“I just wish I could walk into my Senator’s office and say, “Senator Dude, Um, we have a problem with these sicko scientists…”But then again, I don’t think we have a Senator, do we? Is there a state where mutant freaks are represented? If so, let me know.”

“Why don’t we just say it already?” He smirked. “I mean come on now.”I eyed him carefully not knowing where to step. “What is it you think we want to say?”“That we love each other. I kick myself every time I stopped myself from saying it. And I know you love me and that’s all that matters,” he said, pulling me close instead of away this time. We stared at the water in a shared silence.My mind wished I could say the same thing, but knowing if I wanted to was the problem. Did I even know how?”

“I don’t think so, dude. Gabriel would kill me. And then Scarlet would kill me. And they could just keep on killing me over and over again because I don’t ever die. Do you know how much that would suck?”

“You really think love needs to have a future?”“Absolutely.”“Good,” Lily said. “So do I.”“Good,” I echoed, leaning in. “So do you.”“Don’t repeat what I say,” she told me, swatting at my arm.“Don’t repeat what I say,” I murmured, smiling.“You’re being silly,” she said, but the silliness was falling out of her voice.“You’re being silly,” I assured her.“Lily is the greatest girl who ever was.”I drew closer. “Lily is the greatest girl who ever was.”For a moment, I think we’d forgotten where we were.And then the officers returned, and we were reminded once again.”

“When it’s just you, just me, no one around to tell us how we should be—I know we could have made it. I know we could have fought it. I know we could have conquered.”

“We could call you an ambisexual. A duosexual. A—”“Do I really have to find a word for it?” Kyle interrupts. “Can’t it just be what it is?”“Of course,” I say, even though in the bigger world I’m not so sure. The world loves stupid labels. I wish we got to choose our own.We pause for a moment. I wonder if that’s all—if he just needed to say the truth and have it heard. But then Kyle looks at me with unsure eyes and says, “You see, I don’t know who I’m supposed to be.”“Nobody does,” I assure him.”