How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"This is Deb," I said, nodding to where she stood at the curtain's opening, purse over her shoulder. "She gave me… She's my friend." (4.177)
She's been in Lakeview for a grand total of a couple days, and Mclean is already claiming the weirdest girl in school as her new friend. That's a bold move, Mclean—we like your style.
Quote #2
It was so cold, looking through my blurry gaze, but then, suddenly, I felt Dave slide his arm around my shoulders. He was warm and close, and at the same moment I realized this, I spotted the outline of Orion. Three, I thought, and then rested my head against him, closing my eyes. (7.199)
After that long basketball game and dinner with her mom and Peter, it's no wonder that Mclean needs someone to lean on. It's a good thing that Dave's there for her—and that he's got a nice, warm shoulder.
Quote #3
"Mclean," she said. "I'm sitting here with you, in the nurse's office, during my free period. That means we're friends." (8.55)
For such a savvy girl, Mclean can sure be dense sometimes. Somehow she didn't even notice that in Lakeview, she's made real friends, including one who will go with her to the nurse's office when she accidentally smacks herself in the face with a locker door.
Quote #4
As she leaned in to inspect the damage, I looked through the glass of the door out into the room beyond. It was blurred and thick for privacy, so you couldn't really see details. Even so, I could make out the shape of a figure sitting there, a presence nearby, waiting. For me. (8.65)
Riley's the kind of girl who is loyal to a fault with all her friends—whether they're old friends like Dave, or new friends like Mclean. Dave's parents may think that she's a bad influence, but she's really a good egg to have around. You can always depend on her.
Quote #5
"You know. The person you can call at two a.m., and no matter what, you can count on them. Even if they're asleep or it's cold or you need to be bailed out of jail… they'll come for you. It's, like, the highest level of friendship." (8.268)
Poor Mclean doesn't have anyone that she considers her 2:00AM, especially since she only makes surface level friendships whenever she moves to a new town. But hearing Dave talk about it makes her rethink what she's been doing—maybe she should form tighter friendships. It just might be good for her.
Quote #6
Yet it was this image, this moment, that I kept going back to hours later, after we'd made it safely to the walkway and gone our separate ways to classes. How it felt to have the world moving beneath me, a hand gripping mine, knowing if I fell, at least I wouldn't do it alone. (9.142)
Dave's proven himself to be a really solid dude—even if he can be kind of a weird dork sometimes (he is a boy genius, after all). When they're walking along the icy sidewalk, Mclean just knows that she can count on him; he won't let her fall and hurt herself.
Quote #7
But when it was just me and him, there was a different ebb and flow; some conversation, some silence, always something to think about. It was like another language I was learning, how to be with someone and remain there, even when the conversation—and I—got uncomfortable. (10.32)
With Dave, Mclean doesn't have to posture or pretend to be someone that she's not—she can just remain silent, and they still have some kind of quiet understanding. That's a rare and special gift.
Quote #8
It was just a tiny moment. Not a kiss, not even real contact. But for all the things it wasn't, it meant so much. I'd been running for years: there was nothing scarier, to me, than to just be still with someone. And yet, there on that dark road, going home, I was. (12.32)
So much for leaving Lakeview without any complicated "entanglements." It's clear that Mclean has developed strong relationships here… although some may be stronger than others (wink, wink).
Quote #9
I nodded, not saying anything as my phone buzzed in my pocket. I'd finally turned off the ringer after logging calls from my dad, Riley, and Deb in the first twenty minutes we'd been on the road. (14.11)
Even when she's revealed the worst side of herself—the duplicitous side that comes with a bunch of different personas and names—Mclean's friends are still worried about her well-being. Riley and Deb are totally going to have her back no matter what.
Quote #10
I started crying again, my voice ragged. He told me to calm down. He told me it was going to be all right. And then, he told me he'd be there soon. (15.16)
So Mclean does have a 2:00AM friend that she can count on. She never thought that she'd be able to rely on someone like that, and yet Dave is ready to answer her call and tell her that it's going to be okay—he'll be right there.