine, a pattern takes hold-structured, consistent, resistant to interruption. It is not quite friendship, not quite love, but something that holds its shape even when left alone. Chris does not chase connection. He studies it, reduces it, understands it in parts before allowing it to mean anything whole. But this one resists reduction. And that is where the instability begins. Because not every system that works is built to last, and not everything that fits is meant to remain. In a world that rewards speed, noise, and certainty, three people begin to move differently-to pause, to listen, and to recognize that some connections are not chosen, not constructed, not controlled... ...but once they take hold, they refuse to let go.

Luigi Ponce Carrasco did not plan to confess. Not at 3:17 AM. Not in his sleep. And definitely not in front of witnesses. What should have been an ordinary night in the dorm lounge turns into a recorded moment he can't take back-one that exposes exactly how he feels about Neil Patrick Garcia Finnegan, the one person he has been trying very hard not to think about. By morning, the video exists. By afternoon, everyone knows. And by the end of the day, Luigi realizes the problem isn't the confession. It's that it might be true. As his friends turn his worst moment into undeniable evidence, Luigi is forced to confront something he never intended to say out loud. Because some feelings don't wait for the right timing. Sometimes, they slip out anyway.

||WATTY WINNER 2023🌟|| Two strangers pretend to be a couple to win a dumb bet. The wager: they must enrol in couples therapy and fool their counselor. _________ Six non-refundable couples counseling sessions. That's how many Clementine booked for him and his girlfriend to sort out their relationship problems. What he didn't see coming was getting dumped as soon as he informed her of it. Enter Everett, a chaotic, curly-haired boy who barges into Clementine's life. He offers to fake date and attend the counseling sessions with Clementine. Unfortunately, they are both idiots. Did they really believe they could safely fake-date in a Wattpad book and NOT fall in love? ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 Might bring to mind: "Heartstopper" but with a ton more baking and fake dating 🌈 🎼🎶 This book has a Spotify playlist with a song for each chapter. To download it you can search me on Spotify @itsmeimthevampire - the playlist name is "Idiots To Lovers." 🏅🏅🏅 Watty Winner 2023. Shortlisted in the Open Novella Contest 2023. Featured on Wattpad profiles: @Lgbtq @FreeTheLgbt @Romance 🏆🏆🏆 #2 lgbt #2 lgbtq 📆 10/5/23 #4 gay 21/5/23 #4 bxb 14/5/23 #5 boyxboy 13/5/23 #1 gayromance 5/5/23 #1 gayshipsareyayships 14/5/23 Written for ONC2023 using prompt 39: On a blind date with a complete mismatch, you're increasingly uncomfortable but too polite to leave. Then an attractive stranger comes over and gives you an out.

**WATTYS 2025 HONOURABLE MENTION** Cas and Vish are best friends whose feelings run deep. Whilst Cas is clever, sporty, and on the brink of a bright future at university, Vish has no such prospects. A painfully shy artist, Vish's horizons end at his daily routine of pills, sensory issues and panicking parents. When they celebrate what could be their final summer together by painting wildlife and swimming at a secret wooded wetland hidden in the Fens, the lads awaken something ancient and sinister lurking in the water. A voice in Vish's head -- Charlie -- tempts him to spend longer and longer in the woods. When villagers begin to disappear and Vish becomes increasingly secretive and distant, Cas is convinced that Charlie intends to claim Vish, body and soul. Lies, heartbreak and obsession push their friendship to breaking point, but nothing will stop Cas from protecting Vish from Charlie's onslaught, not even a fight to the death. --- This book started life as an ONC 2025 prompt: 105. Your childhood imaginary friend who disappeared years ago returns - only this time they're real.