Two brothers. One fear. Brody, with the help of his younger brother, faces a fear that will change his entire life. (This is an entry for the Wattpad #panic contest. The story is only able to be 500 words long.) Edited - This story was one of the ten winners! Yayyyy!

A futuristic dystopian society devoted to the continuation of mankind. Two stubborn boys. One pre-determined destiny neither have any control over... Shay Arden has waited his entire life for the Crux Year-the year when sixteen-year-old boys become men and are introduced to their future husbands. After the 2X virus eliminated every last female on the planet twenty years ago, it was up to the male species to ensure the continuity of human life. Science, technology, and the will to multiply, despite the odds, has made this possible. And Shay can't wait. Love. Marriage. A family. He wants it all. Nothing will stop him from getting it. But when Shay learns his match is the most maddening, rude, and obnoxious boy he knows, his dreams quickly become a nightmare. There has to be a glitch. Some sort of mistake. He can't marry Royal Ever. Never. Royal is his enemy. A rule-breaker with an attitude problem. Incredibly hot, but also the absolute worst. They got it wrong and Shay will do whatever it takes to prove it. He won't accept his fate without a fight. His digging, though, brings the fight to his doorstep. It's ugly and terrifying. Some secrets, if uncovered, could ruin those in power and they'll do anything to keep them hidden. Even if that means eliminating anyone who finds out...like Shay. If he tells those he loves and cares about, they could be in danger too. No one can help Shay except the royal pain in his rear... His future husband.

Benji is awkward, gay, and barely survived high school. Now he has to survive the apocalypse. After a cosmic event blankets the world in black dust, unleashing a deadly plague and collapsing society, seventeen-year-old Benji sets off alone to find other people. He's prepared for illness, for lawlessness, for solitude. What he isn't prepared for is Cabe, the broody, straight classmate who just saved him from a would-be mugger. Cabe has one goal: protect his baby sister and find their missing mom. Benji? He has a crush on Cabe the size of the roiling space dust cloud that looms over their town. But Cabe is moody and focused on survival, and Benji talks too much and keeps catching feelings. As the unlikely trio treks through their decimated city, scavenging supplies and dodging threats, Benji and Cabe find moments of warmth, laughter, and something dangerously close to love. But when grief, mistrust, and dangerous survivors threaten their fragile connection, Benji must decide if love is worth the heartbreak...even at the end of the world. Still Awkward at the End of the World is a 74k word standalone YA post-apocalyptic queer romance that blends the raw survivalism of The Last of Us with the tender heart of Red, White & Royal Blue and the emotional tension of They Both Die at the End. It's awkward. It's gay. And somehow, it's still hopeful.