new-adult

Monsters can live inside a person. Sometimes they know about it. More often they don't.

What__ your name?_ I ask again. __hris,_ he says. __hris Young._ I exhale dramatically, blowing my bangs out of my eyes. __ can take you,_ I reply. __ut if you try anything, I__l shoot you right between the eyes. Seriously._ He almost smiles. __es, ma__m.

Quick, somebody call the caretaker!_ Gemma__ stage voice rang out loud and clear. __here__ some trash here that needs to be taken out._ She earned a chorus of laughs as she walked towards us, then came to a standstill right beside me. __hrist, it reeks, too,_ she said, pinching her nose. __hat did you do, Malice? Douse yourself in the whole bottle? Oh, never mind. I don__ expect you to have heard of the adage __ess is more_.

As I stand at the edge of the pit, searching for his body amongst all the others, I am slightly frightened by the violent clashes. It seems almost savagery, the way they throw themselves into each other. As I continue to watch, unable to look away, drawn in by their angry and troubled release I see him. His body is sweating, his muscles are flexed and his face holds an expression of pain mixed with pleasure. In that moment I realize their is so much I don't know about the man I am falling in love with and my fear of him excites me.

I__e never been on a bike,_ I say. __ mean, I__e been on a bike but not a motorcycle.___nd why is that?_ he asks. __ugs. They get in your mouth, right? That__ just gross._ Chris makes a face.__f you ride around with your mouth hanging open, I assume that could be a possibility.

Love is a monster.

I don__ know how it happened. Nobody does. There are only theories, empty rhetoric and doomsday prophecies. None of them are right, but none of them are completely wrong, either. They all have a grain of truth. All I know is where I was and what I was doing when it happened.

In no mood for one of her silly games, I snatched it off her and scanned the page. It turned out to be a list of names, all of them boys, and some of whom I recognised. And then I noticed the title: __peration: Popping the Cherry_. I leaped to my feet and fired a glare at each of them in turn, trying not to shout. __re you shitting me?

Monsters never truly go away. They claw their way to the surface again eventually.

Evolve? Like a Pokemon?' I have no idea why I say this. I think I'm kind of going into shock, and the first thing that pops into my head when he says evolve is Charmander evolving into Charizard.

Ugh! She cursed her lack of attention to the [mythology] reading. Who could have known that would be the important class?

Well that__ open to debate,_ he said. 'It sounds like a recipe for disaster to me, and I hate the thought of you throwing yourself at guys just to try and get laid. Christ, I__ do you myself if I thought it would keep you safe.___ow that__ true friendship,_ I said, cracking under the severity of his tone.

I should walk away. That would be the right thing to do. It would be the smart thing. But I can't, because I'm Taylor Caldwell, the girl who cuts.

It had never occurred to me that simply being with a fellow prisoner would make me feel like I was still in prison.

Because even if we were struggling, we had goals. It didn't matter that we weren't there yet. What mattered is that we both experienced setbacks, and full-blown failures, but we got up, brushed ourselves off, and kept going-and were making the best of it.

You cannot thrive under the wrong stars, Kricket_ the stars here are in opposition to you_ can__ you feel it?_ Let us take you home.

You are a bright light, Elli._ His own breath hitches, a sound that I cannot quite grasp. His eyes are darkening, his lips tightening. His hands grasp me tighter and he moves closer, his mouth inches from mine, I can almost taste the sweetness and saltiness of his scent, the rich coffee beans and sugar, the vague spearmint. I say nothing, I__ not even sure I__ breathing.__ou shouldn__ have to see such pain, such blackness. You are too pure._ His lips do not collide with mine, his skin does not brush against me, only his voice sends a shiver down every notch in my spine, trailing goose bumps over my skin. He tilts his head to the side, his lips gently brushing against my ear. And that is all. I__ not good enough for him. I__ not. That__ why_ that__ why__oo pure_

East Hollow is full of tormented souls._ I remark, only to hear his chuckle, his eyes moving forward just in time to step out of the way of a wayward man with armfuls of carrier bags.__ow that is the attraction.