I'm not addicted to drugs or alcohol, I'm just addicted to escaping reality.

WATTPAD ORIGINAL EDITION Adrift after a failed suicide attempt, golden boy Everest can't find anything worth living for - until he meets Beverly, a loner determined to prove him wrong. ***** For a boy who seemed to have it all - wealth, good looks, popularity, a wide circle of friends - Everest Finley becomes the ultimate social outcast after failing to take his own life. Dejected and alone, he starts his last year of high school by acting out, determined to ruin his golden boy reputation after his best friend and girlfriend both turn on him. But to his surprise, resident loner Beverly Davis reaches out and tries to befriend him. Ever the optimistic, her empathy and persistence eventually convinces him to spend time with her, and the two slowly bond over their complicated family lives and a love of singing. But even as their budding friendship begins to hint at something more, Everest continues to struggle with depression and unhappiness. Can a simple pact between the two truly encourage him to find something worth living for? Content and/or Trigger Warning: this story contains mentions and descriptions of depression and self harm. -SKY

Wren Martin is socially awkward. She blocks off herself to the world, hiding behind her favorite hoodie. All she wants to do is keep a low profile, and graduate well enough to qualify for a college scholarship. But then a babysitting job leads her to cross paths with Asher Reed, Eastview Highʼs notorious athlete. When a field injury kickstarts his senior year, heʼs turning his free time and attention to Wren. And maybe she might not want to be invisible after all. ***** [Watty's Collector's Edition Winner] [TFA Runaway Prize Winner] [[word count: 150,000-200,000 words]] Cover designed by Ashley Santoro

"You give reason to my name." "And you to mine." ----- Iridessa Belle Sinclair always thought of herself as an ordinary girl. She had nothing special that would differentiate her from a group. All she had was a head of what she thought was ordinary dirty blonde hair, along with ordinary lifeless dead blue eyes in which she hid behind a pair of spectacles. There was only one thing worse than being ugly in Crescent Grove High and that was to be ordinary. Her schoolmates stood out easily - no matter for good or for bad - but she was just there, just existing. It wasn't until the transfer of a new student did Iridessa get a new insight into life. Apollo Hunt, the paparazzi's favorite bad boy, rebel, and heartbreaker that had been in jail too many times. After his parents drew the last straw, they shipped him over to California to be in his relatives' care. It was purely accidental did he bump, or literally knockdown, the innocent Iridessa that had been hidden away too well under the radar of anyone even barely beautiful. Curious of the mysterious and quiet, yet sharp-tongued student, Apollo sought out to know more about Iridessa, in which in the end promising to make her pretty. All because he thought she was simply beautiful. ----- Highest Rank Teen Fiction: #28

When Everly Reed collides with the cynical and devilishly handsome Mason Valdez, she knows trouble is ahead, but she never could have guessed how much she would be drawn to the storm. ***** Nineteen-year-old Ever Reed likes when things make sense. Which is probably why she excels at math, enough to secure her a spot at an Ivy League school out of state. Sheltered by her mother and older brother Asher for most of her life, Ever hasn't experienced much of the world, but she knows New York will be an adventure. Enter Mason Valdez: cynical, arrogant, and undeniably attractive-exactly what Ever doesn't need. But as their paths keep crossing, Ever finds herself intrigued by Mason, and eager to know the boy behind the bitter mask. As secrets, scars, and painful pasts rise to the surface, Ever knows one thing for sure: they can only make it through if they face their storms together. [[word count: 150,000 - 200,000]] Cover designed by Frances Louise De Ramos Spinoff to The Hoodie Girl Book One of the A Thousand Storms series [[The Fiction Awards 2018 Best Overall Story and Best Romance Winner]] Content/trigger warning: This story mentions sexual assault and childhood abuse