“Not everything is about beating your head against the wall until it breaks.”“Just most things.”

“Hey!" Claire called after him, as she leaned her backpack against the wall."No onions!""Your loss!""I meant for YOU! Not if you want to get kissed tonight!""Damn, girl. Harsh.”

“Hannah leaned against the wall. 'Mind if I call shotgun?''Since you're carrying one? Feel free.”

“Science is a method, not a religion, yet it can be just as close-minded. Open minds here Claire. Always open minds. Question everything, accept nothing as fact until you prove it for yourself.”

“Claire was just coming down the stairs, humming and thinking about how nice it was to have things getting back to normal, and how she'd tell Shane about the January thing tonight, when Myrnin sent a message through the portal.Well, more of a rock with a note tied to it, which rolled across the floor and scared Eve into a scream before the portal snapped shut. Eve kicked the rock resentfully with her thick black boots and glared at it, then at the wall. Claire gave her a "What the hell?" kind of look."Your boss," Eve said, and reached down to grab the rock, "needs to figure out texting. Seriously. Who does this? Is he actually from the Stone Age?”

“Shane looked faintly injured. “I make it my business to know everything about silver. And I saw your notes. I study up on everything when it comes to your boss, anyway.” There was a flicker of jealousy about that, but she didn’t have time, or energy, to consider it very much. Not even whether or not she liked it.”

“Claire stretched out against the wall and kissed it. "Glad to see you, too," she whispered, and pressed her cheek against the smooth surface. It almost felt like it hugged her back."Dude, it's a house," Shane said from behind her. "Hug somebody who cares.”