Chresanto August is a 19 year boy who hasn't always had everything handed to him on a silver platter. He was constantly getting in trouble. With his mother being a single parent it wasn't easy raising a boy alone. Finally reaching a breaking point his mother sends him to live with his Aunt in Hawaii. All he wants to do is have a little fun. What's wrong with that.
Kalani Alkoni is a 18 year old girl. She's half Hawaiian and half black. When her parents died, Isaiah took her and her brother in. She never thought she would meet her childhood friend at her job out of all places.
Little do they know that everyone is not who them seem to be.
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]]