[Watty Awards 2019 Winner - New Adult!] Damian Ryker is something of a nomad. In his 22 years of life he's moved a grand total of 14 times. But he's here to stay this time, honest. He's already got himself a cushy new job in town and he's exploring the popular local shops, like that coffee shop down the road. It seems nice enough, perhaps a little too hipster for his taste and the barista is awkward, if not the slightest bit weird. But there's something strange about the innocuous café, like-oh I don't know-earthquakes that seem to destroy it every morning before miraculously repairing themselves and leaving him with the only memory of it. And just when that sounded a tad off, things start to get...a little out of this world. ------------ This was my 2017 Nanowrimo story that I couldn't quite fall out of love with. Inspired by the fun and fascinating world of fan fiction AUs, I hope you'll have as much fun with this as I had writing it!

Keegan is a boy who loves affection. He's usually quite peppy and excitable, but everything in life has turned against him. He ends up locking away his emotions and making himself distant from the world, trying to avoid further suffering. He's left a shell of his former self, struggling to get through life. He decides to take time away from his abusive life by going on a week long school trip to collect his thoughts. He is placed in situations he couldn't have imagined. Theo is a laid back jock. He can come off as aggressive and bossy, usually around his friends, though he has a heart and can be quite kind. His life is hectic and full of annoying people. His parents are inconsiderate, his friends are clingy and loud, and the rest of the school sucks up to him, which he doesn't received well. He just wants to be left alone. After deceiving his clingy friends he snuck away on the school trip, hoping he could finally get some peace and quiet. This trip would hold some surprises for him, and maybe even change his life. What future will await these two? Are they destined for greatness, or despair?

Every Tuesday during football practice, sixteen year old Sem Bolton finds himself stealing glances at the gorgeous college boy jogging down the path next to the fields. He was his dirty little secret. His guilty pleasure. His unobtainable fantasy: safe and distant on the other side of the chainlink fence. Then, through a series of unpleasant events including being forced on a camping trip, it turns out his unobtainable fantasy is not so unobtainable after all. Not only is gorgeous college boy gay as well, he also wants to date Sem. Now, Sem was never one to play it safe. But outing himself was in a whole different league than testing his mother's patience or taking hits in the boxing ring. Was he really ready to date a guy, all consequences included? As if internal struggles weren't enough, count on girls, friends, and an estranged brother, to complicate stuff even further. Photo on the cover by: https://unsplash.com/@nickkarvounis