The next December, they were apart. [Sequel to December]

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."

Like the Hunger Games series? Then you'll love ''Man Hunt'' When Alice awakes in a small, bare room with nothing more than a letter, a backpack, a change of clothes and some survival gear, she doesn't know what to expect. She has no recollection of how she got to where she is, or even where she is and she can't help but feel frightened about the whole situation. According to the letter addressed to her name, her parents signed her up for a new televised game show in which twelve teenagers will be split into two equal teams. The teenagers will then take part in a slightly modified version of a childhood game they are all quite familiar with for the chance to win a sum of €1,000,000 for every member of the winning team. When Alice meets the rest of her group, they soon realise that they are stranded on an island and they have no other option but to cooperate. They quickly find the instructions and map their team has been supplied with and are forced to begin a game which they fear is darker than it may seem. The twelve teenagers can't be any more different, however they must push their divergence aside and hope that they have what it takes to win the game and return home with the money that could change their lives forever. In a tale of adventure, action and deceit; do Alice and her team have what it takes to leave the island as champions or is there a more sinister fate in store for them? Is this really just a game as their letters describe, or are there darker forces at work behind closed doors?

"Give me ten days, and I can give you ten reasons not to die." Evan paused. "And if I can't change your mind by then, you can go jump off that cliff."

Love and death may be opposites, inverses and incredibly contradictory- but they do have something in common. They are the only two things that have the power to change Zoe Finley. The death of her twin brother stripped Zoe of her genuinely positive outlook on life, but the love of Carter Jacobs may be the only thing that can bring her back to the way she once was. After Carter and Zoe are paired together for an English project, Zoe is thrown back into the world that she has tried so desperately to avoid. Will she be able to handle the pressure or will she crumble without her brother by her side? Copyright © amy-eileen. All rights reserved.