“I’m not just falling in love with you, Nell. I’m falling into you. You’re an ocean, and I’m falling in, drowning in the depths of who you are. Like you said, it’s scary in a way, but it’s also the most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced. You are the most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced.”

“I’m bad at some things.”She raised an eyebrow. “Name one thing.”Making you fall in love with me the way I’ve always been in love with you. You only ever saw the jock while you let those artist assholes chase you. And hurt you.”

“Holy shit, you’re the most accomplished stalker I’ve ever met.”“It’s not stalking if you like it.”

“I’m glad I’ve never went to one of these things before. It’s right that I’ve only brought you.”

“I’m the thing you most desire, you represent the thing I least desire, death. It’s just the opposite of love.”

“It’s my job really, to help you, my reader, in accepting things as real that aren’t. Most books try to get you to accept things that, at the very least, could be real – and that’s difficult enough, goodness knows – but here, in this book, nothing seems to be even trying to be real. Except, I would say, me. I’m here, I’m real. And to be honest, I’ve never been here before. I don’t know where I am, I don’t know what I’m doing. In some ways, I’m afraid this is the most real story I’ve ever written.”