"Drop me, " I demanded after a deep breath and some last minute preparation. Leigh shot me a look that could be read all too clearly without him adding, "You've got to be kidding me, you can't honestly expect me to drop you!" I only stared at him intently, bracing myself for contact with the cold floor. He huffed outwards. "You're sure?" he had to double check. "Drop me."
Sylvie 'Silver' Marks has been the silent girl ever since she was handed her popularity and her boyfriend, but she never really wanted any of it. Her idea, her plan was simply to survive.
Leighton Westerfield hates the popular kids and has his eyes set on their weakest link, Silver. What he doesn't know is that instead of hurting her by trying to take away her spotlight, is that it's what she's always wanted. To get out of sight and out of mind. Not that Silver would ever tell him that.
Silver's secret is safe up until Leighton finds her helping him with one of his own plans to tear her down, and in the middle of it all, they might just work together to end her popularity.
But Silver never knew how hard it would be, on herself as well as challenging, she was ruining the life given to her and looking to build her own. In the process of rebuilding a shattered world, she might just form an attachment to the one who helped her come crashing down.
Not like anything is that simple.
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]]