“I don't think he likes girls", I said. "Or boys. Look at the horror on his face. He doesn't look like a people person.”

“He punched me in the face," Ash said, who understandably did not seem to find the situation humorous at all. "And then he yelled at me for sleeping with our personal trainer!""I was told breakup scenes were a good way to distract people," Jared said with beautiful simplicity."Ash looked so surprised," Holly said. "He had no idea what was going on. He said, 'I didn't sleep with our personal trainer! We don't even have a personal trainer!'"Angela and Holly giggled. Ash held the back of his hand to his bleeding mouth and glared. Jared was still grinning like a maniac. "In that case," he told Ash solemnly, "I will consider taking you back.”

“Maybe he likes the look of Mae," Nick drawled."Don't be ridiculous."Nick raised his eyebrows. "Does he like the look of Jamie?”

“I don't imagine Sin gets that alot," Mae commented."What?""Boys not liking her," said Mae. "She's kind of amazing. And beautiful."She spoke almost absently, forehead pressed against the glass as she tried hard not to sleep. There was morning mist obscuring the fields on either side of the road, so dense and white it looked like there were mutant sheep lurking on all sides.It was possible that she was overtired."You're just as beautiful as she is," said Alan. That was a flat-out lie, like so much of what Alan said. Like so much of what Alan said, it sounded true. "And you read," he added."Uh, hot," said Mae, feeling quite a bit more awake. "Well," said Alan, faint color in his cheeks, "I think so." She wasn't the only one in the car feeling tense. There was a slight defensive posture to his shoulders now, as if admitting any sort of honest emotion, even something as simple as liking girls who read, was bound to get him hurt... "I'd rather be amazing than beautiful." "I think you are.”

“When Kami jumped over a style, he looked like he's never seen one before. "I have never seen one before," Jared said.”

“He only shot one person," Nick remarked. "But the night is young." . . . Forgive him, he has no manners."I get by on good looks," Nick said.”

“I-" said Nick, his voice halting. "I don't mind it as much when - when people touch me. Some people."Mae looked down, and Nick, who looked more relaxed when he'd been stabbed, slowly lifted his hand from his chest and laid it on the tumbled sheets between them, fingers half-curled into his palm. He was still regarding the ceiling with a fixed glare."Because you trust them not to hurt you?" Mae asked tentatively."No," Nick said, his voice harsh. "Because I'd let them hurt me.”