Sometimes all you really need is a place to call home. *** Claire is lost and scared and utterly alone. Her family is in shambles after the death of her older sister Ina, and she's left to pick up the broken pieces of herself as her life heads into a downwards spiral of loneliness. Her heart leads her to 5:48, a little cafe by 33rd street, where she finds her new home. With a broken heart and a speech disability, Jasper has his heart and mouth sewn shut by the winding threads of hurt and fear. Painting and serving coffee in cafe 5:48 are one of his last few saving graces, but the smile he's been painting on himself will soon fade away as everything he's ever held dear slips away from his grasp. Ezra is out-of-sync and oddly cold by the way life has treated his young self. Abandoned by his single mother at an early age, he has grown up thinking that he is a mistake. His constant shaking hands are a reflection of what he often thinks of himself, but the delightful pastries he bakes for 5:48's customers are a reflection of what others see of him. Drew is a quirky rarity. He is a dash of loud, a pinch of exuberant, and a cup of eccentric - just like the meals he serves in the cafe as the only chef there. Behind his playful grins and outlandish clothes, however, are his jutting ribs, hollowed cheeks, and too-thin arms. Sometimes he cannot stomach being in his own skin as much as he cannot stomach food. This family has gone a long way from finding each other, and they'll be going a long way together too as reality comes catching up to them, threatening the newfound happiness they've found with each other. Secrets are revealed, pasts become presents, and lives are changed. Slowly but surely, they find their way back home. *** NOTE AS OF 08/2026: This is the old version of the story from 2012, posted in FULL. Another story that will be considered a reprise of this old version is in the works, and will be posted under the name "Hiraya House."

After an accident between Hailey and a stranger leaves her summer (and car) in ruins, she is left with no transportation and one ultimatum: to get a job and pay off the damages. But when the only person she wished she would never have to see again is the same person who she is forced to work with all summer, it seems that nothing will ever be the same. Can dingy records, rainy nights, and a few arguments bring two people together? Or will it just be a summer fling- one they both wished they had never gotten involved in? Who knew car payments could cause so much trouble. The MRSR trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xage9MN9Gs

Elle Grayson's guilty pleasure is reading cheesy romance novels. Always has been, always will be. Maybe that's why she's never had a boyfriend - no guy can live up to her expectations of the guys in romance novels. She doesn't think there is one guy that can prove to be even half as decent as guys in books. But when there's somebody set on doing exactly that, things just might start to change. Romance #110 Short Story #23 - May 28, 2014

"Why do you call me that?" "Everyone has been calling you Snow Queen since you transferred schools and you're just now asking why?" he asked incredulously. "Yeah, I guess I am." He looked straight into my eyes and said, "It's because you're like snow; beautiful and cold."