Highest rank #27 in Teen Fiction. Written by @apricitys. _ _ _ "What is this?" He asked, not even bothering to look at the canvas in front of me. Instead, his eyes were locked in mine. I swallowed my saliva, chills running down my spine. I felt my palms getting sweaty as my legs nervously started bouncing up and down. Without giving me time to answer, he took a step closer to me, eyes still locked in mine. Each time he inched closer, I used my right foot to slowly push myself and the stool back. It seemed to be the only option to get away from him; until he forced his hands below the sides of my thighs, holding the stool in place. He released a soft chuckle as he eyed me from my eyes, down to my lips. "You're beautiful," he said. From his voice, I couldn't tell if he was being serious, or messing around. It sounded sincere, however there was a smirk on his face. The smirk that he always has on his face when he's found an amusing target. Then he averted his attentions back to my eyes. His expressions softened up the moment his eyes landed back on mine. His smirk disappeared. I cleared my throat and broke the eye contact. I looked down at my palms as I rubbed the sweat against my jeans, "What do you want, Landon?" I asked, almost whispering. I felt his hand brushing against my right cheek, as he tilts my chin up to look back at him. His messy brown hair, his light blue eyes and his pink soft lips were just centimeters from mine. I felt his breath lingering on the upper tip of my lip. In a panic, I pressed my palms against his chest and push him off. He stumbled back with a surprised look on his face. "Aubrey." _ _ _ Landon Carthy is an arrogant boy, who knowns to have absolutely no care in the world. Making girls suffer feels great to him. But what happens when a new girl in town becomes one of his victims? Will she allow him to walk upon her like all the other girls do?

When college student Kasey Whitton takes a job babysitting for single dad Jian Li, she doesn't expect to fall in love with the newborn baby -- or with Jian. ***** Love is the last thing on Kasey Whitton's mind when she agrees to take an overnight babysitting job to help support her struggling family. But as her business relationship with single dad Jian Li slowly develops into something more, Kasey is surprised to find herself falling in love with him despite his hot-and-cold attitude towards her -- and the fact that she has a long-term high school boyfriend. Will her growing feelings for Jian and his newborn son be enough to convince her to risk everything stable in her life? Or will Jian's fear of commitment -- and his belief all the women in his life are cursed -- be enough to keep them apart? [[Best Diverse Story, The Fiction Awards]] [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]