“It seems only fair," Matthew continued. "A bit of karma, if you will." He twirled the stake again. "Shall we see how long you scream?""Are you ever going to shut up?" I snapped, fear and irritation filling me in equal measures. "This isn't your monologue, Hamlet. It's the battle scene, in case you've forgotten."His eyes narrowed so fast they nearly sparked. They were the color of honey on fire. One of the others growled like an animal, low in his throat. It made all the hairs on my arms stand straight up.I was going to die for making fun of Shakespeare.My English Lit professor would be so proud.”

“Overprotective isn't he?' Jacob said, talking just to me. 'A little trouble makes life fun. Let me guess, you're not allowed to have fun, are you?'Edward glowed, and his lips pulled back from his teeth ever so slightly.'Shut up, Jake,' I said.Jacob laughed. 'That sound like a NO. Hey if you ever feel like having a life again, you could come see me. 'I've still got your motorcycle in my garage.”

“The next morning, very early, you and I went to the old pine-tree. Your little legs were going along so fast that it made me quite dizzy to look at them. Long before we came to the place I had to carry you - you had such a terrible stitch! At last we caught sight of him. His branches were all waving and his head was high in the air. When he saw us he bowed most graciously, but very proudly. I stole along ever so quietly with you in my arms, and, sure enough, there were the sparrows sitting in the branches. They did not seem at all shy, and how glad we both were. The old pine-tree looked just like you do when you have had a cold bath and Mummy has put you in a clean starched frock, and a petticoat that sticks out all round. You look as though you never made mud pies in your life and would rather die than tread in the puddles.”

“There are two kinds of visual memory: one when you skillfully recreate an image in the laboratory of your mind, with your eyes open (and then I see Annabel in such general terms as: "honey-colored skin," "thin arms," "brown bobbed hair," "long lashes," "big bright mouth"); and the other when you instantly evoke, with shut eyes, on the dark innerside of your eyelids, the objective, absolutely optical replica of a beloved face, a little ghost in natural colors (and this is how I see Lolita).”

“Fuck. Even when I was in love with you. Or some shit.Butch clasped his hands to his chest. "Was? Was? I can't believe you've lost interest." He threw one arm over his eyes, all Sarah Bernhardt. "My dreams of our future shattered-""Shut it, cop."Butch looked out from under his arm. 3are you kidding me? The reality show I had planned was fantastic. Was going to pitch it to VH1. 'Two Bites Are Better Than One'. We were going to make millions.”

“Without thinking, I moved again, reaching out and touching the handresting near my thigh. Call it an experiment, but I wanted to see what would happenSeth’s head whipped in my direction. “What are you doing?”“Nothing.” And nothing was what happened. Confused, I wrapped my fingers around his.“Doesn’t look like nothing,” His eyes narrowed on me.“I guess so.” Giving up on my impromptu test, I lifted my hand. “Shouldn’t you be—” Whatever I was about to say died on my lips. Incredibly fast, Seth grabbed my hand and threaded his fingers through mine.“Is this what you wanted?” he asked, ever so casually.It happened. Being so close to him this time, I could see where the markings came from. The thick veins in his handwere the first to darken, branching out before spreading up his arm. Mesmerized, I watched the inky tats cover every piece of exposed skin. Before my eyes, they shifted away from his veins, swirling around his skin. Breaking off into different designs as he—we—continued to hold hands.”