Cassidy is just a shy girl in highschool, suffering from the world around.
Most girls try to make themselves look beautiful, they do things to get noticed and try for the guys. Cassidy never had to do any of this. Her boyfriend was her best friend through out grade school and her best friend was found in her science class three years before.
Cassidy has never had to work for anything, found that if she tried hard enough, if she just got through highschool she could lead a normal life.
The only problem is she isn't normal, in fact she is far from it. Cassidy has one of the most beautiful voices most people have ever heard and she loathes it. Loathes everything about it. She hates getting attention in any good way and would much rather go on a double date with her friends. She doesn't want to be a celebrity, she hates the personalities they take on.
When someone records just a fraction of her singing and it goes viral, with more than 500,000 likes in one day and almost 250,000 shares, she panics and hides more than she ever has before.
But she has something she wants to prove, something that most celebrities choose not to even consider.
She want's to show that famous people can keep level heads, keep a genuine smile on there face, and show the world how kind they can be, but not fake.
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]]