“As much as he was different from other guys, he still had that stupid male pride thing.”

“The more this guy talked, the more he sounded like a fortune cookie.”

“He opened his palm and saw that the watch remained. Still there. Still real.Varen looked up at the figure that stood atop the fountain.With a howl of rage, he made it burst apart.He fell to his knees amid the wreckage and floating dust.Crumpling into himself, he released a choking sob, knowing that he, too, belonged to the ruin.”

“He smiled like he couldn't help it. She couldn't believe it. He was actally smiling, teeth and all. Had she ever seen him smile before? No, she realized, because right now, it was such a jarring thing to witness that for a moment it felt as though she was sharing the car with a stranger.”

“A tall, thin boy with choppy black hair stood next to her. He eyed Isobel as she approached, sizing her up, grinning like he found something funny. She glared at him in return, ready for him to say just one thing about her cheer uniform, because she knew he must have pulled the black jeans he wore straight from the girls' rack at Target.”

“He clutched the watch hard in his fist, determined to destroy it, to prove that it couldn't be real. That she hadn't come here because of him, for him.That he hadn't done what he knew he had.”

“She looked up from the tag. "Uh, news flash. Your friends hate me.""They don't know you," he said. Opening his door, he climbed out. He turned back, though, and leaned in on the door frame, peering at her. "Besides," he said, "you'd be with me.”