She was always looking for some way to fill her time with music. Always trying to learn some new form of playing. Piano, violin, ukulele, cello, guitar, singing. It was a good way to pass the time. Especially when you didn't have many friends, and your parents were always working. School was easy for her, and she always got good grades.
He was always looking for some way to fill his time with danger. Always trying to learn some new form of risking it. Smoking, drugs, drinking, parties, motorcycles. It was a good way to pass the time. Especially when you have all the fake friends in the world, and girls are literally lining up to date you. He hated school and everybody there.
There's one thing they do have in common.
Trauma tends to run deep.
"What's the point anymore?"
When both of them end up in the same help group, they suddenly realize that they're not so different after all.
Can a pact between them result in the relationship of all time for them both? Or could it be just another highway to disaster?
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]]