❝This isn't a happy story; it's a story about happiness.❞ in which an upset girl and a fiercely loyal boy drive across the country to monday, maine. (note: there will be swearing in this story, and also topics that might be sensitive for some readers like depression and such... so consider this a warning.)

Every night, Jamie gets a lift home from his co-worker, Will. (Not so) coincidentally, Jamie has been hopelessly, desperately in love with Will for the last eighteen months. Will, on the other hand, has a girlfriend. And so it goes, Will drives Jamie home and talks about his girlfriend. Jamie sits in the passenger seat and bites his tongue. Every night. Until, one night, Will gets a flat tire and suddenly they're teetering on the edge of everything changing. [Wattpad Featured / #1 Diverse Lit / #1 Short Story / #3 Young Adult / #5 New Adult / #7 LGBT]

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."

What haunts Sam Hughes? ("The Multitudes Within Me" is the sequel to "The Sound of Ice.")

Hockey player extraordinaire Cameron Beckett not only has to deal with the pressures of making it into the NHL and graduating high school, but also figuring out his feelings for the boy next door. ***** Cameron Beckett is the ace and co-captain of his hockey team, but he's failing his math class so badly that his coach threatens to bench him if he doesn't improve his grades. He turns to Sam, his neighbor, only to start developing feelings for him that he's not ready to confront. Cameron pulls away, afraid that his sexuality will cost him any chance of being drafted into the NHL. But when Sam needs him the most, Cameron can't be there for him, making him question whether his fear of coming out is actually holding him back.