“No. Ben, I love you because you're you. All of you, not just the quirky stuff.”

“She shrugged and flipped her glossy hair behind her shoulders. "What else do you have to do with your time besides think about stuff like this? It's not like you're real heavy into extracurriculars. Besides, you're all, like, goth and into the dead, right?"Alona Dare, queen of the insult-compliment. "Wow. Thanks. Anyone ever tell you you're good with people?"She frowned. "No.""Good. I'm not goth.""Your hair is black, you have piercings, you wear black all the time and act all freaky-""My hair is naturally this color. I have three earings in one ear, that's it. This shirt" -I tugged at the fabric across my chest- "is navy blue, and if I act weird all the time, it's because of ghosts like you.”

“What happened to you?" she asked."Ben was feeling artistic. Wanted to rearrange my face.”

“And no, I think i'm better than you because I am better than you.”

“And I can't believe you didn't tell me you were all goo-goo eyed over my dad. Oh, and that you failed to mention you were sleeping with him”

“I think, uh, I might be in love with you," I said, my voice sounding gruff and awkward even to my own ears.”

“Teachers, parents, guidance counselors... all of them are always pushing this crap about how it's okay to be different, just be yourself. Don't give in to peer pressure, blah, blah, blah. The truth is, it's really only okay to be yourself if that self is within an accepted range of "normal." You like soccer instead of basketball, Johnny? Well, okay, I guess, so long as you still like sports. What's that, Susie, you want to wear the blue sweater instead of the red? You know we're all about expressing individuality here... so long as it's still a sweater.”