“I hadn't learned anything new, except that another one of the Dead Elvises had an affinity for the Shop-n-Go. And Jack officially thought I'd lost my last marble.”

“He took a deep breath and held out his hand. "We got off to a bad start, but you're obviously a friend of Becks's."Cole stared at his hand,stumped. He looked at me like, What the hell am I supposed to do with this? I'd never seen him so baffled.It was almost comical.Then the second-to-last thing that I ever would have anticipated happened. Cole took Jack's hand and shook it. "I'm Neal.""Jack." Jack briefly glanced sideways at me. "I'll try not to hit you again."Cole and Jack, shaking hands. I covered my eyes with my fingers,wondering when the world had officially tipped over onto its side.When I lowered my hand, they were both looking at me.I'd had enough awkward."Let's go," I said, tugging on Jack's arm.Cole frowned and looked away. "Take care of our girl," he muttered sarcastically.”

“Jack,do me a favor?" I said."Anything,Becks.""Don't let go of my hand. And if the Tunnels come for me,don't let go until the last moment.""If the Tunnels come for you,I'll hold on, and they won't be able to take you."I smiled at the sentiment, even though I knew that no one would be able to hold on.”

“Making your own T-shirts? Don't you have people for that?" I asked. "Like professionals?""Well,I usually travel with an army of professional T-shirt makers, but today I thought I'd go it alone."Jack didn't take his eyes off me as Cole spoke. I wasn't sure he was even listening,or aware Cole was there."What are the screens for?" I asked."Elvis Presley as a corpse.You wanna come look?" Cole gave me a grin as if he'd just asked if I wanted to see rainbows being made."You had me at 'corpse.'"Jack chuckled. "Saying good-bye here. Remember?"I turned to Jack, rose up on my tiptoes, and kissed his lips lightly. "Two weeks,Jack. It'll fly by."I started to back up,but Jack grabbed my hand and pulled me close. "No you don't," he said. "The corpse can wait."He gave me a kiss that was not quite appropriate for public view,and I would've been embarrassed if I hadn't lost the ability to think straight. His arms reached around my back,and he pulled me in tight against him so that my feet were barely touching the ground. And things started disappearing around us,just like they did every time Jack kissed me.He pulled back. "What were you saying about two weeks?""That it will feel like forever," I said, breathless."That's better." Jack lowered his head so his forehead was touching mine. "Miss you.""Miss you too," I whispered.”

“SOPHOMORE YEARBefore he was mine and I was his..."You weren't in the lunchroom today," Jack said, coming up behind me at my locker. "Jules says you're never in the cafeteria on Wednesdays."I tried to calm the flush to my cheeks before I turned around to face him. My crush on Jack was getting ridiculous. Pretty soon I would be nonverbal.Just because he noticed,for the first time, that I wasn't at lunch,it didn't mean anything.I tried to keep my tone light. "Sounds like you guys had a very intriguing conversation.""Oh,we did." Jack fell into step beside me,and we walked down the hallway at a slower pace than everyone around us. "She said you avoid the cafeteria on Wednesdays.And she said you like me."I heard myself gasp,and I came to a stop.I'm gonna kill Jules, I thought."So,is it true?" Jack said.I could barely hear him with the crashing waves in my ears.I started to turn away,embarrassed,but Jack stepped sideways so he was in front of me, and there was nowhere else I could look."Is it true?" he asked again."Yes.I hate hot-dog Wednesdays, so I don't go to the lunchroom.It's true.""That's not what I meant,Becks.""I know.""Tell me.Is it true? Do you like me?"I tried to roll my eyes,and promptly forgot how.So I just looked at the ceiling. "You know I like you. You're one of my best friends.""Friends," Jack repeated."Of course.""Good friends?"I nodded."More than friends?"I didn't say anything. I didn't move. Jack reached toward my hand and tugged gently on my fingers. The movement was so small,I wouldn't have seen it if I hadn't felt it.He leaned forward and said, "Tell me, friend.Is there more for us?"I looked into his eyes. "There's everything for us.”

“Thats not what I mean." He seemed flustered. Very un Jack-like. "I just mean...What do I mean?""Are you asking me?"He nodded, now completely at a loss.I tilted my head, thrilled to see that even Jack could get flustered. "Maybe you mean, 'Hey Becks, you have such natural beauty, even without effort you shine like the stars.'"He stared at me and nodded slowly. Which was not the reaction I'd been expecting. For the first time since I'd known Jack, he looked...vulnerable. And I was the person who could hurt him. What was going on?”

“So,Jules gets a smile,huh?"I could feel his eyes on me,waiting for a response. He hadn't tried to talk to me since that first day,and his voice directed at me again did strange things to me.Made my stomach flutter. Of course, Jack had always had that power over me.I kept my eyes down,but I couldn't stop my lips from turning upward."I see that," he said.Jack always saw everything.”