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"You were so scratched up, your hair and clothes all singed froest slow in the soft ht

Tally closed her eyes and shook her head Great She was going to get an award for bravery when she should really be kicked out of the Smoke for treachery

"You don’t look quite so happy now, though," he said softly

"Not everyone thinks it’s great that I cahed "Yeah, Croy toldrevelation"

"He did?" She opened her eyes

"Don’t listen to hiot here, he was suspicious about your co the way City help But I told hied "When you and Shay saw each other, you were so happy I could tell that you’d really missed her"

"Yeah I orried about her"

"Of course you were And you were brave enough to co away fro you’d ever known, alone You didn’t really come because you wanted to live in the Smoke, did you?"

"Umwhat do you ht"

Tally looked into David’s eyes Even if he was coood to bask in his words Up until now, the whole day had been tainted by suspicion and doubt, but David’s face shone with adh her, a ware

Then Tally tre was It was that sa to Peris after his operation, or when teachers looked at her with approval It was not a feeling she’d ever gotten froe, perfectly shaped eyes, their faces couldn’t , or , had somehow turned David into a pretty Just for a ic was all based on lies She didn’t deserve the look in David’s eyes

She turned to face the ocean of weeds again "I bet Shay wishes she’d never told ht now Maybe for a while," David said "But not forever"

"But you and she"

"She and I" He sighed "Shay changes her mind pretty quickly, you know"

"What do you mean?"

"The first ti When Croy and the others caht?"

David nodded "I always figured she would She just wanted to run away because her friends were If she stayed in the city, she’d be left all alone"

Tally thought of her friendless days after Peris’s operation "Yeah I know that feeling"

"But she never showed up that night Which happens I was really surprised to see her in the ruins a feeeks ago, suddenly convinced she wanted to leave the city forever And she was already talking about bringing a friend, even though she hadn’t said a word to you yet" He shook his head "I alet about it, to stay in the city and beco would have been so much easier if David had done exactly that

Tally would be pretty right now, high up in a party toith Peris and Shay and a bunch of new friends at this very ive Tally the thrill it usually did; it just fell flat, like a song she’d heard too lad I didn’t"

So made Tally say, "Me too" The words amazed her, because somehow they felt true She looked at David closely, and the feeling was still there She could see that his forehead was too high, that a sh his eyebrow And his s had changed inside Tally’s head, so that had turned his face pretty to her The warmth of his body cut the autumn chill, and she moved closer

"Shay’s tried hard toyou directions when she promised me she wouldn’t," he said "Now she’s decided the Sreatest place in the world

And that I’ her here"

"She really likes you, David"

"And I really like her But she’s just not"

"Not what?"

"Not serious Not you"

Tally turned away, her head swi She knew she had to keep her proers went to the pendant "David"

"Yeah, I noticed that necklace After your s I noticed about you"

"You know soured"

"And II told theured that, too"

"You’re not ed "You never pro I hadn’t eveninto her eyes, his face glowing again Tally looked away, trying to drown her uncanny pretty feelings in the sea of white weeds

David sighed softly "You left a lot of things behind when you came here - your parents, your city, your whole life And you are starting to like the S here in a way that most runaways don’t"

"I like the way it feels here But I ht notstay"

He s you Maybe whoever gave you that heart is coo back to the for me?"

"Sure Iher his hand "I’d like you to meet my parents"