"It is your choice," he said, stepping so close to me that our lips were almost touching. "Either do what I say - or get another job." My heart stood still as I gazed up into his deep, dark, dangerous eyes... In a world where women's only role in life is to sit at home and look pretty, Lilly is determined to fight for her freedom. There's only one problem: a powerful man blocking her way.

❝This isn't a happy story; it's a story about happiness.❞ in which an upset girl and a fiercely loyal boy drive across the country to monday, maine. (note: there will be swearing in this story, and also topics that might be sensitive for some readers like depression and such... so consider this a warning.)

Ramona "Mona" Gray only wanted to catch a big fish. Instead she caught a boy the same height as herself. Adam Fink was trying to catch a girl to take home to his grandpa that only wanted him to fall in love... With anyone, he didn't care as long as Adam was happy like his parents had been when they had met. Ramona didn't want a boy to bring home to her mom. Her sister already had a man lined up for the both of them, and neither of those boys was Adam. No, they were "respectful" gentlemen. Which to Ramona meant they were snobbish and most likely sexist in their own subtle ways. They wouldn't care for her boy short hair or that she loved her beanie dearly and would never part with it. Still, with matching plaid button ups that were both bought from the same side of the store it was clear that these two would get along... Well mostly, Adam wasn't too keen when she pushed him off the dock. And Ramona wasn't too happy to jump in after him to save him when he could have easily stood up in the water. After she took to calling him princess while he continued to access that she needed to grow out some stubble since she was already working the "man of the wilderness" look. Their adventures of their senior year will be tricky, probably a bit roundabout, and maybe just a teeny bit romantic. Still its like Ramona always says, "high school is just some pond to practice life in, once its over you go down the river of college and then you're at the ocean of opportunity and depending on what kind of fish you are it could be scary and vast or it can be too small and lonely." Former cover made by -ichor

Sometimes all you really need is a place to call home. *** Claire is lost and scared and utterly alone. Her family is in shambles after the death of her older sister Ina, and she's left to pick up the broken pieces of herself as her life heads into a downwards spiral of loneliness. Her heart leads her to 5:48, a little cafe by 33rd street, where she finds her new home. With a broken heart and a speech disability, Jasper has his heart and mouth sewn shut by the winding threads of hurt and fear. Painting and serving coffee in cafe 5:48 are one of his last few saving graces, but the smile he's been painting on himself will soon fade away as everything he's ever held dear slips away from his grasp. Ezra is out-of-sync and oddly cold by the way life has treated his young self. Abandoned by his single mother at an early age, he has grown up thinking that he is a mistake. His constant shaking hands are a reflection of what he often thinks of himself, but the delightful pastries he bakes for 5:48's customers are a reflection of what others see of him. Drew is a quirky rarity. He is a dash of loud, a pinch of exuberant, and a cup of eccentric - just like the meals he serves in the cafe as the only chef there. Behind his playful grins and outlandish clothes, however, are his jutting ribs, hollowed cheeks, and too-thin arms. Sometimes he cannot stomach being in his own skin as much as he cannot stomach food. This family has gone a long way from finding each other, and they'll be going a long way together too as reality comes catching up to them, threatening the newfound happiness they've found with each other. Secrets are revealed, pasts become presents, and lives are changed. Slowly but surely, they find their way back home. *** NOTE AS OF 08/2026: This is the old version of the story from 2012, posted in FULL. Another story that will be considered a reprise of this old version is in the works, and will be posted under the name "Hiraya House."

In which a girl can't go a day without an anxiety attack and a boy can't go a day without noticing