After losing her brother when she was very young and having her family
fall apart right in front of her eyes, Lisa Dewey has been through more
than the average 17-year-old. After her parents' divorce, Lisa, her
sister Caroline, and her mother move to Norman, Oklahoma, where Lisa
meets Alexander Johnson, a boy who has seen the worst of life. Growing
up with his grandmother, Alex has always been the victim of bullying, so
severe that he even reached the point of ending his own life. He and
Lisa become friends after he attempts to end his life for the second
time. She becomes the person Alex turns to in times of need. There is a
conundrum though; she has fallen for Alex, but he is never to know. Lisa
has had one boyfriend, and that was during her freshman year of high
school. Everything with Alex had been perfect until one day when Lisa is
out with some of her girlfriends, she sees a familiar boy kissing a
girl. Lisa had despised Alex's girlfriend, Sara, from the beginning.
Since that day, Lisa has not been with anyone. English had always been
one of Lisa's favorite subjects in school. She wrote an essay on Roman
mythology that her teacher was very impressed with. Her teacher commends
her writing style and thinks she would be the perfect candidate for a
summer program in Rome. Later that the day, students are told that prom
tickets are going on sale during lunchtime. Alex asks Lisa to go to prom
after remembering a promise they had made back in freshman year. Lisa is
now stuck in a dilemma: will she go to Rome or will she go to prom with
Alex?