What are we without flesh and blood? Are we nothing but a beating heart in a ribcage, a marching soul inevitably leading to our demise? Or are we here as a test of loyalty to our God, a God we do not know but must trust? And without this trust, we will be punished indefinitely for questioning his divinity. And what is a sheep without his shepherd? Without God, are we nothing but sheep led astray? How will we be guided to the light without a shepherd on earth? Should we trust our shepherd to tell us the truth? Or will we be covered in the blood of the lamb? A shepherd with blood on his hands could infect his flock with poison. And with this poison, he has control. And to Luke, this poison is all he knows. His seventeen years of life have been devoted to nothing else but God. He wakes up, goes to school or church, and sleeps; rinse and repeat. There is no place or time for anything else in his life, such as television, going out with friends, or discovering new hobbies. His father, Pastor Ivy, ensures this. His life purpose will be to serve the Lord and nothing else. A purpose that Luke believes is the right way. What else would there be to life? He hadn't questioned this until he met Gabriel, a man who was the complete opposite of him. A man who was strong in his sense of self. A man who didn't bow to anyone or anything and stood firm in his beliefs in The Church of Satan. A man who Luke feared. But also a man who felt like home to him.

Sable Marks never thought that five months after graduation she would still be in the same ocean-side town she grew up in. But five months ago Sable Marks' father wasn't dying, her mother wasn't sleeping with her hunk of an assistant (and lying about it), and her brother Nolan wasn't taking a face dive off a cliff. Then Sable meets Parker Nova, a cigarette smoking hard ass who just happens to be the son of the most notorious Lawyer in Hines Trail and decides maybe its her turn to act out and show her family just how 'fine' she really is. But Parker has other plans for Sable. Plans that include finding who the real Sable Marks is and, despite his best efforts not to, discover a bit about himself in the process. Five months ago, Sable Marks never thought she'd find solace in the shape of a troubled boy with dark blue eyes, but five months can change a person. {Spiritual #8 / Teen Fiction #212} *Contains swearing, mild violence and talk of abuse.*

"Had a nice swim?" He asks, a smirk on his face. I could literally slap him right now. "Bitch, you pushed me," I say breathlessly, my body shaking from the cold water. He just looks amused, as he takes a step closer to me. "Language," he says, his voice almost a whisper, "there's children here." ••• Opal Rodriguez, the girl who's just trying to get through high school like the rest of us. Until Nathan Adams moved to the house right in front of hers, basically becoming a part of her life. With him, he brought his smirk, his cocky attitude, his hoe magnet, and a cute little sister. She wanted a relaxing day at the pool. He kind of ruined it. What was just a dare, grew into a strange friendship between these two. Maybe even more than that. AUTHOR'S NOTE: this was all written by a middle schooler lol. Accessibility: text-to-speech feature! 🎧 Highest Rank: #2 in Teen Fiction; November 2018 #2 in Humor #2 in Friendship #40 in Love 2015