“ALEX: “How come you smile when you knock me down?”AIDEN: “It’s the little things that make me happy.”

“…Heath Ledger once said to me, ‘It’s built you up to knock you down and that’s all it is.”

“Because it makes me happy when the words fall together and the picture comes and the make-believe people do things that delight me. But it's better with you, Constant Reader. Always better with you.”

“The high point of your life was when you knocked me down”

“Fulfill me, make me happy, make me feel safe, tell me who I am. The world cannot give you those things, and when you no longer have such expectations, all self created suffering comes to an end.”

“No one is like you, Alex."I grinned. "I'll take that as a compliment.""It is." He nudged me again, and my grin gew into another ludicrous smile- the kind Caleb gave Olivia when they weren't tearing each other's heads off. "You're incredibly intelligent, Alex. Funny and...""Pretty?""No, not pretty.""Cute?""No."I frowned. "Well, then."Aiden's laugh sent shivers through me. "I was going to say 'stunning.' You're stunningly beautiful.”