When Franny learns why former popular boy Tyler fell from grace, she gets thrown head-first into his dangerous world but also closer to his timid heart. ***** Eighteen-year-old Tyler Madden used to have everything. He was captain of the football team, popular, high achiever, and was set to have a successful career. But when a secret too hard to handle comes to light, he turns to underground fighting to deal with the pain. Now, he's in too deep. And when Francesca Howard befriends him at school in the hopes of figuring out what went wrong, she unknowingly gets pulled into the criminal world he's now stuck in. As the two find comfort in each other, they find themselves faced with their impending future and trying to get Tyler out alive. Content/Trigger Warning: this story contains scenes pertaining to drug use, substance abuse, and violence. [#1 in teen fiction, romance and action]

Olivia Perry has always made bad choices, and it has become Declan Brooks's full time job to save her from the consequences. Olivia has known Declan since she was a girl, and she had always resented his presence in her life. To her, he was just one more person to manage her life and keep her from living it. When Declan saves her from a situation she cannot save herself from, she realizes he may not be the man she thought he was. Declan has always felt protective of Olivia, she has always been naive and ridiculously innocent, ready to trust everyone she meets. He made a promise to her father to protect her and, as usual, as soon as he pulls her from one mess she lands herself in another one. But when their roles are suddenly reversed and Declan needs her to help him, will they realize that having each other is greater than being alone?

She claimed that she could see his true colors. But the only color he ever knew were the red of his assignments. -Cover made by @Tonii

Madison and Emily were the best of friends. However, after The Incident, their friendship shattered. Now, Emily is dead. And it's all Madison's fault.

In a small Indiana town, a teenage girl hasn't been seen for months, and her brother Reed is sketchy on the details. But seventeen-year-old Mayuri Krishnan doesn't know any of this-not yet. For her, Reed is the boy of her daydreams, the name she scribbles in her notebook, and the starring role of her online cliche mafia romance. When he stumbles upon her secrets, she first thinks Reed's claims to be from an Albanian crime family are lies intended to trick her. Soon, Mayuri begins to question the thin line between fiction and reality. Threats are made, daggers are drawn, and near-misses come too close for comfort. With Reed's promise to keep her safe from those who want her dead, and her growing belief that he may be lying about it all, Mayuri chooses to keep the dangerous part of her life a secret from her cop father. Things come to a head when she teams up with Reed's ex-girlfriend and best friend to uncover his secrets, leading to a night when a knife and a gun determine all their futures. She didn't mean to run away from a murder. She didn't have a choice. Abducted by someone she trusted, Mayuri must use all her wiles to save herself. The true lies that drew Reed and Mayuri together-and the false truths they discover along the way-could drive them apart forever.

FREE STORY WITH EXCLUSIVE CONTENT. This is *not* a Paid Story. Eighteen-year-old hockey prodigy Elliot Wexler has three goals for senior year. One: somehow graduate with a 3.5 GPA. Two: hide his bipolar disorder from his peers. And three: make it into the NHL with no scandals. Piece of cake. What he doesn't expect is to find Lucy, a homeless girl, hiding from the winter frost in his dad's shed. Elliot's busy, complicated life doesn't permit room for error, and falling in love with a girl from a totally different world sounds like the opposite of a good idea. But Elliot can't help but be drawn to Lucy and her elusive ways--even when she seems to vanish from his life non-stop, each time leaving him with a bigger hole in his heart. But Elliot is determined to break down Lucy's barriers. And when he does, he discovers that her life is more complicated--and dangerous--than he could have imagined. With drafting season approaching, and Elliot's fragile mental health deteriorating, he's forced to face a difficult question: Is first love supposed to hurt so much? *** PLEASE DO NOT ADD THIS STORY TO GOODREADS.

[WATTYS 2016 WINNER!] [COSMOPOLITAN Featured!] Trapped in her white trash hell, Layla Danner is failing at life. Her friend Peyton? Everybody thinks he's perfect, a staggeringly rich, handsome, and well-mannered story book prince. But they don't know what Layla knows. And she'll never tell. Jake? Jake's trouble. A down and dirty charmer, this one's got a devil-may-care attitude and a mouth to match. Everything goes to hell in a handbasket when he shows up to town one summer. Layla never meant to fall in love. All she wanted to do was finish her senior year, get the hell out of this town and never, ever look back. But when mysterious secrets from the boys' past refuse to stay buried, Layla must decide how far she'll go for a chance at a once in a lifetime love. Follow three unforgettable characters in this captivatingly melodramatic, soap-operatic, and larger-than-life tale of first loves, loyalty, intrigue and the magic of growing up. ♦️WARNING: This writer is a hopeless romantic with a filthy mouth and a dirty mind who loves to re-work cliches. The style of the story reflects this. Also, some dark themes. ♦️

"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

Seth's Place: serving dessert, coffee & hugs around the clock. ++++ He cautiously lowers himself down in the seat next to me. I use the sleeves of my sweater to violently rub the tears out of my eyes. If only they'd just stop. My breaths are ragged and I choke on my own words. "I-I I don't need a-anything, t-t thanks." My face is wet and my vision is blurry, but the look on the stranger's face tells me that he isn't going anywhere. "I'm sorry, miss." His voice is calm and soothing, as if he deals with situations like these all the time. "But it's only my first day, and it's my job to make sure that all my customers are happy and satisfied when they leave." I laugh humorlessly. "A-as if food could m-make me f-feel any b-better." I raise both hands to my face, a failed attempt at trying to cover up my hideous state. "Perhaps not," he admits. He counts on his fingers, ticking off one. "So maybe food isn't such a good idea. But how do we feel about coffee?" I finally make eye contact with him, and I can tell that he's genuinely trying to make me feel better. He's not just doing his job. I take a deep, shaky breath. "No, I don't think coffee is going to help me e-either." The stranger frowns slightly, and his brown hair falls in front of his face. "Okay, no coffee either." He ticks off another finger, leaving only one left sticking out. "So as it stands, you've said no to both desserts and coffee, which leads to the only other thing we serve." I blink back tears. "And what's that?" After everything that's happened today, I'm actually quite surprised at how well I'm doing, considering the circumstances. "Do you need a hug?" And that's all it takes for me to fall apart. ++++ In which Seth Wright spends the night trying to piece together Harper Quinn's broken heart. (cover by @SurroundedByThorns)