“Yeah, it was sick and twisted, butthat’s reality, right? Escape is impossible, so why notembrace it?”

“He wasn't perfect, or even remotely close, for that matter, but, hey, neither was I. We were both pretty fucked up. Somehow, though, that made everything more exciting. Yeah, it was sick and twisted, but that's reality, right? Escape is impossible, so why not embrace it?”

“Then maybe I'll hit on this sweaty, oversexed football player. Maybe we'll have meaningful discussions about politics and philosophy while we bump 'n grind. Ugh. Yeah, right.”

“I was the Duff. And that was a good thing. Because anyone who didn't feel like the Duff must not have friends. Every girl feels unattractive sometimes. Why had it taken me so long to figure that out? Why had I been stressing over that dumb word for so long when it was so simple? I should be proud to be the Duff. Proud to have great friends who, in their minds, were my Duffs.”

“Thanks,” Toby said. “And if Wesley breaks your heart, I promise to . . . well, I would say I’d kick his ass, but we bothknow that’s physically impossible.” He frowned down at his skinny arms. “So I’ll write him a strongly worded letter.”

“Don’t lie to yourself because you think nit’s safer. Reality doesn’t work like that…”

“No matter where you go or what you do to distract yourself, reality catches up with you eventually.”