He Was Almost Naked Too, But I

I’d Seen Him Fight Before, But It Never Got Old. He Was Captivating. He Never Stopped Moving. Every Action Was Graceful And Lethal. He Was A Dancer Of Death.

Love Is . . .” An Old Memory With Adrian Came Back To Me, And Some Of The Turbulent Emotion I Always Carried Within Me These Days Welled Up In My Chest. It Was Stupid, Feeling So Lovesick When He’d Been Gone Less Than A Day, But I Couldn’t Get Him Or The Ways He Described Love Out Of My Head. “. . . A Flame In The Dark. A Breath Of Warmth On A Winter’s Night. A Star That Guides You Home.

More Than His Exterior Hit Me. I Felt Warm And Safe Just Being With Him. He Brought Comfort After My Terrible Day. So Often With Other People I Felt A Need To Be Center Of Attention, To Be Funny And Always Have Something Clever To Say. It Was A Habit I Needed To Shake. But With Him I Never Felt Like I Had To Be Anything More Than What I Already Was. I Didn’t Have To Entertain Him Or Think Up Jokes Or Even Flirt. It Was Enough To Just Be Together, To Be So Completely Comfortable In Each Other’s Presence—we Lost All Sense Of Self-consciousness.

They’re Waiting For You. Go On In.” Adrian Leaned Close To Keith’s Ear And Spoke In An Ominous Voice. “if.you.dare.” He Poked Keith’s Shoulder And Gave A "muhahaha” Kind Of Monster Laugh.

I Didn’t Get Her Cutting At All. She’d Done It Sporadically, Ever Since The Accident And It Scared Me Each Time. She'd Try To Explain It To Me, How She Didn't Want To Die—she Just Needed To Get It Out Somehow. She Felt So Much Emotionally, She Would Say, That A Physical Outlet—physical Pain—was The Only Way To Make The Internal Pain Go Away. It Was The Only Way She Could Control It.