Everyone at school knows Baileigh Adams, but not in the way people want to be known. When someone says something about her, it is in regards to something she had done that day, something she had said, but never in a good way. See, Baileigh is a bitch to everyone, no matter who they are and what they had done or could do to her. No matter what rumors they could spread. Rumors are her safety blanket. No one knows why the girl is this way; it is the school’s best kept secret, and she likes it that way.
Everyone also knows Cailan Wright, but he is known in the way children dream of being known. His name is out there, huge, as the biggest teen music sensation as of late. However, when his constant partying, drinking, and sleeping around finally proves too much for his stubborn mother, the boy is sent to his city's public school in hopes that it changes him for the better. There, he meets Baileigh, the mystery girl, and is anxious to know what she is hiding.
Will Cailan be able to break Baileigh's shell? Will they both change for the better and learn each others secrets, or will Baileigh be too stuck on what she has hiding to let anyone in?
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]]