“Everything's gonna be fine, okay?" He reached toward me and gently started to move a lock of my hair behind my ear."Maybe for you," I said, smacking his hand away. "Some of us are gonna be living out the rest of our lives in a rice paddy wearing a big hat.""Wow, you get racist when you're panicky.""Shut your pathetic, useless mouth.""And bitchy.”

“I'm glad you're better," he said. His mouth sounded like it was almost in my hair, just above my my ear. "When I saw you fall...""You thought, 'Wow, she's a loser.”

“I mean, if you're gonna purposely lose your mind,you want to get it back some day. Don't you? Okay, maybe not.”

“I'm gonna barf," I whispered to Fang,wiping my sweaty hands on my jeans.You'll be fine," he whipered back. "You always are.I'm gonna die," I moaned.You can't die," he said a hint of a smile in his voice."You're the indesructible Max.”

“Okay. I'll deal with Benjamin. You're safe, okay? Nothing's gonna happen." His mouth pulled tight against itself. And now I was having some sort of heart attack. Because when he looked at me like that, my chest started to feel like it was turned inside out. "Promise."And that—the promise, the way he said it with utter certainty—was enough to make me tear up again.”

“To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" he said.I placed my hands flat on the table and leaned across it. "Stay the hell away from him.""Who? Oh, you mean the guy who's gonna bite it soon?" "He's not. He's going to be fine."He reached a hand out and placed it over my own. I snatched my hand back. He shook his head at me and whispered, "You can't stop it.""Watch me.”