Jus Accardo

“My name is Brandt Cross, and my life used to be seven kinds of fucked up.... Now it's eight...”

“It was a shame I couldn't go public with my ability. Girls found immortality hot, right? Slap on a pair of fangs and add some glitter and I could probably hook up with my choice of rabid Twilight fangirls.”

“As I walked away, I heard Kale tell Fin to stop staring at my ass or he was going to punish him. I couldn’t help but smile.”

“I don't like him." Looking from Kale to Alex, Ginger said, "I don't like cabbage. Do you see me taking on the produce section of the food store?”

“It was one thing to wake up feeling like I'd just been put through the puree stage of a blender- it was another to wake up feeling like I'd just been put though the puree stage of a blender to county music.”

“There were no leftover feelings for him, but seeing someone toss Alex around like a Frisbee made me slightly ill. Possibly because in the back of my head, I wanted to be the one doing it.”

“I mean hell,, I was literally knocking on death's door, and I still looked awesome.”

“Alex could name each member of every nineties alternative band ever formed. Kale could kick all their asses.”

“What was I doing? What I did best. Crazy shit.”

“Wow. And there it is. Your inner asshole just bled through.”

“So what'd we miss?" Jade pulled a chair from the next table and wedged it between Kale and Dax. "We were just about to vote you off the island," I said, stirring my coffee."You've got my vote," Kiernan said enthusiastically, glaring at Jade.”

“As cheesy as this is gonna sound, everyone join hands."Alex looked from my face to our tangled fingers and smirked. "As much as I like this, I'm thinking now's not the time to sing 'Kumbaya'.”

“I looked around. Kale was glaring daggers at Alex, who was staring at me like I'd lost my mind. Jade was eye-humping Kale like a lovesick puppy while Kiernan looked ready to kick her ass.Seriously. Worse-timed drama ever.”

“Kale turned away from me and stepped to Alex. "I know exactly what that means, and if you say it again, I'll touch you.""Sorry, dude," Alex said, waving his hands. He flashed Kale a mock frown. "I don't swing that-”

“Karma, continuing the Screw Dez kick it seemed to be on lately...”

“Jade opened her mouth - assumedly to shoot off another snipe - but froze. Arms flailing, she gave a small shimmy and squealed, "Notabunny. Notabunny!”

“Ohmygod," Jade whispered, panicked. She grabbed my arm and yanked, almost knocking me off balance. "Something moved in those bushes."I shoved her off, pointed to the ground, and smiled. From under the bush, long ears attached to a tiny brown speckles head peeked out. "Yeah. That bunny is a Denazen suit in disguise. Where do you suppose he's hiding his gun? Or maybe he doesn't need one. Maybe he's a martial arts master trained in the art of kickassery.”

“Hands on hips, Jade snickered. "I'm invincible. Go ahead and give it your best shot.""I wonder how invincible you'd be if I shoved an M-80 up your ass?”

“Kale, jackass. His name is Kale," I snapped. Someone had joined the line behind Dad. The woman made an irritated noise of disapproval at my choice of wording and covered her small son's ears.Great. Now I was corrupting children.”

“They're just friends." This time it came out a little sharper. If I squeezed the mayo any harder, it was likely to explode. "She's helping him learn control."He waggled his eyebrows at me. The thin silver barbell above his right eye danced. "Control? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

“Detention turned out to be code for slavery.”

“Was anyone hurt?""Sadly, no," Kale mumbled. He folded his arms and looked toward the door with a sulky expression. I'll have to try harder next time.”

“He's irritating." He stood and started to pull up the hem of his shirt. "And he stabbed me."Alex rolled his eyes. "And you're still alive. Time to get over it."Kale held his hand out to Ginger. "Fine. Give me something sharp. If I stab him, then we'll be even.”

“What can I do? She's here to help Kale.""Sure she is. And I'm Ke$ha.”

“Because if you try to do it again, I'll touch you. Then the only thing you'll be touching is the wind as you're scattered across the world.”

“Dax, normally impossible to ruffle, looked like he wanted to scream.„Everyone was supposed to stay with their partners!”„You're not my partner,” Kale said. There was no argument in the tone of his voice. Only a simple, static logic that was all Kale. „Dez is..”

“He stepped around me until he and Kale were nose to nose.Even though I knew it was the remnants of the storm, I could almost imagine the lightning overhead as sparks rising from the shoulders of each boy.Clashing Titans ready to fight to the death.”

“„It's really all about focus and control. Clear your mind and think about the plant. Don't over think it. Picture green and pretty.”Kale scrunched up his nose and cringed away.„It's not pretty. It looks like a weed. And it smells bad.”

“My personality made me easy to get along with – unless you were looking at my guy like he was a big, juicy slab of prime rib with a side of mint chocolate chiop ice cream.”

“He didn’t operate on the same frequency as everyone else. On one hand, he was more dangerous than anyone I’d ever met.He could slip into a room, kill you with a spatula, and be out of town before anyone knew about it. On the other, he was the most pure, untarnished soul I’d ever come across. It was an odd mix so uniquely Kale, and I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.”

“Poking his head back through the bars, he kissed me. Not a quick peck on the cheek, either. No, kisses from Kale were enough to make a porn star blush.Just part of the awesome that was my boyfriend.My über hot, strangely innocent-yet-could-kill-you-with-a-bar-of-soap boyfriend.”

“This is how it was with Kale. So easy to lose myself. Let all the walls down and forget about everything. He really was everything to me. My beginning and end.”

“Kale sighed. He wasn't defensive or apologetic. Just matter-of-fact. "I dont like him." Looking from Kale to Alex, Ginger said,"I don't like cabbage. Do you see me taking on the food produce section of the store?" - Toxic”

“Its a flash drive." When his only answer was a blank stare, I continued. "It holds information from a computer." He took the drive from me giving it a hard shake. When nothing came out, he proceded to tap it against the edge of the windowsill. "How do we get the information out?" - Kale and Deznee - Touch”

“I wondered what the FML post would look like."Today, when my father tried to shoot me, I found out he was an assassin monger who's been keeping my mom locked away in a secret facility for freaky killers. FML." Seriously. F.M.L.”

“They'll never take me back to Denazen. I would kill a thousand if I needed to."He nodded to Dez. "And for her?"For her. To keep Dez from going to that place? "For her, I'd kill a million.”

“If nothing else, I was a predator - and predators could sense fear.”

“Dad would be home soon. This might work to my advantage. I knew bringing the guy home would royally piss him off. He’d have puppies if he found a stranger in the house. Hell, he might even have a llama.”

“What do we have here? Is my super-hot assassin boyfriend freaked out by clowns?”

“What kind of guy was I? My idea of fun was Dez. My eyes found hers. Spending time with her, holding her…. kissing her. Just being close to her. These were the things I enjoyed. The things that made me feel most alive. I believed without a doubt that my heart began to truly beat the day I met her.She cleared her throat and looked away, blushing. It took a moment for me to realize why. She'd been thinking of kissing. I 'd told her just last week kissing her was my second favourite thing to do. The first – well, she told me that was something we should keep between us. I didn't understand why exactly. Everyone should know about something so amazing, but I took her word on it.”

“„One down,” I said, turning to Kale. He wasn't paying attention. His gaze was fixed on the red silk baby doll in my hand.„What is this?” he asked, rubbing the satiny material between his fingers.„Clothes” I said. „For women.”His eyes widened. „Girls wear this?”„Yeah, but usually not for long” I chuckled.Kale turned as red as the teddy. „Are you going to wear this now?”„Umm. No,” I said, blushing.He seemed a little disappointed and I stifled a laugh.”

“„This is what people do here?”„It's a little more complicated than that.”„Everything seems complicated here,” he grumbled.„That"s life,” I laughed. „Life is complicated.”„And that's good?”I nodded. „That's good.”

“„I understand now, Dez,” his whispered sleepily. „I understand the hand thing.”

“I was Halfway to Kale when something hit me. A chair. Someone had thrown a chair at me. What the hell was this, WWE?”

“Give that boy a cookie!"Now really wasn't the time to think about food. And where was she keeping them? In her pockets? They'd be all crumbled. "I don't want one. Thank you."Eyebrows raised, she wrinkled her nose - I must have insulted her by not accepting her offer.”

“My jaw dropped. Forget balls, this guy had boulders.”

“For me," he said. It came out as a cross between a choked growl and a whimpher. It was shocked, and it was possessive. Full of pain, and laced with joy. "You were made for me.”

“Wow!" Fin let out a sharp whistle. "You look hot, Dez. You can raid my tomb whenever you'd like.”

“I'm never going to get used to that," he said, smiling. "Used to what?""The way I feel like I'm going to explode every time you come close. The way my head fills up with just you when you do that.”

“As long as I know this" - he lifted our joined hands - "is mine to hold, I'll wait for you forever.”