“I love you,” he murmured. “That means I’m not just here for the pretty parts. I’m here no matter what.”

“Is this what it means to die? Lucas thought. Because I’m not scared of it anymore. Not if it means I finally get this close to you.”

“You’re going to tell me that last night shouldn’t have happened.”No. I’m glad it happened. For too long, I’ve been telling myself that I could spend all this time with yo and flirt with you and not have it mean anything. It does mean something. You mean something to me. But I’m not in love with you.”

“The only one taking a risk here is me, if I get too attached to you.It’s not risky for you, as long as you’re not confused either.”“I’m not.”“Of course you aren’t.” A small smile played on Balthazar’s lips.”

“He breathed out, not quite a laugh or a sob. "God, yes. Bianca, I love you so much. Even if I never see you again, even if we walk out of here into an ambush you set up with your parents, I am always going to love you.”

“It saddens me to see girls proudly declaring they’re not like other girls – especially when it’s 41,000 girls saying it in a chorus, never recognizing the contradiction. It’s taking a form of contempt for women – even a hatred for women – and internalizing it by saying, Yes, those girls are awful, but I’m special, I’m not like that, instead of stepping back and saying, This is a lie.The real meaning of “I’m not like the other girls” is, I think, “I’m not the media’s image of what girls should be.” Well, very, very few of us are. Pop culture wants to tell us that we’re all shallow, backstabbing, appearance-obsessed shopaholics without a thought in our heads beyond cute boys and cuter handbags. It’s a lie – a flat-out lie – and we need to recognize it and say so instead of accepting that judgment as true for other girls, but not for you.”

“I’m going, and don’t you dare try to stop me.”I ran through the door, willing myself to make it downstairs before I started to cry.”