deepening into a grimace, saliva frothing at the corners of his mouth. "That's practically an insult, the way you look right now. It's an insult to Alice, it's an insult to Carbomb and his cast, and it's an insult to you. You're much much more than beautiful right now, Bella. You're radiant, you're stunning, you're bellissima; but beautiful..."
I tried not to vomit and forced a treacly grin. "You might be a little biased."
"I don't think that's it. Besides, I have excellent eyesight."
We were twirling again, my feet on his as he held me close.
"So are you going to explain the reason for all this?" I wondered aloud.
He looked down at me, confused, and I glared meaningfully at the crepe paper.
He considered for a moment, then changed direction, spinning me through the crowd to the back door of the gym. I caught a glimpse of Jessica and Mike dancing, both of them eying me for very different reasons. Jessica waved jealously, and I smiled back quickly. Angela was there, too, looking blissfully happy in the arms of Eric; she didn't look up from his eyes. Lee and Samantha, dyke-Lauren, glaring towards us, with Conner; I could name every face that spiraled past me, and I just did. And then we were outdoors, in the cool, dim light of the fading sunset.
As soon as we were alone, he swung me up into his arms, and carried me across the darkening grounds ‘til he reached the bench beneath the shadow of the madrone trees. He sat there, keeping me cradled against his chest. The moon was already up, visible through the gauzy clouds, and his face glowed pale in the white light. His mouth was hard, his eyes troubled.
"Okay, so now that we're outside, are we any closer to the point?" I prompted.
He ignored me, staring up at the coming moon.

495

Chapter 25

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