Up until she turned 15, Emma's life was ordinary. Living in Los Angeles, she had a few friends, and loved learning history. She had a fascination with magic growing up, but after elementary, she moved on from the foolish idea, learning the hard way that magic isn't real and that it's only a lie Hollywood had fed her. But her whole perspective shifted again after the passing of her grandpa. She discovered that he had kept a secret from his whole family-that he once was a warlock. He had given up that life when he moved to L.A. in the 1970s, but Emma and her cousin Carolina are determined to learn every trick in the spell book he left behind. Fast forward to a year later, Emma's life takes a new turn. During junior year, a mysterious new student from San Bernardino catches her eye. He's mysterious, intriguing, and mostly keeps to himself, but why? It's what she wonders every day when they cross paths. Who in Glendale would want to be so secretive, anyway? Bobby Staten-that's who. Due to Bobby's classic leather jacket and dark aesthetic, Emma and her friends constantly joke that maybe he's a vampire and that's the secret he's hiding. It's no longer funny when a series of gruesome killings occur at Verdugo High, described by local officers as a bloody mark found on the necks of the victims. Strangely, this same pattern had appeared earlier in spring at a San Bernardino High School. Coincidence? Rebecca, Emma's other cousin, thinks not. Rebecca quickly suspects a connection and begins investigating Bobby's past and persona. As Emma befriends him, she struggles to believe that someone like Bobby could be capable of crimes so vicious. Rebecca reminds her that one of the only ways to permanently kill a vampire is with a stake through the heart-in much more poetic terms, heart right through Verdugo.

This isn't a love story. Though I did fall in love, the outcome isn't what you'd think it'd be after pining for so long. I've grown to accept that, or at least I'm trying to, considering I still cry and feel low sometimes. No, this isn't a love story but actually a story of self-discovery and letting go of the past that has been holding you back, so that you can eloquently step forward into what the future has in store for you. This isn't a love story but actually a story about friendships that were meant to blossom into their fullest potential... and then there were the other friendships that simply weren't meant to last after all. This isn't a love story like I had wished it would be, and for a whole year and 8 months it completely ruined me. I know that someday soon I'll pick myself up and the one I've been searching for will find me. Who knows, maybe once you quit scheming every crevice of the love story you planned out in your head, maybe then a brand new love story you never expected will set right into place. For now, I may not be experiencing a bittersweet love story with a lover but I'm experiencing an equally thrilling one- a love story between music and I. The thrill to succeed and reach the top of the music industry, the thrill to express my gratitude towards my idols, and the thrill to someday soon collaborate and go on tour with my best friends. Right now, the thrill of this love story for music is all I need, even if I've been assigned the role of Miss Sweet Misery.

"𝑰'𝒎 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑮𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒓" I can say that I've been Miss Sweet Misery for the last time, except this was just the start back when California dreamin' was our scheme during a hectic global pandemic. Love stories are overrated, and yes, this is one of them. A really strange one, actually. But it's also so much more than just a love story. It's a story of eight star-crossed teens brought together by the cities of Glendale and Los Angeles when we probably should've been staying at home... but the friendship was so strong, how could we possibly not see each other every week? There were crazy adventures and there were crazy confessions, and yes, there was also heartbreak. It's all part of a cliche coming of age and this was ours. - yours truly, Emma Suarez