Meet Robin, a quirky dark haired girl with a zest for life, a "unique" laugh that gets everybody else going, and a smile that puts the sun to shame. Robin works in a bookstore to help her mom pay the bills. In her free time she jumps in mud puddles, complains about gray skies, writes her thoughts in a journal, and makes a lot of "that's what she said" jokes.
Meet Alexander. Recovering from a drug problem and narrowly managing to escape his messy past, he keeps to himself. He lives alone, and works two jobs to pay his bills. He doesn't talk just to hear himself, and he doesn't waste words on useless people. His only real passion being music, Alexander plays acoustic guitar, and sings a bit, but only for himself.
When Alexander comes to work at the bookstore Robin works at, she immediately takes a liking to the cute, floppy boy with the sad eyes. Wanting to befriend him, Robin is not put off by his "I hate everyone" exterior. Alexander has only one close friend in his life, and shuts everyone else out. The green eyed girl is starting to irritate him with her persistance.
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]]