17-year-old Samuel Gonzalez has never been one to fit in, never been the life of the party; and was taught to not draw too much attention to himself. That all changes when he meets Zuri Mensah, Maximus's girlfriend, at a party; who dares him to kiss her in a bathroom at a homecoming party. Truth be told, let's just say things did not turn out well.
Samuel never thought he would ever talk to her again, until the next day at school when she starts talking to him out of nowhere. She was planning a coup against Maximus, who is the heir to the Watford family drug fortune. Also the biggest name in their little town; Trouview, Huston. Zuri needs Samuel's help, though he is not entirely sure why. But he did know one thing if he was going to make things work; he was going to need help.
And so through a series of mishaps and ludicrously insane situations, a team is formed of a weird virgin, a reckless trailblazer, a tech hero, a genius prodigy, and a mastermind thief. All together on a journey that would eventually all just crash and burn explosively.
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]]