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I've Always Been Interested In Exploring The Concept Of Child Prodigies. When I Was Younger, I Wrote A Story About Mozart As A Child And I Just Always Loved This Idea Of Young People Who Are Able To Take Control Of Their Lives And Bring A Whole Lot Of Change At Such A Young Age.

-Marie Lu

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I've Always Been Interested

Marie Lu

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I've Always Been Interested In Exploring The Concept Of Child Prodigies. When I Was Younger, I Wrote A Story About Mozart As A Child And I Just Always Loved This Idea Of Young People Who Are Able To Take Control Of Their Lives And Bring A Whole Lot Of Change At Such A Young Age.

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Day Just Smiles At Me, An Expression So Sad That It Breaks Through My Numbness, And I Begin To Cry. Those Bright Blue Eyes. Before Me Is The Boy Who Has Bandaged My Wounds On The Streets Of Lake, Who Has Guarded His Family With Every Bone In His Body, Who Has Stayed By My Side In Spite Of Everything, The Boy Of Light And Laughter And Life, Of Grief And Fury And Passion, The Boy Whose Fate Is Intertwined With Mine, Forever And Always. "i Love You," He Whispers. "can You Stay Awhile?

Fantasy And Science Fiction Are Where My Brain Lives.

When You Stand Out There," John Continues In A Hoarse Voice, "keep Your Chin Up, All Right? Don't Let Them Get To You." "i Won't." "make Them Work For It. Punch Someone If You Have To." John Gives Me A Sad, Crooked Smile. "you're A Scary Kid. So Scare Them. Okay? All The Way Until The End." For The First Time In A Long Time, I Feel Like A Little Brother. I Have To Swallow Hard To Keep My Eyes Dry. "okay," I Whisper.

He Has Tears In His Eyes Now. The Sight Is More Than I Can Bear. He Takes Two Steps Away From Me And Then Turns Back Like A Caged Animal. “do You Even Love Me?” He Suddenly Asks. He Grips Both Of My Shoulders. “i’ve Said It To You Before, And I Still Mean It. But I’ve Never Heard It From You.

Everything I Am Familiar With Is Gone.

Then Day Reaches Out And Touches My Hand With His. He Encloses It In A Handshake. And Just Like That, I Am Linked With Him Again, I Feel The Pulse Of Our Bond And His- Tory And Love Through Our Hands, Like A Wave Of Magic, The Return Of A Long-lost Friend. Of Something Meant To Be. The Feeling Brings Tears To My Eyes. Perhaps We Can Take A Step Forward Together. “hi,” He Says. “i’m Daniel.” “hi,” I Reply. “i’m June.

You Should Have Taken Me With You," I Whisper To Him. Then I Lean My Head Against His And Begin To Cry. In My Mind, I Make A Silent Promise To My Brother's Killer. I Will Hunt You Down. I Will Scour The Streets Of Los Angeles For You. Search Every Street In The Republic If I Have To. I Will Trick You And Deceive You, Lie, Cheat And Steal To Find You, Tempt You Out Of Your Hiding Place, And Chase You Until You Have Nowhere Else To Run. I Make You This Promise: Your Life Is Mine.

I'm Telling You That You Got Your Facts Wrong. I Didn't Kill Your Brother. But You Killed My Mother. You Might As Well Have Held The Gun To Her Head!

Without Emotion, What's The Point Of Being Human?

You Try To Walk In The Light.

You're Brilliant,"he Says."but You're A Fool To Stay With Someone Like Me." I Close My Eyes At The Touch Of His Hand."then We Are Both Fools.

Tomorrow, I Will Take On All Of These Things. I Will Be Unstoppable.

Now, As We Stand Three Feet Apart And Stare At Each Other, I Feel The Full Distance That Comes With Spending So Much Time Apart, A Moment Filled With The Electricity Of A First Meeting And The Uncertainty Of Strangers.

I Don't Like Seeing Her This Delicate.

If You Want To Rebel, Rebel From Inside The System.that's Much More Powerful Than Rebelling Outside The System.

My Mother Used To Hope That I Would Rise Up From My Humble Roots. Become Someone Sucessful, Or Even Famous. I'm Famous All Right, But I Don't Think It's What She Had In Mind.

So, Tell Me,” He Whispers. “how Fast Did You Climb Those Fourteen Stories?” Thomas Makes A Disapproving Sound In His Throat, But I Break Into A Grin. Storm’s Past. Metias Loves Me Again. “six Minutes,” I Whisper Back To My Brother. “and Forty-four Seconds. How Do You Like That?” “that Must Be Some Sort Of Record. Not That, You Know, You’re Supposed To Do It.

My Heart Is Ripped Open, Shredded, Leaking Blood. I Can't Let Him Leave Like This. We've Been Through To Much To Turn Into Strangers.

I Take A Step Toward Him And Grin Cheerfully. "with All Due Respect, I Don't See The Republic Tacking Up Wanted Posters With Your Pretty Face On Them.

We're In This Together, Right?" He Whispers. "you And Me? You Want To Be Here, Yeah?" There's Guilt In His Questions. "yes," I Reply. "i Chose This." Day Pulls Me Close Enough For Our Noses To Touch. "i Love You.

Tell Me There Is Still Good In The World. Tell Me There Is Still Hope For All Of Us.

Good In The World

Where I Come From, We're More About Efficiency,' He Replies. 'a Knife Like This'll Skewer Food, Smear Butter, And Slit Throats All At The Same Time.

The First Time I Saw You, When You Stepped Into That Skiz Ring Against Kaede, I Thought You Were The Most Beautiful Girl I'd Ever Seen. I Could've Watched You Forever. The First Time I Kiss You..." That Memory Overpowers Me Now, Taking Me By Surprise. I Remember Every Last Detail Of It, Almost Enough To Push Away The Lingering Images Of The Elector Pulling June To Him. "well, That Might As Well Have Been My First Kiss Ever.

Absolute Power Is Absolute Power, No Matter What It's Called.

For A Small Moment, I Fix My Eyes On His, Telling Him Silently Everything That I'll Never Say To Him Aloud.

I Make Sure To Keep A Good Distance Between Us, Just In Case She Decides To Get Happy With A Knife Or Something.

I Started Writing Seriously When I Was A Teenager, Around 14 Years Old.

Now You'll Get To See How I Can Really Run A Building, Darlin. Not Even A Cracked Knee To Hold Me Back, Yeah? What A Nice Birthday Present.

You Must Be As Thrilled As I Am To Meet Again.call It An Act Of Extreme Kindness That I Requested Your Leg Be Bandaged Up," She Snaps. "i Want To See You Stand For Your Execution,and I Won't Have You Dying From Infection Before I'm Through With You." "thanks.you're Very Kind.

I Feel So Out Of Place Here. No Matter How Much Money The Republic Throws At Me, I Will Forever Be The Boy From The Streets.

Each Day Means A New Twenty-four Hours. Each Day Means Everything's Possible Again. You Live In The Moment, You Die In The Moment, You Take It All One Day At A Time. -day

Live In The Moment

One Day At A Time

Time Heals All Wounds. But Not This One. Not Yet.

Wounds And Scars

Time Heals All Wounds

Please Don't Take Him Away From This World. Please Don't Let Him Die Here In My Arms, Not After Everything We've Been Through Together, Not After You've Taken So Many Others. Please, I Beg You, Let Him Live. I Am Willing To Sacrifice Anything To Make This Happen- I'm Willing To Do Anything You Ask. Maybe You'll Laugh At Me For Such A Naive Promise, But I Mean It In Earnest, And I Don't Care If It Makes No Sense Or Seems Impossible. Let Him Live. Please. I Can't Bear This A Second Time. Tell Me There Is Still Good In This World. Tell Me There Is Still Hope For All Of Us.

Day, The Boy From The Streets With Nothing Except The Clothes On His Back And The Earnestness In His Eyes, Owns My Heart. He Is Beauty, Inside And Out. He Is The Silver Lining In A World Of Darkness. He Is My Light.

Mom Used To Say That Having Three Boys Was Kind Of Like Having A Pet Tornado That Talked Back.

We Can Heal. Perhaps We Can Return To That Same Place We Once Stood, When We Were Both Young And Innocent.

Few People Ever Kill For The Right Reasons, June. Most Do It For The Wrong Reasons. I Just Hope You Never Have To Be In Either Category.

The Memory Fades, And I’m Left Hanging On To The Ghosts Of His Words.

My Heart's Been Torn Wide Open, Just Like I Feared It Would Be, And I Have No Willpower To Close It Back Up.

Forever And Ever, Kid, Until You're Sick And Tired Of Seeing Me.

I Don't Think Anything Really Consciously Went Into 'legend' That Was Influenced By Videogames, But I'm Pretty Sure Some Of My Experiences And Love For Gaming Contributed To A Few Of The Factors That Are In 'legend'.

Day, The Champion Of The People, The One Who Can't Bear To See Those Around Him Suffer On His Behalf, Who Would Gladly Give His Life For Those He Loves.

I Have To Force A Smile Off My Face As I Sit Limply In My Seat... Then, Just As I'm Congratulating Myself For Such A Stellar Plan.

[...] Tess And I Are A Good Match. She Understands Intimately Where I Came From. She Can Cheer Me Up On My Darkest Days. It's As If She Came Perfectly Happy Home Instead Of What Kaede Just Told Me. I Feel A Relaxing Warmth At The Thought, Realizing Suddenly How Much I'm Anticipating Meeting Up With Tess Again. Where She Goes, I Go, And Vice Versa. Peas In A Pod. Then There's June. Even The Thought Of Her Name Makes It Hard For Me To Breathe. I'm Almost Embarrassed By My Reaction. Are June And I A Good Match? No. It's The First Word To Pop Into My Mind. And Yet, Still.

He Loves You, Really He Does. He'd Love You Even If It Destroyed Him. He Matches You.

Then I Realize From The Hollow Sound Of Her Gun's Click That Her Gun Isn't Loaded. Apparently She Just Wants To Slap Me Around With It.

Hi," He Says. "i'm Daniel." "hi," I Reply. "i'm June.

Everyone Has Darkness Inside Them, However Hidden.

Darkness Inside

I’ve Been Searching A Long Time For Something I Think I Lost. I Felt Like I Found Something When I Saw You Back There.

I Hope,” He Replies Softly, “to Get To Know You Again. If You Are Open To It. There Is A Fog Around You That I Would Like To Clear Away.

It Hurts Every Day, The Absence Of Someone Who Was Once There.

It Is Pointless To Believe What You See, If You Only See What You Believe.

Brave Thoughts, But Am I Ready To Follow Through On Them?

Money Is The Most Important Thing In The World, You Know. Money Can Buy You Happiness, And I Don't Care What Anyone Else Thinks.

The Boy Who Walks In The Light.

He Pauses When He Finishes Undoing The Last Button, Then Closes His Eyes. I Can See The Pain Slashed Across His Face, And The Sight Tears At Me. The Republic's Most Wanted Criminal Is Just A Boy, Sitting Before Me, Suddenly Vulnerable, Laying All His Weaknesses Out For Me To See.

I'm So Tired. I Don't Know If I Can Ever Outrun How I Used To Be.

Boys Are Different From Girls, But Boys Are Also Different From Other Boys, Just As Girls Are Different From Other Girls. Calling A Book “for Boys” Or “for Girls” Is Well-meaning, But To Me, Not Terribly Helpful.

He Is Beauty, Inside And Out. He Is The Silver Lining In A World Of Darkness. He Is My Light.

I Always Knew, On Some Level, That I Wouldn't Live Long. It's Simply Not Written In My Stars.

I Scream For Everything That Has Gone Wrong. I Scream For Everything Broken In Our Lives.

Sometimes, The Sun Sets Earlier. Days Don’t Last Forever, You Know. But I’ll Fight As Hard As I Can. I Can Promise You That.

All It Takes Is One Generation To Brainwash A Population And Convince Them That Reality Doesn't Exist

You Threw Everything Away."i Bring A Hand Up To Touch Her Face,to Wipe The Rain From Her Eyelashes."your Entire Life-your Beliefs...why Would You Do That For Me?" June Has Never Looked More Beautiful Than She Does Now,unadorned And Honest,vulnerable Yet Invincible.when Lightning Streaks Over The Sky,her Dark Eyes Shine Like Gold."because You Were Right,"she Whispers."about All Of It.

Be True To Yourself. But That's Something Everyone Says And No One Means. No One Wants You To Be Yourself. They Want You To Be The Version Of Yourself That They Like.

See?" She Says. "tricked You. You're Always Staring At Your Opponents Eyes-but That Gives You A Bad Peripheral View.if You Want To Track My Arms And Legs, You Have To Focus On My Chest." I Raise My Eyebrow At That. "say No More.

You Know, Sometimes I Wonder What Things Would Be Like If I Just ... Met You One Day. Like Normal People Do. If I Just Walked By You On Some Street One Sunny Morning And Thought You Were Cute, Stopped, Shook Your Hand, And Said, "hi, I'm Daniel.

Day Appears Again. This Time He Leans In Close Enough For His Hair To Brush, Light As Silk, Against My Cheeks. He Pulls Me Towards For A Long Kiss. The Scene Vanishes, Replaced Abruptly By A Stormy Night And Day Struggling Through The Rain, Blood Dripping From His Leg And Leaving A Trail Behind Him. He Collapses Onto His Knees In Front Of Razor Before The Whole Scene Disappears Again.

I've Always Been Interested In Exploring The Concept Of Child Prodigies. When I Was Younger, I Wrote A Story About Mozart As A Child And I Just Always Loved This Idea Of Young People Who Are Able To Take Control Of Their Lives And Bring A Whole Lot Of Change At Such A Young Age.

What A Joke! Poor Little Rich Girl's Fallen In Love With The Republic's Most Famous Criminal.

Clouds Suit My Mood Just Fine.

To. I Will Trick You And Deceive You, Lie, Cheat And Steal To Find You, Tempt You Out Of Your Hiding Place, And Chase You Until You Have Nowhere Else To Run. I Make You This Promise: Your Life Is Mine

To Love Is To Be Afraid. You Are Frightened, Deathly Terrified, That Something Will Happen To Those You Love. Think Of The Possibilities. Does Your Heart Clench With Each Thought? That, My Friend, Is Love. And Love Enslaves Us All, For You Cannot Have Love Without Fear.

I'd Once Been Fascinated By His Legend - All The Stories I'd Heard Before I Met Him. Now I Can Feel That Same Sense Of Fascination Returning. I Picture His Face, So Beautiful Even After Pain And Torture And Grief, His Blue Eyes Bright And Sincere. I'm Ashamed To Admit That I Enjoyed My Brief Time With Him In His Prison Cell. His Voice Can Make Me Forget About All The Details Running Through My Mind, Bringing With It Emotions Of Desire, Or Fear Instead, Sometimes Even Anger, But Always Triggering Something. Something That Wasn't There Before.

He Loves So Wholly. It Is His Nature. He Blinks, Then Tries To Find The Right Response. "i-" He Stumbles. "i'm So Afraid, June. So Afraid Of What Might Happen To-" I Put Two Fingers Against His Lips To Hush Him. "fear Makes You Stronger," I Whisper. Before I Can Stop Myself, I Put My Hands On His Face And Press My Mouth To His.

It Feels Like It's The End Of The World If You Don't Do Well On Your Sats.

End Of The World

There's A Conflicted Look In Day's Eyes, A Joy And A Grief, That Makes Him So Vulnerable. I Realize How Little Defense He Has Against My Words. He Loves So Wholly. It Is His Nature.

June Laughs. "i Have To Say, You Look Better Than Most People I See. I've Heard A Lot About You." "i Hear About You A Lot Too," Eden Replies In A Rush, "mostly From Daniel. He Thinks You're Really Hot.

I Want To Run. To Do What I Always Do, Have Always Done, For The Last Five Years Of My Life. Escape, Flee Into The Shadows. But This Time, I Stand My Ground. I'm Tired Of Running.

So, When I Thought June Might Take You Away, I Didn’t Know What To Do. I Felt Like She Was Taking Everything That Mattered To Me. I Felt Like She Was Taking Away From You All The Things That I Didn’t Have. That’s Why I’m Sorry. I’m Sorry Because You Shouldn’t Have To Be Everything To Me. I Had You, But I’d Forgotten That I Had Myself Too.

June Has Never Looked More Beautiful Than She Does Now, Unadorned And Honest, Vulnerable Yet Invincible.

Can One Mistake Really Destroy A Lifetime Together?

Love Is Illogical, Love Had Consequences--i Did This To Myself, And I Should Be Able To Take It.

When You’ve Been Poor All Your Life, You Never Really Think It Could Be Any Other Way. And Sometimes You’re Even Happy, Because At Least You’ve Got Your Family And Your Health And Your Arms And Legs And A Roof Over Your Head.

Roof Over Your Head

I Could Be Compassionate, If I Wanted. Metias Would Be Merciful. But I Was Never As Good A Person As My Brother.

I Don't Know If Anyone's Ever Told You This", He Begins. He Doesn't Blush, And His Eyes Don't Dart Away. Instead I Find Myself Starring Into A Pair Of Oceans - One Perfect, The Other Blemished By That Tiny Ripple. "you're Very Attractive." I've Been Complimented On My Appearance Before. But Never In His Tone Of Voice. Of All The Things He's Said, I Don't Know Why This Catches Me Off Guard. But It Startles Me So Much That Without Thinking I Blurt Out, "i Could Say The Same About You." I Pause. "in Case You Didn't Know." A Slow Grin Spreads Across His Face. "oh, Trust Me. I Know.

You Drive Me Insane June. You're The Scariest, Most Clever, Bravest Person I Know, And Sometimes I Can't Catch My Breath Because I'm Trying So Hard To Keep Up. There Will Never Be Another Like You. You Realize That, Don't You? Billions Of People Will Come And Go In This World, But There Will Never Be Another Like You.

No Matter What Happens In The Future, No Matter Where Our Paths Take Us, This Moment Will Be Ours.

Yeah, Something Was Wrong. That Was The Understatement Of The Year.

I Can Feel His Presence Here In Every Stone He Has Touched, Every Person He Has Lifted Up, Every Street And Alley And City That He Has Changed In The Few Years Of His Life, Because He Is The Republic, He Is Our Light, And I Love You, I Love You, Until The Day We Meet Again I Will Hold You In My Heart And Protect You There, Grieving What We Never Had, Cherishing What We Did. I Wish You Were Here. I Love You, Always.

Tess," I Say. "i'm Going To Head Down To The Water.i'll Be Back In A Minute." "you Sure You Can Make It By Yourself?" She Asks. "i'll Be Fine." I Smile. "if You See Me Floating Unconscious Out To Sea,though-by All Means,come And Get Me.

Then He Crouches Down Behind It, Motions For Tess And Me To Sit Down, And Begins Unbuttoning His Vest. I Blush Scarlet And Thank Every God In The World For The Darkness Surrounding Us. “i’m Not Cold And I’m Not Bleeding,” I Say To Him. “keep Your Clothes On.” The Boy Looks At Me. I Would’ve Expected His Bright Eyes To Look Dimmer In The Night, But Instead They Seem To Reflect The Light Coming From The Windows Above Us. He’s Amused. “who Said Anything About You , Sweetheart?

When Had Eden Grown Up? I Feel Like I Blinked And Missed It.

Well...can't Be Any More Dangerous Than Your Crazy Hospital Break-in Yeah?"-tess (pg 59)

Idiotic Reply, June. Why Don't You Punch Him In The Face While You're At It. I Turn Even More Flustered When I Remember That I Have Actually Pistol-whipped Him In The Face Before. Romantic

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