I mean, like most guys, you carry around this girl in your head, who is exactly who you want her to be. The person you think you will love the most. And every girl you are with gets measured against this girl in your head.

All this hoping for nothing-or someone-that's maybe hopeless

But I know the difference. Everyone else is a ghost. I exist here alone, stranded by choice. Deserted.

Books. I'd probably spend all my time alone and lost in books if I could. It's easier that way.

I feel like there's so much darkness in all of my books.

I was horribly bookish, to the point of coming right out and saying it, which I knew was not socially acceptable.

I love snow for the same reason I love Christmas: It brings people together while time stands still. Cozy couples lazily meandered the streets and children trudged sleds and chased snowballs. No one seemed to be in a rush to experience anything other than the glory of the day, with each other, whenever and however it happened.