Brigid Kemmerer Quotes

Michael walked to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. "You all right?"
I made my twin brother hate me.
I can't try out for basketball.
I gave my number to some girl who thinks I'm a thug.
Gabriel looked back at his textbook. "Yeah. Fine.

She almost wished she smoked, so she could lie on the car's hood, flick a lighter, and make up names for the constellations while nicotine burned her lungs.

Mr. Merrick, I'd like to speak with you.
Mr. Merrick. He hated when teachers called him that, like he was an old man stopping by to learn a few math tricks.

And underneath it all, so tiny that I almost don't acknowledge it, a kernel of pride that instead of magic bringing fear and torment, the way Lilith did, or pain and death, the way my sword would, my magic brought healing and trust, and that is not a small thing at all.

Fire school? He'd never considered making a career out of his abilities. :I'll think about it," said Gabriel.
Nick clapped him on the shoulder again. "No, you'll do it.

Brandon starts pulling food out of the bag. He hasn't said anything, but he's making himself useful. I like that he's avoiding the fact that I'm basically a train wreck wrapped up in a comforter.

Considering which, I should probably put on a bra.

Hunter leaned close. "Just to be clear: I'd know exactly what to do if you threw yourself at me."
Then he was in his car, starting the ignition, leaving her in the parking lot, nothing more than a melted puddle of hot, bothered, and seriously pissed off.

If you can't fix what went wrong, then fix what you can make right.

You said that not every problem can be solved by the end of a sword. I have carried those words with me for days... Since you made me realize that I am no longer a weapon to be wielded by another.

What is with you?" said Chris.
"Don't worry," said Quinn. "I already know he's an ass."
"Love you, too," said Gabriel.

Never is okay, you know," he murmurs.

I draw back a bit. "What?"

"You said 'not yet.'" He looks at me. "I'll leave it up to you. But 'never' is okay, too, Jules. Never is always okay.

What do you talk about?"...

"Nothing. Just . . . stuff."

"Oh my god, Jules. You are blushing!"

This is appalling. She's right. I can feel it. "I am not!"

She leans in and teases me. "Do you need a mirror? You're bright red."

"Stop it. It's not like that. We talk about . . . heavy things." I don't want to say "death." Even that much feels like breaking a confidence. "We're not flirting."

"So he hasn't sent you a picture of his manhood yet?"

I burst out laughing. "Has Brandon sent you a picture of his?"

"No!" Now she's blushing.

"Knowing him, it would be artfully framed, with perfect lighting and specifically placed shadows - "

"Shut up!" But she's giggling.

...words always carried a bit of the writer's soul,...

[...] He says the Internet makes too many people loud, and too many people silent, but the loud ones are all we hear.. We have to ask questions to hear the silent people.

Becky," he said. "Get in the car."
"Becca," she corrected automatically. Her voice was breathy, her hands still clenched in fists.
"For god's sake-" His eyes slid left. "Just get in the car.

Other people don't have the challenges we have... but that doesn't mean they don't have their own.

You have an unusual definition of luck."
She stiffens. "Spoken like someone who lives in a castle with an endless supply of food and wine, but calls himself cursed.

Becca pressed her face against his shoulder again, and he knew he wasn´t going anywhere.
"You keep saving me", she said.
"Yeah, well." He stroked the hair down her back.
"I think we might be close to breaking even on that.

If you want me to fix your homework, you need to leave me alone." Then he spotted her. "You're back."
"Yeah." She glanced between him and Gabriel. "You do his homework?"
"Just the math. It's a miracle he can count to ten."
"I can count to one." Gabriel gave him the finger.

Gabriel stared at the dashboard of Hunter's Jeep and made no move to get out of the vehicle.

"I don't know what the hell we're doing here," he said.

"Well," said Hunter, "we could always go back to the house and watch Mamma Mia! with my grandparents. Or maybe we could stare at the police scanner for another hour and wait for nothing to happen. Or maybe "

"I just don't feel like being at a party." At this party. Full of guys who'd know he wasn't allowed on the team. Full of girls who'd tease him about being an idiot.

Hunter's dog stuck his head between the seats, and Gabriel reached up to scratch him behind his ears. "I'll just stay here with the dog."

Hunter sighed and gave him a look. "Come on, baby, don't be like that. Did you pack your Midol?"

"All right, all right." Gabriel climbed out of the car, slamming the door behind him. "I don't even know why I like you.

Nick found Gabriel in his bedroom, sitting cross-legged on his bed, surrounded by textbooks. Headphones trailed from his ears, and his pencil tapped in time with whatever he was listening to. He either didn't notice Nick standing at the door, or he deliberately wasn't looking up.

Nick wanted to shove him off the bed and kick him in the face.

Not aggressive, my ass.

Gabriel finally looked up and yanked the headphones free.

"So I have to leave you alone, but you get to stand there like a freaky stalker?"

Oh, good. New adjectives. Nick told his heartbeat to chill out. He pushed Gabriel's door open. "I need to talk to you about something."

Gabriel stared at him. Nick could read the debate on his face: screw with Nick or just play it easy.

He went with the latter. His pencil dropped into the spine of his trig textbook. "Okay. Talk."

"If you grabbed someone by the wrist, could you set their skin on fire without anyone knowing you were doing it?"

Gabriel's eyebrows went up. "Not exactly what I thought you'd want to talk about."

Nick didn't have an answer for that. He kept his gaze steady and waited.

"Look, Nicky . . ." Gabriel hesitated. "Whatever I did to piss you off, just - "

"Forget it." Nick was halfway out his door before Gabriel slid off the bed to grab his arm.

"Stop," said his twin. "I'll answer your question, all right?"

If I find out you laid a hand on my daughter
"
"What?" said Gabriel. "You'll stand here and bitch about it?"
"Stop it!" cried Layne, dragging his coat and backpack from the kitchen. Her dad took a step forward.
"I'll have you arrested and charged with trespassing and statutory rape."
"Then I'm going to need another fifteen minutes.

Do not fault yourself for choices you believed were right in the moment. It is not princely.

His expression changed, and he took a step back. He looked away. "When you said it was broken, you were just being-"
"No! It is. My phone. Broken." Now she sounded like Yoda on crack.

Our relationship seems to tick forward like the hands of a clock, always changing in relation to each other.

Given that sin x = 1⁄4 and x is in Quadrant II, find the exact values of sin2 x and cos2 x WTF. He looked at this every day, and it was still like reading Chinese.

Were you bluffing about getting out?"
Gabriel grabbed the door handle. When he was standing in the grit and rubble of the shoulder, feeling the rain trail down his collar, he hesitated before closing the door. "You know I don't even have a phone."
"Would now be a bad time for a joke about smoke signals?"
"Fuck you.

a picture wasn't worth anything if it didn't produce a reaction, that it takes talent to capture feeling with an image.

Becca watched New Kid work the cutlery. "Bet you wish you'd given up your seat now, huh?"
"Oh." Quinn settled back on the bench and gave him a more appraising look. "This is that guy."
He looked thrown for a second. "That guy?"
Quinn nodded. "Pet store hero, ex-police-dog owner, seat stealer."
Trust her best friend to be absolutely direct. Becca glanced away and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I might have mentioned you.

She was starting to get a little breathless from trailing Casper, though the guys weren't having any trouble. "How far have we gone? Like three miles?"
Gabriel gave her a look. "Like one."
So she needed more cardio.

Nick wanted to shove him off the bed and kick him in the face. Not aggressive, my ass.

Fuck!" He hit the door frame. It hurt. He did it again.
"Problems?"
"Yeah," said Gabriel. "Nick took the car."
Michael didn't even look up from the screen. "Huh. Didn't you do the same thing this morning?"
"Don't talk to me like I'm a little kid."
Now his brothers eyes flicked up. "I'm sorry, was that a mature adult punching the front door?

Do you have your iPod?'
That was like asking if she'd brought her boobs along.

If your whole life is in those boxes, Hunter, I want you to hold on to all of it.

Jesus, I wish I could stop fucking crying. So gay, right?'
Hunter put a hand on his shoulder. 'Don't do that to yourself, Nick.

Good." Michael wrapped his hand around the hilt.
Then he lifted it, cocked the hammer, and put the barrel against Hunter's forehead. "Now where the fuck are my brothers?

I pissed off Quinn, and probably chased her into the arms of a psychopath. Oh, and I made out with another guy. It's a miracle our clothes stayed on.

When you've lost everything,' he says, 'sometimes you don't see anything wrong with taking a little back.

That was the worst kind of hypocrisy, right? Hating someone for something you hated about yourself?

Rhen," she calls after me.
I pause in the doorway and face her.
"I'm not going to fall in love with you," she says.
Her words are not a surprise. I sigh.
"You won't be the first.

God! She was tempted to take a picture of her middle finger and send it back. Her fingers flew across the screen. Heading to first period. Maybe you can do something more useful than texting me.

Choices are never easy. There are good and bad options, but the most dangerous is to not make any choice at all.

I came to apologize for my dickhead brother."
He took another bite of his apple, his eyes intent on Becca.
"And to thank Becky for last night."
"Becca," she snapped.
He smiled.
"I know."
Oh. Oh.
Kemmerer, Brigid (2012-04-24). Storm (Elemental Book 1) (Kindle Locations 811-814). Kensington Publishing Corp. Kindle Edition.

She held his eyes. "Truth."
"How did Taylor get you to that party, really?" He gave her a quick once-over. "Especially looking like that."
She shifted to look out at the darkness. "I changed my mind. Dare."
Gabriel slid his cell phone out of his picket and held it out. "Okay. Here. I dare you to call your father and tell him you're sitting in a dark parking lot with me."
"Ooooh." She glared up at him without any real malice. "I don't think I like this game."
He smiled. "Come on, pony up.

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My father once said we are all dealt a hand at birth. A good hand can ultimately lose - just as a poor hand can win - but we must all play the cards fate deals. The choices we face may not be the choices we want, but they are choices nonetheless.

Suddenly, I wish I had another thirty minutes of running in me. I wish I could keep running forever. Away from here.
I can't. And I can't leave my mother.
I turn the music down and head for home.

Well you're definitely gay. A straight guy wouldn't be such a drama queen.

He half rose from his seat and reached across another student's desk to drop the mangled paper clip in front of Tommy.
"Look, dude," he said, his voice low and earnest. "You want to ask me out, you man up and do it proper.

When everything goes to hell around you, the only way to go is forward.

What is going on with you, Rev?"

He rubs his eyes. "I don't know. I'm just tired."

I think of how he sat in the hospital with me, saying nothing. His silence was more supportive than anything he could have said.

I don't know how to do that in return. Maybe I can offer something else, though. I pull out my phone and do a quick search, then turn it around and slide it across the bed.

He doesn't reach for it. "Did she send more?"

"No. It's a poem I had to read for English. Read it."

He looks up, and the expression on his face is exactly the one I'd wear if he suddenly said, Hey bro, read this poem. "What?"

"Just read it. I think you'll like it.

When a man no longer deserves your loyalty, it is not a failing of yours

It means my luck sucks," she said. "It was nice dating a guy wo treated me like a friend instead of a blow-up doll."
"You were the one trying to unzip my pants in the truck!"
"Yeah, well, I thought you weren't interested. I didn't realize that your divining rod just pointed into a different direction."
"You're killing me," he said. But it sounded like he was smiling.

Hey, Mike," he said innocently. "I thought girls weren't allowed to spend the night?"
"Watch it."
"At least your not wearing her shirt."
"I think that's enough.

Eventually, he looks up at me. I'm not sure how I can tell - the hood only moves a few inches. "Do you believe in God?"

My night could seriously not be more surreal. I wet my lips and answer honestly. "I don't know."

He doesn't challenge me, which I was worried about. "There's this verse I like," he says. " 'The one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.' "

My eyes narrow. "Are you quoting the Bible?"

"Yes." He says this like it's the most normal thing in the world. "You know what I like about it? I like how it makes doubt seem inevitable. It's okay to be unsure.

He moved until he stood close enough to share secrets, to dance. To kiss.

Wait a minute," said Gabriel. "Someone knows what the secret tattoo says?"
Hunter gave him a look. "It´s not a secret. It´s on my arm."
"Enough with the suspense already. What does it say?"
"Nothing important," said Hunter.
The nurse smiled and released the pressure in the cuff. "It says ,
The first day you meet, you are friends. The next day, you are brothers."
Gabriel lost the smile. Then he clapped Hunter on the shoulder.
Hunter frowned at him. "What was that for?"
"Brotherhood," he said. "Welcome to the family.

His smile turned into a grin. He looked down at his tray and shoveled rice onto his fork. "You guys hitting that party tonight?"
"Which one?" Becca said drily. "We try to make the circuit."
He smiled in a way that said he saw right through her. "Well - and I want to make sure I get this straight - Monica said Claire said her boyfriend's best friend's brother was home from college with that skank Melissa - "
"No," said Becca sharply. "We're not.

Hunter was hiding in the basement.

Well, not really hiding. He was showing Simon how to break some basic holds. But if he was down here, he didn't have to see Kate, and he didn't have to listen to Gabriel's minute-by-minute jabs. Much more of that, and Hunter wouldn't give a crap about his promise to Michael - he'd finish what they'd started last night.

Everyone else was out on the back porch with pizza and soda, a scene straight out of a deodorant commercial or something.

I think you´re beautiful. And I´m no stranger to fucked-up families."
And then he was kissing her again. The addictive pull of his mouth almost had her crawling into his lap. Her hands bunched in his shirt, pulling him closer. [...]
Layne always rolled her eyes in health class when they talked about hormones getting out of control. But right now, she could barely remember her name. She totally got how someone could forget something like a silly little condom.
Suddenly Gabriel was laughing. "How someone could forget what?"
She almost fell off the bench. "I said that out loud?"
"Yeah." He leaned closer, his breath against her jaw. "Just what were you thinking about?

And on the other long side, completely alone, sat Becca's father.
The Guide.
"Call me Bill," he'd said.
Yeah, Gabriel had a few ideas of what to call him.

I'm not waiting for you to fuck up." Adam paused. "Just because you can't trust everyone doesn't mean you can't trust anyone.

Zoe is survived by her husband, Charles, and her daughter, Juliet.

Survived. This guy is right. The words we use to surround death are bizarre. Like we're hiding something.

I guess the obituary wouldn't read right if it said something like, Zoe died on the way home from the airport, after nine months on assignment in a war zone, leaving her husband, Charles, and her daughter, Juliet, with a Welcome Home cake that would sit in the refrigerator for a month before either of them could bear to throw it away.

So maybe we are hiding something.

Give me the gun." Michael put a hand out, his voice soft.
Tension rode on the sunlight as she listened to Hunter's breathing shake.
"It's okay," said Michael. "You don't want to do this."
Inch by inch, Hunter lowered the gun into Michael's palm, finally letting go.
Michael didn't move. "You alright?"
Hunter nodded.
"Good." Michael wrapped his hand around the hilt.
Then he lifted it, cocked the hammer, and put the barrel against Hunter's forehead. "Now where the f*** are my brothers?

It is not the moment of passing that is most important. It is all the moments that came before.

Touch was funny like that. How one movement could choke you and kill you, but another meant nothing more than a caress and an invitation. How sex and rape were just a few motions apart.

Kristin comes down the stairs, and the pressure on my chest snaps. I take a moment to turn away, inhaling deeply, blinking away tears. She sets the plate on a table behind the couch, and half tiptoes back up the stairs.

Thank god. I don't think I could have handled maternal attention right this second. My body feels like it's on a hair trigger.

I need to get it together. This is why people avoid me. Someone asks if I want a drink and I have a panic attack.

"You're okay." Declan is beside me, and his voice is low and soft, the way it was in the foyer. He's so hard all the time, and that softness takes me by surprise. I blink up at him.

"You're okay," he says again.

I like that, how he's so sure. Not Are you okay? No question about it.

You're okay.

He lifts one shoulder in a half shrug. "But if you're going to lose it, this is a pretty safe place to fall apart." He takes two cookies from the plate, then holds one out to me. "Here. Eat your feelings."

I'm about to turn him down, but then I look at the cookie. I was expecting something basic, like sugar or chocolate chip. This looks like a miniature pie, and sugar glistens across the top. "What . . . is that?"

"Pecan pie cookies," says Rev. He's taken about five of them, and I think he might have shoved two in his mouth at once. "I could live on them for days."

I take the one Declan offered and nibble a bit from the side.

The most dangerous person at the party is always the girl sitting alone with a book.

Hey, Murph! What gives, man?"

I jump and drop the letter. Melonhead, my "supervisor," is standing at the crest of the hill, wiping a sweat-soaked handkerchief across his brow.

His last name isn't really Melonhead, any more than mine is Murph. But if he's going to take liberties with Murphy, I'm going to do the same with Melendez.

Only difference is that I don't say it to his face.

Music always rode the air until he felt each beat through his whole body. But the air here was full of energy that sparked and rejoiced with the melody.

Aren't your parents going to freak when they see you?"
That rough laugh again. "I'd probably freak if I saw them.

We're all united by grief, and somehow divided by the same thing.

Oh, you can't back out now. I already texted Adam that you'll be there."

His head swung around. "You what?"

"He's looking forward to it. See?" She held up her phone.

A smiley face.

A smiley face? Nick had no idea what that meant. Was that casual happy? Excited happy? An obligatory response that didn't mean anything? It wasn't even a D smiley. It was one of the parenthesis ones.

God, he was trying to puzzle out the hidden meaning of the punctuation in a frigging emoticon.

"You look nervous," said Quinn.

He shrugged.

I wonder, if I keep faking it, will I eventually believe it? A part of me worries that I'll keep faking it and completely forget what's real at all.

You boys need anything else?"

Nick started. The older waitress was there beside the table.

He hadn't heard her approach. Worse - he hadn't felt her approach. Would she say something? He should probably start disentangling himself from Adam. His voice wouldn't work and his face felt like his cheeks were going to burn clean off.

"No, thanks," Adam said. He sounded amused.

She ripped a piece of paper from her pad and set it on the table. "You two are just the cutest ever."

Nick froze. She didn't care. They'd been head to head at this table, and she hadn't batted an eye.

Adam winked at her. "Sounds like someone's looking for a tip."

"Here's a tip," she said. "Don't flirt with old married ladies when you've got a sure thing in your arms."

"Am I the sure thing in this scenario?" said Nick.

"I don't know," Adam said. "Are you?"

The waitress laughed and left them with the check.

"She didn't care," said Nick softly. "I know it's stupid, but I thought - "

"What, that people would come out with pitchforks? Flaming torches?"

"Maybe."

Adam kissed him on the cheek. "You're adorable. People surprise you sometimes. Especially when you give them the chance."

The words hit Nick hard, the way words you need to hear usually do. He held them in his head for examination later.

When they walked back to Adam's apartment, he re

Words, not hands,' said Layne. She poked Gabriel with a fork. 'I think you need a T shirt that says that.'
He leaned in close. 'Give me five minutes and I bet I can change your mind.

If we take out one, we have to take out all. We can't risk collateral damage."
"Say 'collateral damage' again. That sounded sexy.

The sliding door opened, and then Michael was clomping across the porch. Gabriel didn't look at him, just kept his gaze on the tree line.
Michael dropped into the chair beside him. "Here."
Gabriel looked over. His brother was holding out a bottle of Corona.
Shock almost knocked him out of the chair. They never had alcohol of any kind in the house. When Michael had turned twenty-one, they'd all spent about thirty seconds entertaining thoughts of wild parties supplied by their older brother.
Then they'd remembered it was Michael, a guy who said if he ever caught them drinking, he'd call the cops himself. Really, he'd driven the point home so thoroughly that by the time he and Nick started going to parties, they rarely touched the stuff.
Gabriel took the bottle from his hand. "Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?"
Michael tilted the botle back and took a long draw. "I thought you could use one. I sure can."
Gabriel took a sip, but tentatively, like Michael was going to slap it out of his hand and say Just kidding. "Where did this even come from?"
"Liquor store."
Well, that was typical Michael. "No, jackass, I meant-"
"I know what you meant." Michael paused to take another drink. "There's a mini-fridge in the back corner of the garage, under the old tool bench.

You are not a weapon, Grey.

His door opened, and Michael filled the doorway.
Gabriel yanked the headphones out of his ears, but music still poured out against his comforter. "Ever hear of knocking?"
He wanted his voice to be sharp, but he couldn't generate the usual anger.
He's not worthless. And you're out of line.
"I did knock," said Michael. "Three times.

They're being such idiots. They should have just talked to each other.

Be a shadow, Hunter. Can you be a shadow? It was one of the first things he'd learned from his father.
He's been six.

When Chris was ten, we pushed him down the stairs. This was twice as entertaining.

She was right - I have had over three hundred women to practice on. I should have known better.

You're so damn worried about what everyone else wants. Well, you know what, Nick? You're going to disappoint people sometimes. You just are. And you know what else? They're either going to get over it or they're not. If they don't, it sucks. But it's not going to kill them, and it's sure not going to kill you.

A knock sounded on his bedroom wall.
"Black," he called.

Hey, Law-and-Order," said Gabriel. "Let him go.

Mom!" Becca stared at her. "You think - you think I'm dating Michael?"
Her mom stared back at her, obviously thrown. "You're not?"
This would be hilarious if her mom didn't look so serious.
"Oh my god," cried Becca. "Are you kidding? Michael is the last person I would ever - oh my god. I wouldn't go out with him if someone paid me. Ugh, that's just - "
"You know I can hear you, right?" called Michael.

Because it's easier to turn off worries in the dark.
Nick met his eyes in the darkness. "Yours or Mine?"
"Both.

Can I ask you a favor?" Matthew says.
"Anything."
That throws him, but only for a moment. "If I do something that might screw this up, would you tell me?"
I set my spoon down. The cereal has gone soggy and I'm beginning to make a mess anyway. "You won't screw this up, Matthew. Mom and Dad aren't like that."
"But–just in case."
"Okay." I carry my bowl to the sink. "Anything else?"
"No." He hestitates. "Maybe."
"What's up?"
"Do you think you could just call me Matt?

Hunter stared back at him until Michael raised his eyebrows in a Dude, wtf? expression. Hunter shook himself. Yeah. Sure.

If you can't fix what's wrong, you focus on what you can make right.

Does it scare you?" said Clare. "Living in a house with guns?"
Hunter smiled. "It's not like I wake up in the middle of the night to find them staring down at me."
"Shut up." She gave him a light shove. "No, I mean, are you ever worried you'll accidentally get shot?"
"You mean, when I catch the assault rifle raiding the refrigerator? Like maybe it'll turn on me?"
Her breath caught again. "You have an assault rifle in your house?"
"Sure. It's partial to lime Jell-O.

You're the only person alive who would use superpowers to be more dorky.

There are dead bodies at my feet and children whimpering in the snow. Any minute, my brain is going to catch up and I'm going to collapse into sobs.

Instead, I saw the only thing my addled mind can come up with. "Thanks.

Irish grabbed her hand and kept the water directed at the wall. His voice cam across her radio. "Hannah. Wait. What do you see?"
She stared. She saw fire. A lot of fire.
But then a pattern started to emerge. "A message?" She guessed. Then she looked mroe closelt. "A star? What does that mean?"
"That's not a star," said Irish. "But it's definitely a message."
"It's not a star?"
He let go of the hose, the water streaked across the flames on the floor.
"No," he said. "That's a pentagram.

Failure isn't absolute, just because you couldn't save everyone doesn't mean you didn't save anyone.

We head to that corner of the basement. Rev straddles the weight bench and sits down while Declan sits on a yoga ball and leans against the corner. They fall into these positions so easily that I wonder if this is their space, the way Rowan and I claim her room or the plush couch in my basement.

I'm not a violent person, but hitting something sounds really good.

I draw back a hand and swing, throwing my whole body into it.

Ow. Ow. The bag swings slightly, but shock reverberates down my arm. I think I've dislocated every joint of every finger, but I can feel it, and it's the first thing I've truly felt in weeks. It feels fantastic. I need one of these in my basement.

I grit my teeth and pull back my arm to do it again.

"Whoa." A hand catches my arm in midswing.

I'm standing there, gasping, and Declan has a hold of my elbow. His eyebrows are way up.

"So . . . yeah," he says. "I don't want to be sexist here, but after the way you talk about cars, I didn't expect you to throw a punch like that."

I draw back and straighten, feeling foolish. "Sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?" He looks at me like I'm crazy. "I just don't want to watch you break a wrist."

"Here." Rev half stands, holding out a pair of black padded gloves. He's pushed back the hood of his sweatshirt, and I wonder if he's grown more comfortable around me - or if he's just warm. "If you really want to beat

And Gabriel Merrick. I'd hoped your recent brush with the law would keep you out of my office for a while.'
'I'm happy to leave.

I haven't gotten in a fight yet this year!
Despite everything, that made her smile. "It's September."
He waved a hand. "Details.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.