To everyone, Alyssa Woods is known as the friendly, pretty, and tenacious captain of the soccer team. But to her, she's shy, self-conscious, and helplessly gay. Well, a helplessly closeted gay. There are reasons that stop her from coming out, ones she repeats to herself daily, one of her favourites being 'I'm not ready.' The crush she has on Leah Bennett isn't going anywhere at this rate, but she's comfortable where she is; not out, not rejected. She isn't new to heartbreak though, her past scars a constant reminder of the fears that dissuade her from taking the leap. And these very fears are what shoves her further into the closet with each memory and each thought. Taking the risk is the last thing on her mind. But what's life without a little risk? After all, you have to risk rejection to be accepted, or else you just might risk not living life at all. {COMPLETED}

Diana is looking forward to finally finishing high school. Stay out of trouble. Focus only on art. This is Diana's grand plan - until she is assigned to paint the portraits of a girl she can't stand to be around: the school's obnoxious soccer team captain, Alex Perez. ***** It's senior year. Diana just wants to keep her head low while dealing with a family that is slowly but steadily falling apart and a best-friend-turned-enemy that she could certainly do without. The last thing Diana wants to do is spend her last year of high school painting the portraits of Alex Perez. Everyone loves Alex - she's the town's prodigy and the school's golden girl. But Diana and Alex couldn't be more opposite; put them in an art room together and a disaster is bound to happen. [[word count: 70,000 - 80,000]] Cover designed by Ilafi Nastiti [WATTYS 2021 SHORTLIST]