Every high school has it's cliques. There are the jocks, the goth kids, the nerds, the video gamers, the outcasts, and the cheerleaders. Every person fits in one group, right? Wrong. My name is Charlie. Charlotte Renee Johnson, and I don't fit in any. I'm not a jock, or a cheerleader, or an outcast. I'm none of them. I'm the average American teenager. I have bestfriend, who always has my back, and an obnoxious older brother who goes out of his way, just to annoy me. And like every other teenage girl, I have a crush. Like me, he doesn't fit in any of the categories, and doesn't seem to care. He's nice and smiles and always seems to have something interesting to say. We have woodshop and a lot of other classes together, and I see him all the time. Sounds great, right? Wrong again. I may notice him, but he doesn't seem to know that I exist. That is until our worlds collided. All it took was a shoelace for me to learn that my life was perfect as is.
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.
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