“Walking with Murphythrough the bone-freezing chilltoward the bus stop,I start shivering.And somehow,when he slips his arm around meto warm me up,it feels right.Righter than anything ever has.”

“I wish he hadn't gone and cut his hair.He looks about eight years old.His ears have tripled in size.Everyone's started calling him Dumbo.Which wouldn't be so bad,except they've started calling meMrs. Dumbo.You can't even tellhe's got curly hair anymore.There's nothing leftto run my fingers through.Just this weirdblond AstroTurfsprouting out of his skull.”

“But most days,I wander around feeling invisible.Like I'm a speck of dustfloating in the airthat can only be seenwhen a shaft of light hits it.”

“When we kiss, his lips on mine are like CPR--breathing the life back into me.”

“Culture ClashDylan sayswhen I meet his mother todayI shouldn't mentionthat I'm Jewish.I sayokay, but can I tell her aboutthe HIV postive thing?He gives me a look.I give him one back”

“If Dylan and I had metby chatting on the Netin a room of cyberspaceinstead of face to faceand I hadn't seen his lipsor the way he moves his hipswhen he does that sexy danceand I hadn't had a chanceto look into his eyesand be dazzled by their sizeand all that I had seenwere his letters on my screen,then I might as well confess:I think I would have liked himless.”

“My parents are great listenersWhich is why I never tell them anything”