Long Story Short Definition: phrase used to introduce a shortened account of events. Usage: slang. Example: Long story short, I like you. Top ranks: short story #81, romance #230 [current beautiful cover by @lydiarse]

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."

"We could fly to Berlin, Tokyo or Jamaica. We can go where you want, say the word and I'll take ya. But I'd rather stay on the sofa, with you." Summer time means vacation; three months of new discoveries, thrilling adventures, wrinkled maps to be pried open, and gorgeous foreign countries to explore. When Kira Walker is left defeated by the fact that she won't be going anywhere extravagant for her summer vacation for the umpteenth time out of her seventeen years of existence, her best friend, Xander Harrison and his remarkable talent with words just might save the day. Through Xander's beautifully crafted tales, the pair embark on adventures which evolve around unique encounters and quite a few mishaps. Kira and Xander find solace with each other’s company as they voyage the world through the remarkable power of words from a faded old sofa. Cover credit; morstan

"Sorry--Annie's a bit busy trying to figure out her life at the moment." After high school and a long list of denied college applications (and one too many headaches), Annie Horne has just about had it with trying to meticulously plan out her life down to the very last detail. And in lieu of a college education, she decides to pack up her things and move north for the year to work for her uncle's book shop in his small New England community. But it's been years since Annie's actually visted him, and the community has certainly changed since she was younger. And in a town that actually reads, manning the phones at her uncle's shop can be quite the task for an eighteen year old. But when her uncle enlists the part-time help of Theo, the obnoxiously excitable neighborhood paperboy, Annie finds her job to be a bit more complicated than she'd anticipated.

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

She writes all night. He flirts with girls all night. But when they come together in his room... the Cool Boy of the school and the Socially Inept Girl share a bed and make the night theirs. © 2014 All rights reserved | Short-Story #2 | Humour #15 |

"AN ASIDE is a dramatic device in which words are spoken by an actor to the audience that the other characters in the play do not hear." A collection of "Eleven O'Clock Number" one shots.

skinny love : (n.) when two people love each other, but are too shy to admit it, even though they still show it. Paristella's Contest ~ Round 2 [ Short Story #54 / Romance #240 ]

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF ALLISON REED: THE MUSICAL - release date, SEPT 2013. STARRING: Allison Reed, Lydia Huntington II, and the renowned Toby Martin. LOGLINE: A bitter, intelligent teenage girl (Reed) is paired with a musical aficionado (Martin) to complete an English assignment on musicals. With the help of her striking best friend (Huntington), she comes to terms with the fact that, in spite of his exasperating episodes of musical-induced mania, the aforementioned musical aficionado may be a lot more okay than originally presumed. Coming soon to a theatre near you.

They met in December.