"I've never felt safe in my life." Avery suddenly whispered into the space between them. Benj had been watching the water silently, his fingers absently tapping Avery's leg, a beat she liked to think he made just for her, subconsciously. "But when I'm alone with you, it just feels so natural, so easy, so simple. I don't want to run from you, I don't want to hide. Is that...is that weird?" She asked him. "Not at all." He responded, catching her fingers between his. "When I'm with you, I finally feel calm. Nothing's overwhelming; the lights aren't too bright, the sounds aren't too loud, I don't need my music or distractions. It's like you walked into my life and suddenly balanced everything out. Now it makes sense to me. Emotions, feelings, touching. It all makes sense, and it didn't before, before it was all a jumbled mess that I couldn't decipher." * Benj is an awkward, quiet, and extremely lonely medical student with a passion for making people smile and producing music that makes him feel something other than isolated from the world. He never quite figured out how to relate to the world around him, so Benj never imagined he would develop a crush on a girl who works in a diner clear across town, but he finds himself drawn to the diner, specifically to see her; Avery. Avery has absolutely no hope for the future. Having run away from home at the age of 12, she was quickly immersed in a life of trauma and fear, learning too young the cruel nature of men. Trapped in a toxic and abusive environment, with only her self-hatred to keep her company, she awaits a saving grace she knows will never come. Not until one day, when a sweet, quiet man asks her out for drinks, and she surprises both him and herself by saying yes.