Cady Myles loves sleeping.
She has 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep daily, and also takes naps in between classes. To her, sleep is more important than food. Her teachers shake their heads at her habits, but have nothing to say due to her perfect grades. However, her perfect world is shattered when she gets diagnosed with hypersomnia.
Ethan Anderson always has black bags under his eyes.
It's no wonder that he suffers from insomnia, but he regularly takes doses of sleeping pills. An overdose of sleeping pills, however, lands him in therapy, beside Cady Myles.
"You don't get to wake me up in the middle of the night, Anderson. Do that once again, you'll see stars and cacti eating humans in your in your dreams."
"You're gon' be disappointed, Myles. I don't have dreams, or nightmares in this matter."
A whirlwind of emotions, late night texting, and mumbling into pillows- Cady and Ethan try their best to help each other.
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]]