The rumors... the rumors, the legends, the stories... they're not these demons, they're people. They're human.
Arren, the rumored "Vampire boy", a pale-skinned, black-haired, green-eyed, goth-like teenager, a clear loner, has been the talk of the school since he bit his bully's arm in middle school. Rumored to be a horrible person, is just a fun loving, sweet and gentle teenager with severe asthma, anxiety and OCD.
Aria, the sweetest girl you'll ever meet, is the "fat girl," even if she really isn't fat at all. Some call her a fat pig, a disgusting slob and an idiot, when in all actuality she's pretty skinny, healthy and smart. Rumored to be a foodie, when in actuality is a happy-go-lucky girl, who's mother owns a cutesy café.
This year, she enters a new school, the school of the rumored "vampire boy".
What if...
They become friends?
Geoff and Naomi are dead, and they're depressed, but when Geoff's cat Bernie dies as well, they embark on a wild journey to find it in the underworld.
*****
When Geoff dies, alongside his girlfriend Naomi, they end up sharing an apartment in the Underworld as skeletons. But after a few years, Geoff starts suffering a mid-death crisis. What's the purpose of going through the motions as a skeleton if you can't really live? Then he gets word that his cat, Bernie, just died and he can collect him and bring him home! Geoff and Naomi hurry to get Bernie only to discover that, due to a clerical error, their cat has been lost. With the hunt for Bernie giving new purpose to Geoff's un-life, he and Naomi begin a quest to get back their cat. Battling skeleton pirates, climbing the sky ladder and facing off against the villain who took Bernie, Geoff is determined to find his purpose - or die a second time trying!
[[2018 Wattys Winner - The Originals]]
[[word count: 30,000-40,000 words]]