“What I was hungry for was sitting nonchalantly next to me on the couch.”

“Emma, but--" he began, and I shushed him. "No Emma buts except for the one I sit on.”

“I cocked my fist back, remembering what Brendan had taught me. "Don't aim for your target. You'll have more of an impact that way." I was aiming for China.”

“Well I'll be honest...sometimes it's really hard-""I know." I smirked, feeling saucy. "I can tell. I'm pretty much straddling you right now.""Really hard to stop, smart-ass," Brendan emphasized, giving me a playful squeeze before cocking an eyebrow at me.”

“I longed to know what it felt like to have one person eclipse everything bad in your life - be a place of pure joy.”

“The lightbulb is gone," she said awed. "Emma, you said, 'Lights, begone' and you literally made the lights be gone.""How do I get them back?" I asked, panicked. "What's the opposite of begone? Regone?”

“She just shook her head and pulled out a small bottle of some random pop star's signature perfume, spritzing me with the sickly-sweet smell. "Oh, come on Ash, that smells like a unicorn fart," I cried, recoiling at the overpowering, candylike smell.”