“You know, you've never really cared about anyone," he said. "But someday you will, and it's going to hurt. It's going to hurt a lot.”

“And I know you thought a lot of him. I realize I'm hardly the perfect substitute, but like I said, the way things are going maybe it's stupid to wait for perfection." Suddenly he was looking directly at her and Cassie saw something in his mahogany eyes she'd never seen before.”

“You stole my bouquet? From the kistune?""I was very careful-""Do you realize what you've done?" Stefan shook Damon."Ow. That hurts! Do you want to break my neck.”

“Ash stripped some of the papery purple bark off his yew stick. "And, you see, it's difficult because what I've always thought about humans-what I was always raised to think…""I know what you've always thought," Mary-Lynnette said sharply. Thinking, vermin.But," Ash continued doggedly, "the thing is-and I know this is going to sound strange-that I seem to love you sort of desperately.”

“I love you," she said. "You made me fall in love with you. I don't care how tall you are or what color your hair is-I care about you. You make me laugh. You're smart. You're gentle. And you're real, you're a real person, not some jock with a facade that's going to fall apart when I get to know him. I know you already, and I love you, you idiot. I don't care what you do with toilet paper.”

“Things that really, really hurt are the right things to do.”

“Trust me, you can't play the game if you don't know the rules. And if you don't know the rules, someone's bound to get hurt.”