Never, never, never. I am never going to forget you.

I hugged him without any kind of fear or self-consciousness, fiercely, with a rush of emotion that almost brought tears to my eyes."I could kiss you!" Chubs cried."Please don't!" I gasp out, feeling his arms tighten around my ribs to the point of cracking them.

But hey, what's life without a little adversity?"That had to have been the fakest attempt at optimism since my fourth grade teacher tried reasoning that we were better off without the dead kids in our class because it'd mean more turns on the playground swings for the rest of us.

Oh my God, Green,” I heard Chubs say from somewhere in the room. “Just take the damn socksand put the kid out of his misery.

The thing about enthusiasm-- especially Liam's particular brand-- was that it was catching. There would be nights I would simply sit back, watching, as he became more and more animated with his hands as he spoke, as if trying to shape his ideas out of the air for the rest of us to see. His words were coated with such unyielding hopefulness that it visibly inflated everyone around him.

I felt his lips travel from my forehead, whispering something against my eyelids, my cheeks, my nose. His thumbs stroked the length of my jaw, but even they stilled as I pulled back and turned away from him. [...]“I don’t want to lose you.” He made a noise of frustration, his eyes clear and bright as he spoke. “Then why are you the one that keeps letting go?

The thing that scares me is that some part of me understands where they're coming from. They took everything from us, you know? Why shouldn’t we be able to take it back if we have the power to?

Hey—” I called. Liam stopped, turning back up to look at me. “Be careful.” His blue eyes flicked back and forth between Cate and me. “You too, darlin’.

Liam turned his face toward mine. We weren’t even a breath apart. “Never,” he said after awhile. “Never, never, never. I am never going to forget you.