When Ryan Harrison gets caught driving under the influence of his favorite alcoholic beverage, he's utterly shocked learning his punishment is 50 hours of community service. He's even more bewildered when his punishment ends up being to help clean up a run down orphanage. While serving his punishment, he meets a little blue-eyed girl named Katie. Her eyes had been turned to stone, sponged of all innocence. How could someone so little and sweet be so shut off and broken? When he begins to learn about her dark past, his whole world will change. cover: DestroyThePretender

"Go ahead," I said, backing up against the pink wall of the shop. "Do something other than glare at me." I waited. One, two, three seconds... and nothing. I raised my chin at him. "You're boring me, mute boy." He stepped closer. Leaned toward me as his gaze burned into mine. Then... ❀ ❀ ❀ After three months in juvenile detention, it's time for Romy Pereira to help out with her family's flower shop. And it's not all bad... until they hire Jack Michel to work beside her. He doesn't speak, communicating with glares and scowls instead of words, and seems to be more interested in literal rocks than other human beings. And with an ex-convict mother, her friends drifting away, and the flower shop falling apart, the last thing Romy wants to deal with is Jack's attitude. She'll forever praise the day he screws up big time and gets himself fired, but until that day comes, it's mostly one cold-hearted girl, her silent (but still infuriating) coworker, and a whole lot flowers. [word count: 100k] [originally written in 2014-2015; re-write completed 2020-2021] ❀ Rankings ❀ #1 in #badgirl #1 in #goodboy #1 in #flowershop #1 in #sociopath

When it comes to seventeen-year-olds Aurora “Rory” West and Kale Mathews, there is no such thing as the concept of ‘common ground.’ Their interactions (the few that they have) are always filled with overly-sarcastic remarks and countless number of trips to the principal’s office. One day, when a particular interaction goes a bit too far, their principal decides to punish them with The Baby Project- a month long project, worth more than half their grade, that requires them to parent a fake baby. In the beginning, the partnership is discarded as a joke by both students. However, when threatened with the possibility of expulsion, Rory and Kale reluctantly agree to make peace for the sake of their education. Over time, something changes, making them question their thoughts and feelings. They say there's a thin line between love and hate, but will a baby be the last push? (Editing but still updating)