Miranda Kenneally

“Free will comes with sacrifice. And sometimes with heartache.”

“As uncomfortable as I feel, I keep the girly underwear on anyway. Who knows? Provided they stay the hell out of my butt crack, they might make me feel sexier later on today.”

“It's a scary thing to wake up and realize the people you need most aren't nearby anymore... But you keep moving.”

“His smile is a virus. A virus sweeping through my body, rendering it useless.”

“A knock sounds on the door.“Who is it?” Matt yells, exasperated.“Your father.”“What do you want?”“Can you mow the lawn tomorrow after church?”“Daaaaaaaad.” Matt’s shaking his head and laughing. My mouth has dropped open. “Couldn’t you have waited until after Kate goes home to ask me?”“I didn’t want to forget,” Mr. Brown says from behind the door.Matt whispers to me, “This is his way of saying we shouldn’t be in here alone together.”I nod.Matt yells to his dad, “Fine, I’ll mow the lawn. Now go away.”I smack his chest.“What?” Matt asks, clutching my hands so I can’t hit him again.“You shouldn’t treat your dad that way.”“I like her,” Mr. Brown says from out in the hallway.“Daaaaadd, stop eavesdropping!” Matt jumps to his feet and grabs his keys from the nightstand. “That’s it, I’m taking you home. We’ll never find any peace around here.”I can’t stop laughing.”

“Do you pray?” I ask him.“Doesn't everybody pray sometime?”

“So what does Just Tacos have to do with kissing?”“Besides the fact I absolutely love both?” he asks.”

“I have a billion what-ifs and no way forward.”

“Learning is never a bad thing. And neither is changing your mind about things…It’s always good to reevaluate. To think and consider all sides.”

“You only live once, and if something feels right to you and you want it, you should go after it.”

“Sometimes you gotta do what’s right for you and forget about everybody else. All that matters is what you want. What you need.”

“I’m glad he’s here with me, even if he’s not saying anything. Sometimes friendship is just that, just being with someone.”

“If you spend too much time dreaming, you’ll stop actually doing. And when you actually do stuff, there’s a good chance things will work out. We make things happen by attacking, not by sitting around dreaming.”

“Maybe all that matters is that he’s right for me, and I’m right for him.”

“Ty better appreciate how hard I've worked to make myself attractive for him this morning because I am fucking spent.”

“ When God created the Earth, he had such a sick wicked sense of humor. He made everything that’s wrong feel really, really good. ”

“Henry was right—I let everyone else's feelings affect my decisions. Screw that. I'm taking the ball and running with it. Maybe they're not my top choices, but they're choices that are good for me, choices I can live with. Some things I can't control; but some things I can. And I'm going to.”

“You were in the equipment shed with Corn Fritter?” “Corndog,” Will, Dr. Salter, and I say simultaneously.”

“Maybe all friendships don’t fizzle. Maybe, like the kaleidoscope, the colors just change.”

“Henry’s face grows pink, pinker than those ridiculous bras Mom recently left on my bed when she decided I needed something more feminine than a sports bra.”

“It’s not that guys aren’t interested in me, because they are, it’s that most of the guys I know are either:1. Shorter than me;2. Pansies;3. On my team;4. All of the above.”

“At least I’ve got football .It’s been my life since I was seven, but sometimes Henry says I need to spend less time focusing and start “living life like I’m going to hell tomorrow.”But I feel like a normal teenager. Wel , as normal as I can be. I mean, obviously I think Justin Timberlake is a mega-hunk, but I’m also over six feet tal and can launch a footbal fifty yards.Other ways I’m not normal?A girl who hangs with an entire football team must hook up all the time, right?Nope.I’ve never had a boyfriend. Hell , I’ve never even kissed a guy. The closest I’ve ever come to a kiss happened just this past summer, but it was a joke. At a party, one of those cheerleaders suggested we all play a game of seven minutes in heaven, you know, the game where you go into a closet and kiss? Somehow Henry and I got sent into the closet together, and of course we didn’t kiss, but we ended up in a mad thumb-wrestling match. Which turned into a shoving match. Which turned into everyone thinking we’d hooked up in the closet. Yeah, right. He’s like my brother.”

“But I’m practically a guy. I mean, except for these fucking hormones that make me want to jump Ty and Justin Timberlake. I don’t obsess over things that other girls care about, like clothes, movie stars, hair, painting nails, knitting, or whatever shit they’re into.”

“You’re right, man! Thesecorndogs are crap!” Drew yelled,launching a corndog straight at JJ’sface.”

“Texans take their football seriously. It's practically a religion down there.”

“Sometimes you have to give something up to get something better.”

“Not only can I teach you math, I can teach you math in bed, Jordan. You know, I'll add the bed, you subtract the clothes, you divide the legs, and I'll multiply”

“Dad told me that even if you're meant to be with someone, that doesn't mean you necessarily get to be with them. But sometimes? Maybe you do. I guess we'll find out.”

“I didn't know crushing on a guy would require me to up my calorie intake.”

“You don't need anyone's permission to do what you love. You should just do it.”

“Sounds like Henry was jealous. His pride was hurt. So he acted like an ass. Every guy does that from time to time.”

“Henry?' JJ asks.'Asleep in my bed.''What?' Ty exclaims.”

“Don't tell Mom and Dad about Ty,' I warn Mike. 'But they'll be so glad to hear you aren't gay!”

“He's fast asleep, curled up at the other end of my bed, looking peaceful. The expression on his face says he's not really sad, and he's not overcompensating for his sadness by acting all crazy or silly, he's just...content. And that makes me glad, because more than anything else, I want him to be happy.”

“Suddenly I have the first knee problems of my life: they turn to rubber.”

“But is a good guy worth the risk of losing sight of my goals? My dreams?”

“How can you be in love with someone for forever and not be willing to take a chance when it finally hits you in the face like a linebacker?”

“Any chance that you're pregnant?' the technician says as he pulls the X-ray lamp over my swollen knee.'No,' Henry and Dad say at the same time.”

“You know, there's no more dangerous creature on Earth than the teenage girl.”

“I think JJ will tell me that he loves me soon," Lacey says to Kristen. "He definitely will," Kristen says. "I can tell by the way he looks at you."I force myself to cough so I don't laugh. JJ stares at Lacey the way he stares at every one of the Titans' cheerleaders. It's the same way he stares at cheese fries, for that matter.”

“We’ve been best friends forever and now he can’t even talk to me?”

“This must be the weirdest thing a football coach has ever seen: two quarterbacks making out.”

“Love hurts worse than getting slammed by a 250-pound linebacker.”

“For what it's worth," Dad says, running his fingers over the picture, "I've never seen anyone run faster than Henry after you hurt your knee last week.”

“Why were you watching me change?" I explain. "Uh, 'cause I'm a guy?" He flips the pillow and slaps it, fluffing it. Then he rolls over and closes his eyes again.”

“I squeeze his hand. “You know what I think about dreams?”Ty smiles slightly. “What?”“That if you spend too much time dreaming, you’ll stop actually doing. And when you actually do stuff, there’s a good chance things will work out.We make things happen by attacking, not by sitting around dreaming.”

“I kiss his forehead. "You are a wimpy idiot. But...I still love you." "I love you too, Woods.”

“I know I could never deserve you, but I can try to make it up to you?”

“What's the occasion?" I ask.He glances up at me and takes a deep breath. "You're the occasion, Woods. I've missed you so, so much.”

“One thing I learned a long time ago is that even if you think you're meant to be with someone, that doesn't necessarily mean you get to be with them.”