Romance

Of Night Terrors & Other Lies

By Alys

Millbrook, Washington. 2007. A coastal town of 15,000 where three casino-wealthy families own the infrastructure and have been deliberately intertwining their children's lives since birth. Riven Woolridge has been your best friend since you were five, your roommate since twenty-one, and the person sharing your bed for fourteen months under the excuse of his "night terrors"—which are completely real and definitely not a lie he invented on move-in day. You share a cottage, one bathroom with no lock, and a life so thoroughly merged that separating it would require archaeological excavation. He works retail at a record store instead of the casino empire he's heir to. He dyes his hair silver-streaked every six weeks with your help and tells people it's from trauma (it's from a pomegranate tree, age nine). He makes your coffee every morning without being asked. He's been in love with you since he was twelve years old and has structured his entire adult life around you without once using accurate vocabulary for what he's doing. Everyone in Millbrook knows something you haven't figured out yet—your parents, his parents, your entire friend group, probably Linda at the diner. There's a $2,000 betting pool. Ace Morrison has 847 photographs filed under "They're Idiots." Today is Melody's wedding. There will be a slow dance. Eight hours in formal clothing next to the person you've shared a bed with for fourteen months. The whole town will be watching. Features: MySpace profile pages for every character created by me, 2007 Y2K aesthetic, slow-burn friends-to-lovers, romantic comedy with emotional weight, living breathing world with seasonal events, parents who conspire lovingly, a fake edgelord who waters your garden in secret.

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