“Really, I want to get this individualistic-thing down. I want to walk across the football field alone without looking like the last one picked to play soccer. I never was a cheerleader, I was a slut on my own with the thinking that if a tree has a good time and no one's around to hear it, it's not a slut. But sometimes you do need another tree around to double-dare you, or else you might end up doing nothing but watching TV when no one's around. ”

“It’s not funny. Do you want the whole school to think I’m one of your sluts?”Travis frowned. “No one thinks that. And if they do, they better hope I don’t hear about it.”

“Do you want the whole school to think I’m one of your sluts?” My sluts? They weren’t mine. Hence them being sluts.”

“I don’t want you to just be mytutor. I want you to be the girl I look for in the halls everymorning and save a seat for in the cafeteria. I want you to bethe one waiting for me when I walk off the field at my games.I want you to be the one I pick up the phone to call just tomake me smile.”

“If a tree falls in the forest when no one is around to hear it, does it still make a sound?If I scream in the silence, will anyone be around to hear it?”

“He watched Warrick walk away across the café, and started sentences in his mind. Don't go yet. I want five minutes, that's all. One minute. I want you. This could be the last time I see you. This really could be the last time. I want you to—”