Ella is falling apart trying to live a "perfect" high school life. Then she meets Ren, who can see past her scars. Suddenly perfection isn't her only option. ***** Ella Volkov is a gifted music student, but she's depressed and starting to crack under the pressure of high school. Her overbearing father won't even let her choose what instrument she plays. Then she finds herself alone at a party with Ren, her best friend's crush. She'd always thought he was rude, but after that night he's all Ella can think about. Now she's trapped. If Ella dates Ren, it will ruin her friendship with Jenny. But if she stays true to Jenny, she's losing the one person who can see past her scars. It's up to Ella to decide if she will forge her own path, or stay in the "perfect" box designed for her... Content and/or Trigger Warning: depression, anxiety, self-harm, violence, sexual assault. [[word count: 50,000-100,000 words]]

Maisie's deaf, she understands what everyone is saying to her by reading their lips. But, high school wasn't easy for her. Been the new girl is always tough, but when you're deaf it's worse. That one group of 'popular' thought it'd be funny to bully her for both reasons, she's new and she's deaf so how will she know what they're saying? Then there's Zach. He has his group of friends; they're the 'bad boys' of the year. Everyone's scared of them. So when one day, he sees what these 'popular' people are doing to Maisie, he feels the need to protect her, but Zach, along with the rest of his friends are un-aware that Maisie's deaf. So how will they react to finding out that she's deaf? And what happens when someone from Zach's life pops up unexpectedly?