''What's your name?'' I ask.
She doesn't say anything for a moment, and carries on looking down at the floor, seemingly interested in the boring concrete of the tennis courts., and I start to think that maybe this was a mistake going to talk to her, when she looks into my eyes with her piercing light brown ones, and says in a voice so indian and interesting:
''Shayleen. Yours?''
I'm thrown for a minute , at how even more beautiful she is close up, that she begins to look at me questioningly, one perfectly shaped eyebrow raised, so I get myself together and eventually stutter out:
''S-Saz '' I respond shakily, now me looking don at the floor, studying the ground in great detail, then silently handing Shayleen the last of her papers.
Our hands brush against each other for a second, and I can feel the chemistry surging through us.
I look back up at her, smiling, and she attempts a half smile, looking like a lost princess in the depths of a fairy tale, until her expression changes, and the blissful moment we shared between us shattered, a expression covering her face again into one of conflict and worry.....
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]]