Ian was an idiot.
Obviously, everyone was too ignorant to see this, but there was no doubt about it. Golden boy, everyone called him.
Until, of course, his family was shunned by the town, announced a disgrace. They'd have to move across the coast.
To Oregon.
Which is exactly where Rachel comes in--a boisterous, fun-loving girl who loved doing everything all other cool teenagers would be doing...
...in her dreams. In truth, Rachel was the nerdiest, introvertiest person that ever walked the planet.
How could she possibly react to the fact that in the summer before junior year, her best friend moved one thousand miles away, leaving her with no one? And, to make the situation ten times worse, her friend was replaced by a conceited, obnoxious, and annoyingly attractive boy.
One thing that was on both minds of the two was that their junior year was going to be the worst.
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]]