ya-fiction

Meg,_ he whispered. __t wouldn__ be real love if there weren__ the possibility for another response to him. If we couldn__ choose not to love him, then our love would be empty. That__ why there__ evil in this world, because there__ free choice in this world. He allows the one to prove the other.

It wasn't premeditated. It was what needed to be done. So I did it.

But do you think our futures are already determined for us?___hy are you asking all of this? What__ going on?__ let out a small laugh. __emember when we were in the hallway?_ He nodded. __ell, Thirteen tried telling me that I couldn__ escape my fate and that there was no point in fighting the inevitable.___o you think it is inevitable?_ he asked.__e?_ I scoffed. __o. Nothing is ever guaranteed. One minor adjustment can alter everything. Nothing is ever set in stone. As of right now, we__e all on one path: we__e all stuck inside of this hell that we__e trying to escape, and it may seem like the outcome has already been determined for us, but it hasn__. The smallest of things could change everything. A death. Deception. Anything could force us to follow another path, and you know what? We determine that path, not fate.___hat path do you see yourself on?_ Colton hopped up onto the computer desk, tucking his hands underneath his thighs.__ see us starting new lives outside of this place, far from McVeigh and his men,_ I answered honestly. __ut I know not all of us will make it out of here. There is still more pain to come our way, but there is also happiness if we allow for it.

Kammy could see the palace built into the cliff face. It was a majestic construction. Its white walls stretched up into a cluster of turrets and towers. Its façade was broken by gigantic windows that reflected a rainbow of colours. The palace was flanked by two waterfalls that filled the chasm running far below them; a chasm that was bridged by a staircase of monstrous size. But Kammy hardly noticed how far she would fall should her grip fail. The giant structure that speared out of the palace and up into the sky commanded all of her attention. It burned her eyes so she could hardly look at it, but at the same time she could not look away. It looked like a white diamond. Each of its countless edges sent off shards of brilliant light. It dwarfed anything that Kammy had ever known and she had never felt as alive as she did in that moment.

See, you don't wanna be a Jew. Too much work--there's a lot of holidays but it's even more work. It's sanctioned oppression, it's God's tyranny.

Too many people in this world think small is the best they can do. Not you, Libby Strout. You weren't born for small! You don't know how to do small! Small is not in you!

I really need to remember to block my thoughts.""Oh, come on," he pulled me closer towards him. "Why are you so scared?""Because the second that I let this conversation happen, I'll be letting my walls down. No matter what answer you give me, you'll have some sort of power over me, and I don't want that." I pushed past him, plopping down on the bed, not bothering to remove my boots.I could feel the mattress sink beside me. Ian ran his fingers through my hair. "Come here," he spoke softly. "Please." I pushed myself into a sitting position, and moved closer to him, leaning my head on Ian's shoulder. "I like this, a lot. It feels nice." Ian lifted my chin so that I was forced to look directly at him, and then he leaned in to kiss me.

The clouds behind the castle darkened and rolled, embracing the mountain and the white towers. And as the princess became more animated, the clouds rolled faster and faster. They twisted and deepened in color until a deafening crack sliced through the air.

My romantic history since arriving on Novo has been non-existent, but I don't know what, if anything, came before; thanks to the government's cerebral pilfering.

Most kids grow sullen and angry when they__e working through issues, but Thanet mustered up another kind of bull-headed strength. The kind that sees beyond circumstances to what really matters. How could anyone hurt a soul that lovely?

The ice cold fear I__ felt, not knowing if Wyatt was alive, pressed into the wall with other girls and surrounded by guys who were unspeakably brave, hit my body again in a wave. This was trauma__he gift that keeps on giving.

Hearing my brother__ words coming out of Henry, this stranger in a strange town, made me feel wild with all the loss__ild and wired with no place to put those feelings.

But I understood, now, that we don__ live only for ourselves. We__e connected by millions of shared experiences and dreams and nightmares, all tied together with compassion. I learned that even when we__e going through our darkest winter, spring is waiting to appear.

We all think when we__e young that we want excitement and highs and passion. To hell with ordinary.__ smiled and she chuckled. __ut when we find ourselves in these adult bodies,_ she said. __hen we wise up a little, or get slapped in the face by life, we realize we just want all things to be equal._ She put the heels of her hands together near her heart like the Yoga prayer position. __nd we want to understand them better.

It was the first time I discovered that some girls actually sneak out of the house during slumber parties and meet up with boys. I would__e never known if I hadn__ gone to the bathroom at midnight and caught Macy and Adrienne climbing through the bathroom window. They had on eyeliner, perfume, and cut-off shorts. Their only goodbye a glare that promised retribution if I didn__ keep my mouth shut.

We bumped into other silent lines of kids going in the same direction. We looked like we were much younger and our lines were headed to the cafeteria or recess or the carpool line. Or it could__e been a fire drill. Except for the stone-faced police officers weaving between us with rifles.

Every moment of our lives we make choices. Most we don__ even know we__e making, they__e so dull or routine or automatic. Some are beyond explanation__ike my mom choosing Wyatt__ memory over Dad and me.

That's the thing about trust. It's like broken glass. You can put it back together, but the cracks are always visible--like scars that never fully heal.