“Besides, the normal people here wouldn’t see it. That was what “different” meant. It’s just another word for lonely.”

“People don’t really want to know anything about you. They just want to put you into their little preordained slots. They decide what you are in the first two seconds, and they only get nervous or upset if you don’t live up to their snap judgements. That’s the only way the normal world’s like the Real – it all depends on who people think you are. Figure that out, play to what they expect, and it’s clear sailing.”

“Can I…I mean, do you mind if I sleep up here? If you don't, I, um, understand. I just—""Yes." The word bolted out of me. "Yes, please. Maybe I'll be able to sleep if you're here.”

“I wondered what I’d end up looking like once I bloomed. I couldn’t even guess. If I had to be stuck in my own skinny, gawky, coltish body forever… well. It probably wouldn’t be so bad.I wouldn’t mind a little more in the chest, though. But wild horses wouldn’t drag that out of me. Ever.”

“What do you say when someone takes on a really bad ass, murdering sucker for you? There just aren't words for that.”

“It’s easy to get rid of people, Christophe. All you have to do is rely on them.”

“Death did not play favorites—He loved all equally.What you cannot escape, you must fight; what you cannot fight, you must endure . The god's voice—not quite words, just a thread of meaning laid in my receptive mind—”