Now a full-length novel!
"How about this, you go on a date with me every day this week. If you still don't like me next Monday, then I'll let you go, but if you do end up liking me, then you'll be my girlfriend."
Josh Hamilton is Riley Smith's best friend. They are both popular in school and on the baseball team. Josh has had a crush on Riley's twin sister, Olivia, for years. He finally finds the nerve to ask her out at a baseball game.
Olivia is a nerd at school, not very popular. In middle school, she used to get bullied all the time so she isn't very confident. All of her friends are in relationships, but she has only ever been on two dates, both of them first dates.
This is their story.
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]]