For her, Bennett Brier, soccer captain for her school's team, lived in a world separate from her own. He was the picture-perfect guy, and had been her crush for over seven years. Except, he was the crush of plenty of other girls at Westwood High, and there was certainly no chance that he would choose her over one of them. For him, Autumn Marr was just the shy girl a few seats over. She always seemed in her own little bubble, and he would have never thought she would want anything to do with him. They were in different cliques, had different friends, didn't have anything in common. Until one day, everything changed: they met. Drawn together by feelings they'd never imagined, Autumn and Bennett may learn to find that they have much more in common than they once thought. But when secrets are unearthered and tensions run high, will Ben find a way to save Autumn from the most frightening thing of all... herself? WARNING: This story contains strong themes involving mental illness and addiction. Highest Ranks: #mentalproblems - 10 #struggle - 12 #soccerplayer - 19 #cocky - 27 #inner-demons - 28 #sassy - 44 #sarcastic - 69

"For a place called Paradise City, this island sucks. I don't think a single day has gone by that I haven't thought about stabbing the shit out of myself," he said. "Especially since I'm forced to live with you every second of every day." "Sh. I'm trying to science," I said, not looking up from my binoculars. "See anything interesting?" "Not really. My vision's a little clouded from the fog and rain clouds you constantly emit." He laughed. "You never fail to amuse me, Rea." "But you just said-" "I just said you make me want to stab myself. Interpret that however you'd like." With a love for whales and all life (besides maybe humans), Reagan Winebrenner had never even seen an ocean until her senior year in high school. But the moment she saw her first humpback, she knew she had found her passion and future career. A few years later and an invitation to Paradise City in hand, Reagan has her entire summer laid out for her, working on the project of a lifetime. But with five other students completing their projects as well, will they discover something worthwhile, or will they end up a psychology lesson for future generations? A New Adult Watty Winner 2019