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I walk over and see that one of the CDs she’s looking at has a song we listened to on our car ride

"I really like the to the CD "Do you?"

She startles, as if this is a quiet room and I am a sudden noise I notice you, I want to say Even when no one else does, I do I will

"Yeah," she says "I like the, the one from the car Then I say, "I like that one in particular"

"Do I know you?" she asks

"I’m Nathan," I say, which isn’t a no or a yes

"I’m Rhiannon," she says

"That’s a beautiful name"

"Thanks I used to hate it, but I don’t so much anymore"

"Why?"

"It’s just a pain to spell" She looks at o to Octavian?"

"No I’ erous lie, since I have no idea which of the guys is Steve, and I have no way of accessing the infor to drift away froirls talking next to us

"I hate ets her attention

"I hate the way he treats girls I hate the way he thinks he can buy all his friends by throwing parties like this I hate the way that he only talks to you when he needs so I hate the way he doesn’t see about Justin, not Steve

"Then why are you here?" Rhiannon asks

"Because I want to see it fall apart Because when this party gets busted--and if it stays this loud, it will get busted--I want to be a witness Fro he’s incapable of loving Stephanie? They’ve been going out for over a year"

With a silent apology to Stephanie and Steve, I say, "That doesn’twith someone for over a year can mean that you love them … but it can also one too far I can feel Rhiannon taking inwith them The sound of words as they’re said is always different from the sound they make when they’re heard, because the speaker hears some of the sound fro frohable to think that Nathan--who, frorade--would be speaking from experience But she doesn’t know hi fro

"There are s that can keep you in a relationship," I say "Fear of being alone Fear of disrupting the arrange that’s okay, because you don’t know if you can get any better Or et better, even if you knoon’t change"

" ‘He’?"