She cared about him too much, and he was a dangerous person to love. He wouldn't love her back.

She existed in her friends; there she was. All the parts of herself she'd forgotten. She knew herself best when she was with them.

Exactly! We run or we lose ourselves in something, somebody, anything to try and ease our pain.

she never showed girly weaknesses like cellulite or crushes. she never lingered on injustices committed against her.

What Daniel taketh away, Daniel giveth.

As much as I'm drawn to writing about teenage girls, I like the idea of having the freedom to branch out and write about different ages, for different ages.

He had to fight. That's all he had. Not memories, not experiences, not skills. He had a will. And his will was to fight until he couldn't fight anymore.