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Back The Infinite Noise Save as PDF
Chapters (70)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. 49
  53. 50
  54. 51
  55. 52
  56. 53
  57. 54
  58. 55
  59. 56
  60. 57
  61. 58
  62. 59
  63. 60
  64. 61
  65. 62
  66. 63
  67. 64
  68. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  69. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  70. Newsletter Sign-up

“Oh.” I smile down at our nearly joined hands, shy. “Well. That’s good.”

“So … what does that mean?” His fingertips tap a nervous rhythm on my knuckles. “Do you still want to, you know, go out?”

The shimmering light of his hope fills my brain and my whole face is a grin. The Great Amazing Feelings Boy rides again, this time feeling stronger than ever.

63

ADAM

“I’m game if you are.” Caleb smiles, his face split open in happiness, and I can’t help but laugh.

“You are such a jock.” I shake my head, grinning at him, and he squeezes my hand. God, how I missed this.

“Meathead,” I mumble.

“Dork,” he replies, stepping into our familiar rhythm.

Against all odds, I’m filled with hope again. Things might be okay. He hasn’t run away and I haven’t found a hole to crawl into. We’re sitting on this bench, holding hands, beaming at each other like lovesick fools, and things might be okay.

Things are going to be hard. I have no illusions about that. Caleb still has an Atypical ability and I still have depression. Caleb still gets angry and I still want to hurt myself. My parents are still scientists who’ve done things I can’t imagine, even if they’ve tried to convince me of their good intentions. There are still Chloes and Franks and Damiens out there that are going to make Caleb’s life complicated. There’s still an organization that we barely know anything about but that makes Caleb go pale whenever it’s mentioned.

Things are going to be hard. But for the first time, I start to wonder if things might be easier together.

But first: communication.

“Okay,” I start sternly, “but we have to agree on one thing.”

64

CALEB

“Okay, but we have to agree on one thing,” Adam says, suddenly serious again, and my heart would clench if it wasn’t already buoyed up by so much joy.

“Okay…” I play along. “What?” I would be freaked out if I wasn’t feeling Adam’s giddiness. I don’t know what he’s about to say, but whatever it is isn’t serious enough to drown out his happiness so I can’t be fussed to worry about it.

“Neither of us is going to be the normal one,” he says practically. “I think it’s best we just accept that.”

I huff a laugh, a slight breeze of relief bolstering the joy even more. Adam beams at me, the biggest smile I’ve ever seen, and I bask in the warmth. I can’t help but kiss his curved lips, chasing the taste of sunlight, before giving him my answer.

“Sounds good to me.” I smile, an entire sun in my head. A whole solar system. “We’ll be weird together.”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS