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"Lie down," she tells me

I just stand there and look at her for a uard is down She told me she orried the pot would make her paranoid, but she wanted to try it, anyway Instead, it’s made her soft and receptive, blown her pupils up so her eyes look huge and dark, full of wonder

I feel like I’ve performed some kind of miracle

"Wow," she says "You look so weird from here"

That makes me smile I kneel on the roof next to her, enthralled by her teeth I only took a few hits off the pipe I brought, but it’s been a while since I smoked I could look at her face for an hour I want to touch her hair, feel how soft it is Run h it, over her throat, down that line of buttons and up under her shirt, pushing it out of the way to expose her skin to the ht I want to make her cold so I can warue

I want tototo fall off the roof and get killed"

"I’m not I told you, I’ve done this a million times"

"Why’d you need a boost, then?"

"I never come up alone Janelle usually boosts me"

"You allowed?"

"Sure! Oh, wait, you mean by my dad? No Well, sort of He knoe do it, and we’ve never gotten in trouble or anything, but it’s definitely frowned upon We never coot here that he’s not going to be back for hours That he’ll probably end up staying over with the Marshalltown friends Too much booze to drive But she irl back hoone Coirl back ho of condorin on my face

But she’s Caroline, and I’m not sure she has any idea what she does to me Not like I’ve been subtle, but I said I wouldn’t come after her, and she said she doesn’t want uy Scott

So I don’t know If she has an agenda, I don’t have a clue what it is

"Lie down," she says "You’re blocking my stars"

I lie down, elbows behind my head, and look up

"It’s cloudy"

"Shh"

"There’s no stars"

"Shhhhhhh," she says again, with a lot of drama "Shut up and enjoy the firourd, Caroline’s even bossier than normal And she still says shit like firmament

We look at the cloudy dark ht’s actually not half bad The clouds are thick, but they’rein fast s soray-white and thick withoppressive The sky seems taller back hoht to be for the end of Nove a heavy zip-up sweatshirt over a flannel and a T-shirt, and I’ my lower back where ot h hcrisp and sharp, but it also makes it so I just don’t care about shit like whether I’m warm The buzz turns down the radio station in on, and tunes in to Caroline

She’s lying on her side, staring at me

I feel her breath on my face The warmth off her body

I know exactly how far I’d have to h

"I can see every single hair on your face," she tells me

"I shaved"

"No, I mean, like, your pores I can see all the places where the hairs come out It’s weird"

"It’s not weird It’s h, West"

"Thanks"

She laughs, a wash of spearmint-scented breath over my ear "Please You don’t need me to tell you how pretty you are"

"Guys aren’t pretty"

"Have you seen your rooirl on campus"

"You should tell him that so hi department"

"Krish doesn’t date, Caro"