❛ keep your head up, you're royalty now, and we never let our crowns fall ❜
They're popular, spoiled, beautiful.
The captains and cheerleaders, the sluts and jocks. They're the royalty of Warrington High.
So even with missing fathers, dead siblings and pills on their bedsides, broken hearts, unpaid bills and fake relationships, they raise their chins up and grin their trademark game-winning smiles.
After all, when everyone's watching, they have to give them a good show, even if they all loathe their reflections.
But mirrors are shallow, shallow things and you can't keep the cracks hidden forever...
cover by the amazing IIJay||LovesBooks ♡
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]]