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Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of teens & young adult short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

5420+ Teens & young adult Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Looking for the best short stories for teens? Our collection of funny, suspenseful, and relatable young adult short stories will meet your needs.

Teens & young adult Short Stories – Page 79 of 362

The Final Task

Submitted to Contest #217

I stood motionless as I watched seven large men lobbed ropes over the dragon's body. Its head rose ever so slightly as it took its final breath of air, savoring the element which kept it alive. The dragon's head then fell hard to the floor with a loud thud that shook the arena, and just as its eyes closed for the last time, I swore it met my gaze before its limp body melted into the ground.  My classmate, Adwin, threw his bloody hands up taking in the crowd's roars of cheers. The elders looked unamused, keeping stern faces at bay. Adw...

11 likes 2 comments 2
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r/relationship_connect Searching for Inna

Submitted to Contest #217

r/relationship_connect Jiaxu_0325 I am looking to reconnect with someone. Her name is Inna... She should be around 22 at the time of me posting this. I received the following letters. She sent one more on July 20th 2023. Please Inna if you are seeing this reply with the last letter. I know I am late but I only got the letters now. It's not an excuse but I promise I will explain everything. If you recognize the handwriting or the letters please tell Inna. June 30th, 2022 Dear Jiaxu, I truly don't know what you did to me but you are consta...

12 likes 7 comments 7
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The Boy Knight

Submitted to Contest #217

“Life is precious. All life is important. I cannot and will not kill an animal.” Hugo Allard repeatedly muttered his pledge, as a vibration of trembling capacity shook the very core of his body, followed by a blast of hot air gently caressing his face. “Life is precious. All life is important. I cannot and will not kill an animal.” Squeezing his eyes tightly shut, a sense of impending finality shook the heavy sword from his hand, dropping it to the floor of the catacombs he had arrived at in search of his prey, the Dragon of Voltaire. “Wh...

29 likes 16 comments 16
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Dragon’s Appetite

Submitted to Contest #217

Paw leaned on the closed door and sighed.Sami fought back tears as she watched her father. “Why won’t he help us?”“I need to raise more money.” He shook his head. “The town’s people have already given from what little they have. Too much to ask for more…”“But they are losing more and more livestock. Someone has to do something.” Sami placed a plate of food in front of her little brother and gazed at him. Small, innocent, helpless. “What if the…you know…gets Henry?”“What’s a u-no?” Henry pushed his carrots off his plate.“Henry Alan! You are g...

8 likes 0 comments 0
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Taking Aim

Submitted to Contest #216

This story contains content that includes issues of mental health, suicide, and physical violence. You pull your black hoody closer tighter around your face as you turn your bike down your tree-lined street toward home. The streetlights are on and making you a stretched black shadow on the deserted block as you pass through their coned light on the bumpy pavement. The red-brick rambler at the end is yours. The house is dark, and the shades are drawn. No one will be home for another three hours or so. Your mom is staying late tonight to se...

6 likes 2 comments 2
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Fighting For Love

Submitted to Contest #216

“Jamie take a picture!” I yelled at my best friend while holding a sprinkler and smiling. We were at the annual Fourth of July Street Dance in our hometown in New York. Every year we came here to support local vendors and hang out until the fireworks show. I was staring down at my phone. “Andddd posted”, I tapped the phone screen and shoved my phone into the back pocket of my fire red shorts. We found an area of grass under a tree to set up our blankets and have a picnic before the show started. “I can’t believe we’re going into our ...

6 likes 0 comments 0
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The fast and the furious

Submitted to Contest #216

Trigger warning: contains sensitive language"Okay, keep calm," said Melanie, my best friend, in the seat next to me. "You won't get faster if you're angry.""No but I can show this motherf***r what happens when you mess with me." I tap rapidly my fingers on the wheel, trying to shake off the anxiety. "I mean, why does he cut in like that?""Seriously, Maddy, we talked about this. It's called having an episode of rage. You have to at least pretend to be normal around others.""And the f***ing policeman does nothing?" I honked my horn three more ...

8 likes 3 comments 3
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7th grade madness

Submitted to Contest #216

The steamy scent of chocolate filled croissants,  and apple crisp macchiato's filled the air as I entered  the welcoming warm store. I was only there of course to do my homework and perhaps by a little treat for myself because I couldn't afford to waste too much money or else I wouldn't have enough to buy things in the future,  like applications or admission fees for stories.  Of course I did get the largest size only because I knew that I was going to be there for a very long time,  after getting my usual pink drink...

7 likes 0 comments 0
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Shooting Star

Submitted to Contest #217

CW-drug useFor Antoine de Saint-Éxupery who taught me about shooting stars “Thank you! Enjoy your birthday party,” I smile at the blonde little boy with a red dinosaur shirt and blue tennis shoes as I hand his birthday cake over to his mother. I pause at the counter, my finger tips softly drumming as they make their exit past the small wooden tables and through the bakery door; the bell dings. I make my way swiftly to the door, flipping the sign to indicate closed.Bella walks from the back of the kitchen, her pink apron covered in a flurry o...

23 likes 6 comments 6
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Drink me

Submitted to Contest #216

***Trigger warnings include: self harm, grief, anxiety, and depression.*** Here I am, sitting in another room. I feel as if every room is the same, just painted over with lies and pretty fabrics. I’ve never been here before, but every wall surrounds me in thick air and I still can’t breathe. Anxiety brews deep within my aching bones. I bite my nails and feel disgusted. I contemplate chewing my lip instead, until I realize if I were to follow through with those urges, I would fall into old habits from my childhood and young teenage years, a...

10 likes 2 comments 2
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Nest.

Submitted to Contest #216

The warmth from the mug seeps into my hands and saturates my body throughout, opposing the cold surrounding me.  I had wanted to sit inside, but the lack of sound barriers caused every noise to bounce against the brick walls and echo to the other side – the conversations between moms with toddlers wiggling around them, the screech of the steam wand dipping into cold milk, the music that they thought, alongside no Wi-Fi, was welcoming and prompted human connection rather than staring at a screen trying to get work done.  I sit on ...

12 likes 4 comments 4
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Her Nightmare Walks

Submitted to Contest #216

         She exhaled and smoke curled through the air around Hale’s fingers as she stared at the gold token in her left hand. Shiny and smooth, it was clearly some kind of metal covered in gold paint to give the appearance of being real. She doubts it managed to fool anyone. Her thumb ran over the raised letters that spelled out 6 months sober. Even though it’d been a year since Avery emptied their two-bedroom apartment of alcohol, it’d only been six months since Hale had touched a drink. Six months si...

9 likes 0 comments 0
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A Dark Place

Submitted to Contest #216

Stella Armstrong stood at the side of a bridge, looking over the edge. Her fingers gripped the thick chain link so hard her knuckles turned white and she could feel the metal cutting into her hands. She stood there with the stillness of an animal. Staring at the cars rushing below her.  She currently stood over a bridge that went over interstate forty. The drop must be at least seven stories high. Maybe more, she guessed as she tried to look straight down below the bridge. Her heart thundered as her body tilted, she knew the gate would...

13 likes 4 comments 4
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Mr Bombastic

Submitted to Contest #216

I have chronic flatulence. Now, before you peel away giggling at the images that declaration may have produced in your head, let me be perfectly clear. It’s not something to be ridiculed. Throughout my life, it has been an extremely difficult and embarrassing affliction to deal with, limiting my social engagements to almost zero, resulting in many nights spent alone without romance, without friends, and without doubt – longing for companionship. As a child, I was put through so many treatments and studies at the hospital, they mentioned in j...

25 likes 18 comments 18
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A Journey to belief

Submitted to Contest #216

I find it hard to believe that I am loved now. I just can’t accept that it’s true. I’ve lost the belief of anyone being able to love me. My mother? No. My father? No. My brother? No. My boyfriend? No. I don’t feel lovable anymore. No matter how many people show me sorts of affection. “Nat? Did you hear me? I love you” He’s staring at me, his tough hands resting on my shoulders, as if attempting to pull me together, waiting for a response to sliver out of my mouth. Waiting for an “I love you too”. But I’m slipping out of reality. Slipping i...

24 likes 5 comments 5
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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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