Opposites Could Attract (Ongoing)
Vanessa arrives at her new school with hope in her heart. She's determined to smile, to make friends, and to finally escape the loneliness that haunted her at her last home. But almost immediately, she's branded "weird." The kids mock her smiles, twist her kindness into something laughable, and, before long, the bullying escalates into something darker. Every single day, Vanessa is cornered, beaten, and reminded she doesn't belong. One hundred days of abuse. One hundred days of silence. One hundred days of pain.
No one helps her. No one even tries.
Except Max.
Max is the boy no one dares to approach-gloomy, detached, and frightening when provoked. Everyone knows he wants to be left alone. He sleeps through class, kicks over tables when bothered, and keeps everyone at arm's length with his sharp tongue. But Vanessa sees something different. On her very first day, when other kids mock her, he tells them to shut up-even though he swears he doesn't care. When she thanks him, he grabs her shirt, growls at her to leave him alone, and warns her he isn't anyone's friend. But when she lays her head next to his anyway, smiling through the fear, Max doesn't push her away.
Then comes the day her bullies go too far. A knife. A cornered victim. Vanessa, ready to give up, finally whispers to herself that no one cares. That she's truly alone. But she isn't. Max appears. In front of everyone, he catches the blade meant for her, throws off his shirt to reveal a body scarred by pain far beyond schoolyard fights, and with ruthless efficiency, he destroys her tormentors. They scatter, terrified. And for the first time, Vanessa sees the truth: beneath his gloom, Max does care. He tells her plainly, "You watered the flowers every day so they didn't die. I want to be that water to you, the flower."
From that moment, their bond is sealed.
But their world isn't kind.
