Ironic, huh? To keep that part of me alive, I have to be close to that which kills it.

Yeah. A real date. Something official. You. Me. Tonight. We're long overdue.

After running for my life from hunters, a girl with too much lip gloss doesn't register on my fear radar.

I respond, thoughts dropping away, like pebbles plopping one by one in water, sinking down, down into dark oblivion.

Never forget that we are more than the genetic code. We can be more than labels applied to us. We can be more than what others whisper behind our backs. Free will exists. We need to choose to be the best we can be and we need to help others do the same. Believe in yourself.

What good is safety if you're dead inside?

You have my word. If you return with me, you won't be harmed. I'd die first.